EasilyData

HostAI is now Conduit: what changed, and the alternatives worth a look (2026)

HostAI rebranded to Conduit in 2025 and broadened beyond short-term rentals. Who Conduit suits now, what it costs, and the alternatives by portfolio size and PMS.

Updated 8 min readBy the EasilyData teamGuestyHostaway

Last checked: 14 October 2026

If you search for HostAI today, you'll land on a company called Conduit. That's not a mistake. HostAI renamed itself in 2025, and the product many short-term rental operators knew is still there under a new name, with a wider set of customers in mind.

To add to the confusion, a different company now uses the hostAI name for something else entirely. This guide untangles the two, sets out who Conduit fits today, and walks through the alternatives by situation.

What happened to HostAI

HostAI went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2024 batch as an AI guest messaging tool for short-term rentals. In 2025 it rebranded to Conduit. Its Y Combinator page now resolves to Conduit, and Conduit's own site says plainly that "HostAI is now Conduit".

Around the same time, in April 2025, it raised a seed round of about $3.1 million led by Pi Labs, with Y Combinator taking part. The rebrand came with a change of direction. The agency behind the new identity describes it as a move from a short-term rental focus to a brand that could serve the wider real estate and property management industry. Conduit now also sells to hotels and calls itself "AI agents for hospitality".

The other hostAI

A separate company called hostAI (gethostai.com) is unrelated to Conduit. It works on direct bookings and marketing for hosts, with products such as hostMail, hostFront and hostDistro, and was named in PhocusWire's Hot 25 travel startups for 2026. It doesn't do guest messaging.

Software directories haven't caught up. Capterra and GetApp still carry a "HostAI" listing that appears to be the old messaging product, and it isn't clear which company it describes today. If you're reading reviews, check which one they're about.

Who Conduit suits now

Conduit is one of the most complete action-taking tools in the category. Its strengths, from its own documentation:

  • Voice. A voice agent answers phone calls and can generate an access code from the PMS during the call.
  • Write-back. It can make changes in the PMS, such as rescheduling cleans, creating work orders and issuing vendor door codes.
  • One inbox. Airbnb and other channels, SMS, WhatsApp, email, Instagram, web chat and phone in one place.
  • Multi-brand set-up for operators running more than one brand.
  • Public pricing, which is rare in this market.

At the time of writing, Conduit's pricing page lists Messaging at $18 per unit per month (with 40 credits and voice AI included), Guest at $30, Guest and Devices at $36, and Full Suite at $48. A Startup plan costs $899 a month flat for up to 25 units.

The trade-offs are worth weighing too. Usage is metered in credits and overage pricing isn't published, so costs can be harder to predict. A typical rollout takes four to eight weeks. For a small team that mainly wants quick, accurate replies, it may be more system than they need. Conduit's own case studies report automation from 40% in a customer's first month up to 96 of 100 messages for another, but these are vendor figures without a published method, as is the case across the category.

It's also worth knowing that a lot of the comparison content you'll find about this market is published by Conduit itself, including several of the "best AI tools" lists. That isn't unusual (vendors write most of these pages), but it's worth reading with that in mind.

Alternatives by situation

If you'd rather stay with your PMS's AI

The biggest change since HostAI launched is that the PMS platforms now ship their own autopilots. If your main need is answering routine questions, this is the cheapest place to start.

  • Guesty ReplyAI Autopilot (launched 22 April 2026) adds a confidence threshold, category controls, active hours and task creation. Listed as "freemium", with Autopilot pricing not published. It's new, and there's no independent evidence on it yet.
  • Hostaway AI Auto-Reply (generally available around October 2025) starts in draft mode and goes live topic by topic. Included at no extra cost "for a limited time".
  • Hospitable offers autopilot on its top Mogul plan. It deliberately won't answer availability, early check-in, date changes or refunds, which is safer but leaves more for your team.
  • OwnerRez Rezzy costs $9 per property per month and can run on schedules, for example on its own overnight and as drafts in the day. It's new and has no independent reviews yet.

The catch with all of these is that they stop at or near the reply. We compare the two biggest in Guesty ReplyAI vs Hostaway AI Auto-Reply.

If you run a small portfolio

  • HostBuddy AI integrates with around 20 PMS platforms and covers replies, some upsells and issue flagging. Several 2026 reviews give prices of roughly $7 to $12 per property per month, though sources conflict, so check. The vendor claims over 95% automation for top hosts, while one independent review estimates 40% to 50%. Capterra reviewers mention wrong guest details and replies that repeat after staff have answered.
  • ProhostAI has a free Starter plan (with a 3% upsell commission) and Pro at $15 per listing per month with a $30 minimum. It integrates with OwnerRez, Track and others. Reviews flag weaker data export, and it was founded in 2024, so the track record is short.

If upsells are the priority

  • Besty AI has a strong conversational upsell engine for orphan nights, early and late stays and extras, plus workflows and a guest portal. Pricing isn't public, though one third party reported $12 per listing for small portfolios, falling at volume. It raised a $3.75 million seed in July 2026 and reports 30,000 properties. Capterra reviewers praise the upsell return but say messages sometimes feel impersonal or occasionally wrong, and mention flaky integrations.
  • Enso Connect combines a guest app and guidebook with upsells, ID verification and smart locks, across 60,000+ listings by its own count. Pricing is by quote. Third-party estimates suggest around $9 to $16 per listing plus a 5% upsell commission, which we haven't verified. Its autopilot was labelled beta in its help centre according to one report, and a Trustpilot reviewer complained about billing after a cancellation request under a 60-day notice clause.

If you're on Track, Streamline or another US enterprise PMS

We found no native AI guest messaging from Track or Streamline, so third-party tools fill that gap.

  • Akia is hotel-first but works with Track (as an official partner), Streamline and Escapia. It offers voice that can take payments on a call. Pricing isn't published. Reviews are few and mixed, including complaints about contract cancellation.
  • Enso Connect and Besty AI (above) also integrate with Track and Streamline.

If you're on Guesty or Hostaway and want more than replies

  • Boom sells an agent layer called BAM that sits on top of Guesty, Hostaway, Track and others, with agents for messaging, sales, reviews and operations. BAM has a 14-day trial with credits, and its apps start at $10 per unit per month. It raised $12.7 million in October 2025. It has very few independent reviews, and its full product is a PMS replacement, which is a much bigger decision.
  • Aeve is an autopilot for Guesty and Hostaway that handles replies, coordinates with cleaners and maintenance (including over WhatsApp) and offers upsells. It aims for 70% to 80% of guest operations on full autopilot by design, handing refunds and complaints to the team, and also plans staff days and scores every stay. It has no voice product, integrates only with Guesty and Hostaway, and pricing isn't published. One competitor reported a 12-month contract, which we've included because the source is a rival.

If you'd rather build it yourself

With a developer and well-documented properties, you can build a working guest messaging autopilot on the Guesty or Hostaway API. It gives you full control over policies and data, at the cost of ongoing maintenance. Our step-by-step guide covers the architecture, guardrails and costs.

At a glance

OptionBest forVoicePublic pricingMain drawback
ConduitMid-size to large and multi-brand operatorsYes$18 to $48 per unit, $899 StartupCredit metering, 4 to 8 week rollout
Guesty ReplyAI AutopilotGuesty users starting outNo"Freemium", Autopilot not publishedNew, stops near the reply
Hostaway AI Auto-ReplyHostaway users starting outNoIncluded "for a limited time"Stops near the reply
HospitableAirbnb-first small hostsNoMogul plan, about $99 a month (reported)Won't touch many valuable requests
OwnerRez RezzyOwnerRez usersNo$9 per propertyNew, untested
HostBuddy AISmall portfoliosNoAbout $7 to $12 per property (reported)Reported accuracy issues
ProhostAISmall portfoliosNoFree Starter, $15 ProShort track record
Besty AIUpsell-led mid-size operatorsVoIP onlyNot publicImpersonal replies reported
Enso ConnectGuest app plus upsellsNoQuoteContract terms, autopilot maturity
AkiaHotels and US enterprise rentalsYesQuoteFew, mixed reviews
Boom (BAM)Agent layer on an existing PMSNoFrom $10 per unit for appsFew independent reviews
AeveGuesty and Hostaway operatorsNoNot publicTwo PMS integrations, no voice
Build your ownTeams with a developerOptionalYour costsYou maintain it

Prices as listed by vendors or reported by third parties on 14 October 2026. Automation figures throughout are vendor-reported and not comparable without a shared method. See how to measure an automation rate.

How to choose

Whichever way you lean, test on your own conversations before you sign. Ask each vendor what they count as automated, run them on a sample of real guest messages, and note what happened after each reply as well as the reply itself. The ten questions in our buyer's guide apply to every option above, and AI guest messaging software compared gives the wider picture.

Sources

Questions operators ask

Is HostAI the same as Conduit?+

Yes. The AI guest messaging company called HostAI (Y Combinator W24) rebranded to Conduit in 2025, and its old domain now redirects to conduit.ai. A separate, unrelated company called hostAI (gethostai.com) works on direct bookings and marketing, not guest messaging.

How much does Conduit cost?+

At the time of writing, Conduit's pricing page lists plans from $18 to $48 per unit per month, and a Startup plan at $899 a month flat for up to 25 units. Usage is metered in credits, and overage pricing isn't published.

What is the best alternative to Conduit for a small portfolio?+

Start with the AI built into your PMS, which is often free or cheap. If you need more, lighter tools such as HostBuddy or ProhostAI are priced for small portfolios, though independent reviews of both are thin.

Does Conduit work with Guesty and Hostaway?+

Yes. Conduit lists integrations with Guesty, Hostaway, Lodgify, Track, Streamline, Hostfully and others.

Can I build my own alternative to Conduit?+

You can, if you have a developer and a well-documented portfolio. Both Guesty and Hostaway have APIs that let you receive guest messages and send replies. We've written a step-by-step guide to building one.

Keep reading

The basics

What an AI autopilot for short-term rentals actually does

Read →

Agentic AI

Agentic AI for short-term rental operations: how AI agents handle a guest request from start to finish

Read →

Guesty

AI guest messaging on Guesty: ReplyAI, Marketplace apps and how to choose

Read →