Rental properties are a great investment for many. They can help expand your retirement resources and provide you with more income, but there is a lot more to being a landlord than just collecting rent. Finding the right software for your small rental property management can make a significant difference in how smoothly your business runs.
There are much small rental property management software available in the market. But, finding the best rental property management software is really a tough task. If you are looking for the best small rental property management then here I am going to share some useful information about the best small rental property management software. Getting the best short-term rental property management software can be a game-changer for your business. It can make all of the difference in terms of the bottom line and how well you are able to manage your vacation rentals. However, there are so many different platforms out there. Some will cost you a lot of money while others may actually cost peanuts in comparison. The average price ranges and what each platform includes can vary significantly, but keep reading to find out which one I consider to be the best short-term rental property management software by far.
While short-term rental properties have been around for decades, the industry has seen enormous growth in recent years. According to Airbnb’s website, there are now over 8 million listings in 191 countries and more than 65,000 cities worldwide! The average cost per night is $112, giving hosts globally over $10 billion annually! This means that property management software has become a must-have tool for anyone who owns or manages multiple properties. There are many options available today and we’ve rounded up some of our favorites below:
Reviewing the top features of property management software for short term rentals
There are several software options to choose from when you’re looking for a property management system. In this section, we’ll review the top features of property management software for short-term rentals.
- How to assess your properties’ needs
- Comparing property management software
The first step is to evaluate your rental portfolio’s overall needs and goals in order to find out what kind of solution will work best for it. Here are some questions you can ask:
What are my short-term rental goals? Do I want more bookings? More revenue per booking? More repeat guests? A better customer experience? What features will help me achieve these goals? What do my current properties already have that I’ll need in the future (like availability calendars)? How many properties do I need managed at once without getting overwhelmed by tasks or lost on spreadsheets (or both)? Are there any regulatory requirements or legal issues that must be handled through property management software like local permitting processes, taxes and paperwork associated with online travel agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb and Expedia?”
How to assess your properties’ needs
Before you can decide on the best short-term rental property management software for your business, first you need to know what your short-term rental needs are.
Next, it’s time to consider what kinds of properties you have and how they will be managed. Do they have a single unit or multiple units? Is there a variety in size, design and location? Do any of them come with additional amenities like pools or fireplaces?
Finally, once these factors have been considered it’s time to think about the budget. What kind of money are you willing (or able) to spend on this project? Are there any extra costs that may need to be factored into this decision as well?
Comparing property management software
These are a few of the key things to consider when choosing property management software for your short-term rental business. If you’re serious about getting into the game, it’s time to start making decisions and setting up your business properly. We hope that this post has been helpful in guiding you towards the right system for you, but if you have any questions or need further help getting started on this journey, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected]
Streamline
Streamline is a cloud-based property management software for short-term rentals. Streamline has an online dashboard that allows you to track all your expenses, revenue and bookings in one place. You can also use their mobile app to manage your properties from anywhere on the go.
The best part about Streamline is its help desk feature, which allows users to submit tickets through the app or website directly into their support queue so they can receive quick responses from customer service reps who will assist them if anything goes wrong with their properties while they’re out of town.
Guesty
Guesty is a property management software that takes care of all your guest management needs. It provides you with an easy-to-use interface and features such as:
- Automatic booking process
- Booking calendar for your guests and owners
- Customizable guest profiles with a social network integration feature (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
Guesty also allows users to integrate their Airbnb accounts into the platform if they have one. This will allow them to manage both their Airbnb listing and their entire portfolio of properties from one place.
Guests can easily find your property listings through Guesty’s search engine optimization tools, which makes it easier for your potential customers to find you on Google when they do an online search for rental properties in their area.
Lodgify
Lodgify is a cloud-based software solution for managing short-term rentals. It comes with a complete suite of tools that allow you to run your property management business smoothly, including:
- A calendar to manage reservations and bookings
- A fully-featured dashboard where you can access all important data in one place
- An intuitive user interface that makes everything easy and accessible on any device
OwnerRez
OwnerRez is a property management software for short-term rentals. It offers a free trial and a subscription-based pricing model. OwnerRez is a cloud-based platform that helps hosts manage their short-term rentals. With OwnerRez, you can:
- See income generated by each of your listings
- Manage your inventory, guests, reservations and payments
- Book new guests through the website or app
Kigo
Kigo is a property management software for short-term rentals. Kigo is a cloud-based system, which means that it doesn’t require an installation on your computer. It is also a software-as-a-service (SaaS), meaning that you subscribe to the service rather than buying the software outright.
BookingSync (Smartbnb)
BookingSync (Smartbnb) is the best property management software for short-term rentals. It’s cloud-based, which means it can be accessed from anywhere, including mobile devices. BookingSync is available on Mac and Windows, as well as Android and iOS devices. The platform includes all of the features you would expect to see in a high-quality booking management tool: calendar view with filters for day rates, night rates and whole rentals; automated email notifications; reminder emails; guest feedback options; commenting tools for guests and owners; automatic payment processing via Stripe or PayPal; automatic upselling suggestions based on your previous bookings’ prices and dates of availability; easy search by date range/price point/location (zoomable map); secure communication between owner(s) and guest(s); full guest history reporting capabilities (including cancellations); support for multiple calendars including AirBnb™ calendars like Central Calendar Service™ which shows ALL reservations at once so no more double booking mistakes!
Hostfully
Hostfully is a property management software for short-term rentals. The software is cloud-based, which means it can be accessed anywhere and on any device as long as you have internet access.
Hostfully allows you to manage all aspects of your vacation rental business in one place – from managing reservations to tracking reviews and managing listings on multiple listing sites like Airbnb, Booking.com and HomeAway/VRBO.
It’s also easy to use: their tutorial videos walk you through each step of the process so you don’t need to worry about being overwhelmed with information when getting started with Hostfully!
Little Hotelier.
Little Hotelier is our top choice for short-term rental property management software. It’s ideal for managing small properties, and it has a lot of features that make the process easier than ever before:
- Automatic Check-In and Check-Out
- Automatic Cleaning Service Scheduling
- Automatic Guest Feedback Reporting (with suggestions on how to improve your listing)
- Automatic Booking Scheduling with Instant Confirmation
- Automated Guest Communication Management – Send automatic messages to your guests as they arrive at or leave your property. You can even use it to notify guests about special promotions or discounts they may have missed during their stay!
To get started with Little Hotelier, visit https://www.littlehotelier.com/landing/.
Hostaway
Hostaway is a dedicated vacation rental management software with a variety of useful features for short-term rentals.
They offer good reporting features and payment automation as well as some unique features such as cross-listing optimization. They also have a strong list of integrations you can tap into.
However, where it falls short is mainly in pricing, coming in at roughly twice the monthly price of some comparable solutions.
Hostaway features include:
- Good reporting features
- Automated payments
- Basic accounting features
- Owner portal
- Automated messaging
Hostaway pricing
Hostaway’s plans start at $100 per month, though they don’t offer details on their pricing page without requesting contact information.
Guesty
Guesty is a property management software with several strong features that make it a great choice for those looking for a short-term rental solution.
But what helps it stand apart from the options thus far is its great customer service, including a premium 24/7 support line for higher-level customers. It also offers a good list of integrations
However, Guesty is on the pricey side and doesn’t have a transparent pricing structure in general, so those looking for an affordable solution might find this a no-go.
Guesty features include:
- Online payments
- Work order management
- Owner portal
Guesty pricing
Guesty uses an enterprise pricing model, so they don’t list their current pricing publicly. You’ll need to contact them directly to find out more about their pricing plan.
Comparing functions and price points is key to finding the best property management software for your short term rentals
Finding the right property management software for your short-term rentals is a fairly simple process. You just need to:
- Apply the right software to your property. The first step in finding the best property management software for your short-term rentals is evaluating what you need from the system, and applying that criteria to each contender on this list of our top picks for 2019. The more closely you match up with specific features and functions, the more likely it’ll be that whatever program you select will work well with your real estate business.
- Review its features and capabilities against what’s relevant for your business model — how many properties do you have? Are they all located in one city or spread across multiple locations? Do they lease apartments or host entire homes? On which platforms do travelers want to access (desktop computers versus smartphones)? You might find yourself wanting functionality that’s only available in certain packages; if so, make sure those are included in any package before signing up!
- Consider price point as well as customer reviews when making a purchase decision: while some companies offer free trials so users can try out their product before buying it outright (and others charge monthly fees) most require paying an upfront cost up front — which should include both installation assistance from their tech support team plus 24/7 access via phone call lines during normal business hours Monday through Friday 8am-5pm PST [Pacific Standard Time]—so don’t forget about these costs when budgeting ahead of time!
Conclusion
There is no doubt that finding a good rental property management software is vital to your business. If you have missing information in the database, then you will have to send multiple reminders when it comes to rent collection while keeping track of unpaid rent and expiring leases can be tedious if you do not have the right system. With a great asset management software, you will be able to manage your properties with ease and increase your income.
We hope that this guide has helped you to choose the right short-term rental property management software for your business. If you are still unsure or want to learn more, check out our blog post on how to choose the best software for your business.