This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Hi we are Airbnb/HomeAway hosts that own a few properties, currently we have 3 live listings but may add a few more.
The challenge as we have added more units to short term rentals is the management of the inquires, bookings and communications with guests and cleaners.
There are a bunch of existing short term rental softwares we have looked at but none seem to accomplish all the goals that make sense for the implementation of this and some even require you to have a minimum of 5 listings.
Does anyone know if there is a software that exists you can achieve all the major action steps required for managing short term rentals?
Features:
A central portal for all listings (so you only have to log in to one platform to manage)
Pricing and calendars are synced
Property descriptions updated
Communicates for all: Inquires, general guest questions and turn over cleaner scheduling (clearly there may be some instances where we need to step in)
I wanted to mention our self-developed app as a host for hosts with multiple listings: Your Porter App
I’m sure there are plenty of tools out there but we mainly focused on managing listings on the go with smartphones and communication with guests and other teammates (like cleaners or key exchangers).
At the moment, Porter App definitely does not cover all of your requirements, but it can ease your daily tasks a lot. We passionately keep developing new features day by day.
I can gladly assist you if you have any further questions.
At the current time, there are no Airbnb + HomeAway players offering the whole list of services you are seeking, which would be a “super-PMS”. I believe there should be several super-PMS of this kind of the market, but in the current state of play you should expect to have to go to several services to match this.
I believe you should head towards Orbirental for a lot of what you are asking, as I think they would be one of the best positioned to meet your needs when it comes to calendar and listing updates.
For the communication part, I believe you should check-out Smartbnb.io (obvious disclosure, I am the founder of Smartbnb) which will automate all communication to your Airbnb guests, directly on Airbnb (with native Airbnb messages, not emails), from inquiries to reservation, from check-in to check-out, including automatic publication of reviews.
Communication with team members is currently under private beta, but I can give you an early access if you are interested. Automatic replies to repetitive questions should come soon!
We also provide a unified inbox across all Airbnb accounts (which may be of interest if you have an Airbnb account for each owner/property) to reply to guests, pre-approve/decline inquiries and pre-approve/decline requests to book.
Hostaway is a portal that allows you to manage multiple listings on Airbnb, Homeaway, VRBO, Expedia, Booking.com, Wimdu, 9flats and Housetrip. We support guest communication, automated messages, adjusting rates and keeping calendars synced, together with updating content. We are shortly bringing approval of inquiries and charge $10/month/listing.
If this solution doesn’t work for you, there are many property management systems (PMS’s) out there that connect to a channel manager. They usually cost 3-20 usd per listing plus a 3-4% fee for the channel manager which is a separate company. The main issue with these services is sorting out problems - the super PMS Pierre suggested doesn’t exist yet, and when you work with multiple companies (PMS+channel manager) it’s difficult to sort out any issues. Because of the long chain and number of companies and parties involved, you are bound to run into trouble regarding cancellations, rates or calendar syncing.
Keep in mind your future needs as well. A solution that works well for 3 properties may not be the optimal one when you reach 50 or 200. Delegating tasks, managing staff and ensuring everything gets done will save you a lot of time and money. If you plan to have fewer than 10 listings and no outside staff, you can choose a simpler system from the start.
Since everyone seems to be plugging their own companies, it’s only fair I mention BnbBoss. We have built a platform specifically for anyone that manages multiple Airbnb listings across multiple accounts.
Unfortunately, we are focusing on Airbnb and not any other rental platforms (booking.com, homeaway, vrbo, etc.)
You might also want to take a look at Hostaway as they might be a good fit for you.
Thanks for your insights and feedback. I just read this message and funny we did decide to go with the Orbi option and are currently implementing and testing it on one of our rentals.
We will surely look ingot your product - I am open to solutions that work - how can we get in contact with you after my team and I have a chance to review?
Check out HostAway. I think it ticks off all your boxes and it’s very inexpensive as well. I just started using it about a week ago and can’t believe it took me this long. Once I get it all setup, I’ll save about $90 a month in subscription fees to other platforms!
I see that @bnbBoss mentioned @Hostaways already but I thought I’d chime in based on my own experience.
If it’s not too late to give an advice I would recommend AirGMS. As a channel manager, it has multi-platform synchronization. So, you can sync all calendar data from any short-term rental booking platform. What is more important in AirGMS you can find irreplaceable useful features. For instance, you can manage all your Airbnb chats in one place. Templates, automatic replies are all there as well. The platform has a deep integration with Airbnb, so you can easily do almost all actions you would normally do on Airbnb. AirGMS has a free trial option for 14 days. Check it out to see if it fits your needs.
@smartbnb.io I was more than impressed when you gave me a tour of the product well over a year ago so when I revisited it recently, I must say - I was absolutely floored! I definitely suffer from the shiny new object syndrome and can say with certainty that Smartbnb.io is the most robust automation solution out there for the money. Congrats and thank you for creating such an awesome tool.
Since you have had a look at pretty much every solution on the market, your advice does mean something, but I have some “shiny new things” in store!
I’m chiming in… here is a lightweight, easy to setup and use tool for communicating with your vendors (hot tub servicers, yard maintenance, etc.). You could add on to any of the above solutions. https://www.vrmanagevendors.com/
@Michael We were spending a lot of time managing and scheduling cleaners, so we ended up writing some software for ourselves. Anyway, we released it to the public for free - so you might want to check it out - TurnoverBnB.com
Hello, I’m new to co hosting but am trying to find a way to build peoples business by setting up new listings for them that i manage but want to be able to co ordinate with their calendar. Is it possible
Yes, you can add your customer’s listing into Your Porter App and manage everything from the app. They can be under different accounts but syncing their calendars, you can collect all reservations into single calendar.
Hey @Paula, you might want to try the app we created that automatically schedules cleaners by syncing with your ABB or VRBO calendars. It’s free - TurnoveBnB.com
Hi there,
I have several properties as well and do need some kind of a channel manager to sync everything together, as well as show the home owners which i manage the property for - a comfortable view of their stats.
I have no background in creating tools, so i was wondering if it can be done using a freelancer which can code.
The idea is to create a free tool at the end which can be functional and comfortable for the property managers and home owners. I wouldn’t mind go for it even with the support of some other people who will be interested, but I do need some directions for the start; Maybe @TurnoverBnB can shed some light as i see that you have some experience in that?
@Asaf Hey Asaf, we’re originally ABB hosts with software engineering backgrounds. We wrote the code for turnoverbnb to assist ourselves in managing multiple cleaners over multiple properties. Eventually, we decided to release it to the public for free because we thought it was a pretty useful tool - and you should give it a try
I’m not sure exactly what you’re trying to build, but without a background in software, you probably have an uphill battle ahead. Unfortunately, we’re pretty wrapped up in turnoverbnb to look at other projects at the moment
@TurnoverBnB Thanks Tim. Just wondering - cleaners (at least freelancers) tend to use smartphones rather then a pc/laptop. So scheduling with them in this method might be problematic as I see it. Do you maybe have a mobile app in the pipe? Thank you for sharing the platform by the way, seems quite useful and i am eager to try it out.
