Touch Stay Alternative: 5 Options for Airbnb Hosts in 2026
Touch Stay is the most well-known welcome guide tool for Airbnb hosts. It's also the most expensive, and it doesn't offer a free plan. If you're looking for an alternative — whether because of the price, the features, or just wanting to compare before committing — this article covers your real options.
No fluff. Just an honest look at what each tool does, what it costs, and who it's actually for. For the full market overview, see best Airbnb welcome guide tools. And if you're not sure what a guide should contain yet, start with our welcome guide template.
Why hosts look for Touch Stay alternatives
Touch Stay costs $99 per year for your first property, with half off for your second. For vacation rental managers with multiple properties, it starts at $25 per month and increases depending on portfolio size.
Touch Stay offers a 14-day free trial but there's no ongoing free tier. If you're a single-property host testing the waters, you're committing to a paid subscription before you know whether a digital guidebook is right for you.
That's the most common reason hosts go looking. Others want:
- AI that writes the content — Touch Stay has an AI assistant, but many hosts find the output generic
- Auto-translation without manual work — multilingual support exists in Touch Stay but requires setup per language
- A simpler tool — Touch Stay has grown into a feature-heavy platform that can feel like too much for a host with one or two properties
- Something that also covers finances or guest management — Touch Stay is guidebook-only
The 5 best Touch Stay alternatives
1. Welkome — Best for multilingual AI guides + all-in-one management
Welkome is built around the problem Touch Stay doesn't solve cleanly: international guests who can't read a welcome guide because it's in the wrong language.
Fill in your property details, and AI generates a complete guide in about 30 seconds — not a template to fill in, but actual written content in a warm, natural tone. The guide auto-translates into 6 languages (EN, FR, ES, DE, IT, PT). When you update anything, all language versions sync instantly. No manual translation, no per-language setup.
Beyond the guidebook, Welkome also covers guest management and property finance tracking (income, expenses, KPIs) — which Touch Stay doesn't offer at all.
Pricing: free for 1 property. €9/month for Premium (unlimited properties, 6 languages, analytics, no watermark).
Free plan: yes — no credit card required.
Best for: hosts with 1-10 properties, especially those with international guests. Hosts who want AI to do the writing. Hosts who want more than just a guidebook.
Where it falls short: no PMS integrations yet. Newer product with a smaller ecosystem.
2. goGuidebook — Best for simplicity
goGuidebook (now part of Operto) is the simplest option on the list. Most hosts are live within 20 minutes, the interface is clean, and pricing is affordable.
What it does well: fast setup, clean guest experience, affordable price.
Where it falls short: limited features. No AI content generation. Multilingual support is basic. The Operto acquisition has created some uncertainty about the product's future direction.
Pricing: starts around $9/month for your first guide. Check their site for current pricing.
Free plan: no.
Best for: hosts who want something simple without complex features. Good first guidebook for someone who just wants to get something live quickly.
3. Hostfully Guidebooks — Best if you're already on Hostfully
Hostfully offers guidebooks as part of a broader property management platform. The standalone guidebook product works, but it was designed as part of an ecosystem rather than as a standalone tool.
What it does well: clean design, solid local recommendations feature, upsell functionality for services and experiences built into the guide.
Where it falls short: pricing jumps in ways that penalize mid-size hosts. Setup takes longer than alternatives. Better suited to hosts already in the Hostfully ecosystem.
Best for: hosts already using Hostfully's property management tools.
4. Notion or Google Sites — Best free DIY option
Not a dedicated tool, but worth mentioning for hosts who want something free and don't mind a bit of manual work. A well-structured Notion page or Google Site can function as a welcome guide — hosted online, accessible via link or QR code, updatable at any time.
What it does well: completely free, flexible, you control everything.
Where it falls short: not built for this use case, so you're building from scratch. No multilingual support. No AI generation. Looks less professional than dedicated tools. No analytics.
Best for: hosts who want zero cost and are comfortable with a bit of setup work. Good for testing the concept before committing to a paid tool.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Free plan | Starting price | AI generation | Languages | Other modules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touch Stay | No | ~$99/year | Yes | Multiple | No |
| Welkome | Yes | €9/month | Yes (30s) | 6 auto | Guest mgmt + Finance |
| goGuidebook | No | ~$9/month/first guide | No | Limited | No |
| Hostfully | No | Custom | Limited | Multiple | Via platform |
| DIY (Notion) | Yes | Free | No | Manual | No |
The honest verdict
Touch Stay is the most expensive option, at approximately $15 per month per property on monthly billing. For hosts managing large portfolios with PMS integrations, that price is justified by the feature set and ecosystem.
For independent hosts with 1-5 properties — which is the majority of Airbnb hosts — the price is hard to justify when alternatives cover the core use case for less, or for free.
If multilingual support matters to you (and it should if any of your guests come from non-English-speaking countries), Welkome is the strongest option in the alternative category — it's the only tool that was designed around this problem from the start rather than adding translation as a feature.
If you just want something simple and cheap, goGuidebook or a DIY Notion setup will cover the basics.
If you're already deep in the Hostfully ecosystem, stay there.
Try them before deciding
Every tool on this list offers a free trial or free tier. Spend 20 minutes in the product before committing — because the right tool is the one you'll actually maintain. An outdated guidebook with the wrong WiFi password is worse than no guidebook at all.
Welkome is free for 1 property, no credit card required. See a live demo at welkome.app/g/villa-azur — that's what your guests would see.