Digital guest manual comparison: which setup fits your rental?
The right digital guest manual is the one that fits the work you need to do. A host replacing a PDF needs something different from a manager who needs reservation sync and guest verification across a portfolio.
Here are StayPerk and 12 other tools side by side: their published prices, a verdict for each, and six tests to run before you choose a basic manual, a specialist guidebook or a broader guest-experience system.
Published by StayPerk, so we are not an independent reviewer. Updated September 29, 2026. How we prepared it
US dollars, from each pricing page on September 29, 2026.
- StayPerkNo subscription. Fees apply only when guests pay for add-ons or servicesFree plan listed
- BetterSTR$2.99Free plan listed
- SmoothStay$6.90Free plan listed
- Guidey$7.42 a month, billed annually
- GoGuidebook$7.50 a month, billed annually
- GuestIntro$7.99Free plan listed
- Guest Manual$9.99
- WonderGuest$12.99 a month, billed annuallyFree plan listed
Not on the scale
- Hostfully Digital Guidebooks: Pro, up to 199 guidebooks: price not shown on the pricing page
- Touch Stay: Quoted by a calculator on the pricing page (number of homes, currency, billing period)
- Zugrow: Max, with a digital guidebook for every property: £19.95 per property per month, billed annually
- Enso Connect: Custom quote
Published prices on September 29, 2026
This table copies each vendor's own pricing page as it read on September 29, 2026. Prices are in US dollars unless marked £. Each row keeps the billing period and what one price covers, because “per property”, “per guide” and “per listing” are not the same thing. Prices change, so check the linked page before you decide.
| Option | Free plan | Entry paid offer | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| StayPerk | Yes: Welcome Books, guest signs and digital manuals | No subscription. Fees apply only when guests pay for add-ons or services | Not needed |
| BetterSTR | Yes: unlimited digital guidebooks | Premium guidebook: $2.99 per property per month, or $0.50 per reservation | 2 weeks of premium for new properties |
| GoGuidebook | Not listed | $7.50 per month for the first guide, billed annually ($8.99 billed monthly); $4.00 per guide per month for guides 2 to 5, billed annually | 14 days |
| Guest Manual | Not listed | Starter: $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, for 1 listing | 14 days |
| GuestIntro | Yes: 1 property | Guest Manual Pro: $7.99 per month, for 1 property | Not listed for the manual plans |
| Guidey | Not listed | $7.42 per property per month, billed annually | 14 days |
| Hostfully Digital Guidebooks | Yes: 1 guidebook | Pro, up to 199 guidebooks: price not shown on the pricing page | Not listed |
| SmoothStay | Yes: 1 property | Host: $6.90 per month for the first unit, plus $2.90 per month for each additional unit | 14 days |
| Touch Stay | Not listed | Quoted by a calculator on the pricing page (number of homes, currency, billing period) | Offered; length not stated |
| WonderGuest | Yes: 1 property, 1 guidebook, 1 language | Pro: $12.99 per month for 1 property, billed annually ($155.88 per year) | 14 days |
| Zugrow | Solo plan for 1 property, without a digital guidebook | Max, with a digital guidebook for every property: £19.95 per property per month, billed annually | 2 weeks on paid plans |
| Enso Connect | Not listed | Custom quote | Offered after a demo; length not stated |
“Not listed” means the pricing page didn’t mention it, not that the vendor doesn’t offer it. Haven’s pricing page did not show prices when we checked, so it isn’t in the table.
Which option fits: a verdict for each
Each verdict comes from how the vendor describes itself on its own website. Use it to pick a shortlist, then check the details that matter to you.
| Option | Verdict | What to verify for your situation |
|---|---|---|
| StayPerk | Choose StayPerk if you want free printable Welcome Books, guest signs and digital manuals that reuse the same information, with videos and optional paid add-ons in the digital manual. | Whether the guest experience and available transaction workflows fit your property |
| BetterSTR | Choose BetterSTR if you want a guidebook offered alongside guest Wi-Fi, TV, upselling and named integrations. | Which of those connected workflows you need and what their current pricing covers |
| Hostfully | Choose Hostfully if you want digital guidebooks with media, recommendations and management features. | The guidebook plan and any separate PMS requirements for your workflow |
| Touch Stay | Choose Touch Stay if you want guidebook templates with connections to your property-management system. | The exact integration, editing, branding, and distribution features in the relevant plan |
| Haven | Choose Haven if you want a guest-facing manual or portal as part of a broader direct-booking offering. | Whether you need only a manual or the wider booking and website workflow |
| GoGuidebook | Choose GoGuidebook if you want a digital guidebook with QR access and downloadable or printable guide materials. | Whether the generated backup and section access work the way your guests need |
| SmoothStay | Choose SmoothStay if you want a digital guidebook with an AI concierge and related guest-experience features. | The data, languages, access settings, and support process required for your use |
| Zugrow | Choose Zugrow if you want a set of AI-oriented tools for short-term rental hosts, with a guidebook among them. | Which tools are actually included and how any generated draft must be checked |
| GuestIntro | Choose GuestIntro if you want a guest manual, with a direct-booking website offered separately. | Whether the manual alone covers your needs or the additional website is necessary |
| Enso Connect | Choose Enso Connect if you want a broader guest journey built around its Boarding Pass experience, not only a manual. | The exact reservation, verification, communication, and integration requirements |
| Guidey | Choose Guidey if you want a guidebook with multimedia support and an example guest experience to look at first. | Editing, media, language, access, and printing requirements for your chosen plan |
| Guest Manual | Choose Guest Manual if you want templated digital guides with media and an AI concierge. | The editing, assistance, data, and distribution behavior you actually require |
| WonderGuest | Choose WonderGuest if you want a guidebook with supporting host tools and a choice of plans. | Your property count, media, language, and store requirements against the current limits |
Each name links to the vendor's own website, which is also listed in the sources. We don't rely on one vendor's comparison page to say what another vendor lacks.
Choose the kind of setup you need first
| Your main task | Start by comparing | The question that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Replace a document with a readable guest manual | Manual-focused products | Can a guest find and use the instructions easily on a phone? |
| Explain unfamiliar equipment | Products supporting your required text and media | Can you show the exact controls and keep written steps beside the video? |
| Maintain many properties | Guidebooks with the specific management workflow you need | Which fields are shared, which are property-specific, and what is included in your plan? |
| Connect reservations, verification, or automated guest journeys | Broader guest-experience systems | Is the exact integration and workflow supported, rather than merely a shareable link? |
| Add a direct-booking website | Products that explicitly include that capability | What booking, payment, and calendar responsibilities remain with you? |
| Offer optional paid extras | Products with a relevant ordering workflow | What fees, availability rules, approvals, refunds, and channel restrictions apply? |
Don't pay for a broader system only because its feature list is longer. Equally, don't expect a simpler manual to replace a property management system.
Run the same six tests on your shortlist
Use your own property content rather than comparing only polished demo screenshots. A useful trial task can be small: one arrival section, one appliance explanation, and one checkout section.
- Find an answer. Open the guest experience on a phone and find the parking location and checkout time. Note where you hesitate.
- Follow an instruction. Add a real appliance photo, a short video if needed, and written steps. Check whether someone else can identify the correct controls.
- Make an update. Change one non-sensitive detail and verify where that change appears, including any separately saved or printed version.
- Check access boundaries. Confirm what an authorized guest sees and what a public visitor can see. A link is not a substitute for an access policy.
- Test the fallback. Check the actual PDF, printed card, or other backup you intend to use without connectivity. Don't assume that every web guide works offline.
- Test leaving. Identify how you would retain your own content, change distributed links, and replace printed QR codes if you later switch tools.
These are reader-run tests, not measured product scores. A failed trial can reveal either a product limitation or an incomplete setup; ask the vendor before drawing a conclusion.
Compare the cost of the workflow, not just the headline price
“Free,” “free trial,” and “free for one property” are different offers. Check the property count, included media and languages, publication limits, optional transaction fees, and any separate products needed for your workflow.
For StayPerk, creating a guest manual has no monthly subscription. The public pricing page lists the fee on each kind of payment. From November 1, 2026, a host's paid add-ons carry a 10% fee and guest bookings of local service providers 20%, of which 5% goes to the host. Check the current fees rather than assuming every payment is fee-free.
When StayPerk is a sensible option to try
Consider StayPerk when you need a printable Welcome Book, guest signs, or a digital guest manual. Supported guest information can be reused between the formats. Digital manuals also support short videos and optional paid extras; the live sample shows the guest experience.
You don't need to rebuild how you run your rentals to try it. First check whether a manual for one property meets your needs, and review the current fees and any payment setup separately.
When another approach may fit better
A simple document or your booking platform's built-in house manual may be enough when you need only a few instructions and can keep them current. A specialist guidebook may be the better choice when a particular editing or distribution workflow is essential. A broader guest-experience system may fit when you need verified native integrations and reservation-specific automation.
StayPerk does not replace every PMS, channel manager or booking engine. Check the exact capability you need rather than choosing on a general promise of “all-in-one.”
- Simple document or built-in house manualA few instructions you can keep current
- Specialist guidebookA particular editing or distribution workflow
- Broader guest-experience systemNative integrations and reservation-specific automation
Already have a manual? Test the switch before committing
List the content you need to move and the messages, websites, and QR signs that point to the old version. Build one replacement privately, test it as an authorized guest, and only then change the live distribution path.
StayPerk's free manual conversion assistance prepares an existing manual as a private draft for you to review. It is assisted conversion, not a one-click importer for every other platform.
For a format comparison, read digital guest manual versus PDF welcome book.
- List what points to itContent, messages, websites and QR signs
- Build one privately
- Test it as a guest
- Then change the live link
How this comparison was prepared
StayPerk publishes this comparison, so we are not an independent reviewer. The verdicts summarize the vendors' public pages as we reviewed them on September 17, 2026, and the price table copies their pricing pages as they read on September 29, 2026. We did not buy or test every plan. Features, limits and prices change, so confirm the capability you need in the vendor's current plan before you subscribe.
There is no overall winner or score, and listing StayPerk first doesn't make it the best choice for you. If we couldn't confirm a feature, that doesn't mean the tool lacks it. Run the six tests above on the tools that fit your situation.
- September 17, 2026Vendor websites reviewed
- September 29, 2026Pricing pages read
- 26 sourcesLinked at the end of the page
Frequently asked questions
Is a free digital guest manual always the best choice?
No. A free option is useful only if its actual features, limits, and workflow fit your needs. Compare the task you need to complete and the total relevant costs, not just the entry price.
Is this an independent ranking of guidebook software?
No. StayPerk publishes this guide. It summarizes official public product information and provides a consistent evaluation method; it is not a paid hands-on test or a universal ranking.
Does sharing a guide link mean a product integrates with my PMS?
Not necessarily. Manually adding a URL to a message is different from synchronizing reservations or automatically updating guest-specific information. Confirm the exact integration and supported behavior.
Can I try StayPerk without replacing my current system?
You can start by reviewing the public sample and building a draft for one property. Keep your current guest instructions working until you have checked the replacement and its distribution links.
Sources for this page
- StayPerk: Pricing and fees. What is free and the fee on each kind of payment. – StayPerk
- StayPerk: Convert a manual. Assisted conversion and private-draft workflow. – StayPerk
- StayPerk: Free manual builder. Draft-to-account workflow. – StayPerk
- BetterSTR: Homepage. Public product positioning for guest Wi-Fi, TV, upselling, and integrations; traction is not independently audited. – BetterSTR
- Hostfully: Digital guidebooks. Public guidebook features and presentation; not independent performance evidence. – Hostfully
- Touch Stay: Homepage. Public guidebook templates and connected workflows; not independent performance evidence. – Touch Stay
- Haven: Homepage. Public preview and broader booking workflow positioning; not independent performance evidence. – Haven
- GoGuidebook: Homepage. Public QR and printable guide capabilities; not independent performance evidence. – GoGuidebook
- SmoothStay: Homepage. Public guidebook, live example, and AI concierge positioning; not independent performance evidence. – SmoothStay
- Zugrow: Homepage. Public host-tool and guidebook positioning; not independent performance evidence. – Zugrow
- GuestIntro: Homepage. Public manual/site offers and pre-account preview; not independent performance evidence. – GuestIntro
- Enso Connect: Homepage. Public Boarding Pass guest journey and workflow positioning; not independent performance evidence. – Enso Connect
- Guidey: Homepage. Public multimedia guidebook and example presentation; not independent performance evidence. – Guidey
- Guest Manual: Homepage. Public templates, media, concierge, and migration information; not independent performance evidence. – Guest Manual
- WonderGuest: Homepage. Public guidebook/tool ecosystem and plan distinctions; not independent performance evidence. – WonderGuest
- BetterSTR: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – BetterSTR
- GoGuidebook: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – GoGuidebook
- Guest Manual: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – Guest Manual
- GuestIntro: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – GuestIntro
- Guidey: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – Guidey
- Hostfully: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – Hostfully
- SmoothStay: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – SmoothStay
- Touch Stay: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – Touch Stay
- WonderGuest: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – WonderGuest
- Zugrow: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – Zugrow
- Enso Connect: Pricing page, read September 29, 2026. – Enso Connect
Try one property before changing your workflow
Create a private draft and compare the guest experience with the instructions you use today.