Conduit (HostAI) Alternatives for Vacation Rentals in 2025

Short-term rental teams evaluating Conduit (formerly HostAI) often want two things Conduit doesn’t lead with today: a hospitality-specific guest journey (guest app/guidebook + upsells) and deep OTA/PMS workflows inside the inbox. This guide compares Conduit with hospitality-focused guest communication options so you can pick what fits for managing 20-500+ listings.

At a glance

HostAI rebranded to Conduit in 2025 and now positions itself as an AI agent platform for support & sales across industries with a unified inbox. Public pricing shows a “Growth” plan at $500/month.

TL;DR Best Conduit (HostAI) alternatives by use-case

• Booking-to-Checkout guest journey + AI unified inbox for vacation rentals & boutique hotels with quick return on investment: Enso Connect
  AI-powered unified messaging + Boarding Pass guest app + Upsells/Experiences + digital guidebooks, built for hospitality professionals, API integrated with property management software (PMS) and online travel agencies (OTAs), like Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com.
  
  

• PMS-first inbox with AI reply assist: Guesty (ReplyAI), Hostaway (AI Suggested Replies) for fast responses inside the PMS inbox.
  
  

• Hotel-leaning omnichannel suites: Duve (omnichannel, WhatsApp templates & translations), HiJiffy (WhatsApp campaigns and automations).

• Lightweight chatbots (smaller portfolios): Yada AI, BestyAI, GuestGuru (AI replies, some upsell features; fewer deep journey components).

  
  Conduit Alternatives Comparison Table
  
  

  Product	Hospitality focus	OTA inbox	Guest app / guidebook	Upsells / fees	WhatsApp/SMS	Pricing notes	Best for
  Enso Connect	Vacation rentals & boutiques	Unified Inbox	Boarding Pass guest app + guidebooks	Upsells & Experiences	WhatsApp/SMS supported	Tiered. Check out tailored Enso Connect pricing here	Operators wanting context-aware AI inbox + guest journey + revenue tools in one. Unlocking scale.
  Conduit (HostAI)	Now general-purpose support/sales	Unified inbox (multi-channel)	Not marketed as guest app/guidebook	Not a core positioning	Multi-channel support focus	Growth $500/mo	Cross-industry AI support agents; may lack STR-specific guest-journey pieces.
  Duve	Hotels & STRs	Omnichannel hub	Web app & flows	Upsell flows	WhatsApp templates & translations	Tiered	Hotel-leaning omnichannel + WhatsApp.
  HiJiffy	Hotels	Omnichannel hub	Virtual concierge	WhatsApp upsell campaigns	WhatsApp	Tiered	Hotel chains pushing WhatsApp campaigns.
  Yada AI	STR chatbots	—	—	Some upsell/marketing	Multi-channel	Tiered	Hosts wanting quick and basic AI replies.
  Besty AI	STR chatbots	—	—	Basic upsell features	—	Tiered	Chatbot with upsell add-ons.
  GuestGuru	STR chatbots	—	—	Light automations	—	Tiered	Basic AI replies for Airbnb hosts.

Conduit (formerly HostAI): Where It Fits in 2025?

Conduit evolved from HostAI and now markets itself as a general-purpose AI agent platform with a unified inbox that serves support & sales teams across industries. Key features include automating customer interactions and handling phone calls with Voice AI.
If you want STR-specific guest-journey components (verification, guest app, upsells, check-in/out playbooks), those aren’t Conduit’s core message today.

Why Consider Alternatives to Conduit?

With the growing popularity of the service, there is a growing disappointment in the capabilities of AI, especially in an AI chatbot. 

Here are the limitations that were named by the Conduit users, looking to switch to a different guest messaging solution: 

"Sometimes it's great and sometimes it's terrible. We spent a bunch of time trying to train the model for each of the properties, we provided recommended responses for recommendations. In one area it does great. In other areas, it hallucinates all the time and starts making recommendations of things hundreds of miles away."

Inconsistent performance

Users report that Conduit's performance is variable, sometimes performing well and other times poorly.

AI training difficulties

Despite investing significant time in training the model for each property and providing recommended responses, the results are inconsistent.

Hallucinations

In some instances, the AI generates inaccurate information, such as recommending places hundreds of miles away from the actual property location.

Lack of reliability

Users mentioned the need to switch from automatic responses to manual approval of each message. They can't rely on the automated service because of the frequent inaccuracies in the AI-generated content.

Integration issues

Conduit is not fully integrated with the user's workflow, requiring switching between PMS and Conduit's interface, which hampers efficiency.

Cost concerns

Users consider the service to be relatively expensive, given its limitations.

Time investment

The need for extensive training and ongoing manual oversight requires a significant time commitment to use the service effectively.

What Vacation Rental Operators Need From AI Messaging in 2025?

[If not fully met by Conduit, can other services meet these needs?]

If you manage 20–500+ listings, the right AI tool must do more than chat. It should reduce workload, protect brand voice, and unlock revenue, all while playing nicely with your PMS and OTA inboxes. Use this checklist to evaluate Conduit (HostAI), Enso Connect, and any other option.

The 7 must-haves

1) Fast, accurate replies (not just fast)

Why it matters: Faster response times are important, but speed without accuracy creates rework and bad reviews.

How to vet vendors:

• Can the AI cite its sources (guidebook, listing data, policies) or show “source notes”?

• Do they support Knowledge Base scoping (per property, brand, language)?

• Run a “trick questions” test: address codes, unique house rules, fee policies, edge-case local info.
  What great looks like: Response times under 60s on Frequently Asked Questions; low correction rate; automatic handoffs on low-confidence answers.

2) 24/7 coverage with quality controls

Why it matters: Nights, weekends, and overlapping time zones are where automation pays off.

How to vet vendors:

• Confidence thresholds + fallbacks to draft-only or human review.

• Night mode/holiday rules; escalation playbooks.
  
  What great looks like: High after-hours resolution without a spike in “please clarify” loops.

3) Lower workload, not more tools

Why it matters: Your team needs fewer tabs, not more.

How to vet vendors:

• Unified inbox across Airbnb, Booking.com, email, SMS, WhatsApp.

• Saved replies, AI-drafts, bulk actions, routing, tags, SLAs.
  
  What great looks like: Measurable drop in average handling time and message volume per listing.

4) Multilingual that respects context

Why it matters: International travelers expect native-quality messaging.

How to vet vendors:

• Per-listing language defaults; human-review options for nuanced cases.

• Support for right-to-left and diacritics; channel-safe character handling.
  
  What great looks like: High satisfaction for non-English guests with minimal agent edits.

5) Scale and governance

Why it matters: As you grow, mistakes get expensive.

How to vet vendors:

• Roles/permissions, audit trails, versioned templates, per-brand controls.

• Property-level toggles for features (autoresponders, payment links, verification).
  
  What great looks like: Clear logs of what the AI sent, why, and which data it used.

6) Revenue impact (upsells & fees)

Why it matters: Messaging is where intent appears. Capture it.

How to vet vendors:

• Native upsells/experiences, fee flows, payment links (and Apple/Google Pay where relevant).

• Triggering offers from guest intent (“early check-in?”, “extra towels?”, “crib?”) with rules/eligibility.
  
  What great looks like: Incremental revenue per stay increases while support volume decreases.

7) Data privacy & OTA compliance

Why it matters: You handle PII, payments, and OTA rules.

How to vet vendors:

• Data residency options, retention controls, PII redaction, PCI-aware flows.

• OTA-safe templates and channel-appropriate links.

Criteria for selecting an AI messaging tool that works for your vacation rental or boutique hotel 

Here are several important criteria to consider when selection an auto-responder:

Conversational ability

Advanced natural language processing (NLP) is crucial for comprehending and responding to guest messages with human-like understanding. This technology should deftly handle diverse languages, accents, and colloquial expressions. At Enso Connect, we prioritize cutting-edge technology, partnering with industry leaders like OpenAI and leveraging their ChatGPT models. Our current integration uses the state-of-the-art ChatGPT-4o model, and we're committed to adopting future iterations as they become available. This approach ensures our AI communication remains at the forefront of linguistic capabilities, providing guests with seamless, natural interactions across cultural and language barriers.

Customization

The AI should be customizable to match your brand's tone of voice and communication style. This includes visual elements as well as the ability to input brand-specific content.

Knowledge base

Evaluate the tool's knowledge repository and its ability to provide accurate, up-to-date information to users. It should be capable of comprehending and addressing complex queries.

Integration capabilities

Ensure the tool can integrate with your existing systems and workflows. Look for a wide suite of integrations and ask about future integration plans.

Omnichannel support

The AI should be able to provide a consistent experience across multiple channels like web, mobile, social media, and messaging platforms.

Learning and analytics

Look for tools that offer robust analytics and reporting features. This includes usage analytics, failed request tracking, and user feedback mechanisms to help improve the AI over time.

Security and privacy

Consider where the NLP processing occurs and ensure it meets your organization's security requirements, especially if handling sensitive information.

Scalability

The tool should be able to handle increasing volumes of conversations as your needs grow.

Ease of use

Consider the user interface and how easy it is for your team to manage and update the AI tool.

Customer support

Look for providers that offer dedicated customer success managers to help with implementation, optimization, and ongoing support.

Cost and ROI

Evaluate the total cost of ownership and potential return on investment. Consider both the initial investment and long-term value.

AI capabilities

Assess the tool's ability to handle complex conversations, skip unnecessary questions based on existing user information, and provide personalized responses.

We selected five alternatives to HostAI, evaluating them on specific criteria to help you find the best fit. Consider your unique needs and priorities when assessing each criterion's importance.

Conclusion 

After reviewing the alternatives to Conduit, including Enso Connect, BestyAI, YadaAI, and Guest Guru, it's clear that each platform offers unique features and benefits. However, Enso Connect stands out due to its comprehensive suite of tools, including an AI unified inbox, Boarding Pass guest app, combining all stages of guest journey, smart automation workflows, and robust integration capabilities.

By choosing Enso Connect, you can effectively streamline guest communication, maintain a personalized touch, and ultimately enhance the guest experience while driving business growth. This platform’s ability to centralize data, automate responses, and provide actionable insights makes it a valuable investment for any short-term rental business looking to optimize operations and increase guest satisfaction.