HolidayFox vs SuperControl

If you run UK self-catering (a Cornwall cottage, a Farm Stay listing, a barn conversion, a small agency), SuperControl is probably on your shortlist. Castle Douglas; booking engine, channel manager, guest management, agency owner services.

I run HolidayFox, so this page isn't neutral. SuperControl's extra is cottage-agency depth and a long UK holiday-let track record. The real question: do you need that agency stack, or a booking system that takes the guest on your own website, even at 9pm?

What SuperControl is, and what they do well

The property-owner product has a booking engine, channel manager, guest management and reporting. The agency product adds unlimited properties and owner services. Help centre, phone and email. Unlimited users.

What they do well:

• •It's real UK self-catering software: weekly pricing, short breaks, owner blocks, agency workflows. Not a campsite pitch map.
• •Direct bookings have no SuperControl channel fee. The 1% + VAT service fee is on Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia, Cottages.com and TripAdvisor only (help.supercontrol.co.uk, checked 2026-09-13).
• •A channel manager and a booking engine on your site. Guests stay on your website rather than a listing site.
• •Extras they publish: API from £300/year; PCI for Opayo/Trust Payments from £60/year; extra account £90; training from £90/hour. Source: supercontrol.co.uk/pricing/fees-and-products.

If you want cottage-agency workflows and a channel manager, and you'll staff evenings yourself, SuperControl is a credible choice. Their licence is a sliding scale by property count plus a joining fee. The public page doesn't print a single £/month, and we won't invent one.

If that licence costs less than our commission on your website bookings, they can win on software cost. Ask them for the calculator result for your property count.

What HolidayFox is, and where we are different

HolidayFox puts a Book now button on your website, or on one we build for you. Guests pick free dates and pay by card without leaving your site.

A chat answers guests any time of day and helps them book with you. For now they pay through the Book now button; paying in the chat is rolling out.

Pitchup, Airbnb and Booking.com bookings land in the same calendar, so you're never double-booked. We list you on holidayfox.com and in Google's hotel search, and set it all up for you.

You don't need SuperControl to run your calendar.

Side by side

SuperControl's licence figures aren't printed on the public calculator; check supercontrol.co.uk/pricing. Channel fee and extras as published 2026-09-13. HolidayFox figures from holidayfox.com/en/partners, reviewed 2026-09-13. On 13 Sep 2026 we checked the homepages of Pitchup's UK and Ireland listings (3,493 rows) and found SuperControl on 9 operator sites. That is not market share.

Who each one is right for

• •Choose SuperControl if your agency already depends on SuperControl owner services.
• •Choose SuperControl if their licence for your property count costs less than our commission on the bookings you'd take through HolidayFox. Ask them; we won't invent their monthly figure.
• •Choose HolidayFox if you have a simple or WordPress website and guests still phone, email or go to a listing site after hours.
• •Choose HolidayFox if you want to try direct bookings without a joining fee.

Talk to us

15 minutes with Hannah. She'll show you the calendar, the Book now button and the chat. If you already use SuperControl, you can keep it.

Questions owners ask