igms Vs. Your Porter Vs. Smartbnb Vs. ?

Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions

igms Vs. Your Porter Vs. Smartbnb Vs. ?

Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes

For Short Term Rental Rockstars!

I've been with igms for a while but it seems to be getting more and more glitchy.

Does anyone have experience with multiple channel managers? I'm leaning towards switching to YourPorter as per @Julie McCoy suggestion but I want to make sure it's worth the set up time.

THOUGHTS?

Thanks

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Cliff H.Pro Member

Rental Property Investor · Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 587 posts · 477 votes

Hey @Poteau Thomas that’s fair ask. @Luke Carl and I were chatting about the comparison spreadsheet already and while I have been reluctant to this point to put something out there that I then had to “support” by adding a bunch of other checklist items I don’t care about myself, perhaps it can serve as a starting point and help others that stumble on this little thread to compare the market options, since there does appear to be a quite a bit of confusion on what does what and for what price in order to simply decide for yourself the best fit.

So without further adieu and in the spirit that “sharing is caring” here you go!

Cliff’s Ultimate STR Tool Comparison ExtravaMatrix

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John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
6y
What does igms or YourPorter do for you?
Automate messages?
synchronize pricing?
something else?
2 Reply
Karl McGarvey
Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 763 posts · 500 votes
6y
Used IGMS for about a week and then switched to SmartBnB. Really like SmartBnBs messaging options and how easy it is to use. It also integrates easily with Pricelabs if you use it
1 Reply
Luke CarlPro Member
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @John Underwood:
What does igms or YourPorter do for you?
Automate messages?
synchronize pricing?
something else?

That’s a different thread big John! Just call me tomorrow I’ll teach you how they work.
Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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Julie McCoy
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
I don't feel like I need a terribly robust property management system at this point, and YourPorter does a lot more things than I need it to - I mainly use it for message automation, and I like it for these reasons: 1) it's not expensive and it's a flat fee, not a percentage; and 2) it will natively message through both AirBNB and VRBO
It's not flawless, sometimes things aren't where I think they should be and I have to hunt for them, and occasionally navigating my dashboard is a bit glitchy (I may have to force-reload a page to get where I want to go). But overall I'm satisfied - it does exactly what I need it to do at a low cost. Also, it does offer a (basic) website if you want to do direct booking - not fancy but good enough to send a link to returning guests if you want.
In the wake of the AirBNB debacle, I've been toying with really gearing up direct booking options, and finding a PMS that offers a nicer integrated website, but so far I haven't taken the leap.
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Luke CarlPro Member
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Karl McGarvey:
Used IGMS for about a week and then switched to SmartBnB. Really like SmartBnBs messaging options and how easy it is to use. It also integrates easily with Pricelabs if you use it

Do you know if Smartbnb will move pictures around and change minor details in the description like yourporter does... to keep your listing fresh? I love that feature but overall I think I like smarbnb's vibe.

Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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Paul Sandhu
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
6y
I'm really low tech. I pay cash at the service desk of a grocery store for my natural gas bills. I drive by city hall and do the same for my electric and water. Renters call or text me for whatever reason. I meet them at the property for the rent. It's like a full time job, but I can drink beer in between calls. Most calls come between 4:00 and 7:00 pm. The most technical thing I have to do is take a picture of a cable box and email it to Cox Cable.
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Karl McGarvey
Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 763 posts · 500 votes
6y
@Lucas Carl it says it does. But I have no way to prove it... other than to trust them? Haha
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Luke CarlPro Member
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Karl McGarvey:
@Lucas Carl it says it does. But I have no way to prove it... other than to trust them? Haha

Does it send ACTUAL Vrbo messages or email only?
Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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Karl McGarvey
Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 763 posts · 500 votes
6y
@Lucas Carl through each app
1 Reply
Nancy Bachety
Rental Property Investor · North Fork, NY · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 631 votes
6y
I've used iGMS for over a year now. It's free, it sends out all my custom and templated messages automatically but it no longer sends reviews as part of the free plan. So now I have to manually review each guest (currently at zero, btw).

I was thinking about direct booking for some time like @Julie McCoy but didn't think it was worth the little extra work it would take. Until now. That makes myporter sound attractive. Haven't used smartbnb enough to review it.

To @John Underwood's questions, it depends on what you WANT to get out of either of them, I think was why he posed those questions. You can automate messages on all of them. Not sure about synchronizing pricing but if your using them mainly to message, you wouldn't need that feature.
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Julie McCoy
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
@Nancy Bachety Yeah I'm not especially eager to give AirBNB another opportunity to screw me over so thoroughly. I'm not looking at direct booking as a means to create additional revenue at this point, it's a hedge to diversify my revenue. Plus, I'm about to get into some larger properties and I suspect they'll have a high probability of repeat bookings, so that makes creating a direct booking opportunity a lot more appealing as well.
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Benjamin Vail
Real Estate Broker · Columbus, OH · Member since 2016 · 181 posts · 244 votes
6y
I am a loyal SmartBNB customer (4 years now). It saves SOOO much time on messaging guests. It also does a lot for SEO within Airbnb. I am not sure if it does the photo switch, but I do know that it has a "heartbeat" feature that goes in and updates your calendar every 5 minutes in the background, and I am pretty sure it does a small edit to your listing description. So it does do things to trick the Airbnb algorithm to boost your search results. I consistently get 20%+ more page views than the other average competitive listings in each market (as confirmed by Airbnb performance stats). I have decent photos, but they are not THAT good!
Smartbnb also will provide you with a free market report any time you ask it to. This shows you what ranking your listing is being displayed in search results on each open date you have. It also shows you links to the top 3 comp. listings in your market for that date, so you can actually see who you are competing with for that specific available date!
Not to mention they have a feature called metrics, which collects and displays all of your reservation data in a very digestible format (easy to read and share charts and graphs that help you take action steps to improve). I use metric daily.
The Smartbnb inbox is likely the MOST useful tool they currently offer. It is hard to explain how helpful it is, but test it out, and you will see what I mean. For each conversation with a guest, it quickly displays the guests hometown, reviews, reservation dates, total price, ect. It is very helpful for vetting guests on the fly without switching different screens. Also it displays what the total cost to the guest will be (after platform guest fees are added) which is very helpful because Airbnb will not show you that amount.
There are lots more features that Smartbnb offers that we still don't even use. The other thing I love about Smartbnb is that they are constantly approving, adapting, and they do care as a company on the service side. 4 years ago, I learned about Smartbnb on a podcast called Get Paid for you Pad. I signed up for Smartbnb, and 2 days later I was doing a skype call with the founder of Smartbnb Pierre! They have grown a lot since then, (and I don't think they offer personal skype calls with the CEO anymore), but every step of the way they have listened to our requests and feedback, and made lots of improvements (such as Vrbo integrations, pricelabs integrations, ect.). As If I have not nerded out enough already, I had the opportunity to meet the whole Smartbnb team at the VRMA conference in 2019, and they gave me a pair of Smartbnb socks!
10 Reply
Karen ChenaillePro Member
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2017 · 165 posts · 137 votes
6y
Smart BnB is great. Kudos to @Benjamin Vail for the summary. Their focus has been in beefing up their Air BnB integration. To my knowledge they can message on VRBO but their financial reports do not include VRBO numbers. They don’t leave reviews for VRBO either.
I use OwnerRez as my PMS. It integrates at the API level with Air BnB and VRBO. It has a great direct booking website. You can use what they have out of the box or put a nice front end on it to dress it up. It cost me $800 for the front end.
OwnerRez can get all the financials from Air BnB and VRBO in one place. This is extremely powerful. They also integrate with Beyond Pricing. They have a robust messaging platform so you can set up the same message flows for bookings that come in off your website. You can make mods to your listings in OwnerRez and they will push to Air BnB and VRBO. You can also do credit card processing in their platform through a 3rd party integration. You can import your Air BnB or VRBO reviews and post them on your direct booking site.
You can send emails to cleaners and also share a master calendar with ALL your bookings on it (website, Air BnB and VRBO).
I will admit I did not like it at first but once I took the time to learn it and decided to take the plunge on my own direct bookings site I realized how great it is. It’s also cheap. 8 listings costs me 102.00/month.
Their tech support is da bomb. Same day response during biz days.
Just do it. :-)

9 Reply
- Jefferson Brown
  Investor · South Jordan, UT · Member since 2016 · 89 posts · 72 votes
  5y
  Originally posted by @Karen Chenaille:
  Smart BnB is great. Kudos to @Benjamin Vail for the summary. Their focus has been in beefing up their Air BnB integration. To my knowledge they can message on VRBO but their financial reports do not include VRBO numbers. They don’t leave reviews for VRBO either.
  I use OwnerRez as my PMS. It integrates at the API level with Air BnB and VRBO. It has a great direct booking website. You can use what they have out of the box or put a nice front end on it to dress it up. It cost me $800 for the front end.
  OwnerRez can get all the financials from Air BnB and VRBO in one place. This is extremely powerful. They also integrate with Beyond Pricing. They have a robust messaging platform so you can set up the same message flows for bookings that come in off your website. You can make mods to your listings in OwnerRez and they will push to Air BnB and VRBO. You can also do credit card processing in their platform through a 3rd party integration. You can import your Air BnB or VRBO reviews and post them on your direct booking site.
  You can send emails to cleaners and also share a master calendar with ALL your bookings on it (website, Air BnB and VRBO).
  I will admit I did not like it at first but once I took the time to learn it and decided to take the plunge on my own direct bookings site I realized how great it is. It’s also cheap. 8 listings costs me 102.00/month.
  Their tech support is da bomb. Same day response during biz days.
  Just do it. :-)
  
  We use OwnerRez too! We switched from Hostfully and I have to say OwnerRez has been better in EVERY way.
  0 Reply
Ken Latchers
Hatfield, PA · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 629 votes
6y
i heard the heartbeat feature is actually useless

Originally posted by @Benjamin Vail:
I am a loyal SmartBNB customer (4 years now). It saves SOOO much time on messaging guests. It also does a lot for SEO within Airbnb. I am not sure if it does the photo switch, but I do know that it has a "heartbeat" feature that goes in and updates your calendar every 5 minutes in the background, and I am pretty sure it does a small edit to your listing description. So it does do things to trick the Airbnb algorithm to boost your search results. I consistently get 20%+ more page views than the other average competitive listings in each market (as confirmed by Airbnb performance stats). I have decent photos, but they are not THAT good!
Smartbnb also will provide you with a free market report any time you ask it to. This shows you what ranking your listing is being displayed in search results on each open date you have. It also shows you links to the top 3 comp. listings in your market for that date, so you can actually see who you are competing with for that specific available date!
Not to mention they have a feature called metrics, which collects and displays all of your reservation data in a very digestible format (easy to read and share charts and graphs that help you take action steps to improve). I use metric daily.
The Smartbnb inbox is likely the MOST useful tool they currently offer. It is hard to explain how helpful it is, but test it out, and you will see what I mean. For each conversation with a guest, it quickly displays the guests hometown, reviews, reservation dates, total price, ect. It is very helpful for vetting guests on the fly without switching different screens. Also it displays what the total cost to the guest will be (after platform guest fees are added) which is very helpful because Airbnb will not show you that amount.
There are lots more features that Smartbnb offers that we still don't even use. The other thing I love about Smartbnb is that they are constantly approving, adapting, and they do care as a company on the service side. 4 years ago, I learned about Smartbnb on a podcast called Get Paid for you Pad. I signed up for Smartbnb, and 2 days later I was doing a skype call with the founder of Smartbnb Pierre! They have grown a lot since then, (and I don't think they offer personal skype calls with the CEO anymore), but every step of the way they have listened to our requests and feedback, and made lots of improvements (such as Vrbo integrations, pricelabs integrations, ect.). As If I have not nerded out enough already, I had the opportunity to meet the whole Smartbnb team at the VRMA conference in 2019, and they gave me a pair of Smartbnb socks!

2 Reply
Mark Miles
Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 543 posts · 716 votes
6y
Originally posted by @Benjamin Vail:
I am a loyal SmartBNB customer (4 years now). It saves SOOO much time on messaging guests. It also does a lot for SEO within Airbnb. I am not sure if it does the photo switch, but I do know that it has a "heartbeat" feature that goes in and updates your calendar every 5 minutes in the background, and I am pretty sure it does a small edit to your listing description. So it does do things to trick the Airbnb algorithm to boost your search results. I consistently get 20%+ more page views than the other average competitive listings in each market (as confirmed by Airbnb performance stats). I have decent photos, but they are not THAT good!
Smartbnb also will provide you with a free market report any time you ask it to. This shows you what ranking your listing is being displayed in search results on each open date you have. It also shows you links to the top 3 comp. listings in your market for that date, so you can actually see who you are competing with for that specific available date!
Not to mention they have a feature called metrics, which collects and displays all of your reservation data in a very digestible format (easy to read and share charts and graphs that help you take action steps to improve). I use metric daily.
The Smartbnb inbox is likely the MOST useful tool they currently offer. It is hard to explain how helpful it is, but test it out, and you will see what I mean. For each conversation with a guest, it quickly displays the guests hometown, reviews, reservation dates, total price, ect. It is very helpful for vetting guests on the fly without switching different screens. Also it displays what the total cost to the guest will be (after platform guest fees are added) which is very helpful because Airbnb will not show you that amount.
There are lots more features that Smartbnb offers that we still don't even use. The other thing I love about Smartbnb is that they are constantly approving, adapting, and they do care as a company on the service side. 4 years ago, I learned about Smartbnb on a podcast called Get Paid for you Pad. I signed up for Smartbnb, and 2 days later I was doing a skype call with the founder of Smartbnb Pierre! They have grown a lot since then, (and I don't think they offer personal skype calls with the CEO anymore), but every step of the way they have listened to our requests and feedback, and made lots of improvements (such as Vrbo integrations, pricelabs integrations, ect.). As If I have not nerded out enough already, I had the opportunity to meet the whole Smartbnb team at the VRMA conference in 2019, and they gave me a pair of Smartbnb socks!

Awesome feedback here. Also, Airbnb does in fact show you both the amount your guests pay and the amount you’ll receive, they just make it hard to find that info for some reason.

Just go to your calendar, select some dates, and choose open price calculator.

In there, you can toggle between seeing the price your guests will pay including all fees, and how much you will receive in payout. I find it quite helpful when potential guests ask for a discount and they quote some number, this helps me figure out what they’re actually paying and what I’m actually keeping
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Cliff H.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 587 posts · 477 votes
6y
@Luke Carl happy to chat further on this topic. I have an entire spreadsheet I used to compare all the major platforms before deciding on Porter. I’ll send you a connection. Mentioned in other threads as well, but spent months comparing the different tools, lost more time than I care to share, and at the end of it could probably write a book on them that would find its way to that 75% off shelf over by the registers at the local Barnes & Noble.
Like you, I started off on iGMS exclusively. Once I realized I wanted multi-channel sync/management and saw their approach for pricing and that meant I’d be spending $30/mo (appears they now have more dynamic pricing) I started looking at other options. Plus the app’s not really an app at all, but rather a web frame embed of their mobile site, which was already terrible, particularly as new features were just piled into the kitchen sink.

I landed on Porter because I really wanted something that was easy to get running, worked well on mobile, and didn’t either (a) charge me an arm and leg for a pretty design/marketing or (b) forget that design/marketing even existed and tell me to RTFM.
I trialed a ton of the solutions, found BookingAutomation/Beds24 to be the most feature complete, but Porter as the best compromise in ease of use, price, and features.
I was also super impressed with their team’s flexibility in extending my trial as long as I needed and answering my annoying daily questions. Been great so far and I actually enjoy using the product, unlike iGMS which I dreaded. I send in almost weekly suggestions for product improvement and have seen a few of them get implemented a couple releases later, which is nice.
I’ve also become addicted to checking my weekly search rank off AirBnB (which I had done myself before even using Porter). As you can see, it’s pretty quiet on the future bookings front since I’ve traditionally focused on last minute bookings with a short availability window.
5 Reply
Luke CarlPro Member
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
Lots of great info everyone! Ownerrez checks a HUGE box with QuickBooks integration my bookkeeper LOVES that. But.... it doesn’t auto review.
After doing demos with many of these companies and a few free trials so far I have landed on YourPorter. It doesn’t everything I wished igms would and I was paying for the fancy version of igms. Although I have yet to try the app.
So far I’ve concluded that there is no wrong answer when choosing a channel manager/PMS. They each have different features and capabilities. Choose which one works bet for you!
Keep the info coming!
Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
2 Reply
Leora Merrell
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 276 posts · 235 votes
6y
This is a great thread. Thank you for this! I currently use IGMS but have been thinking of changing since their “app” is lame and I’ve had problems with their site being glitchy in some parts. This thread has been a great starting point for the change I need to make.
3 Reply
Mark Miles
Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 543 posts · 716 votes
6y
This is the best thread in a while, far and away. Thanks to everyone who contributed so much info, this is really helpful!

*My vote for second best thread is the person yesterday who asked “I’m thinking of becoming a property manager. What does a property manager do?”
5 Reply
Chase Hoover
Real Estate Broker · Staunton, VA · Member since 2019 · 194 posts · 216 votes
6y
I'll throw in a vote for Porter. I've had my portfolio of 14 listings with them for a few months now and am happy. Simple design, flat-rate fee, phone app, auto messaging, native messaging Airbnb/VRBO, price syncing (connects with PriceLabs), great income reports, Airbnb search metrics boosters (such as auto daily listing updates), and customer service is actually responsive. They are continually working on their system and launching updates. I had an hour conference call with their development team a few weeks back to provide my input on their "tasks" feature which they are working on improving as it is currently a bit clunky. It is comforting that they actually listen to operators and design updates around our direct feedback. Agree with @Julie McCoy that the dashboard is a little glitchy sometimes requiring hard browser refreshes, but it seems to be getting better.
1 Reply
Julie McCoy
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
I've experimented with OwnerRez a couple of times because it's a super robust but affordable system - but I'm pretty tech savvy and despite repeated attempts I find it extraordinarily difficult to navigate, not intuitive at all. Feature-wise I think it's the best but its ease of use is off the charts in the wrong direction, I spent a lot of time and money trying to make it work for me but it just isn't the right fit.
2 Reply
Benjamin Vail
Real Estate Broker · Columbus, OH · Member since 2016 · 181 posts · 244 votes
6y
Tokeet + SmartBnb + breezeway = Zen
0 Reply
Mike V.
Rental Property Investor · Campbell, CA · Member since 2017 · 419 posts · 499 votes
6y
@Lucas Carl one of the things I like about OwnerRez is that it doesn’t auto review. I have it setup to automatically email each guest at midnight the day they check out with my ‘feedback requested’ message.
This message allows unhappy guests a place to vent ‘without it on the review’ and I can address any issues quickly.
While it’s rare I have a problem (most quick reviews are 5*) it has saved me a few potential dings by allowing the guest to feel like I’m hearing them.
In all the research I did prior to making my decision, I went with Ownerrez and absolutely love it now. There is a learning curve- but once you figure it out it’s very simple.
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Luke CarlPro Member
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Mike V.:
@Lucas Carl one of the things I like about OwnerRez is that it doesn’t auto review. I have it setup to automatically email each guest at midnight the day they check out with my ‘feedback requested’ message.
This message allows unhappy guests a place to vent ‘without it on the review’ and I can address any issues quickly.
While it’s rare I have a problem (most quick reviews are 5*) it has saved me a few potential dings by allowing the guest to feel like I’m hearing them.
In all the research I did prior to making my decision, I went with Ownerrez and absolutely love it now. There is a learning curve- but once you figure it out it’s very simple.

That’s a deal breaker for me. I need auto review. And the fact that it doesn’t have native messaging total deal breaker. Love the QuickBooks integration though.
Podcast Guest on Show From Surviving on $30/Day to 30+ Properties Thanks to Blue-Collar Skills
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Julie McCoy
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
Has anyone used Lodgix? I'm researching it now and it looks awesome (and has a bunch of great reviews on Capterra). I'm just in the overview stage right now but it's got a ton of features that look comparable to OwnerRez, they integrate with your own WordPress website (so you fully control your own site, it's not "owned" by the PMS), integrate with BeyondPricing and PriceLabs, AND they have an optional Quickbooks integration @Luke Carl. Pricing looks fair - not cheap but not unreasonable if it works well.
I particularly like that they offer integrated digital signatures for rental agreements, and an Accidental Damage/Travel Insurance option (which is something I desperately want to integrate in my bookings).
The one thing I haven't been able to pinpoint is if they natively message on AirBNB/VRBO or if you must rely on email or text. I've got an email out to support asking about it.
YourPorter has been great for me up to this point, but I'm more motivated now to work on developing more diverse means of booking and that's going to mean my own site, and the integrated site with YourPorter sucks right now. LOL Also I really do want to work on being more responsible and integrating travel insurance, rental agreements etc. and I'll need a more robust platform to do that.
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