Guidebook alternative

Hostfully's guidebook starts at the booking. chucho starts one step earlier.

Hostfully Guidebooks is a solid standalone product — you do not need their property management system to use it, and it reaches guests by unique link, QR code, PDF or print. chucho covers the same guide and adds the step in front of it: a public page for each property with the booking button pointing at your own site, then Chucho Go on the guest's phone with your picks, the services you offer, the day's conditions and a living guestbook.

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The short verdict

Pick the one that matches how you host.

Quick read

Choose Hostfully if: you want a guidebook that sits beside a property management system you may already run, with host-configured upsells charged through your own Stripe account, and nothing on the public web or inside the home.
Choose chucho if: you want the property findable before the booking with the booking on your own site, a guide that answers in the guest's own words by text or voice in English and Spanish, real orders from town where partners are connected, coastal conditions, and a tablet on the counter only if you want one.

Direct comparison

Hostfully Guidebooks and chucho, from discovery to stay.

The Hostfully column describes what the company publishes on hostfully.com and its help centre. Where we could not find a feature documented there, the cell says so rather than guessing.

Checked against hostfully.com on 2026-09-08.
What the guest gets	Hostfully Guidebooks	chucho
Public property page + outbound booking link	Not listed on their site	Opt-in public page per property — approved facts, general location, selected photos, one booking button pointing at your own site
Guide on the guest's phone	Yes — unique link, QR code, PDF or print; sold standalone, PMS sync optional	Yes — Chucho Go opens from a link or QR, no app and no account
Answers from your own content	Itinerary planner included on every tier, generating suggested plans rather than holding an open conversation; no voice channel listed	Text and voice, English and Spanish, answered from what you published
Local picks and services	Host-configured upsells charged through your own Stripe, plus affiliate tour links; no real-time delivery ordering listed	Your picks, plus ordering from town where delivery and booking partners are connected, with a host share
Conditions (weather, tides, surf)	Not listed on their site	Weather, tides and surf for the property's coast
Living guestbook	Automated post-stay review requests; no living guestbook listed	A guestbook guests write during the stay, kept across stays
In-property tablet	Not listed on their site	Optional — the same guide on a tablet, $300 once or bring your own Android
Host revenue model	Subscription; upsell revenue is yours, charged through your own Stripe	Subscription, plus a host share on orders where partners are connected
Price	Free tier plus paid tiers; dollar figures for the paid tiers are not published on their site	Free for every property; $39 per property/month or $399 per property/year

Why it matters

Four differences that show up in every stay.

The property exists on the web before anyone books it

A Hostfully guidebook reaches a guest once the reservation is made. chucho publishes an opt-in page for each property out of the same content: bedrooms and beds, what to know, the questions earlier guests asked, selected photos, a general location, and one button that sends the booking to your own site. The exact address, door codes, Wi-Fi, your contact details, prices and availability are never published. The approved facts are also served in machine-readable form, so assistants answering travel questions read what you wrote.

An open conversation, not a generated itinerary

Hostfully includes an itinerary planner on every tier, free plan included — it drafts a plan for the trip. That is a different job from answering "is the pool heated" at ten at night. chucho answers in the guest's own words, by text or out loud, in English and Spanish, from the content you published and nothing else. The free tier includes 100 text answers and 15 voice minutes a month; paid properties are unmetered.

Upsells you configure vs. orders the guide can place

Hostfully lets you sell pre-configured extras — early check-in, late checkout, cleaning, equipment — charged through your own Stripe, alongside affiliate links to tours. That revenue is yours, and it is a real feature. What we found no listing for is a guest ordering dinner or groceries from town in real time. In towns where Rapido or WellFred are connected, a chucho guest does exactly that from inside the guide, and a share of the order goes to you.

Run it beside Hostfully, or instead of it

Hostfully Guidebooks is sold standalone, so there is nothing to migrate in either direction. Keep Hostfully for channel distribution and reservations if that is what you run, and let chucho be the guest-facing layer: the public page, the phone guide, and — if you want the same guide waiting on the counter — a tablet for $300 once, or an Android tablet you already own.

Questions

Questions hosts ask when they already run Hostfully.

Do I have to leave Hostfully to use chucho?

No. Plenty of operators keep Hostfully — or any other property management system — for channel distribution and reservations, and use chucho as the guest-facing layer: the public property page before the booking and Chucho Go during the stay. There is nothing to migrate.

Does chucho need my reservation data?

Only if you want the guide to greet the arriving guest by name and open on the right dates. chucho reads guest names and stay dates over calendar sync (iCal) or a webhook from whatever system you already run.

Do I need to buy hardware?

No. Chucho Go runs on the phone the guest already carries — a link or a QR code, no app and no account. A tablet in the property is optional: $300 once for a configured device, or install the kiosk app on an Android tablet you own.

What does chucho cost?

Every property is free: the public page, Chucho Go, five host picks, 100 text answers and 15 voice minutes a month, in English and Spanish. Paid properties are $39 a month or $399 a year each, with unmetered answers, the living guestbook, the portfolio console and ordering where partners are connected. No setup fee, no contract.

Start where it's free.

Publish one property today.

Create the property, publish its public page, and send Chucho Go to your next guest. No credit card, no contract, and publishing is your choice.

Every property free $39 per property/month or $399/year Tablet $300 once, or bring your own

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