Why Bocobay Left Intercom for HostAI
From luxury beachfront villas in Aruba to curated stays in Curaçao, Bocobay has built its reputation on exceptional guest service, personalized owner communication, and smooth operational execution.
For years, the team had relied on Intercom to manage guest messaging. But as guest interactions grew more complex, it became clear that a general-purpose support tool wasn’t built for the realities of hospitality.
“We needed a system that could handle the complexity of guest interactions, owner relations, and on-the-ground operations—all in one place,” said Nick Curtis, co-founder of Bocobay.
Instead of forcing Intercom to fit their needs, Bocobay made a decisive move: they migrated their entire guest and owner communication workflow to HostAI.
The Problem
For a high-end hospitality brand, fragmented communication isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a threat to the guest experience.
Bocobay’s team had been juggling:
- WhatsApp for guest and owner messaging
- A separate support inbox for external conversations
- Hostaway's inbox for Airbnb and direct reservations
“It’s always been painful having two inboxes,” Nick recalled. “We needed a way to unify everything.”
Their biggest challenges:
- Scattered communication channels – Conversations were spread across multiple tools, making it hard to maintain a consistent guest experience.
- Lack of visibility – The team had no easy way to track response times, agent performance, or guest satisfaction.
- Limited scalability – Their current setup worked—for now. But as they expanded to new markets, they needed a solution built for the complexity of vacation rentals.
The Solution
When Bocobay discovered HostAI, it wasn’t just about bringing messages into one place—it was about elevating their entire approach to guest communication.
“As soon as we saw HostAI could handle everything reliably, moving over was an easy decision. We wanted one inbox, not two,” said Nick.
Instead of a disruptive overhaul, the migration was deliberate and seamless:
- Email first – Eliminating the need for a separate guest and owner communication tool.
- WhatsApp next – Centralizing owner and guest messages in a single view.
- Phone system transition – Moving away from legacy providers to unify all support channels.
- Live chat integration – Replacing their previous widget with HostAI’s for a more direct, streamlined guest experience.
“You guys have absolutely nailed the design—it's the sharpest platform I’ve seen,” Nick said. “What you’ve built is as good as anything we’ve used before, but finally tailored to hospitality.”
The Impact
Since making the switch, Bocobay has seen immediate improvements across their team’s efficiency and guest interactions:
- Faster, more consistent messaging – AI-assisted replies ensure that every guest receives timely, polished responses.
- Stronger performance tracking – HostAI surfaces insights on response times, top-performing agents, and guest satisfaction metrics.
- Seamless team collaboration – Internal teams now rely on HostAI’s notes and tagging features to improve handoffs and accountability.
- Better owner relations – Owner communication has been streamlined, reducing back-and-forth across multiple channels.
“Bad products produce bad workflows, and good tools make everything smoother. What you’ve built is as good as Intercom,” said Nick.
Looking Ahead
For Bocobay, technology isn’t just a tool—it’s a pillar of their hospitality experience.
“The biggest barrier to our growth is communication,” Nick said. “HostAI is now at the center of how we scale.”
Their next step? Bringing WhatsApp calls into HostAI, further consolidating guest and owner interactions into a single platform.
By investing in technology built for the specific needs of vacation rental management, Bocobay isn’t just scaling—it’s redefining what luxury guest communication should look like.
