BetterSTR puts a guest upsell shop inside the guidebook your guests already open, plus the in-room tablet and the TV. Flat 3% platform fee with Premium, no monthly subscription, and every sale is paid straight to your own Stripe account.
The Host Co is a stand-alone guest store paid for by commission or subscription. BetterSTR builds the store into the guest experience you already run, at a flat 3%. The Host Co's free tier takes 7% of every sale, and lifting that means $18 to $250 a month depending on plan and volume. BetterSTR charges no monthly fee: 3% per sale with the Premium guide (7% on the free guide), payments through your own Stripe via Stripe Connect, and your products appear in the guidebook, on the in-room tablet and on the TV welcome screen.
Guests are happy to pay for convenience: early check-in, late check-out, a mid-stay linen change, firewood, a welcome basket, EV charging. An upsell store puts those offers where guests will actually see them, takes payment by card, and notifies you to fulfil the order. The difference between products is where the store lives, and who takes a cut.
A store inside your guest platform:
A stand-alone guest store:
| Feature | BetterSTR Best Value | The Host Co |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | ✓ None | $0 to $250/month depending on plan |
| Commission per sale | ✓ Flat 3% with Premium (7% on the free guide) | 7% on the free tier; 0% up to a monthly cap on paid plans |
| Guest-side fees | ✓ None added by BetterSTR | Convenience fee added at checkout |
| Where guests see it | ✓ Guidebook, in-room tablet and TV | Stand-alone store link |
| Payments | ✓ Your own Stripe account, instant payouts | Via The Host Co |
| Security deposits | ✓ Included, no platform fee | ✗ Not the focus |
| Request funds from guests | ✓ Yes | ✗ |
| Curated local vendor marketplace | ✗ You list your own products | ✓ In 50+ US cities |
| Part of a full guest platform | ✓ Free guidebook, WiFi, tablet, TV, noise monitoring | Upsell product |
Platform fee at 3%: $15
Monthly subscription: $0
You keep $485 before Stripe fees
Free tier at 7%: $35, plus guest convenience fees
Or Pro: $18/month subscription
You keep $465, or $482 on Pro
The gap is not enormous on any single month, and that is the point: with BetterSTR there is no subscription to outgrow and no commission tier to manage. It is 3% when you sell something and nothing when you don't, so it works just as well for the host selling one welcome basket a month as for the one doing thousands in early check-ins.
A stand-alone store needs guests to click a link at the right moment. BetterSTR's upsells sit inside the digital guidebook guests open for the WiFi code and door instructions, on the in-room tablet on the kitchen bench, and on the TV welcome screen they turn on the first evening. Same catalogue, three screens, no extra link to send.
Want the whole stack on one bill? BetterSTR Simple is $15 a property a month for the premium guidebook with the 3% upsell rate, WiFi marketing, the tablet with noise monitoring and the TV welcome screen.
Credit where it is due: The Host Co has built a curated marketplace of local vendors, chefs, massages, tours, in 50 or so US cities, and hosts earn a small commission when guests book them. If that marketplace is the main thing you want and your properties are in those cities, it is a genuine point of difference. BetterSTR's upsell shop is your own catalogue: your products, your services, your local partners, at your prices, with the margin staying yours.
Add early check-in, welcome baskets or EV charging to your guidebook in minutes. Flat 3% with Premium, no subscription.
Start free, no card required Explore upsell productsYes. BetterSTR gives you a guest upsell store with card payments, instant notifications and refunds, shown in your guidebook, on the in-room tablet and on the TV. There is no monthly fee: the platform fee is a flat 3% per sale with the Premium guide, or 7% on the free guide, and payments go straight to your own Stripe account.
The Host Co's free tier takes 7% of every sale and adds a convenience fee to the guest's checkout, with paid plans from $18 to $250 a month to reduce or remove the commission. BetterSTR has no subscription at any volume: 3% per sale with Premium, and no guest-side fee added to your prices. Stripe's standard processing fees apply in both cases.
No. Upsells work on the free guidebook at a 7% platform fee. The 3% rate comes with the Premium guide, which is included in BetterSTR Simple at $15 a property a month alongside the WiFi marketing, tablet and TV.
Straight to you. BetterSTR uses Stripe Connect, so guests pay by card and the money lands in your own Stripe account with instant payout support. BetterSTR never holds your funds.
Anything you can fulfil: early check-in and late check-out, mid-stay cleans and linen changes, welcome baskets, firewood, EV charging, baby equipment, local experiences you arrange yourself. You set the prices and keep the margin.
If you want guest upsells without a subscription or a 7% cut, BetterSTR is the straightforward choice. The Host Co is a polished stand-alone store with a US local-services marketplace; BetterSTR builds the store into the guidebook, tablet and TV your guests already use, at a flat 3% with Premium and payments to your own Stripe. See the full upsell product page, or get everything, guidebook, WiFi, tablet, TV, noise monitoring and the 3% upsell rate, with BetterSTR Simple at $15 a property a month.