How we check and recommend
Last updated Oct 30, 2026
Every number on HostCalmly has a source, a date or a formula you can see. This page explains each one.
Where facts come from
- Software: the vendor's own pricing page or help center, read on the date shown.
- Platforms: Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo help articles, linked where we use them.
- Products: the retailer's product page, for the price, sale unit, pack size, dimensions and care.
- Planning math: our own formulas, written out below. You can change every input.
Each software fact shows its status and links to its source, next to the date we read it. Prices and plans change often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you pay.
Four statuses, never guessed
- Verified: read on the official page on the date shown.
- Conditional: official, but only true under a stated condition, such as a plan level or a setup step.
- Not supported: the vendor says it isn't available.
- Unknown: we couldn't confirm it, so we say so instead of filling the gap. An unknown price is never counted as $0.
How the software check ranks options
The software check always starts with “keep your current setup” and shows at most two alternatives. An option that can't meet one of your must-haves is ruled out, and the reason is listed. The rest are ordered by:
- how many of your needs are verified
- whether the price fits your budget
- how much change you said is fine
Commission is never part of the ranking. The ranking code doesn't read partner data, and an automated test checks that it never does.
What “checked” means for products
We list a small number of products whose pages we could read, with the exact sale unit and pack size, because “set,” “pack” and “each” change the math. “Checked against the product page” means exactly that: we read the listing. We haven't tested these items by hand.
A product appears because it fills a line on the shopping list at a fair price per unit. Partner status plays no part.
How we count linen and supplies
Sheet sets per bed = one on the bed + sets in the wash at the same time + a spare.
- With laundry done at the rental, that's usually 1 + 1 + 1 = 3.
- When linens leave the property, it's usually 1 + 2 + 1 = 4.
Towels follow the same cycles but are counted per guest (bath towels and washcloths) or per bathroom (hand towels and bath mats). Pillows are bought once. Kitchen counts are guests plus two spares. These are planning assumptions you can change in every tool, not an industry standard.
Consumables such as toilet paper, soap and coffee use a planning rate per guest per night, per night, per stay or per bathroom, rounded up to whole units. The par level is that use times the stays you stock for; the reorder point is that use times the stays of buffer you want. Every rate is shown and editable on the restock list.
How we handle money
All amounts are calculated in cents and rounded once. A missing price stays “no price” and is never counted as $0.
The stay profit calculator:
- counts the cleaning fee as income and the cleaner's pay as a cost, each once
- shows exactly what the platform fee is charged on
- lists what's excluded: one-time purchases, income tax, loan principal, depreciation and your own time
How dates work
- Checked is the date we last read the sources behind a page. On software, comparison and picks pages it's the oldest date among the facts or prices the page shows.
- Updated changes only when the page itself changes in a way that matters to you.
- We never change a date just to make a page look fresh.
Recent fact changes
- Nov 1, 2026: Hospitable pricing article moved (old id 13782397 and the properties article 4587931 return 404); now 4596748 and 9171622. Added Mogul ($99 incl. 3, +$30). Annual billing: refundable within 30 days of starting the trial, not "non-refundable" outright. Host has no smart-device integration (was unknown). Paid plans allow integrations incl. PriceLabs. OwnerRez and PriceLabs tiers beyond 3 and 5 homes read from their tables.
- Oct 30, 2026: Initial fact set from official pages. Lodgify plan prices and Touch Stay paid prices left unknown (pages blocked or placeholders).