Robust Vacation Rental Software
Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2019 · 24 posts · 22 votes
I have seen this question come up many times for the affordable end. I am currently using Smartbnb. I am looking at the bigger software packages such as Hostawy, Kigo, Streamline, or VRM because I am scaling and need greater automation and functionality with more booking platforms. I want unified messaging for more than just Airbnb and HomeAway (booking.com, tripadvisor, etc). I also like that most of these come with a direct-booking website template that integrates with their management software and that they have BeyondPricing or Wheelhouse plugins built in. There are many other attractive features. Some of these have a way too high an entry point for me right now like a $5000 startup fee for Streamline. But I am still curious what are other people's experience with these platforms. Which one do you like the most?
Hi @Lauren Pitts. I've trialed a bunch of the solutions out there and just recently dumped iGMS for YourPorter after looking into BookingAutomation.com, Tokeet, Lodgify, Elina, Rentlio, Beds24, SuperHostTools, Hostfully, Nueva, and Uplisting.
One the things you'll find in working with anything that costs less than a $100/mo is that the design of most STR apps/services is worse than the platforms' apps/sites themselves. In my testing I actually found BookingAutomation and Beds24 (same product, different pricing scheme) to be the most feature and channel complete, but it was like trimming a bonsai tree with a machete: way too many buttons when all I needed was automated messaging, calendar sync, and a universal inbox.
Additionally I liked YourPorter because it hit the 3 channels I need: Air, VRBO, Booking, had a mobile-first UI, and duped the messaging automation I had with iGMS, without charging me for every other channel I added on.
What I was pleasantly surprised about was that there was a nice amount of logic built in for "if-then" automation that can increase listing revenue if enabled. As an example, if there is no one checking into a rental before or after a guest, Porter sends a one-off message asking if they want to stay another night for a discounted rate. If it's not a back-back turnover, that's just a dead day for me so offering it as an add-on day's a win-win for both guests and me.
Additionally, the private label website generation is dead simple and allowed me a better way to have past guests book direct, save the 10-20% on the platform fees, and avoid scrolling past dozens of competing spaces on the way to re-booking mine.
Again, this is all highly specific to my own needs and interests. By all means outline your top 10 "must have" features, then go out and try out the different solutions to find out what works best for you.
Hope this helps!
How many properties do you currently have?
I don't see the necessity in this for just a few properties.
I am sniffing around smoobu at the moment. ownerrez also good.
Update
I have been in talks comparing features and costs of the following channel managers/vacation rental softwares: HostAway, Streamline, Kigo, Lodify, Guesty, Uplisting, and Lodix. To a lesser extent I have also looked at RNS, VRM, and Bookerville. So if anyone wants to know results of my investigation on these guys let me know!
I love OwnerRez...I used to hate them, but the thing that sold me was the website integration and their awesome customer support. They are a great value, and the implementation difficulties that made me hate them were overcome with some back and forth with their customer support.
@Lauren Pitts another vote for IGMS. Not sure if that's large enough scale for you since you said you need a bigger one than what you currently have. But it's been great for ours and it's a lot more affordable than the one you quoted!
We use Direct. It's a newer property management software that integrates with the different OTA's, has automated messaging at various timeframes before, during and after the stay and also is really user friendly. We manage properties of owners though as well as our own so I'm not sure if it would be overkill for you.
We tried Ciirus before and it was not good for us.
@Lauren Pitts @Wendy Schultz I am also on Direct but considering a change. I like a lot of their features and they are actively coming out with more updates, however I think it's a bit overkill for my size (15 units). My main reason is because Direct charges 2% of each reservation on top of a monthly fee. I'm not a fan of softwares taking a percentage of your sales. I prefer a flat per-property, per-month structure. I believe I am able to find all of the features I use on Direct in a simpler and less expensive platform.
I am looking into Smartbnb and iGMS at the moment. I really like Superhosttools.com but they only integrate with Airbnb. The support member I talked to said a Homeaway integration is in the works, so once that happens I might hop on it.
I am also considering ditching platforms altogether and going back to just using the Airbnb and VRBO platforms natively. Using ical links on a google calendar for my housekeeping scheduling, and quickbooks for my bookkeeping and reporting. I've found there is not much need to have a direct booking website in my market, and I prefer responding to messages from guests via the emails that are sent from Airbnb and VRBO instead of a "unified inbox" on a third party software. The biggest thing I'd miss would be the auto-messaging.
Another thing I'm not a fan of with fully-integrated softwares is having to use my own payment processor for VRBO. I know most people like this, but I'd much rather just have everything run through VRBO instead of having to keep track of payments and schedules on my end and then paying VRBO's 5% commission each month. I prefer to just receive the payout from VRBO.
@Chase Hoover The auto messaging would definitely be hard to give up. It has to make sense and as we're expanding, it's making more sense to have it although it was overkill in the beginning. It's still new to us so we aren't using it to its full capability yet. I am hoping to spend some time working on utilizing the work orders and the owner statements.
I am sniffing around smoobu at the moment. ownerrez also good.
Ken.. I have been huntiiing! I noticed you mentioned Smoobu, but it had not come up much in my searches. Then I stumbled upon it again and the two mentions together made me take a closer look. Wow! Smoobu look good! It hits all the major check boxes I was looking for. I have talked to beaucoup PMS' and most of them either overcharged or undelivered for my startup. But Smoobu has the right price and promises all the main features I need to scale efficiently and to punch above my weight class with guest experience. So I will start the trial and report back to folks my thoughts!
that is why it is on my radar
Hi @Lauren Pitts. I've trialed a bunch of the solutions out there and just recently dumped iGMS for YourPorter after looking into BookingAutomation.com, Tokeet, Lodgify, Elina, Rentlio, Beds24, SuperHostTools, Hostfully, Nueva, and Uplisting.
One the things you'll find in working with anything that costs less than a $100/mo is that the design of most STR apps/services is worse than the platforms' apps/sites themselves. In my testing I actually found BookingAutomation and Beds24 (same product, different pricing scheme) to be the most feature and channel complete, but it was like trimming a bonsai tree with a machete: way too many buttons when all I needed was automated messaging, calendar sync, and a universal inbox.
Additionally I liked YourPorter because it hit the 3 channels I need: Air, VRBO, Booking, had a mobile-first UI, and duped the messaging automation I had with iGMS, without charging me for every other channel I added on.
What I was pleasantly surprised about was that there was a nice amount of logic built in for "if-then" automation that can increase listing revenue if enabled. As an example, if there is no one checking into a rental before or after a guest, Porter sends a one-off message asking if they want to stay another night for a discounted rate. If it's not a back-back turnover, that's just a dead day for me so offering it as an add-on day's a win-win for both guests and me.
Additionally, the private label website generation is dead simple and allowed me a better way to have past guests book direct, save the 10-20% on the platform fees, and avoid scrolling past dozens of competing spaces on the way to re-booking mine.
Again, this is all highly specific to my own needs and interests. By all means outline your top 10 "must have" features, then go out and try out the different solutions to find out what works best for you.
Hope this helps!
Hi @Lauren Pitts. I've trialed a bunch of the solutions out there and just recently dumped iGMS for YourPorter after looking into BookingAutomation.com, Tokeet, Lodgify, Elina, Rentlio, Beds24, SuperHostTools, Hostfully, Nueva, and Uplisting.
One the things you'll find in working with anything that costs less than a $100/mo is that the design of most STR apps/services is worse than the platforms' apps/sites themselves. In my testing I actually found BookingAutomation and Beds24 (same product, different pricing scheme) to be the most feature and channel complete, but it was like trimming a bonsai tree with a machete: way too many buttons when all I needed was automated messaging, calendar sync, and a universal inbox.
Additionally I liked YourPorter because it hit the 3 channels I need: Air, VRBO, Booking, had a mobile-first UI, and duped the messaging automation I had with iGMS, without charging me for every other channel I added on.
What I was pleasantly surprised about was that there was a nice amount of logic built in for "if-then" automation that can increase listing revenue if enabled. As an example, if there is no one checking into a rental before or after a guest, Porter sends a one-off message asking if they want to stay another night for a discounted rate. If it's not a back-back turnover, that's just a dead day for me so offering it as an add-on day's a win-win for both guests and me.
Additionally, the private label website generation is dead simple and allowed me a better way to have past guests book direct, save the 10-20% on the platform fees, and avoid scrolling past dozens of competing spaces on the way to re-booking mine.
Again, this is all highly specific to my own needs and interests. By all means outline your top 10 "must have" features, then go out and try out the different solutions to find out what works best for you.
Hope this helps! Hey Cliff.. perfect! Thanks. I had Your Porter before Smartbnb. It is good to hear that they have kept evolving and are even better than before and that you are pleased. I sacrificed some functionality options (mobile ap) for a more visually appealing Smartbnb user-interface and other functionality (AI question detection). You are absolutely right that those 3 functions are the main needs. I would also add the AI question detection feature that sends canned answers automatically saves me tremendous time (when it works). Also I really want to have unique pin codes automatically generated and sent to guests. I'm piloting Smoobu now. They have very reasonable prices (comparable to Your Porter) and automate unique pin codes with my Igloohome smart locks with reservations from a variety of platforms. They also sync pricing. I don't know yet if they are buggy or not. Will keep you posted and if not,Your Porter will get a second look! Thanks!!
Hey Cliff.. perfect! Thanks. I had Your Porter before Smartbnb. It is good to hear that they have kept evolving and are even better than before and that you are pleased. I sacrificed some functionality options (mobile ap) for a more visually appealing Smartbnb user-interface and other functionality (AI question detection). You are absolutely right that those 3 functions are the main needs. I would also add the AI question detection feature that sends canned answers automatically saves me tremendous time (when it works). Also I really want to have unique pin codes automatically generated and sent to guests. I'm piloting Smoobu now. They have very reasonable prices (comparable to Your Porter) and automate unique pin codes with my Igloohome smart locks with reservations from a variety of platforms. They also sync pricing. I don't know yet if they are buggy or not. Will keep you posted and if not,Your Porter will get a second look! Thanks again!!
Hi @Lauren Pitts. I've trialed a bunch of the solutions out there and just recently dumped iGMS for YourPorter after looking into BookingAutomation.com, Tokeet, Lodgify, Elina, Rentlio, Beds24, SuperHostTools, Hostfully, Nueva, and Uplisting.
One the things you'll find in working with anything that costs less than a $100/mo is that the design of most STR apps/services is worse than the platforms' apps/sites themselves. In my testing I actually found BookingAutomation and Beds24 (same product, different pricing scheme) to be the most feature and channel complete, but it was like trimming a bonsai tree with a machete: way too many buttons when all I needed was automated messaging, calendar sync, and a universal inbox.
Additionally I liked YourPorter because it hit the 3 channels I need: Air, VRBO, Booking, had a mobile-first UI, and duped the messaging automation I had with iGMS, without charging me for every other channel I added on.
What I was pleasantly surprised about was that there was a nice amount of logic built in for "if-then" automation that can increase listing revenue if enabled. As an example, if there is no one checking into a rental before or after a guest, Porter sends a one-off message asking if they want to stay another night for a discounted rate. If it's not a back-back turnover, that's just a dead day for me so offering it as an add-on day's a win-win for both guests and me.
Additionally, the private label website generation is dead simple and allowed me a better way to have past guests book direct, save the 10-20% on the platform fees, and avoid scrolling past dozens of competing spaces on the way to re-booking mine.
Again, this is all highly specific to my own needs and interests. By all means outline your top 10 "must have" features, then go out and try out the different solutions to find out what works best for you.
Hope this helps! Hey Cliff.. perfect! Thanks. I had Your Porter before Smartbnb. It is good to hear that they have kept evolving and are even better than before and that you are pleased. I sacrificed some functionality options (mobile ap) for a more visually appealing Smartbnb user-interface and other functionality (AI question detection). You are absolutely right that those 3 functions are the main needs. I would also add the AI question detection feature that sends canned answers automatically saves me tremendous time (when it works). Also I really want to have unique pin codes automatically generated and sent to guests. I'm piloting Smoobu now. They have very reasonable prices (comparable to Your Porter) and automate unique pin codes with my Igloohome smart locks with reservations from a variety of platforms. They also sync pricing. I don't know yet if they are buggy or not. Will keep you posted and if not,Your Porter will get a second look! Thanks!!
Hey Cliff.. perfect! Thanks. I had Your Porter before Smartbnb. It is good to hear that they have kept evolving and are even better than before and that you are pleased. I sacrificed some functionality options (mobile ap) for a more visually appealing Smartbnb user-interface and other functionality (AI question detection). You are absolutely right that those 3 functions are the main needs. I would also add the AI question detection feature that sends canned answers automatically saves me tremendous time (when it works). Also I really want to have unique pin codes automatically generated and sent to guests. I'm piloting Smoobu now. They have very reasonable prices (comparable to Your Porter) and automate unique pin codes with my Igloohome smart locks with reservations from a variety of platforms. They also sync pricing. I don't know yet if they are buggy or not. Will keep you posted and if not,Your Porter will get a second look! Thanks again!!
Something as simple as setting door lock codes can be outsourced to an offshore VA at $4/hr. Personally, when choosing software, I focus on larger things that are harder to outsource - I could care less about setting door lock codes via software
I mean, it’s a nice bonus feature, but wouldn’t even make my Top 20 of my features list that I require from software
Is there any channel management software that lets you set different prices on different booking sites? For example setting a higher price on sites that charge us more fees?
Is there any channel management software that lets you set different prices on different booking sites? For example setting a higher price on sites that charge us more fees?
yes, I can't tell you which one as I have literally read so much I am brain dead at the moment but it seems most of the "more complete" software you can as I have read about it several times over the past couple of days.
do not quote me but i would think igms, owner rez etc
Hi @Lauren Pitts. I've trialed a bunch of the solutions out there and just recently dumped iGMS for YourPorter after looking into BookingAutomation.com, Tokeet, Lodgify, Elina, Rentlio, Beds24, SuperHostTools, Hostfully, Nueva, and Uplisting.
One the things you'll find in working with anything that costs less than a $100/mo is that the design of most STR apps/services is worse than the platforms' apps/sites themselves. In my testing I actually found BookingAutomation and Beds24 (same product, different pricing scheme) to be the most feature and channel complete, but it was like trimming a bonsai tree with a machete: way too many buttons when all I needed was automated messaging, calendar sync, and a universal inbox.
Additionally I liked YourPorter because it hit the 3 channels I need: Air, VRBO, Booking, had a mobile-first UI, and duped the messaging automation I had with iGMS, without charging me for every other channel I added on.
What I was pleasantly surprised about was that there was a nice amount of logic built in for "if-then" automation that can increase listing revenue if enabled. As an example, if there is no one checking into a rental before or after a guest, Porter sends a one-off message asking if they want to stay another night for a discounted rate. If it's not a back-back turnover, that's just a dead day for me so offering it as an add-on day's a win-win for both guests and me.
Additionally, the private label website generation is dead simple and allowed me a better way to have past guests book direct, save the 10-20% on the platform fees, and avoid scrolling past dozens of competing spaces on the way to re-booking mine.
Again, this is all highly specific to my own needs and interests. By all means outline your top 10 "must have" features, then go out and try out the different solutions to find out what works best for you.
Hope this helps! Hey Cliff.. perfect! Thanks. I had Your Porter before Smartbnb. It is good to hear that they have kept evolving and are even better than before and that you are pleased. I sacrificed some functionality options (mobile ap) for a more visually appealing Smartbnb user-interface and other functionality (AI question detection). You are absolutely right that those 3 functions are the main needs. I would also add the AI question detection feature that sends canned answers automatically saves me tremendous time (when it works). Also I really want to have unique pin codes automatically generated and sent to guests. I'm piloting Smoobu now. They have very reasonable prices (comparable to Your Porter) and automate unique pin codes with my Igloohome smart locks with reservations from a variety of platforms. They also sync pricing. I don't know yet if they are buggy or not. Will keep you posted and if not,Your Porter will get a second look! Thanks!!
Hey Cliff.. perfect! Thanks. I had Your Porter before Smartbnb. It is good to hear that they have kept evolving and are even better than before and that you are pleased. I sacrificed some functionality options (mobile ap) for a more visually appealing Smartbnb user-interface and other functionality (AI question detection). You are absolutely right that those 3 functions are the main needs. I would also add the AI question detection feature that sends canned answers automatically saves me tremendous time (when it works). Also I really want to have unique pin codes automatically generated and sent to guests. I'm piloting Smoobu now. They have very reasonable prices (comparable to Your Porter) and automate unique pin codes with my Igloohome smart locks with reservations from a variety of platforms. They also sync pricing. I don't know yet if they are buggy or not. Will keep you posted and if not,Your Porter will get a second look! Thanks again!!
How are you liking Smoobu so far?
Is there any channel management software that lets you set different prices on different booking sites? For example setting a higher price on sites that charge us more fees?
Hi Mark, Yes Smoobu allows this. With Smoobu you can add a percentage surcharge or discount for any of the channels you have connected. With this option, the pricing is completely duplicated across all channels just with a discount or surcharge as you specify. But you can also set completely unique pricing for each channel if you wish. If you want data-driven pricing you can integrate Price labs and Beyond Pricing and you can still have Smoobu add a surcharge/discount.
This is a great thread! Thank you @Lauren Pitts, @Cliff H. and every other contributor. I was about to pull the trigger on SmartBnB but there were a few things I wasn't seeing on there. Came across this thread and am now going to take a look at some of the ones you mentioned. It seems like the positive of some of these solutions is that they are changing quickly so some of the ones I looked at in the past are now worth a second glance. Thank you guys! Keep this post alive, Lauren, I'm interested to hear where you end up going with this software!
I think Guesty is really the only way to go. I've automated 90% of my Airbnb tasks including guest communication. Their rates are CRAZY high, but EVERYTHING is negotiable. We negotiated down to a VERY reasonable flat rate per property.
There is nothing special about Guesty. Many do the same for less.
@Ken Latchers I'm curious if you have looked any more at Smoobu. I just signed up for the trial and have been playing around with it for a few hours now. I'm actually kinda disappointed. It looked quite robust before I signed on. But now, I see a lot of limitations. A lot of the features they have seem glitchy and still in development. Am I missing something or have you found this to be the case as well?
At the end of the day, the only useable feature seems to be the auto responses, which I could get with many other platforms. Is there one that you are using right now that you enjoy? Thank you!
@Ken Latchers I'm curious if you have looked any more at Smoobu. I just signed up for the trial and have been playing around with it for a few hours now. I'm actually kinda disappointed. It looked quite robust before I signed on. But now, I see a lot of limitations. A lot of the features they have seem glitchy and still in development. Am I missing something or have you found this to be the case as well?
At the end of the day, the only useable feature seems to be the auto responses, which I could get with many other platforms. Is there one that you are using right now that you enjoy? Thank you!
@Ken Latchers from testing it. Only for the last few hours, but it seems to me that the features have a good start but are a bit glitchy or need a little more refining before I’d feel comfortable using them. Even the auto responses I wish had more robustness to them. I’m looking at YourPorter, Smartbnb and HostAway now. I’ll take another look at ownerRez too. Have you had better success with Smoobu?
Hey @Mike Neubauer. Glad to help. Unfortunately, most of the STR tools are more hype than execution. Like you, I trialed a bunch of them, compared features, and ended up accepting that I could either settle for a terrible interface with robust features ( exemplified by the twin tools Beds24/BookingAutomation) or an inflated price and decent UI (exemplified by the likes of Guesty, Uplisting, Lodgify, etc).
I settled on Porter because it seemed a decent compromise and I do 90% of my work on the go, it had 100% of the product’s feature set in their mobile app, and I only really needed a channel manager for AirBnB, HomeAway, and Booking.com (without feeling like they were nickel and dining me for each new channel I added).
My advice would be to start first with what key features you need, built yourself a nice checklist or spreadsheet, and check off the features of each product as you’re working through those 2 week trials. I actually got busy and ran over my trial for Porter and they were good enough to extend it for twice for me, which was a leading indicator on how they respond to customers requests and support.
PS: @Mark Miles: a few of the sites/services do offer variable pricing by channel. From what I tested, Porter, BookingAutomation, Beds24, Tokeet, and Elina all offer some form of adding X% to a base price or Y channel. I absolutely use this with Porter to set a surcharge on HomeAway and a discount on my own direct booking site (which Porter manages and syncs with pricing/availability of all the commercial booking sites).