As i’m on holiday right now I thought it only appropriate to write about vacation lettings apps, and two strong contenders in the market: AppBuild.diy vs Touch Stay.
Touch Stay does one job superbly: it turns the tatty printed welcome folder into a slick digital guidebook, so guests find the Wi-Fi code, the check-in steps and the best local pub without messaging you at midnight. Hosts report inbound questions dropping by half or more. So I want to give it full credit before I draw the contrast, because Touch Stay and AppBuild.diy mostly solve different problems. Touch Stay answers the guest’s questions during the stay. AppBuild.diy gives your rental brand its own app that brings guests back.
Touch Stay is a digital guidebook platform for short-term rentals. AppBuild.diy is a no-code builder that lets you create your own branded holiday lettings app, where a welcome guide is one feature alongside booking, loyalty, content and push, and it starts free. Both serve a host, at different moments. Here is my honest take.
The 30-second version
- Touch Stay is a digital guidebook: check-in instructions, house rules, Wi-Fi and local recommendations in a mobile-friendly guide, with an AI guidebook generator, a 24/7 AI chatbot, upsell widgets and guest analytics, on quote-based pricing with a 14-day trial.
- AppBuild.diy is a no-code builder that publishes a native iOS and Android app under your brand, with content, booking, loyalty and unlimited push, a free tier and AI-assisted setup, across 17 business types.
- Pick Touch Stay if your priority is cutting guest questions with a brilliant digital welcome guide.
- Pick AppBuild.diy if you want your own branded app, with booking, loyalty and push that brings guests back, starting free.
- They can work together: Touch Stay for the in-stay guide, AppBuild.diy for the owned app around it.
What Touch Stay does well
Touch Stay is a focused, polished product, and it earns its reputation. Its strengths:
- A genuinely good digital guidebook, replacing the printed folder with check-in steps, house rules, Wi-Fi and curated local tips.
- AI that does the heavy lifting, with a generator that drafts a guidebook from your listing and a chatbot that answers guest questions around the clock.
- Upsell tools, with a widget to sell transfers, welcome packages and experiences, sometimes earning commission on what guests book.
- A measurable result, with hosts reporting a fifty to eighty percent drop in inbound guest enquiries.
If your priority is reducing guest questions and lifting the in-stay experience, Touch Stay does that exceptionally, and AppBuild.diy does not try to out-build it as a dedicated guidebook.
Where AppBuild.diy goes further
Here is the honest read on Touch Stay. The guidebook is excellent, but it is a guide, accessed for one stay, usually through a web link, and it ends roughly when the guest checks out. It is not a native app with your rental brand’s name on the home screen, and it is not built to win the repeat booking or the direct booking that frees you from the platforms’ fees. For a host trying to build a brand and a base of returning guests, that is the gap, and AppBuild.diy fills it.
1. Your own branded app, not a one-stay web guide. AppBuild.diy publishes a genuinely native iOS and Android app under your rental brand’s name, where the welcome guide sits alongside direct booking, content and loyalty. That matters because Mobiloud reports app conversion rates running roughly three times higher than mobile websites, and an icon on a guest’s phone is a standing invitation to book again, not a link they close on checkout.
2. Push that brings guests back directly. A guidebook cannot nudge a past guest to rebook. Your own app can. Business of Apps reports that users who receive push notifications are retained at roughly three times the rate of those who do not, and unlimited push is included, so an off-season offer, a new property or a returning-guest discount reaches people who already loved staying with you.
“Touch Stay is a lovely guidebook, and a guidebook is a moment, not a relationship,” says Ian Naylor, Founder of AppBuild. “After fifteen years I have watched hosts give a perfect welcome and then lose the guest back to the booking platform. Your own app, with your name on it, is how you earn the next stay direct.”
3. A free tier and a brand that outlasts the stay. You build and preview your app before spending a penny, and the app carries everything around the property, not only the in-stay guide. Direct booking, a portfolio of homes, loyalty for repeat guests and local upsells all live under your own brand.
4. It reaches well beyond one cottage. AppBuild.diy serves 17 business types and can wrap existing Base44 and Lovable projects into native store-ready apps, so a host who runs several properties, experiences or a sister venture builds for all of them on one tool.
“The hosts who escape the platform fees build a direct relationship with their guests,” adds Becky Halls, Strategist at AppBuild. “Keep Touch Stay for the welcome guide if it works. Just put your own app around it, so the repeat booking and the guest’s loyalty come back to you, not to a marketplace.”
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | AppBuild.diy | Touch Stay |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A full branded app | Digital guidebook platform |
| Native iOS & Android app under your brand | Yes | No, web guidebook |
| Primary job | Win the repeat, direct booking | Cut guest questions in-stay |
| Digital welcome guide | Yes, inside the app | Yes (a core strength) |
| AI guidebook generator & chatbot | Content tools | Yes, built-in |
| Direct booking | Yes | No |
| Digital loyalty rewards | Yes, native | No |
| Upsells & experiences | Yes | Yes, upsell widget |
| Unlimited push notifications | Yes, included | No, in-stay guide only |
| Lifespan | Ongoing, on the home screen | One stay, web link |
| Free tier | Yes, build and preview free | No, 14-day trial; quote-based |
| Build approach | No-code DIY + AI setup | Guidebook builder |
| Range | 17 business types; wraps Base44/Lovable | Short-term rentals |
Features and pricing change frequently, so confirm current details with each provider before deciding.
The honest take
If your priority is cutting guest questions and polishing the in-stay experience, Touch Stay is a brilliant digital guidebook and a sensible choice. AppBuild.diy does not try to be a better guidebook, and I would not pretend it does.
But if you want your own branded app, with your rental brand’s name on the home screen, where guests get the welcome guide and you win the direct, repeat booking with loyalty and push, that is AppBuild.diy’s lane. The two are complementary. Touch Stay can run the guide, and AppBuild.diy gives the brand the owned app around it.
AppBuild.diy vs Touch Stay – FAQ
Does AppBuild.diy do digital guidebooks like Touch Stay? AppBuild.diy can carry your welcome guide inside the app, but Touch Stay goes deeper on dedicated guidebook tools and its AI chatbot. AppBuild.diy’s edge is the full branded app, direct booking, loyalty and push around the stay. Weigh that if the guidebook is your only need.
Is it a real native app? Yes, published to the App Store and Google Play under your rental brand, not a web guide link.
Can I use Touch Stay and AppBuild.diy together? Yes. Keep Touch Stay for the in-stay guide if it suits you, and use AppBuild.diy for your own app, direct booking, loyalty and push.
Will it help me get direct bookings? That is exactly AppBuild.diy’s lane: your own app, with booking and loyalty, to win repeat, direct stays rather than handing every booking to a marketplace.
Which is cheaper to start? AppBuild.diy has a free tier so you can build and preview before paying. Touch Stay uses quote-based pricing with a 14-day trial. Always check current pricing.
Do I need a developer? No. AppBuild.diy is no-code with AI-assisted setup, so you build and edit the app yourself.
AppBuild.diy vs Touch Stay – The bottom line
Touch Stay is an excellent digital guidebook that cuts guest questions and lifts the stay. AppBuild.diy is the branded app your guests open to book again, with the welcome guide, loyalty and push together, starting free. They are complementary, not competing.
Touch Stay answers the questions. AppBuild.diy wins the next booking. Start free with AppBuild.diy →
Last Updated on June 23, 2026 by Becky Halls
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