Does Guesty have a moat?

Guesty has been an Airbnb Preferred Software Partner since 2020 and now holds Preferred+. It is also a Booking.com Premier partner with the SEA badge, Vrbo Elite and Expedia Preferred. Hospitable reports that Airbnb is not accepting new API access requests at this time.

To cross it: A newcomer would have to ride on a connectivity provider such as Rentals United (which Guesty now owns) or wait for Airbnb to reopen its partner program, then earn tiered status over years of performance.

Operators run future reservations, GuestyPay payments, NC-compliant trust accounting, owner statements and automations inside Guesty. Moving mid-season risks double bookings and lost listing history.

To cross it: Build white-glove migration tools that move live reservations, listings and accounting without risk, and offer contract buyouts timed to the off-season.

Guesty has raised $409M across 7 rounds, including a $130M Series F led by KKR in April 2024 at about a $900M valuation and roughly $100M in revenue. It has made 5+ acquisitions since 2022, including Rentals United and Your Porter App (now Guesty Lite).

To cross it: Raise hundreds of millions in growth equity. Hostaway did that with $365M from PSG, which shows it can be done but also that the arms race is already taken.

It has 60+ direct channel connections, Rentals United's 90+ channels, plus PMS add-ons for pricing, locks, cleaning and payments. It also holds SOC 2 and PCI DSS certification, which enterprise buyers check.

To cross it: Build and maintain dozens of OTA and partner integrations one by one, and get SOC 2 and PCI audits done, which takes 1 to 2 years at minimum.