Property Management Software for Vacation Rentals
Vacation rental property managers are busy folks.
Maintaining websites, marketing, answering enquiries, reservations, revenue management, communicating with guests, scheduling housekeeping, arranging check-in/check-outs, key collection, review management, generating invoices and reports, reconciling accounts, filing tax returns, liaising with property owners...there's a lot to do.
Fortunately there are lots of excellent property management and vacation rental software systems out there to help with most, it not all of the on-going requirements for vacation property managers.
What is vacation rental software?
Every property manager is different and will have unique requirements according to the size of business and time resources. However all busy rental property managers have one goal in common - being more time efficient.
Using specialised software for a vacation rental business allows managers to deal with nearly everything in one place. No more spreadsheets.
These are some of the essential tasks that vacation rental software providers can help you perform on one single platform.
• Accounting
Generate invoices and keep track of income and outgoings.
• Automation
Send automated guest enquiry replies and set automated guest review requests.
• Booking Button
Add a booking button to your website or Facebook page. A simple call to action to drive direct bookings.
• Channel Management
Connect your property listings to all of the major OTAs and listing sites like Airbnb, Booking.com, HomeAway and TripAdvisor. Synchronise rates, content and availability by iCal or API connections.
• Export of Data
If required by local authorities or police.
• Guest Communication
Send personalised emails to guests pre and post-stay.
• Multi-Language Support
• Property Owner Management
Set up property owner contracts and accounts with access to real-time booking data. Send customised data statements.
• Payment Processing
Take payment through bookings made through your website and integrate with popular gateways like Stripe and PayPal.
• Reporting Tools
Customised daily, weekly or monthly reports.
• Reservation Management
Keep track of all reservations, arrivals, departures, cancellations and guest details on one easy master calendar.
• Revenue / Pricing Management
Dynamic pricing tools to help maximise guest occupancy rates. Add numerous discount rules and seasonal rates.
• SMS Notifications
Send text messages to guests
• Staff & Housekeeping Management
Organise staff, cleaning and maintenance. Schedule task delegation with automated messaging.
• Up-Selling Ancillary Services
Offer extra revenue streams including welcome hampers, early check-in/late check out, breakfast, activities, mid-stay cleans, etc.
• Vendor Management
Communication with all vendors
• Website Builder
Create new websites for multiple property managers.
Questions to ask when comparing vacation rental software
There are several questions any busy property manager should ask before taking on a new software package as it can become increasingly difficult to leave the longer you are ensconced.
How long is the current pricing model guaranteed? How could pricing change if my business scales up?
Is there a minimum contract? What is the cancellation policy?
What kind of initial training is offered?
How long will set up take?
Will help be provided in transitioning my property listings?
What level on on-going support will be available to me?
What integration does your channel manger have with the major OTAs / listing sites? Direct API? iCal connection? 1 way? 2 Way? Can seasonal rates be added?
Which payment gateways can be integrated?
Can payment be accepted in different currencies?
Is there one unified inbox to communicate with guests from all channels?
Is there a mobile app to keep track of your business on the move?
Vacation Rental Software
Compare suppliers and services provided| Automated Messaging | Channel Managers | Data & Analytics | Guest Guidebooks | Payment Processing | Reservation Management | Revenue Management | Task Management | Website Builders | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lodgix | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Lodgify | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| VEVS | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||
| Orbirental | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Icnea | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Travito | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||
| Airdna | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||
| Vayoo | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||
| Rentals United | ✓ | ||||||||
| Promote My Place | ✓ |
Some of the leading vacation rental software providers
Pricing
Monthly, yearly, bi-yearly vacation rental software pricing plans.
Full packages starts from $27 per month for single property owners or $59 for multi-property.
Set Up Fees
No set up fees, commissions or additional fees.
Free Trial
14-day free trial. No credit card required.
Lodgify Vacation Rental Software
Website Builder: Easily create your multi-property vacation rental website. Stunning mobile-friendly templates - choose from over 30 web design themes. No design skills required. Easy drag and drop. Use your own domain name or register one for free.
Add unlimited photos, slideshows, listing descriptions, amenities, rates, forms, videos, map location and availability for each property. Apartment and room types supported.
Booking Engine: Add the 'Book Now' button and take credit card payments and bank transfers. Create promotions. Integrate optional additional extras (e.g. transfers, breakfast). No hidden costs or commissions. All currencies supported plus price per night/week/month, per person, seasonal pricing and custom taxes.
Channel Manager: Our channel manager helps you handle all your external listings and reservations in less time and with less hassle. Take the hassle out of managing multiple listings. Automatically synchronize calendar, rates and reservations across sites like Booking.com, Airbnb and more.
Connect your properties with 9Flats, Airbnb, Apartments Unlimited, Arbitel, Be My Guest, Booking.com, CitiesReference, Flipkey, Holiday Velvet, HolidayLettings, HomeAway, Homelidays, Housetrip, Loving Apartments, Only Apartments, Owners Direct, Stayz.com.au, Top Rural, TripAdvisor, VRBO, WayToStay, Wimdu and any other channel where iCal is integrated.
Reservation Manager: View all your property reservations at a glance with Lodgify’s centralised calendar. Comes with additional automated quote generation, payment collection and autoresponders.
Pricing: Starting at 49€/month. Monthly, trimestral and annual plans available.
Fees: No set-up fees, no commissions, no extra fees.
Rentals United is a vacation rental software provider based in Barcelona.
Predominantly a channel manager distributing rental inventory across 60+ booking platforms, Rentals United also offers the following.
- Book Direct Pages
- Accept payments directly in your Rentals United dashboard
- Grow your property portfolio by connecting with other providers
- Guest Planner organizational dashboard
- Mobile App for Android and IOS to view your calendars, access reservation details and contact your guests
- Quality Checker and Multi-calendar
- On-going training by the On-boarding, Connectivity and Account Management teams
- Direct Integration with 50+ PMSs worldwide
- Integration with yield managers and operational tools
Pricing
From $49 per month for up to 5 properties.
$129 per month for 6-9 properties.
$219 per month for 10-99 properties
Set Up Fees
None.
Free Trial
14-day free trial. Cancel at any time.
Hostfully Property Management Platform
Hostfully is a web-based platform designed for agencies, property managers, small hotels and BnB's to simplify the process of vacation rental management.
The Hostfully platform is built from the ground up on an open API, making the software greatly extensible to vacation rental property manager needs.
Features include the reservation system, patent-pending lead generating widget, direct API connection with your existing website, integrated payment systems (Yapstone, Stripe, Braintree & Lynnbrook), channel manager, property owner access (with your branding), dynamic pricing integration, calendar synchronisation, review management, guest management, supplier/cleaner/maintenance management, email notifications, customisable widgets, hosting, security, digital signatures, analytics and reporting.
Property Management System: Provides features such as multilingual/multi-currency support, photo management, management of fees and policies, recommended locations, rental agreements, advanced booking rules and advanced multi-user, property and location management.
Channel Manager: Synchronise property data, pricing and availability across all major channels and your website. Hostfully keeps your property data consistent across dozens of listing sites (Airbnb, Booking, HomeAway, TripAdvisor, etc) so you don't have to manually update them.
Central Reservation System: Synchronise calendars two-ways in real time across multiple channels. Create quotes, multi-property view, sorting/filtering and property tagging for easy shortlisting, ability to email shortlists to prospective guests.
Pricing:
Free basic subscriptions plus optional free/paid extras.
Premium Channel Manager 1% p/m
TripAdvisor Integration $19 p/m or $149 p/y
Free Trial:
14 Day Trial for selected premium services
HotelRunner Vacation Rental Software
Website Builder: Easily create your free mobile-friendly website with ready-to-use themes and start accepting commission-free online reservations.
Customize your site’s design with the easy control panel and built-in blog: upload a logo, add your content, change appearance and more. You have full control.
Unlimited bandwith, CDN, secure hosting and free SSL certificate.
Facebook Application: Includes a built-in commission-free direct booking button and without any extra work, all your rates, promotions, and special offers are automatically updated on your hotel’s Facebook page.
Channel Manager: HotelRunner Channel Manager allows you to manage & update 100+ channels through one single dashboard.
HotelRunner’s powerful iCal calendar integration features allow you to import and export your calendars on multiple websites supporting iCalendar (iCal) format and Google Calendar.
Free Channel Manager - Connect to Etstur, Fastpayhotels, Gezinomi, Odamax.com, Omega Hotels, Ostrovok.ru, Otelineöde.net, Otelperisi.com, Otelz.com, Paytohotels.com, Setur, TatilSepeti.com & Zain Turizm
Premium Channel Manager: Connect to Airbnb, Booking.com, Flipkey, Holiday Lettings, HomeAway, HouseTrip, VRBO, etc.
Additional Services: Integrate Property Management Systems, SMS notifications, domains, email accounts, multi-lingual support, payment gateways, meta-search connection, competition tracking, generate coupons, deals and promotions.