Vacation rental software reviews are an important part of your search for the best vacation rental software. With so many different types of software that you can choose from, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. It’s no wonder why you’re having trouble finding a vacation rental software that meets your needs. In this article, I’ve gathered information from people like yourself who have recently gone through the same process, and came out the other side, unburdened by confusion and panic!
Vacation rental software is essential to managing your vacation rental property’s bookings, reservations and accounting. I have tried and tested most of the major vacation rental management software on the market. I will provide you with a full review of each vacation rental booking software in this page, including ratings from other users. The most important thing to consider is your personal needs. If you’re just a few days per year then there’s no point spending thousands on an online reservation and management system. Dive into this guide on vacation rental software and find the right fit for your business. You need the best vacation rental software for your business. But with so many options, how do you know which one to choose? It’s a big decision, but we’re here to lend a hand and make it an easy process. Luckily, you can search hundreds of reviews written by people just like you!
Tired of paying expensive commissions whenever you find someone to rent your villa? Software for vacation rental companies is increasingly common in the industry, and it’s no secret why — it makes your life much easier. So what should be included in such a software solution? What are some good vacation rental software reviews? This article will shed some light on this topic.
When you’re a business owner, it can be difficult to choose the right vacation rental software. You want something that is easy to use and will help grow your business, but you also don’t want to spend a small fortune on software that doesn’t work well or aren’t sure if it will actually help your bottom line. Luckily, there are some great options out there for booking and managing vacation rentals; in this article, we will go over some options so you can decide which one works best for you!
How is Vacation Rental Software Different from Hotel Management Software?
From a general perspective, vacation rental software and hotel management software may appear to be similar due to various same features and functionalities. But these are two different tools having many dissimilarities.
The first main difference is that vacation rental booking software is mainly used by property owners and managers willing to rent their property on rent or lease. On the other hand, hotel owners and those serving the hospitality industry use hotel management software.
Another difference between these two popular software systems is based on tariff charges. While hotels charge on per room basis, vacation rental owners charge on a per-unit basis.
Hostaway
If you’re just getting started with your vacation rental business, Hostaway is a great option. It’s easy to use, and has many features that make it ideal for managing one or two properties. You can also add more properties as your business grows by upgrading to the “Pro” version of the software.
Hostaway has all the tools you need to manage your Airbnb listing: you can publish listings on Airbnb and other sites through their website builder; create calendars so your guests know when they stay; keep track of reservations, payments and cancellations; calculate taxes in multiple currencies; generate automatic emails such as confirmation emails or check-in/out reminders; receive instant notifications about new reservation requests (you can even respond directly from within Hostaway); get reports on how much money you earned during each period of time (by month/year) as well as detailed information about every guest who stayed at your property(ies).
LiveRez
LiveRez is one of the most popular vacation rental software for small and medium-sized properties. It has a free trial, which allows you to test out all the available features without any financial commitment whatsoever.
Additionally, LiveRez offers a free plan that is limited to one property at any given time but allows you to easily manage your property listing and guest bookings. It comes with an email or text alerts when new guests are booked or if there are any cancellations, as well as an automatic check-in/check-out feature so that your guests can enter their details in advance and save time upon arrival. You can also easily share your property listing on social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter using this software program!
Escapia
Escapia is a vacation rental management software that helps you manage and grow your vacation rental business. With Escapia, you can:
- Manage and track your reservations from start to finish
- Create beautiful photo galleries of your rentals
- Keep in contact with guests through text messages, emails, or phone calls
- Handle customer support requests in real-time with our cloud-based customer service tools
Rental Network Software
Rentals United
This is a great vacation rental software solution that has been around for over two decades. It includes all the features you would expect, including:
- Automatic guest booking & confirmation emails
- Real-time pricing and availability updates across multiple channels (including Airbnb)
- Google Maps integration for property listing pages
In addition to being able to manage listings from one central location, this platform also allows hosts to see detailed analytics on their listings’ performance and make adjustments accordingly. This means you can easily improve your bookings without having to worry about any technical difficulty or time required for each improvement. If you’re interested in learning more about how Rentals United can help grow your rental business, visit their website here – https://rentalsunited.com/
Rentals United
Rentals United is a vacation rental software that helps you manage your vacation rental business. It’s cloud-based and easy to use, with a free trial option, 30-day money-back guarantee and mobile app. You can even get support from their friendly team 24/7.
Tokeet
Tokeet is a vacation rental software that is designed to help you manage your vacation rental business.
Tokeet has a free plan that includes up to 5 properties and up to 10 guests. It also has paid plans that start at $9 per month if you are managing less than 50 properties, or go as high as $35 if you are managing over 100 properties.
Rentivo
Rentivo is a vacation rental software that can be used for online booking and management. It has been designed to make your life easier, giving you the ability to create an online profile and manage all of your properties in one place. Rentivo supports all current booking platforms, including Airbnb and HomeAway.
The benefits of using Rentivo include:
- Online Booking & Management System – save time with this feature-rich system that allows you to manage several different properties at once or just one property if needed (a great choice for those who don’t have many rentals)
- Customizable Dashboard – stay on top of everything with customizable dashboards
- Smart Calendar – view all events related to each property individually or as a whole within this calendar feature
Hostfully
In 2018 Hostfully acquired Orbirental, and today Hostfully’s property management system still looks and feels a lot like Orbirental. The system offers a multi-calendar, automated messaging, a booking engine, and channel management for Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and Tripadvisor. Hostfully also connects to a couple of other channel managers, like Rentals United and myBookingPal, which allows you to distribute rates and availability to additional sites.
Unique features: When many property management systems are shifting toward self-service customer support, Hostfully offers plenty of phone support. Even the most basic plan includes two setup calls with a support rep. Hostfully also offers its Digital Guidebooks feature, which is actually separate from the property management system. Even if you don’t use the property management system, you can still purchase a guidebook-only subscription.
Integrations: Hostfully has a huge “Integration Zone” which includes integrations with dozens of complementary systems. You can connect to dynamic pricing tools, home automation solutions, cleaning management systems, and even HelloSign for digital signatures.
Pricing: Hostfully offers three plans: 1-4 properties pay $79 per month, 5-19 properties pay $189 per month, and 20+ properties pay on a sliding scale depending on the number of listings. 50 listings cost $375 per month. Monthly subscriptions come with a $400 setup fee, but the fee is waived (and you get a small discount!) if you sign an annual contract.
Disadvantages: Some features, like automated text messaging and multiple user access, are not available for accounts with fewer than 5 properties. Hostfully itself doesn’t offer an Expedia connection, but you can connect to Expedia via an integrated channel manager like Rentals United.
Bottom Line: Hostfully is perfect for property owners or managers who want a little extra support in the setup process and on an ongoing basis. Though it’s slightly more expensive than other systems, there are no hidden fees or add-ons.
Hostaway
As noted front and center on their home page, Hostaway truly is an all-in-one vacation rental software that offers not just the essential property management features to manage reservations and guests, but they also offer a massive library of integrations, communication tools, analytics, automation and so much more.
Unique features: This list could go on for a while because there are just so many. Features like detailed financial reporting, process automation, revenue management and cross-listing optimization all highlight the depth of professionalism and polish to the Hostaway product suite.
Integrations: Like many top tech firms, Hostaway has an open API which means that developers can build right to their product which is a common best practice in the tech world and is typically a leading indicator that a company offers tons of valuable integrations and in Hostaway’s case this is absolutely true. Hostaway’s marketplace boasts integrations ranging from key distribution channels to payment processors all the way to advanced pricing optimization software so you can run your vacation rental with the sophistication of a major hotel chain.
Pricing: Plans start at $100/mo and vary based on which features you add on to your package as well as the scale of your operation.
Disadvantages: While the depth of functionality and integrations are ideal for professional owners with multiple properties under management, many of Hostaway’s features may not be needed for a single unit owner partaking in the sharing economy.
Bottom Line: The Hostaway feature set, integrations marketplace and UX make it an outstanding SaaS solution for professional property managers with dozens or even hundreds of units under management empowering managers to run their operations with the sophistication of a major hotel company.
Beds24
Beds24 offers all of the standard property management functionality (multi-calendar, channel manager), plus a booking engine and integrations with several ancillary services. It’s best for property managers who want to take full control of their operations and don’t need much guidance from support representatives, since Beds24 does not offer phone support.
Unique features: Beds24 allows for a lot of customization – you can add essentially any restriction, pricing rule, fee, and policy you want, and the system makes it easy for you to set up channel connections on your own without the assistance of a support representative.
Integrations: Beds24 offers direct connections to Airbnb, Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo, and Tripadvisor. Several other regional channels are also available, as is iCal import and export functionality. Beds24 also integrates with PriceLabs, Wishbox, Mailchimp, several keyless entry solutions (igloohome, RemoteLock), and several payment processors (PayPal, Stripe).
Pricing: After a 14-day free trial, a Beds24 subscription starts at about $10 per month for one property. Additional properties/units and links to channels cost about $1 each. If you have 5 properties listed on 3 channels each, your monthly fee will be about $20. If you have 50 properties on 3 channels each, the monthly fee is about $70.
Disadvantages: Unlike some other systems on this list that have invested heavily in user experience and building a sleek, beautiful interface, Beds24 is a bit clunky. But while it’s not the most fashionable system, it’s certainly functional.
Bottom Line: Beds24 packs a lot of features into a very small price. If you’re comfortable with a less user-friendly experience, this system is an excellent value.
Pillow
Pillow is a vacation rental software that allows you to manage your property from anywhere in the world. With Pillow, you can manage every aspect of your property from admin to guest service without needing to install any additional products or hire additional staff.
Pillow offers a free trial, so you can test it out before buying. It also offers a free mobile app, so you can manage your property from anywhere using an iPhone or Android phone.
These are the top vacation rental software options for booking, management, and marketing your vacation rentals.
The best vacation rental software solutions offer a variety of benefits and features to help you manage your properties, including:
- Booking – in-app booking and payment processing
- Marketing – digital marketing campaigns, SEO optimization, and social media management.
- Management – analytics reports that help track key performance metrics such as bookings, reservations, and revenue generated per month or year by property or unit type (e.g., apartments vs. houses).
Features of Vacation Rental Software
- Communications: Centralize all communications from guests, maintenance crews, owners, property managers, cleaning crews, and more. Assign different inboxes for certain teams, properties or tasks.
- Online Booking: Allow guests to search, book and pay online, at their convenience.
- Reporting: Save time and resources by using internal accounting and reporting software to fill in ledgers, generate reports, automate yearly IRS reports, update guests of their remaining balances, create owners statements, and more.
- Travel Site Integration: Create just one listing and automatically publish it on all of the top booking/travel sites at once.
- Automated Document Generation: Create custom and automated contracts, confirmations, rental agreements, waivers, maps, arrival instructions, etc. for your guests and yourself.
- Guest Feedback: Send automated messages to guests thanking them for their stay and asking them to leave a rating review. Include links to sites like Yelp or Vrbo, or to your own website’s feedback page to make leaving a positive review as easy and as likely as possible.
What is the role of vacation rental management software in the short-term rental and long-term rental?
As a property owner, you can rent or lease your property in two ways based on the period. These include short-term rentals where the house or apartment is rented for a week or less. In a long-term rental, the property is rented for a month or more.
Vacation rental property management software simplifies property management in both cases and automates daily tasks.
It produces more opportunities for earning potential, offering improved flexibility to property owners and enabling them to stay ahead of their competitors. Free Vacation rental software also streamlines property maintenance and upgrades.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our vacation rental software reviews and found the best fit for your business! If you have any questions about any of these options or would like to share your own experiences, please leave a comment below. Vacation Rental Software that is perfect for your business and budget is now a reality. You can find top-rated software on our website. Check out the valuable information we offer Florida vacation rental owners to make informed decisions about which software will give them the most professional presence online and cost-effectively manage their vacation rental business. In the end, there is no one best vacation rental software package.
There are plenty of good options, with more being released every year. Each has their own pros and cons, and it will largely depend on your needs as a vacation rental property owner to determine which one is right for you. If you’re still unsure, don’t worry—there are plenty of free trials to test out before you make a commitment. Vacation rental software can go a long way towards improving your business operations, so there’s really no reason not to give it serious consideration. Well, there are a lot of vacation rental software solutions out there. You can look at a few of the options in our post just below this (link). However, you should be sure to analyze your needs and see what fits into your business model. The key is to find something that works for you, and that’s going to provide the best possible value to you.