Best Software for Airbnb Property Managers

Jul 16, 2024, written by Dennis Shirshikov
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Becoming a short term rental property manager offers the opportunity to make money from real estate without owning a property and without even holding a license. However, to succeed in this highly dynamic and competitive industry, you need access to the best tools and platforms that will help you automate tasks, increase revenue, and grow your business.

The best Airbnb software for property managers with different needs include:

  1. SummerOSBest Overall Software for Airbnb Managers
  2. Guesty: Best for Integrations
  3. Forecast: Best for Airbnb Data
  4. Hostfully: Best for Guidebooks
  5. Hospitable: Best for Direct Bookings
  6. OwnerRez: Best for Customization
  7. Smoobu: Best Free Option

How We Selected the Best Airbnb Software for Property Managers

When ranking the top tech-based solutions for Airbnb managers, we followed this criteria:

  • Features: First and foremost, we looked for tools that allow managers to streamline all processes, from listing and pricing, to guest communication and task management. We also looked for customization options to choose the tools that make the most sense for each individual business.
  • Third-party integrations: We focused on software platforms that integrate seamlessly with various types of tools used in the vacation rental industry and that allow managers to list on multiple websites.
  • Ease of use: We prioritized software that stands out with its user-friendly interface that does not have a steep learning curve and overly complicated onboarding.
  • Pricing: We went for Airbnb management software with competitive pricing that is worth the features and integrations that managers get access to.
  • Scalability: We searched for tools that have the capacity to grow with users’ property portfolios so that managers don’t need to switch once they onboard more rentals.
  • Customer support: We included products that have strong help centers and that offer support to customers via chat, phone, and email.
  • Online reviews: We checked out customer reviews on reliable third-party websites to confirm the quality of each ranked tool and customer satisfaction with it.
  • Value for money: Finally, we selected the 6 Airbnb management software solutions for professional managers that offer the best value for money to their users.

1. SummerOS: Best Overall Software for Airbnb Managers

SummerOS is an all-in-one property management platform designed to help vacation rental managers optimize their operations, grow their portfolios, and simplify every aspect of managing short-term rentals. Built by property managers for property managers, SummerOS centralizes your data, tools, and workflows into one intuitive platform, allowing you to manage your business more effectively and efficiently.

The standout feature of SummerOS is its ability to provide a complete, end-to-end solution for short-term rental management, from sourcing new leads to underwriting new properties. It’s designed for national property managers, Airbnb co-hosts, franchise managers, and growing portfolios of all sizes.

Key features of SummerOS include:

  • Lead sourcing
  • Client onboarding
  • Operational management
  • Owner relationship management
  • Centralized data and tech tools
  • Performance tracking (property and portfolio level)
  • Comp set building
  • Lead capture and upsell opportunities
  • Automated alerts and tasks
  • Owner retention through real-time updates
  • Advanced underwriting and pro forma tools

SummerOS doesn’t just centralize operations; it’s designed to help property managers make data-driven decisions. By providing real-time insights into market trends, property performance, and potential growth opportunities, it enables users to scale their portfolios with confidence.

An additional benefit is the seamless integration with Summer Forecast, which offers advanced data forecasting tools to help property managers and investors stay ahead in the competitive short-term rental market.

Getting started with SummerOS is easy. Sign up, and the Summer team will assist you in setting up your platform. Whether you’re new to property management software or switching from another solution, SummerOS makes the transition seamless and simple.

2. Guesty: Best for Integrations

Guesty is a popular Airbnb property management software that small and large hospitality providers use to optimize operations and maximize revenue. With the available features, Guesty covers many requirements for property managers. A major benefit of this solution compared to alternatives is the large number of integrations with third-party apps.

As expected from one of the best Airbnb software for property managers, Guesty offers a wide range of features that help with various aspects of the business. 

The main Guesty features cover:

  • Channel manager
  • Multi-calendar
  • Unified inbox
  • Multi-unit management
  • Direct reservations
  • Manual reservations
  • CRM
  • Revenue management
  • Payment solutions
  • Task management
  • Automation tools
  • Owners portal
  • Accounting
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Guest communication services
  • Damage protection
  • Guesty Capital offering funding crafted for short term rental businesses that covers property renovations and upgrades, team growth, brand building, and portfolio expansion
  • Guesty Locks Manager
  • Guesty PriceOptimizer for dynamic pricing
  • Guesty Websites
  • Guesty Pay for secure payments on the Guesty platform
  • Mobile app
  • Open API

Two services offered by Guesty as add-ons that are worth mentioning are the guest communication services and the damage protection. 

With the guest communication services, Airbnb managers can have the Guesty team handle guest communication outside business hours for prompt responses to guests’ most pressing inquiries. 

With the damage protection, property managers can manage damage claims without the involvement of guests for full property protection with zero guest friction, which helps grow repeat customers.

What makes Guesty truly competitive in the short term rental management software field is the number of integrations with third-party apps that they offer. There are 100+ integrations that fall in categories like channel managers, financials and accounting, guest management, home automation and security, marketing, operations, payment processing, and others.

Guesty integrates with dozens of major online travel agencies (OTA) (such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Google, Agoda, etc.) and minor channels (like GlampingHub, Plum Guide, HomeToGo, Hopper, etc).

Getting started with Guesty is easy. Sign up and schedule an introductory call. If property management software is new to you, then the team at Guesty is ready to help. If you are migrating over from another solution, it’s also very easy to switch over.

3. Forecast: Best for Airbnb Data

Summer Forecast is a data platform designed for property managers and investors who want to stay ahead in the short-term rental market. Developed by a team with deep industry expertise, Summer Forecast provides institutional-quality Airbnb data and advanced forecasting tools that empower you to make smarter, more profitable decisions. Whether you’re evaluating new investments or optimizing your existing portfolio, Summer Forecast delivers the insights you need to succeed.

What sets Summer Forecast apart is its comprehensive approach to market intelligence, helping users anticipate trends, maximize revenue, and benchmark performance against the competition. The platform is perfect for anyone looking to gain a competitive edge through data-driven decisions.

Key features of Summer Forecast include:

  • Revenue projections
  • Occupancy rate forecasts
  • Market trend analysis
  • Customizable comp sets
  • New investment evaluation
  • Portfolio optimization
  • Real-time data updates
  • Custom reporting and analytics

One of the standout features of Summer Forecast is its customizable forecasting tools, which allow property managers to adapt strategies based on dynamic market conditions and optimize their pricing and occupancy rates. The platform also provides comp sets, enabling you to compare your properties against competitors and adjust accordingly to outperform the market.

Summer Forecast is seamlessly integrated with SummerOS, providing users with a unified platform for managing operations and accessing actionable data insights. This combination gives property managers a 360-degree view of their business and market performance, all in one place.

Getting started with Summer Forecast is easy. Sign up today, and the Summer team will guide you through the setup. Whether you’re new to data platforms or migrating from another tool, Summer Forecast ensures a smooth transition, giving you the power to make informed decisions quickly and efficiently.

4. Hostfully: Best for Guidebooks

Hostfully is one of the best Airbnb management software for professional property managers that allows them to make more money by reaching more guests, reducing costs, and running a more efficient business. Where Hostfully truly differentiates itself from competitors is the advanced Digital Guidebooks solution.

The list of features provided by Hostfully is rather standard for the industry, including:

  • Channel manager
  • Booking pipeline
  • Direct booking
  • Branded experience
  • Customer data management
  • Central calendar
  • Guidebook integration
  • Unified inbox
  • Pre-arrival form
  • Digital rental agreements
  • Payment processing
  • Property data management
  • Task management
  • Automation
  • User permissions to assign different access levels to different team members
  • Owner portal
  • Owner financial reports
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Mobile app
  • Open API

Interestingly, Hostfully Guidebooks helps Airbnb managers create customizable guest guidebooks in the form of mini, mobile-first websites that require no downloading for easy access to information related to the property, the area, local attractions, check-in, the wifi, how-to guides, and anything else. 

Personalized guidebooks are a proven way to take your hospitality services to the next level for 5-star reviews. Moreover, property managers can earn additional revenue from referrals they make to local businesses.

Hostfully integrates with 60+ partners across accounting, amenities, communications, data tools, distribution channels, guest screening, insurance, luggage storage, marketing automation, smart home, turnover management, and others.

The Hostfully platform allows property managers to list and sync their properties on both larger and smaller booking channels, including but not limited to Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Google, Homes & Villas by Marriott International, RedAwning, Travelstation, Whimstay, Homads, GoLightly, Lodge Lovers, OwnerDirect, and Yupe.

5. Hospitable: Best for Direct Bookings

Hospitable is a vacation rental software that helps property managers save time by automating 90% of guest messages, syncing across all platforms, and streamlining cleaning team reminders, among other tasks. One feature that stands out is the direct booking websites.

Hospitable features are comparable to the tools offered by other similar platforms. They include:

  • Channel manager
  • Pricing sync
  • Double-booking protection
  • Unified inbox
  • Guest communication
  • Direct booking websites
  • Manual reservations
  • Task management
  • Team collaboration to assign roles, give access, and send tasks to different team members
  • Review management
  • Smart locks integration
  • Reporting and analytics

With Hospitable, Airbnb property managers can easily build their own listing websites to showcase the properties that they manage in the way that they want. Hospitable offers professional, customizable templates that require no technical skills to be implemented. Moreover, managers can use the booking widget to integrate their already existing websites into the system.

Hospitable integrates with apps within accounting, amenities, booking channels, data tools, dynamic pricing, guest verification, guidebooks, home automation, marketing, professional services, and others.

It’s worth noting that Hospitable works only with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and Google as OTAs. However, the sophisticated direct booking websites feature helps property managers compensate for this limited number of channels with direct bookings, on which they don’t have to pay Airbnb fees.

6. OwnerRez: Best for Customizations

OwnerRez aims to provide an elite vacation rental channel manager, PMS, and website provider. This Airbnb software for property managers stands out with the multiple add-ons that it offers for a customizable arsenal of tools.

The features provided by the OwnerRez platform include:

  • Channel manager
  • Dynamic pricing
  • Messaging
  • Website builder
  • Direct credit card processing
  • Manual payments
  • CRM
  • Digital signatures
  • Security deposits
  • Accounting
  • Taxes management
  • Review management
  • Owner portal access
  • Statements and payouts
  • Expenses management
  • Reporting

Many of these features are offered as add-ons so that property managers can customize their plans to only use and pay for what they need for their business.

Similar to other Airbnb management software solutions for managers, OwnerRez integrates with multiple third-party tools including categories like accounting, business intelligence, dynamic pricing, door locks, guest communication, housekeeping services, insurance, websites, and others.

With OwnerRez, Airbnb managers can list properties under their management on various short term rental websites such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Google, HomeToGo, GuestSmiles, Houfy, Nofie, Whimstay, FloridaRentals.com, and others.

Bottom Line

Despite the many benefits, managing vacation rentals can be a demanding endeavor, requiring oversight of multiple properties, endless tasks, and coordination across teams.

That’s where SummerOS and Summer Forecast come in. These tools help you streamline operations, automate processes, and leverage data-driven insights to grow your business smoothly. From lead management and client onboarding to advanced forecasting and market analysis, SummerOS and Summer Forecast offer everything you need to scale with confidence and outperform the competition.

This article was written by
Dennis Shirshikov

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