Can I keep my Airbnb listing and use Cabyn too?

Yes — that's the normal case. Airbnb keeps doing what it's good at, and Cabyn takes the friends-and-family weekends off that calendar so you're not blocking dates by hand and hoping you remembered correctly.

Should I move my existing Airbnb guests to Cabyn?

No. Guests who found you on Airbnb should keep booking through Airbnb — moving them off-platform breaks the terms you agreed to, and it isn't what Cabyn is for. Cabyn is for the people you would have hosted anyway: the friends and family who were never going to book through a marketplace.

Do my guests have to give me money?

Only if you want them to. You can ask for a set amount, suggest one and leave it to them, or turn contributions off completely. Whatever they give goes directly to your PayPal or Venmo — Cabyn takes no fee and never touches it.

Does Cabyn protect me the way Airbnb does?

No, and it's worth being straight about that. Cabyn doesn't process your guests' money, so there's no payment protection, no damage program, and no platform standing between you and your guest. It's a coordination tool for people you already trust.

What does Cabyn cost?

One property — up to three spots and 25 guests — is free. Premium removes the limits for $10/month, and it's only billed in months when someone actually stays. A cabin that sits closed all winter costs nothing all winter.

The Airbnb alternative for friends and family

Airbnb is engineered for a transaction between two strangers, and nearly everything good about it exists to make that transaction safe. None of that machinery helps when the guest is your sister. It just means a service fee on someone you'd have handed the keys to for nothing, a public listing you may not want, and the faintly absurd sentence "can you book it through the app?" Cabyn is a private booking page for the people you'd have hosted anyway.

Create your property

Cabyn vs. Airbnb, side by side

Feature	Airbnb	Cabyn
Who can see it	A public listing anyone can find	A private page only invited guests can open
Who books it	Strangers, screened by the platform	Only the people you've invited
Fees on the stay	A host service fee, plus a guest fee your friends would pay	Zero. Cabyn takes 0% and never handles the money
What guests give you	A nightly rate, collected by the platform	Whatever you decide: a set amount, a suggested contribution, or nothing
Cost to you	Free to list; the fee comes out of each booking	Free for one property. Premium is $10/month, billed only in months with a booking
Blocking dates for family	You block them by hand to keep the listing honest	Family books their own dates, on a calendar only they can see
House rules	One set of rules for every guest	Different rules per guest level: who books instantly, who needs approval, how far ahead, how long they can stay
Your address	Released to a guest once they've booked	Held back until you approve the stay, if that's how you want it
Getting set up	Write a listing from scratch	Fill in the form, or let Premium import your listing URL and bring the photos and description across

Nobody wants to put a service fee between themselves and their cousin

The awkwardness isn't the money — plenty of families are happy to chip in for the propane and the cleaning. The awkwardness is the machinery: a checkout page, a service fee, a cancellation policy, a receipt. On Cabyn the contribution is whatever you say it is. Suggest an amount, set one, discount it for the people you want to discount it for, or turn it off and let them stay for free. Whatever they give goes straight to your PayPal or Venmo, and all of it is yours.

A booking page, not a storefront

Your property on Cabyn isn't listed anywhere. It doesn't appear in search results, it can't be browsed, and it can't be opened by anyone who isn't on your guest list. What your guests get is the useful half of a listing — the photos, the spots they can actually book, a map, and whatever else you choose to write down for them — without your address sitting on the public internet.

The rules can be different for different people

Airbnb gives every guest the same terms, which is right for strangers and wrong for a family. Cabyn has guest levels instead. Your siblings book instantly and stay as long as they like. The wider circle needs your approval and can't hold the Fourth of July nine months out. Set a minimum and maximum stay, how far ahead each level can book, and the blackout dates you're keeping for yourself — then stop adjudicating any of it by text message.

Bring the listing you already wrote

If you're on Premium, paste the URL of your existing listing and Cabyn imports the photos, amenities, and description — the private version of your place is set up in a couple of minutes using the copy you already spent a Sunday writing. On the free plan it's the same form, filled in by hand.

Keep Airbnb if you're renting to the public

If you want income from travelers who don't know you, Airbnb is the right tool and Cabyn isn't trying to replace it. Cabyn has no listings, no search, no travelers browsing it, and nothing resembling Airbnb's protections — it's a coordination tool for people you already trust, and that trust is doing the work those protections do.

You want to be found by strangers. Nobody browses Cabyn, because there's nothing on it to browse.
You want the platform to collect the money, arbitrate disputes, and stand behind the stay. Cabyn never handles your guests' money and offers no equivalent protection.
Your place is a rental business. Cabyn is for the part of your calendar that isn't.

Common questions

Can I keep my Airbnb listing and use Cabyn too?: Yes — that's the normal case. Airbnb keeps doing what it's good at, and Cabyn takes the friends-and-family weekends off that calendar so you're not blocking dates by hand and hoping you remembered correctly.
Should I move my existing Airbnb guests to Cabyn?: No. Guests who found you on Airbnb should keep booking through Airbnb — moving them off-platform breaks the terms you agreed to, and it isn't what Cabyn is for. Cabyn is for the people you would have hosted anyway: the friends and family who were never going to book through a marketplace.
Do my guests have to give me money?: Only if you want them to. You can ask for a set amount, suggest one and leave it to them, or turn contributions off completely. Whatever they give goes directly to your PayPal or Venmo — Cabyn takes no fee and never touches it.
Does Cabyn protect me the way Airbnb does?: No, and it's worth being straight about that. Cabyn doesn't process your guests' money, so there's no payment protection, no damage program, and no platform standing between you and your guest. It's a coordination tool for people you already trust.
What does Cabyn cost?: One property — up to three spots and 25 guests — is free. Premium removes the limits for $10/month, and it's only billed in months when someone actually stays. A cabin that sits closed all winter costs nothing all winter.

Share your property with people you trust

No public listing. No strangers. Guests can contribute via PayPal or Venmo and 100% of it goes to you — Cabyn never takes a cut. Free for one property.