Which Airbnb guidebook actually gets read in 2026?
You're comparing Touch Stay, Hostfully and Zugrow because you know a digital guidebook saves you hours of repetitive messages. But here's the problem: most guidebooks sit unopened because guests can't find them, can't load them without WiFi, or can't be bothered with another login. The best guidebook isn't the one with the most features. It's the one guests actually open.
This comparison ranks Touch Stay, Hostfully and Zugrow on the factors that drive real guest engagement: mobile UX, offline access, WiFi-code embedding and setup speed. We've kept the comparison factual and flagged where each tool fits best.
Transparency: Zugrow publishes this blog, and Zugrow is one of the tools compared below. We've kept the comparison factual and flagged where rivals are the better fit, but read it with that context in mind.
1. Zugrow Digital Guidebook: Best for UK self-managing hosts who want a 2-minute setup
Best for: Self-managing UK hosts who want a guidebook live in under five minutes, with built-in upsells and zero guest friction.
Price: £2.95/month billed annually, or £3.25 month to month, with a 2-week free trial. Cancel anytime.
Zugrow's digital guidebook is AI-generated from your Airbnb listing URL. Paste the link, click generate, and the system pulls your property details, house rules, check-in time and neighbourhood. The guidebook goes live with a shareable link you can drop into your Airbnb welcome message or check-in instructions.
What makes Zugrow's guidebook different
- Offline-first design: The guidebook loads without WiFi. Guests arriving with a UK SIM but no roaming data can still open your house rules and emergency contacts on the train or in the car park.
- WiFi code auto-embeds: Add your network name and password once in the host portal. The guidebook displays it inline, so guests never have to message you at 11pm asking for the code.
- Built-in Stripe upsells: Offer early check-in, late checkout or airport transfers inside the guidebook. Guests pay via Stripe (1% fee). The payment link is embedded, so there's no friction.
- Google Places local recommendations: The AI pulls cafés, pubs and attractions near your property. You can edit or replace them, but the baseline is already there.
- Host editing portal: Change the check-out time, add a new house rule or swap a restaurant recommendation. Edits save instantly. No need to regenerate the entire guide.
Where Zugrow fits best
Zugrow is purpose-built for UK hosts who self-manage one to five properties and want a low-cost, low-effort guidebook that drives revenue through upsells. If you're already using Zugrow's free listing score to benchmark your titles and photos, the guidebook slots straight into the same workflow.
It's not the right fit if you manage a portfolio of 20+ properties and need white-label branding. For that, Hostfully or Touch Stay may be worth the higher price. If you want the guidebook inside a channel manager, Zugrow's Max plan includes it for every property, alongside channel sync for Airbnb and Booking.com (new hosts join a waitlist and are onboarded in waves).
2. Touch Stay: Best for hosts who want a polished, branded guidebook and don't mind the setup time
Best for: Hosts who want full design control and a polished, on-brand experience.
Price: Monthly subscription (check their site for current pricing).
Touch Stay is the most visually flexible option. You build the guidebook manually using a drag-and-drop editor, choosing colours, fonts and cover images. The result looks professional and custom. Guests download a native app or access the guidebook via a web link.
Pros
- Offline access: Guests can download the guidebook in the Touch Stay app and read it without WiFi. This is critical if your property has patchy signal or international guests with no roaming data.
- Design control: You can match the guidebook to your property's branding. If you run a boutique holiday let with a strong visual identity, Touch Stay gives you the canvas.
- Multi-property support: Duplicate guidebooks and tweak them for each property. Useful if you manage similar listings in the same town.
Cons
- Setup time: Building the guidebook from scratch takes an hour or more. You're writing every section, uploading every photo and formatting every page.
- No WiFi auto-embed: You add the WiFi details manually as text or an image. Guests still get the info, but it's not structured as a one-tap copy field.
- No built-in upsells: If you want to offer early check-in or late checkout, you'll need to link to an external payment tool or handle it manually.
Touch Stay is the right choice if branding and design flexibility matter more than speed, and you're comfortable investing the setup time. For a deeper comparison, read Touch Stay vs Zugrow Guidebook: Which Airbnb Welcome Book Wins?
3. Hostfully: Best for property managers who need guidebooks bundled with a channel manager
Best for: Property managers with 10+ listings who need a full booking and operations suite.
Price: Bundled with Hostfully's property management platform (pricing varies by tier).
Hostfully is a full property-management system that includes a guidebook builder. If you're already using Hostfully to manage bookings, calendar sync and team tasks, the guidebook is a natural add-on. You build it manually, section by section, and guests access it via a web link.
Pros
- WiFi code auto-embed: Hostfully pulls your WiFi details from the property profile and displays them in the guidebook. Guests can tap to copy. It's one of the few platforms that handles this natively.
- Deep integrations: The guidebook links to your booking system, so guests see their confirmed check-in time and reservation details. Useful for property managers juggling multiple channels.
- Team collaboration: Multiple team members can edit the guidebook. Good for co-hosting or VA support.
Cons
- No offline access: The guidebook requires an internet connection to load. If your guest arrives with no data or your WiFi is down, they can't open it. This is the biggest drawback.
- Manual build: Like Touch Stay, you're building from scratch. Expect to spend 60-90 minutes per property.
- Bundled pricing: You can't buy the guidebook standalone. You're paying for the full Hostfully suite, which makes sense if you need channel management but is overkill if you only want a guidebook.
Hostfully is the right fit if you already use or plan to use a full property-management platform, and you can tolerate the lack of offline access. For a side-by-side breakdown, see Hostfully vs Zugrow: Which Airbnb Guidebook Is Better?
Why offline access and WiFi-code embedding matter more than you think
Guest engagement with your guidebook collapses the moment they hit friction. The two most common friction points are no internet connection when they arrive and hunting for the WiFi password.
Offline access solves the first problem. A guest arriving by train or car often has no mobile signal in rural areas or no roaming data abroad. If the guidebook requires an active internet connection to load, they'll give up and message you instead. An offline-ready guidebook loads from cache or downloads in advance, so the guest sees your house rules and emergency contacts the moment they need them.
WiFi-code embedding solves the second problem. When the guidebook displays your network name and password inline, with a tap-to-copy button, the guest connects in seconds. When the WiFi details are buried in a PDF attachment or worse, absent entirely, you'll get a message at 10pm asking for the code. Zugrow and Hostfully both handle this natively. Touch Stay requires manual formatting.
For a step-by-step walkthrough of what makes a guidebook genuinely useful, see Airbnb Digital Guidebook: The 5-Minute Setup That Makes Guests Love You.
Built-in upsells: The revenue feature nobody else offers
Zugrow's guidebook includes Stripe-powered upsell links baked into the interface. You can offer early check-in, late checkout, airport transfers or champagne-on-arrival. The guest clicks, pays via Stripe (1% fee), and you receive a notification. No external booking forms, no PayPal links, no manual invoicing.
Touch Stay and Hostfully don't offer this. If you want to sell upsells, you'll need to link out to a third-party payment tool, which adds friction and lowers conversion. The integrated Stripe flow inside Zugrow's guidebook keeps the guest inside one interface, which makes them far more likely to add on a service.
This feature alone can cover the £2.95/month cost. One early check-in at £15-20 covers several months of the guidebook.
Setup speed: 2 minutes vs 90 minutes
Zugrow's AI-generated guidebook goes live in under two minutes. Paste your Airbnb listing URL, click generate, and the system populates your house rules, check-in instructions, property amenities and local recommendations. You review, make any edits, and share the link.
Touch Stay and Hostfully both require manual builds. You're writing every section from scratch, uploading photos, formatting text and testing the layout. Budget 60-90 minutes per property. If you manage one listing, that's a one-time investment. If you manage five, it's a full workday.
The tradeoff is design control. Touch Stay gives you pixel-level customisation. Zugrow prioritises speed and gives you a clean, functional layout with light editing. Choose the tool that matches your priority: time saved or branding perfection.
Which guidebook should UK hosts choose in 2026?
Choose Zugrow if you self-manage one to five properties, want a guidebook live in under five minutes, need offline access and WiFi-code embedding, and want to monetise upsells without external tools. The 2-week free trial gives you time to test guest engagement before you commit.
Choose Touch Stay if branding and design control matter more than speed, you have the time to build a custom guidebook, and offline access is non-negotiable. It's a strong option for boutique holiday lets with a distinctive visual identity. Read our full Touch Stay vs Zugrow comparison for UK hosts for a deeper dive.
Choose Hostfully if you manage 10+ properties, need a full property-management platform, and the WiFi auto-embed is worth the lack of offline access. It's not a standalone guidebook, it's part of a larger operations stack.
For a broader view of all the options, see our Top 5 Digital Guidebooks for Airbnb Hosts in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zugrow cheaper than Touch Stay or Hostfully?
Zugrow costs £2.95/month with a 2-week free trial. Touch Stay operates on a monthly subscription model, and Hostfully bundles its guidebook with a full property-management platform. For standalone guidebook use, Zugrow is the lowest-cost option.
Which guidebook works offline?
Zugrow and Touch Stay both offer offline access. Guests can load the guidebook without an internet connection, which is critical for rural properties or international guests with no roaming data. Hostfully requires an active internet connection to load.
Can I embed my WiFi password in the guidebook?
Zugrow and Hostfully both auto-embed your WiFi network name and password with a tap-to-copy button. Touch Stay requires you to add the WiFi details manually as text or an image.
Which guidebook lets me sell upsells like early check-in?
Zugrow is the only guidebook with built-in Stripe upsells. Guests can pay for early check-in, late checkout or other extras inside the guidebook interface. Touch Stay and Hostfully don't offer integrated payment links.
How long does it take to set up each guidebook?
Zugrow's AI-generated guidebook goes live in about two minutes. Touch Stay and Hostfully both require manual builds, taking 60-90 minutes per property. The tradeoff is design control: Touch Stay gives you full customisation, while Zugrow prioritises speed.
Which is the best Airbnb guidebook for UK hosts in 2026?
For self-managing UK hosts, Zugrow offers the best balance of speed, offline access, WiFi embedding and built-in upsells at £2.95/month. Touch Stay suits hosts who need branding control and are willing to invest setup time. Hostfully is ideal for property managers who need a full operations platform. Try Zugrow's 2-week free trial to see which fits your workflow.
Final recommendation: Start with the free trial
The best guidebook is the one your guests actually open. That means offline access, WiFi-code embedding, mobile-first design and zero setup friction. Zugrow's digital guidebook ticks all four boxes and costs less than a pint a month.
Take the 2-week free trial. Generate your guidebook from your Airbnb URL, share the link with your next guest, and check the open rate. If it saves you even one WiFi-code message, it's paid for itself. If the built-in upsells drive one early check-in, that covers several months.
Cancel anytime if it's not the right fit. But if you're comparing Touch Stay, Hostfully and Zugrow right now, the fastest way to decide is to try the tool that goes live in two minutes.