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Managing your own Airbnb properties can be a tricky task.

Property managers that are responsible for Airbnb properties face a unique set of challenges that regular property managers do not really face.

However, there are ways for property managers to make the process easier and more efficient.

The best way is to invest in a vacation rental property management software. This kind of software solution makes a vacation rental business much more efficient and aids in the growth and expansion of the business

In this guide, we will be listing our top 5 choices for the best Airbnb management software, or vacation rental property management.

To begin, let's go over some of the benefits of using this kind of software in your vacation rental business.

What is Airbnb Property Management Software?

Benefits of Airbnb rental management software

Before investing in property management software for your Airbnb business, it is important to know exactly what it is and what you will be getting out of it.

This kind of vacation rental software allows Airbnb property managers to automate many tasks that come with managing multiple properties.

Some of the tasks that can be automated with vacation rental management software include:

  • Maintenance task management
  • Revenue management
  • Managing multiple listings
  • Guest communication
  • Channel manager

...and many more.

Below, we will detail these benefits and why they are important to a vacation rental business.

Benefits

In this section, we will go over some of the many benefits that property managers can gain access to with vacation rental management software.

Maintenance Management

Many property managers and property management companies have dedicated maintenance management software. However, good property management software has maintenance management as one of its features.

A proper maintenance management software solution should be able to do various things like:

  • Streamline management tasks
  • Automatically accept tasks
  • Assign tasks to vendors
  • Monitor the complete process

With all of these features, property managers can easily keep track of all pending and completed tasks and make sure they all get taken care of as quickly as possible.

Accounting Features

Apart from having a good maintenance management solution, great property management software should have an intuitive accounting system.

This accounting system should be able to generate various reports pertaining to vacation rentals that property owners can find useful. Some of these useful reports include:

  • Balance sheet
  • Income statement
  • General ledger
  • Accounts payable

...and many more.

Manage Multiple Listings

Vacation rental software should also be able to support multiple properties and multiple listings. This allows the property managers to have all of their properties in one place and manage them all using the same system.

From this same system, the property manager should also be able to manage the tenants staying in the properties. Although this may not be very useful for short-term properties

Guest Communication

In the vacation rental industry, communication with tenants and guests is extremely important. This is why most property management solutions offer a streamlined method of communication for them.

By having a streamlined method of communication, property managers and property owners can know exactly what is happening in their vacation rental properties. They can also stay up to date with any issues or concerns that arise from the guest.

Channel Manager

A channel manager is a system that allows a property manager to syndicate their rental properties to different listing sites. This is a very useful feature for vacation rental businesses as it makes it easier to fill vacant properties.

A channel manager may also allow users to sync multiple airbnb accounts and have them all centered in one dashboard.

Some systems may even allow property managers to create their own website to accept direct bookings. However, this is a very advanced feature and may have extra costs applied.

So, now that we know all about the benefits of using vacation rental software, let's go over some of the best property management software options.

5 Best Property Management Software for Airbnb

In this section, we will be reviewing our top 5 picks for the best vacation rental property management software.

Guesty

Guesty

The first option on our list is Guesty. Guesty is a very powerful vacation rental property management software that is best suited for Airbnb properties and other short-term rental platforms.

Guesty is able to integrate with a large array of travel agencies and solutions, like Airbnb, Expedia, and TripAdvisor. This allows for some more advanced features like dynamic pricing tools, noise monitoring, and keyless entry systems.

One of the most powerful aspects of Guesty is that it can be used on both desktop and mobile apps. This means that you can completely manage all of your rental properties from your smartphone.

Features:

Some of Guesty's most important features include:

  • Custom website creation
  • Combining listing platforms
  • Mobile app
  • Guest communications
  • Powerful reporting and analytics

Pricing:

Guesty does not provide their pricing publicly. However, they offer the option to request a quote to see how much someone would need to pay depending on their specific properties.

Lodgify

DoorLoop

Lodgify is another very popular, and powerful, property management tool for vacation rental properties. One of the greatest benefits of using Lodgify is that it offers a full service management solution for property managers.

This particular option is designed to optimize a vacation rental business's online presence. Lodgify achieves this by offering custom, mobile friendly website creation.

With this one feature, property managers can increase their online visibility, optimize their SEO and marketing services, and allow their guests to skip expensive booking fees that systems like Airbnb charge.

Features:

Although Lodgify has an impressive list of features, their most important ones include:

  • Complete channel manager
  • Custom website builder
  • Automatic maintenance management
  • Guest communications

Pricing:

After that, the Starter plan starts at $13 per month and increases as more units are added. The Professional plan starts at $38 per month and the Ultimate plan starts at $59 per month.

Both of these plans offer a multitude of features that are not offered by the Lite or Starter plan, making them more suitable for larger property managers.

Hostfully

Hostfully

Another good option for vacation rental property management software is Hostfully. Hostfully has various features that may not be found with any of the other options on this list.

One of their most unique features is that they offer is a digital guidebook. This allows property managers to offer a complete guide for their tenants and guests before they arrive at the property.

Hostfully also places a lot of emphasis on the automation of time-consuming tasks. These features allow property managers to focus more on their business and less on the work they have to do.

Features:

Some of Hostfully's most important features include:

  • Channel management
  • Automated responses
  • Direct bookings
  • Upsell services
  • Digital guidebooks

Pricing:

Hostfully is on the pricier end of the options on this list.

The plan starts at $109 per month and their premium runs at $260 per month.

Hostaway

Hostaway

Hostaway is a short-term rental software with a robust set of features, including good reporting tools and automatic payments.

They also have a good list of integrations, though the trade-off is that they’re priced considerably higher than the average property management software.

Hostaway features include:

  • Automatic payments
  • Messaging tools
  • Owner portal
  • Good accounting features

Hostaway pricing

Hostaway’s plans start at $100 per month, though they don’t provide details about their payment plans on their website. So, you’ll need to contact them directly to get more information.

DoorLoop

DoorLoop

The final option on this list is our all-in-one option for property management, DoorLoop. DoorLoop is a great option for all sorts of rental properties, including, but not limited to, short term and vacation rentals.

While not yet offering integration with Airbnb or VRBO for syndication, it has the a plethora of amazing features built to help make managing your short-term rentals simpler and easier.

DoorLoop Features Include:

  • Automated rent collection: Collect rent from anywhere around the world, at any time, without having to lift a finger– you or your guests (once set up). 
  • Master accounting suite: Need a tool that can help you manage all your vacation rental bookkeeping? DoorLoop can do it. Prefer to stick with QuickBooks for accounting tasks? We’ve got you covered there too with a super easy to setup QB Online integration.
  • Tenant portal and streamlined communications tools: Hate jumping between SMS, phone, and email? With DoorLoop you can bring all your communications together and track them from a single platform with ease. 
  • Maintenance management tools: Managing the maintenance and cleaning for a short-term rental can be a pain, especially if you don’t live near the property. Automate regular maintenance and upkeep with workflows so that everything works as intended when your guest arrives– every time.

DoorLoop Pricing:

One of the best parts about DoorLoop is its pricing. At only $59 per month for up to 20 units, it comes in at one of the most affordable options on this list.

Schedule a free demo today to see what DoorLoop can do for you. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago Aday is a Summa Cum Laude graduate and has a background in software development. As the Marketing Automation Specialist at DoorLoop, Santi loves simplifying the complicated aspects of property management.

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