Airbnb management software has become a buzzword in the short term rental industry, and each person has their own understanding of the term. The truth of the matter is that there isn't one single definition of Airbnb property management software as there are multiple tools, products, and solutions that can go under this broad umbrella.
In this article, we're going to cut through the noise and confusion about this important concept by defining the different types of tools that can be referred to as Airbnb management software and discussing what each one does, what problems it solves, what the best examples are, and how it can help you.
You can break Airbnb management software into these main categories
- Overall Airbnb management software: Summer is our top pick!
- Property management: Guesty is our top pick
- Lead management: Hostaway is our top pick
- Dynamic pricing: Wheelhouse is our top pick
- Airbnb accounting software: QuickBooks Online is our top pick
- Airbnb channel management: Lodgify is our top pick
- Airbnb data and analytics: AirDNA is our top pick
Find more information about all of these below, but Airbnb property managers who want to bring all their operations under a single roof, maximize the performance of properties in their portfolio, and grow their business efficiently can check out Summer, an all-in-one short term rental property management software platform!
What Is Airbnb Management Software?
Airbnb management software refers to technology-based platforms that help vacation rental property owners and managers like you automate and streamline the processes that go into managing an Airbnb business. This definition covers a wide range of tools, from popular names like AirDNA, Guesty, and Lodgify, to less well-known companies such as Beds24, Smoobu, and Wave.
There are a few different types of software platforms that solve various challenges which Airbnb hosts and property managers face in their day-to-day operations. These include:
- Property management systems (PMS) for streamlining operations
- Lead management for attracting more bookings
- Dynamic pricing for optimizing revenue
- Accounting for facilitating financial operations
- Channel management for unifying listings on multiple websites
- Data and analytics for making informed decisions and investments
The reality in the short term rental management software industry is that most tools provide solutions to just one or a couple of problems experienced by owners and managers. There are very few platforms that offer comprehensive solutions to meet all needs of STR operators. Summer is one solution that does it all in one platform.
In general, vacation rental software helps the following groups of users:
- Part-time owners and hosts looking for an efficient way to manage their listings without allocating much time to this
- Full-time vacation rental property investors and hosts with multiple listings searching for the best way to enhance their performance in an efficient manner
- Local and national Airbnb property managers aiming to boost revenue for owners and themselves while also growing their portfolio
- Short term rental property management companies working with hundreds or thousands of listings nationwide
All these potential customers are looking for solutions that help them simultaneously minimize the time and effort they need to spend on managing their vacation rentals and maximize reservations and income.
What You Should Look for in Airbnb Management Software
When choosing the best software for managing your Airbnb properties, we focused on the following criteria:
- Tools and features: First and foremost, we looked for software with powerful tools that truly help improve the management of short term rental properties.
- Data accuracy: When relevant, we focused on products with proven Airbnb data accuracy delivering optimal results to users.
- Automation capacities: We selected platforms that allow hosts and property managers to streamline and automate different aspects of managing vacation rentals, such as distribution, pricing, marketing, cleaning, guest communication, and others.
- Usability: We made sure that the Airbnb software offers user-friendly, intuitive UI and interfaces.
- Integrations: We gave priority to platforms that integrate with multiple third-party tools including but not limited to listing websites, dynamic pricing tools, channel managers, and others.
- Scalability: Recommended solutions are capable of growing along with your needs, helping manage both a couple of and a few hundred listings equally efficiently.
- Market coverage: We chose software tools that can be used across the entire U.S. market.
- Pricing: Suggested companies have clear pricing information with affordable rates for both small-scale and large-scale STR operators.
- Customer reviews: We checked customer reviews of each product on trustworthy third-party websites to ensure that they deliver quality and value to customers.
- Customer support: We included products that have strong customer support teams that are available and easy to reach.
- Value for money: Ultimately, we highlighted the Airbnb management software product that brings the best value for money in each category.
Based on these factors, let's jump into the best tools for managing short term rentals!
Airbnb Management Software for Property Management Systems
The first type of software frequently used in the short term rental management industry is a property management system (PMS). A PMS refers to an online application that streamlines and facilitates the ongoing operations of your vacation rental property so you can provide superior guest services and experiences that lead to more revenue. This includes the management of bookings, guests, communication, housekeeping tasks, and team members.
Popular PMS Airbnb management software tools include the following.
Guesty
In our Guesty review, we noted that it's a top short term rental PMS software for both individual hosts and professional property managers. Their platform combines multiple important tools such as a channel manager, multi-calendar, direct reservations, manual reservations, unified inbox, task management, payment solutions, multi-unit management, accounting, analytics, and reporting.
In addition to these core features, Guesty offers multiple add-ons including guest communication services, property damage protection, smart locks management, website builder, and others. This makes Guesty a highly customizable platform that is able to meet the needs of different Airbnb owners and managers.
The main pros of Guesty include:
- Numerous features
- Customization options
- Various integrations
- Ability to scale
- Affordable pricing for small portfolios
- 24/7 customer support
The main cons of Guesty are:
- Important tools offered as add-ons only
- Too many different features for beginners
- Technical glitches reported by users
- Unclear pricing for large portfolios
Hospitable
Our in-depth Hospitable review found that this is another high-powered PMS option that can work for both Airbnb hosts with a single listing and managers with numerous rentals. Some of the most important tools offered by the platform include a channel manager, direct booking website, manual reservations, pricing sync, guest communication, unified inbox, task management, smart lock integration, team collaboration, and review management. Additionally, the PMS integrates with multiple third-party tools so it's easier to manage your vacation rental properties.
The major pros of Hospitable are:
- Comprehensive tools
- Performance enhancement potential
- Integrations with key third-party tools
- Flexible pricing
The most considerable cons of Hospitable include:
- Few integrations with short term rental listing websites
- Lack of automated adding of direct bookings to the calendar
- High cost for multiple properties
OwnerRez
OwnerRez is a property management system software platform that generally leans towards the needs of larger Airbnb management companies. Available features include channel management, dynamic pricing, messaging, website builder, rental agreements, CRM, review management, accounting, expense management, tax management, and more. OwnerRez integrates with different tools and websites used by short term rental property owners and managers.
The most important pros of OwnerRez include:
- All-in-one PMS
- Customization opportunities
- Good integrations
- 14-day free trial
The most significant cons of OwnerRez are:
- Technical problems reported by customers
- Multiple add-ons that inflate cost
- Customer support not always available
- Complex pricing
Our Best Pick for Airbnb PMS Software: Guesty
With multiple PMS options available to Airbnb owners and property managers, Guesty currently stands out with its features, robustness, and flexibility.
Airbnb Management Software for Lead Management
A second major task with which vacation rental management software helps is lead management. Figuring out how to get more Airbnb property management leads can boost your occupancy rates and bring in repeat customers. This dedicated software helps with the generation, management, communication, and conversion of leads in a more efficient way.
Look to the best Airbnb lead management software solutions here.
Hostaway
Based on our in-depth Hostaway review, this platform offers multiple tools of value to STR operators, and one of the most important of them is customer and lead management. As Hostaway themselves state, the feature helps "turn lookers into bookers".
Their product facilitates real-time communication to secure reservations before guests book with a competitor. In addition, the lead management tool helps re-engage past guests, market to them with personalized coupons, and increase repeat customers which is easier and less costly than always chasing after new guests.
The top pros of Hostaway are:
- Dedicated lead management features
- Additional tools of value to property owners and managers
- Strong integrations
- Scalability and customization
The main cons of Hostaway include:
- Complex onboarding
- Steep learning curve for new users
- Lack of pricing information
Hostfully
Hostfully is another Airbnb management software that stands out with its lead management capabilities. The platform has a few features that automate the management of leads, regardless of where they come from. Specifically, Hostfully streamlines the booking pipeline so that leads are never missed. Customers can organize leads and reach out to them with customized offers to boost booking rates. They can also access crucial lead data and analytics such as the channel where leads originated or the date they were generated to enhance their marketing strategy.
Some pros of Hostfully include:
- Versatile Airbnb lead management solutions
- Multiple valuable Airbnb property management tools
- Strong integrations
- Custom pricing for numerous properties
Major cons of Hostfully are:
- Issues with integrations
- Weak customer support as reported by users
- High cost for small-scale hosts and property managers
iGMS
iGMS is an Airbnb property management software platform that helps vacation rental owners, property managers, and Airbnb management companies tackle leads in an efficient and effective manner. The channel manager and the website builder are some of the iGMS tools that help hosts and managers generate leads faster than ever before. The automated messaging and the direct booking management features ensure quick communication with interested guests to convert them into customers. A unique tool of iGMS is the guest communication productivity tracking that STR operators can use to boost efficiency and enhance performance.
The main pros of iGMS are:
- Advanced automated workflows
- Communication productivity tracker
- Excellent integrations
- Competitive pricing
The most considerable cons of iGMS include:
- Relatively limited customization options
- Frequent double-bookings
- Poor customer support
Our Best Pick for Airbnb Lead Management Software: Hostaway
Many vacation rental management software platforms offer solutions related to lead management and conversion. However, Hostaway has the best CRM and lead management capabilities among competitors that come along with numerous other tools of value to property owners and managers.
Airbnb Management Software for Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic pricing is an integral part of managing your short term rentals. Supply and demand in the vacation rental market changes every season, every month, and even every day, and a good Airbnb pricing strategy should reflect these fluctuations to be competitive.
However, manually researching, calculating, and adjusting daily rates requires a lot of time that hosts and property managers don't have. The solution is Airbnb dynamic pricing software that recommends and even automatically pushes live the optimal prices.
The best Airbnb pricing tools include the following.
Wheelhouse
In our Wheelhouse review, we found that this is the top software solution for dynamic Airbnb pricing. What truly distinguishes Wheelhouse from other tools available on the market is the ability to choose between a data-driven pricing strategy, a rule-based pricing technique, or a hybrid between the two. This capability allows hosts and managers to select the optimal approach for their specific market, property, and preferences. In addition, users can customize their base rate, minimum and maximum price, far-future and last-minute rates, and many other factors to further personalize their pricing strategy. With the help of Wheelhouse, users are often able to increase revenue by 20%.
The most significant pros of Wheelhouse are:
- Fully customizable Airbnb pricing strategy
- Comprehensive, reliable short term rental data informing the pricing strategy
- Focus on boosting revenue rather than occupancy
- Ability to increase revenue by 20%
- Multiple revenue management tools in addition to dynamic pricing
Some cons of Wheelhouse include:
- Lack of direct integration with Vrbo and Booking.com (done via a third-party PMS platform)
- Different pricing plans for each tool
PriceLabs
Our PriceLabs review reveals that this dynamic pricing software can be used for different types of properties listed on Airbnb including short term rentals, mid term rentals, villas, chalets, campgrounds, RVs, holiday parks, aparthotels, serviced apartments, hotels, and others. Airbnb pricing strategies are relatively customizable with this software as users can set up the minimum and maximum rates, minimum guest stay length, orphan day rules, prices based on occupancy, and other rules. Data comes from Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.
Important pros of PriceLabs include:
- Possibility to optimize revenue
- Good integrations
- Reliable data sources
- Available free plan with limited features
Major cons of PriceLabs include:
- Complex dashboard
- Steep learning curve
- Inaccurate rates reported by customers
- Complicated pricing structure for additional features and markets
Beyond
Beyond is an Airbnb revenue management software with strong dynamic pricing capabilities. In addition to accounting for all factors that typical Airbnb pricing tools use, Beyond also incorporates real-time consumer demand data. The tool makes use of short term rental data to suggest daily rates and automatically pushes them on Airbnb listings.
The main pros of Beyond include:
- Dynamic pricing based on multiple Airbnb data points
- Additional revenue management tools
- Newly launched PMS features
- Pricing based on revenue rather than a flat rate
The most considerable cons of Beyond are:
- Some manual work required to optimize the pricing strategy
- Pricing algorithm not working properly for some listings
- Sometimes erratic rates
- Expensive pricing for high-earning listings
Our Best Pick for Airbnb Dynamic Pricing Software: Wheelhouse
While most Airbnb pricing software tools are based on similar principles and data, Wheelhouse outperformers alternatives with its focus on revenue optimization and ability to improve results.
Airbnb Management Software for Accounting
Managing the finances of your Airbnb business can get complicated with the constant incoming fees from daily rates, cleaning fees, and extra guest fees and the ongoing costs such as team salaries, vendor fees, utilities, property maintenance costs, taxes, and others. To avoid unnecessary complexity and financial errors, property owners and managers can use specialized accounting software for their short term rentals.
Some of the best Airbnb accounting software options include the following.
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is a top solution for the financial and accounting needs of Airbnb hosts and property managers. This platform empowers you to manage revenue tracking, expenses, online payments, VAT tracking, invoicing, reporting, and more. QuickBooks Online allows for several Airbnb and Vrbo accounts to be connected to automate financial data imports, bookkeeping, and consolidations. Integration with these booking channels requires a third-party tool.
Some major pros of QuickBooks Online include:
- Comprehensive financial tracking and reporting
- Ability to set up multiple Airbnb and Vrbo accounts
- User-friendly interface
- No need for financial or accounting knowledge or experience
The main cons of QuickBooks Online are:
- Limited customization options
- No direct integration with Airbnb and Vrbo (need to use a third-party tool)
- High cost for multiple users and accounts
Wave
Wave stands out as the most budget-friendly option among Airbnb accounting software tools as the platform has a free plan, and even the paid plan costs only a few dollars a month. Meanwhile, the software comes with all the features related to accounting, invoicing, payments, payroll, and mobile receipts required to manage your Airbnb business. Moreover, Wave offers an intuitive interface with no need for previous accounting experience.
The top pros of Wave are:
- Comprehensive features
- Real-time data
- Easy-to-use platform
- Free plan and affordable pricing
Some cons of Wave include:
- Lack of direct integration with Airbnb
- Overly simplistic features for large vacation rental businesses
- Multiple additional fees
Xero
Xero is another popular option for Airbnb accounting software that provides more automations than most competitors. The main features cover paying bills, claiming expenses, accepting payments, paying runs, tracking projects, bank connections, bank reconciliations, managing Xero contracts, and others. Xero has special solutions for small businesses that can meet the needs of Airbnb hosts and local Airbnb managers. The platform can also grow along with your vacation rental business.
The most important pros of Xero are:
- Strong automations
- Comprehensive features
- Scalability
- User-friendly design
The main cons of Xero include:
- Lack of direct integration with Airbnb and Vrbo (to be done through a third-party platform)
- Expensive pricing for advanced features
- No annual subscriptions
Our Best Pick for Airbnb Accounting Software: QuickBooks Online
Airbnb hosts and managers can choose from a myriad of accounting software platforms to streamline the financial management of their short term rental listings. Nevertheless, QuickBooks Online shines with its advanced features, comprehensive capacities, and ability to connect multiple Airbnb and Vrbo accounts.
Airbnb Management Software for Channel Management
To succeed in the short term rental industry, you must distribute your listings across multiple platforms, including major booking websites like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com and smaller, niche platforms. However, streamlining all listing information and pricing, synchronizing all calendars, and avoiding double-booking is a serious challenge. The solution to this problem for hosts and property managers is channel management. Airbnb channel management software helps operators keep track and manage multiple listings from a single account.
The best Airbnb channel managers include the following options.
Lodgify
Lodgify is a leading vacation rental channel manager that allows Airbnb hosts and managers to bring all their listings on different websites to a single platform. The software integrates with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and Expedia to sync bookings, calendars, and rates across all listings of the same property. Moreover, with the help of Lodgify, STR operators can push changes and updates to all listings simultaneously without the need to enter the same information multiple times.
Major pros of Lodgify include:
- Multiple Airbnb management software features beyond channel management
- Seamless integrations with booking channels
- Available mobile app
- Free, supported onboarding
Some important cons of Lodgify are:
- Technical errors with syncing
- Poor customer service
- Steep pricing for advanced plans
Smoobu
Smoobu offers a powerful channel management software among other useful tools for streamlining the management of Airbnb properties. The Smoobu channel manager allows for customized synchronization based on the entire listing or sub-units which is particularly helpful when managing larger properties. With this feature, hosts and property managers can not only ensure the same daily rates among multiple platforms but also avoid double-bookings, enhance occupancy, and grow revenue.
The main pros of Smoobu are:
- Comprehensive software platform along with channel management
- Intuitive tools
- Good integrations
- Helpful customer support
Key cons of Smoobu include:
- Technical bugs with blocked nights
- No training and onboarding
- No refunds
Beds24
Beds24 provides a highly customizable Airbnb channel management software tool that integrates with various listings platforms and distribution channels. Available features include listing imports, pooled inventory, flexible constellations, content management, occupancy pricing, and others. Beds24 tools allow vacation rental hosts and managers to fine-tune pricing, send real-time notifications, and optimize marketing.
The most significant pros of Beds24 are:
- Superior customization possibilities
- Multiple features
- Powerful OTA integrations
- Excellent customer service
Major cons of Beds24 include:
- Sometimes challenging interface
- Difficult onboarding
- Airbnb host/manager's involvement required
Our Best Pick for Airbnb Channel Management Software: Lodgify
Among short term rental channel managers, Lodgify stands out as the best alternative due to their powerful features, supported integrations, and useful mobile app.
Airbnb Management Software for Data and Analytics
Profitable Airbnb management decisions are based on solid, reliable, and real-time short term rental data and analytics. Thus, another important type of Airbnb management software includes data and analytics platforms. Airbnb data software tools help hosts and property managers make informed, data-driven decisions that lead to better daily prices, higher Airbnb occupancy rates, and more revenue.
The top Airbnb data and analytics software platforms include the following.
AirDNA
AirDNA is the most popular provider of short term rental data and analytics that not only helps investors find profitable opportunities but also allows hosts and property managers to enhance the performance of listings in their portfolio. Our AirDNA review shows that the platform comes with customizable options to track the performance of select comps in each market to compare to your own listings. Moreover, it offers multiple vacation rental data points that can be used to boost your property's nightly rates and overall income. Smart Rates helps STR operators introduce dynamic pricing with data-based recommendations.
The main pros of AirDNA include:
- Airbnb and Vrbo data and analytics
- Direct data from partner listings
- Market-level and property-level Airbnb data and analysis
- Global market coverage
Some considerable cons of AirDNA are:
- Relatively low data accuracy
- Complex UI for beginners
- Lack of Airbnb pricing information about more sophisticated plans
Mashvisor
Mashvisor is a strong competitor of AirDNA in the Airbnb data and investment analysis space. The company collects Airbnb data from over 2 million listings nationally to provide analytics about daily rates, occupancy, monthly revenue, monthly expenses, cash flow, cap rate, and cash on cash return. A major advantage of Mashvisor is that the platform offers multiple Airbnb management software solutions in addition to detailed market and property data and analysis.
Major pros of Mashvisor include:
- Comprehensive Airbnb property management tools in addition to data analysis
- Available dynamic pricing tool
- Multiple data points to boost income and profit
- Nationwide market coverage
Some considerable cons of Mashvisor include:
- No Vrbo listing data
- Insufficient data accuracy
- Incomplete coverage of some markets as reported by customers
Rabbu
Rabbu is a short term rental data software platform that generally helps investors find, buy, and sell vacation rentals. However, the abundant Airbnb data available on the platform can be used by hosts and property managers to benchmark the performance of their listings and get insights on how to improve results based on comps. Rabbu Airbnb data covers both markets and individual properties for in-depth analysis.
Important pros of Rabbu are:
- Market and property Airbnb data
- Detailed short term rental analysis
- National Airbnb data coverage
- Custom pricing
Crucial cons of Rabbu include:
- Lack of specialized Airbnb property management tools
- No dynamic pricing function
- Low data accuracy
- No pricing information
Our Best Pick for Airbnb Data and Analytics Software: AirDNA
Airbnb hosts and property managers can choose from various platforms that provide short term rental market and property data and analytics. AirDNA is a top choice among them for the versatile options, tools, features, and data points.
Airbnb Management Software: Best Overall
While all of the previous Airbnb management software platforms have major pros and cons, the most significant downfall of all of them is that they offer a solution to one challenge faced by property owners and managers. This means that Airbnb hosts and managers need to obtain multiple tools, which can result in integration problems, the need to learn various dashboards, and sometimes prohibitively high costs.
Summer offers a solution to this problem. Summer is the ultimate vacation rental property management software platform that combines all the tools and features that businesses need to maximize the performance of their portfolio and continue growing their customer base.
Powered by Summer helps property managers:
- Close more leads: Summer offers direct introductions to Airbnb leads in the market who are a good fit in addition to comprehensive underwriting and tools to close leads faster than ever before.
- Build a centralized database: Using Summer, Airbnb property managers can easily organize, centralize, access, and analyze available data from their own homeowners and properties under management. In this way, they can evaluate the performance of individual properties and their entire portfolio, compare owners to benchmarks, and work out strategies to make each short term rental even more profitable for the host and the manager.
- Streamline management from a single dashboard: The Summer-powered property hub shows the activity of your entire team as well as the performance of property owners. Real-time reporting and alerts ensure that your team takes actions sooner rather than later to provide top-notch guest experiences. Meanwhile, the available data-driven insights can be used to make informed management decisions and improve results for owners.
- Access national short term rental data: Property managers can access and analyze vacation rental data covering the entire U.S. market to enhance their acquisition, strategy, reporting, and benchmarking processes.
Summer combines the functionalities of all necessary Airbnb management software tools including PMS, lead management, dynamic pricing, accounting, channel management, and data and analytics into one powerful platform.
The most important pros of Summer include:
- All-in-one vacation rental property management platform built by vacation rental property managers
- Effortless performance enhancement and business growth
- National market coverage
- Scalability
- 24/7 customer support
- Dedicated success manager
- Affordable pricing
- Access to discounted third-party goods and services for Airbnb managers
Some cons of Summer are:
- Limited use for individual Airbnb hosts
- No global data
The multiple integrated features, streamlined operations, and superior vacation rental data accuracy makes Summer the best overall Airbnb management software for professional property managers.
Bottom Line
There are dozens of Airbnb management software platforms that solve different challenges when managing short term rental listings. For instance, Guesty offers a strong PMS, while Hostaway and Wheelhouse provide powerful lead management and dynamic pricing capabilities, respectively. Similarly, QuickBooks Online is a top Airbnb accounting tool, Lodgify has an excellent channel manager, and AirDNA delivers good Airbnb data and analytics.
However, Summer is an all-in-one solution that addresses all the needs of Airbnb property managers in a single platform that supports performance optimization and portfolio growth.
