Comparison Guide
The Properly Alternative for Independent STR Hosts
Properly was one of the first great cleaning-checklist tools for Airbnb hosts. Vacasa acquired it in 2018. Casago acquired Vacasa in April 2025. That is two corporate layers between the product and its original team — and current users are noticing. Here is an honest look at alternatives, including when Properly is still the right choice.
Full disclosure: PrepBnB is our product, so we are biased. This guide is written for hosts who are actively evaluating a switch — we will tell you the places Properly still wins and be concrete about what you gain and lose by moving.
Why hosts are looking for a Properly alternative in 2026
Three things come up repeatedly in reviews and forum discussions:
- Support responsiveness has dropped.Recent Capterra reviewers report long delays on support tickets — language like “the support evaporated” shows up more than once. For a mission-critical workflow, that is a problem.
- The roadmap has gone quiet. After two acquisitions, public updates are infrequent. If you have been a Properly user since 2019 or 2020, you have probably noticed the pace of new features slow down.
- Pricing does not fit small hosts. Properly was originally priced for individual hosts; current pricing skews toward property managers. Small operators report it feels expensive for what they use.
Where Properly still wins
Properly's original moat — and it is a real one — is the visual, photo-anchored checklist. You can add a reference photo to every task so your cleaner sees exactly how the bed should look made, or how the living room should be staged. For hosts with a specific visual standard, that is powerful.
Properly also has a cleaner marketplace in select metros and direct API integrations with PMS tools like Guesty and Hostaway. If you need either of those, Properly and Breezeway are your serious options — PrepBnB syncs via iCal (works everywhere) but does not have those direct integrations.
PrepBnB vs. Properly — feature comparison
| Feature | PrepBnB | Properly |
|---|---|---|
| iCal auto-sync (Airbnb/VRBO) | ||
| AI-generated checklists from listing details | ||
| Visual photo-anchored checklist builder | ||
| PMS integrations (Guesty/Hostaway direct API) | ||
| Cleaner marketplace | ||
| No cleaner app install required | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Founder-run, shipping weekly |
full support · partial or conditional · not supported.
The biggest workflow difference: how checklists get built
Properly's checklists are hand-built. You write every task, attach a reference photo, set ordering, and do this per property. For a single meticulously-staged rental, that is worth the effort. For a host with 2–5 properties, it is hours of setup.
PrepBnB generates a room-by-room checklist from your listing's beds, baths, and amenities automatically. The first pass is ready in seconds; you tweak what does not fit. If you have five properties, that is five minutes instead of five hours. It is also the first AI-native checklist workflow in the category.
If visual reference photos on every single task are non-negotiable for you, Properly is still the better tool. If you want speed and a working checklist in minutes, PrepBnB wins.
Who should switch from Properly to PrepBnB
Yes, switch if: you are an independent host with 1–5 properties, you have been frustrated by support response times, you do not need PMS API integrations, and you would rather spend 5 minutes than 5 hours setting up a checklist.
Stay on Properly if: you run a property management company with deep Guesty or Hostaway integrations, you rely on their cleaner marketplace, or the visual photo-per-task checklist is core to your brand standard.
Consider Breezeway instead if: you need full property operations (maintenance, inspections, guest comms) and you manage 15+ units. Breezeway is purpose-built for that scale.
Migration: how hosts actually switch
A realistic sequence for moving from Properly to PrepBnB without losing a beat:
- Sign up for PrepBnB free. Paste your Airbnb iCal URL and the cleaning jobs populate automatically.
- Let PrepBnB generate a checklist for each property. Compare against your Properly checklist and edit anything specific to your setup.
- Add your cleaner's email to your cleaner pool. Next turnover, they get a link. No app install, no account creation.
- Run both tools in parallel for one turnover cycle. If PrepBnB handles it cleanly, cancel Properly at the end of the billing period.
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