Getting access to the best vacation rental software is a must for short term rental property owners and managers who want to outperform the competition and optimize the performance of their property.
But with so many options available on the market, it’s hard to choose the optimal tool for the needs of your business unless you already have extensive experience in the industry.
This article ranks the 10 best solutions for hosts and property managers of different types to help you choose the most appropriate platform for your vacation rentals.
Based on our careful research and diligent analysis, the top 10 vacation rental management software tools are:
- Mashvisor: Best Overall Vacation Rental Software
- Guesty: Best for Third-Party Integrations
- Lodgify: Best for Vacation Rental Website Templates
- Hostfully: Best for Digital Guidebooks
- iGMS: Best for Productive Guest Communication
- Hostaway: Best for Innovative Technologies
- Hospitable: Best for Direct Booking Websites
- Smoobu: Best for a Free Website
- OwnerRez: Best for Insurance Integrations
- Uplisting: Best for Add-Ons
What Is Vacation Rental Software?
Vacation rental management software refers to tech-based tools and products that help short term rental investors, owners, hosts, and managers streamline and facilitate their business operations.
Airbnb management tools are diverse, but some of the most common features include dynamic pricing, channel management, communication automation, task management, calendar sync, direct reservations, guest review management, and marketing optimization.
Most top vacation rental software tools integrate with a wide range of third-party tools to provide the expected functionalities. These include listing platforms, marketing tools, insurance providers, smart home tools, and others.
Best Vacation Rental Software Benefits for Hosts and Property Managers
Using software tools for vacation rental property management can bring a number of different benefits to hosts and managers.
The most important advantages include:
- Management automation: Software tools take away a lot of manual tasks and bring in automation. This means that you can spend less time on managing every single property in your portfolio and spend more time on expanding your business.
- Team coordination: In most cases, Airbnb management requires a team, and using technology helps the collaboration between the different team members. You can communicate with staff and assign them tasks related to cleaning, restocking, check-ins, check-outs, maintenance, and others.
- Listing ranking boosting: Managing your vacation rentals more efficiently means improving the quality of services you provide to guests. This means that guests are happier and write more positive reviews of your property. Moreover, communication and accepting reservations happen faster, so you get more bookings. Having numerous 5-star reviews is at the core of how to list on Airbnb and other platforms, leading to higher rankings.
- Revenue optimization: Ultimately, having a unified calendar, responding to questions from a single inbox, and having more satisfied guests translates into more income. Since you’re cutting down on costs by using software, this leads to enhanced return on investment.
So now that you know why you should be using a tech platform, what is the best vacation rental software available on the market?
Mashvisor: Best Overall Vacation Rental Software
What makes this tool different from competitors is that it helps along the entire vacation rental investment journey, from finding a good market and a profitable property, all the way to insuring, listing, and managing a rental.
Mashvisor works with different types of single and multifamily properties rented out on a short term basis.
Mashvisor Features
What makes Mashvisor the best vacation rental management software is the comprehensive list of features to satisfy any need of a host or property manager, equally well.
No matter whether you manage one property or an entire portfolio, you can streamline and automate the majority of management tasks so that you focus your time and energy on growing your Airbnb business.
- Dynamic Pricing: Dynamic pricing is at the core of revenue management and profit optimization in the vacation rental industry. The Mashvisor Airbnb Dynamic Pricing tool is different from other tools as it maximizes income and ROI, not bookings and occupancy. We use reliable data from short term rental comps to suggest the optimal daily rates for each night when your property is available for renting. Moreover, you can seamlessly integrate your listings to automate the dynamic pricing process with zero interventions on your behalf, elevating your vacation rental pricing strategy.
- Vacation Rental Channel Manager: The Mashvisor Vacation Rental Channel Manager brings all your listings under one roof so that you can streamline and organize their management. There’s no longer the need to handle multiple listings on numerous websites, risking to miss reservations or delay communication.
- Multi-Calendar: The Mashvisor Multi-Calendar is an integrated, unified booking calendar that shows all your listings and reservations in real time. You can easily manage available nights, booked nights, and daily rates for optimal performance and straightforward management.
- Unified Inbox: The Mashvisor Unified Inbox brings all guest communication to a single inbox, no matter how many listings you manage and how many platforms you list on. Being available to guests before, during, and after stays is crucial for ensuring their happiness and generating a lot of 5-star reviews.
- Vacation Rental Website Builder: With the Mashvisor Vacation Rental Website Builder, hosts and property managers with no technical skills can launch their own listing websites that are optimized for SEO performance. In a matter of minutes, you can have a website for your short term rental to drive direct reservations and avoid splitting guest fees with listing channels.
- Airbnb Calculator: The Mashvisor Airbnb Calculator helps you estimate the expected daily rates, occupancy rate, and monthly rental income for any property, in any market. Estimates are based on the performance of similar properties as well as the specifications of your particular listing. This allows you to find profitable properties for sale and to ensure your listing is performing as expected.
- Vacation Rental Property Insurance: Mashvisor partners with Steadily to offer you the most comprehensive and affordable Airbnb insurance. You can protect your property against damage and yourself against liability without breaking the bank.
- Market Finder: The Mashvisor Market Finder helps investors locate the best short term rental markets for investing. You can set up the filters based on your criteria including but not limited to price, occupancy rate, rental income, and return on investment.
- Property Finder: The Mashvisor Property Finder offers a list of the best vacation rental properties for sale in your chosen market. You can search for available properties based on location, property type, and other features.
- Airbnb API: The Mashvisor Airbnb API allows vacation rental owners and professionals to integrate their website as well as other tools to enhance revenue and boost ROI. You can conduct custom analysis for optimal results.
Mashvisor Integrations
Mashvisor integrates with all major booking channels including Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.
Mashvisor Pricing
The pricing of the Mashvisor vacation rental software is affordable for hosts and managers of various sizes, making it the best vacation rental software for small business owners and large business owners alike. Monthly pricing starts at just $10, when billed annually.
Subscription fees are based on access to features, number of properties, and payment frequency. Pricing is adjusted in a way that ensures that you pay only for what you need, with no hidden fees.
Mashvisor Pros and Cons
Mashvisor offers the following advantages:
- The only comprehensive vacation rental investment platform on the market
- Sophisticated features meeting the needs of both hosts and professional property managers
- Affordable, flexible pricing model
- Long history in Airbnb data analysis and provision
- Continuous feature updates and developments
- Ability to grow your real estate portfolio
Meanwhile, the only potential disadvantage to consider is the relatively short history of Mashvisor in the vacation rental management software industry. Our vacation rental software tools were developed in response to the needs of our long-standing investor customers to manage their properties in an efficient manner.
Mashvisor Reviews
Mashvisor reviews by customers show extremely positive experiences.
Mashvisor reviews are available on:
- Trustpilot: 4.8/5 stars
- G2: 4.5/5 stars
All in all, Mashvisor features, integrations, pricing model, and reviews make it the top vacation rental software tool for investors and managers.
Guesty: Best for Third-Party Integrations
Guesty is a popular name in the vacation rental property management industry. What makes the platform stand out from alternatives is the multitude of integrations with third-party tools.
Guesty Features
The Guesty PMS offers these features:
- Guesty channel manager
- Multi-unit management
- Multi calendar
- Payment solutions
- Reporting tools
- Direct reservations
- Task management
- Unified inbox
- Revenue management
- Accounting
- Analytics
- Automation tools
- Open API
Guesty also provides the following add-ons, at additional costs:
- Guesty Capital for financing short term rental improvements
- Guesty Damage Protection
- Guesty Guest Communication Services for off-time guest communication
- Guesty Locks Manager for smart lock management
- Guesty PriceOptimizer for dynamic pricing
- Guesty Ultimate
Guesty Integrations
As the best vacation rental software for integrations, Guesty for Hosts integrates with 150+ third-party tools in the following categories:
- Booking channels
- Channel managers
- Financials and accounting
- Guest management
- Home automation and security
- Marketing
- New arrivals
- Operations, cleaning, and maintenance
- Payment processing
Guesty Pricing
The Guesty pricing model includes three different subscription plans, for hosts and managers with different portfolios and different needs. Monthly fees start at $27, when billed annually, for access to the most basic Guesty features, for those managing up to three listings.
There is no free trial of the platform.
Guesty Pros and Cons
The main Guesty pros include:
- Multiple integrations
- Integrations with major and less popular booking channels
- A good suite of features
The key Guesty cons to keep in mind are:
- Unclear pricing for higher-tier subscriptions
- Some features not being intuitive enough
- Lack of sufficient sophistication with some tools
- No free trial
Guesty Reviews
Guesty reviews are available on:
- Trustpilot: 4.6/5 stars
- Capterra: 4.4/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.4/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.4/5 stars
- G2: 4.5/5 stars
Lodgify: Best for Vacation Rental Website Templates
Our research shows that Lodgify is the best vacation rental software for short term rental website templates. Along with all must-have features, Lodgify supplies a number of different designs that you can choose from to match your listing.
Lodgify Features
The most prominent features provided by Lodgify are:
- Lodgify channel manager
- Reservation system
- Unified inbox
- Guest management
- Task management
- Automation
- Reporting and analytics
- Accounting
- Website builder
- Dynamic pricing
- Mobile app
Lodgify stands out from competitors with the many vacation rental website templates that it offers. This allows hosts and property managers to customize their website in line with the style of their property, for more direct reservations.
Lodgify Integrations
The Lodgify vacation rental property software integrates with the following types of third-party tools:
- Channels
- Business tools
- Cleaning
- Dynamic pricing like PriceLabs and Beyond
- Guest experience
- Guest verification
- Keyless access
- Rental protection
Lodgify Pricing
Similar to other tools, Lodgify has three plans to address the needs of varying property owners and managers. However, unlike others, in some cases they charge both a monthly fee, starting at $13, when billed annually, and 1.9% of booking fees.
Costs go up with the number of properties and access to more features.
There is a 7-day free trial.
Lodgify Pros and Cons
Some of the most considerable benefits of the Lodgify platform are:
- Good vacation rental website builder feature
- Flexibility for businesses of different sizes
Meanwhile, interested Airbnb hosts and property managers should be aware of the following drawbacks:
- Steep pricing for access to more features and larger portfolios
- Potentially steep learning curve
Lodgify Reviews
Lodgify reviews are available on:
- Capterra: 4.5/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.5/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.5/5 stars
- Trustpilot: 4.6/5 stars
- G2: 4.0/5 stars
Hostfully: Best for Digital Guidebooks
What makes Hostfully one of the best vacation rental software platforms on the market is the feature known as Hostfully Digital Guidebooks. This allows you to create your digital guidebooks customized to your property and your area for smoother and more exciting guest experiences.
Hostfully Features
Hostfully provides access to the core features needed for the management of short term rentals including:
- Hostfully channel manager
- Booking pipeline
- Unified inbox
- Property data management
- Task management
- Payment processing
- Automation
- Mobile app
- Open API
- Digital Guidebooks: Hostfully Guidebooks helps property owners and managers build customized digital guest guidebooks to help them around the rental and around the area. Hosts can earn additional income by referring guests to points of interest within the local area and earning commission.
Hostfully Integrations
Hostfully integrates with 60+ third-party tools including:
- Airbnb accounting software
- Amenities
- Applications
- Cleaning and turnover management
- Communications
- Data tools
- Digital signatures
- Distribution channels
- Dynamic pricing
- Guidebooks
- Image compression
- Insurance and guest screening
- Luggage storage
- Marketing automation
- Payment processing
- Reviews
- Smart home
- Space visualization
- Staffing
- Website development
Hostfully Pricing
Hostfully pricing includes subscription fees for the property management platform and Digital Guidebooks. For the former, there are four different tiers, starting at $109 per month, for up to four properties. This is rather expensive compared to Hostfully alternatives. The cost can reach thousands of dollars for multiple listings.
Meanwhile, there is a free version of the Digital Guidebooks software, while paid subscriptions with advanced features start at $9.99 per month.
Hostfully Pros and Cons
The main positives of the Hostfully platform are:
- Hostfully Digital Guidebooks feature
- Detailed documentation
At the same time, the most significant negatives include:
- Limited functionality compared to other Airbnb property management tools
- Unnecessary complications in use
Hostfully Reviews
Hostfully reviews are available on:
- Capterra: 4.3/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.3/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.3/5 stars
- Trustpilot: 4.3/5 stars
iGMS: Best for Productive Guest Communication
Otherwise comparable to competitors, iGMS is the best vacation rental property software for guest communication productivity. The company offers PROtrack to optimize the results of communicating with guests.
iGMS Features
The iGMS features cover:
- iGMS Airbnb channel manager
- Inbox and automated messaging
- Direct booking management
- Website builder
- Automation tools
- Cleaning and team management
- Payment processing
- Guest communication productivity tracking: PROtrack auto-assigns support agents to guests and monitors productivity in real time.
- Market insights
iGMS Integrations
iGMS integrates with the following categories of third-party tools:
- Booking channels
- Revenue management including PriceLabs and Wheelhouse
- Insurance and guest screening
- Guest experience solutions and upsells
- Keyless access
- Access management
- Cleaning services
- Task management
- Direct booking engines
iGMS Pricing
iGMS pricing is divided into four different plans, with monthly prices starting at $14, when billed annually, for up to four properties. Fees go up along with the number of available features and the number of managed listings.
Add-ons are charged separately, so pricing can get rather expensive.
iGMS Pros and Cons
The key advantages of the iGMS software include:
- Good guest communication features
- Productive integrations
The main disadvantages of iGMS are:
- Potentially unaffordable pricing with multiple charges
- Lack of customization options
- Delayed messaging
iGMS Reviews
iGMS reviews are available on:
- Capterra: 4.6/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.6/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.6/5 stars
- Trustpilot: 4.0/5 stars
- G2: 4.6/5 stars
Hostaway: Best for Innovative Technologies
Hostaway is the leading vacation rental software company for integrations with innovative technologies like blockchain and crypto currency payments.
Hostaway Features
Hostaway offers the majority of features expected from the top software for short term rentals:
- Hostaway channel manager
- Property management system (PMS)
- Reservations manager
- Performance dashboard
- CRM and lead management
- Multi-calendar
- Cross-listings
- Automation tools
- Unified inbox
- Website builder
- Booking website
- Coupon management
- Payment processing
- Contract signature
- Task management
- Smart locks
- Analytics and reporting
- Dynamic pricing
- Mobile app
- Open API
Hostaway Integrations
The Hostaway platform integrates with tools from these categories:
- Abandoned booking recovery
- Accounting
- Amenities
- Automation
- Blockchain technology
- Booking channels
- Booking websites
- Business improvement
- Business intelligence
- Cleaning management and tools
- Communication tools
- Contact management
- Contracts
- CRM
- Crypto payments
- Data and analytics
- Dynamic pricing
- Electric vehicle charging
- Guest experience and services
- Guest management
- Guest screening
- Guestbooks
- Home automation
- Insurance
- Market intelligence
- Marketing
- OTM
- OTA
- Outsourced staffing
- Payment processing
- Photography
- Review management
- Security deposit
- Smart locks
- Virtual tours
- Website builder
It’s worth mentioning that Hostaway has a strong focus on innovative technologies, including through integrations with third-party products such as blockchain and crypto payments.
Hostaway Pricing
There is no information about the Hostaway pricing on the company website. All that’s known is that pricing is scalable with your portfolio. However, to get a quote, interested property owners and property managers need to contact the Hostaway team.
Hostaway Pros and Cons
Some major pros of the Hostaway tools include:
- Multiple vacation rental property management features
- Integrations with innovative technologies
Meanwhile, hosts and property managers should keep the following cons in mind:
- No pricing information
- Steep learning curve
Hostaway Reviews
Hostaway reviews are available on:
- Capterra: 4.8/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.7/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.7/5 stars
- Trustpilot: 4.7/5 stars
- G2: 4.8/5 stars
Hospitable: Best for Direct Booking Websites
Hospitable is the best vacation rental software product for direct booking websites. While many platforms offer this feature, the Hospitable tool offers more options than the average.
Hospitable Features
The features provided by the Hospitable software platform are:
- Hospitable channel manager
- Guest communication
- Unified inbox
- Team collaboration
- Task management
- Manual reservations
- Direct booking websites: This feature distinguishes Hospitable from some competitors in the market. It allows hosts and property managers to choose a custom domain, display their property as they want, optimize for desktop and mobile, and list on Google Vacation Rentals. In addition, through Know Your Guest by Superhog, you can insure your property for up to $5 million, which acts like a type of short term rental insurance.
- Double-booking protection
- Pricing sync
- Review management
- Smart locks integration
- Analytics and reporting
Hospitable Integrations
Hospitable offers integrations with tools for various categories that include:
- Accounting
- Booking channels
- Dynamic pricing
- Guest portal
- Guest verification
- Home automation
- Marketing
- Monitoring
Hospitable Pricing
Unlike others, the Hospitable pricing model does not offer different tiers. Monthly cost starts at $40 for up to two properties. The price for 99 properties is $591 per month, which is rather affordable for property managers.
Hospitable offers a 14-day free trial, and there are no hidden fees.
Hospitable Pros and Cons
The most important benefits of Hospitable include:
- Good direct booking website feature
- Easy integrations
Meanwhile, some drawbacks to take into consideration are:
- Poor customization options
- Confusing functionalities, such as direct bookings
- Non-intuitive features
- Higher pricing for small portfolios of Airbnb properties
Hospitable Reviews
Hospitable reviews are available on:
- Trustpilot: 4.2/5 stars
- G2: 4.9/5 stars
- Capterra: 4.8/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.8/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.8/5 stars
- Apple App Store: 3.0/5 stars
Smoobu: Best for a Free Website
Our review shows that Smoobu provides the main features expected from a top vacation rental management software. What distinguishes Smoobu from some alternatives is the free website availability.
Smoobu Features
With a Smoobu subscription, vacation rental property owners and managers get access to:
- Smoobu channel manager
- Rates synchronization
- Reservation system (PMS)
- Free website: The Smoobu vacation rental website builder comes with calendar and rates synchronization, booking engine, and online payments solutions.
- Booking system
- Availability calendar
- Guest communications
- Automated templates
- Online check-ins
- Guest reviews
- Guest guide
- Shared accounts
- Statistics and KPIs
Smoobu Integrations
Smoobu integrates with outside tools within these categories:
- Payments
- Smart pricing
- Online check-in
- Smart locks and home
- Cleaning and maintenance
- Luggage
- Others
Smoobu Pricing
The Smoobu pricing model includes three different levels, including an entirely free Startup plan. However, it’s important to note that the free plan does not give access to the channel manager, one of the main features of a good vacation rental software.
Paid subscriptions start at $28 per month, when billed annually.
There is a 14-day free trial.
Smoobu Pros and Cons
The advantages of the Smoobu short term rental property management software are:
- Free plan
- Good website builder feature
The most considerable disadvantages of Smoobu include:
- Limited integrations compared to most Smoobu competitors
- Integration challenges reported by customers
- Limited customization functionality
Smoobu Reviews
Smoobu reviews are available on:
- Capterra: 4.5/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.5/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.5/5 stars
- Trustpilot: 3.1/5 stars
- G2: 3.6/5 stars
OwnerRez: Best for Insurance Integrations
OwnerRez is another option on our list of the best vacation rental software solutions for property owners and property managers. What differentiates OwnerRez from the rest is the integration with multiple insurance apps.
OwnerRez Features
The key features available with the OwnerRez Airbnb management software include:
- OwnerRez channel manager
- Messaging
- Websites
- Accounting
- Payment processing
- Property management (PM)
- CRM
- Digital signatures
- Renter agreements
- Reporting
OwnerRez Integrations
OwnerRez integrates with third-party tools that fall within these categories:
- Dynamic pricing
- Door locks
- Guest communication
- Housekeeping services
- Insurance: OwnerRez integrates with more insurance companies than most competitors.
- Automation
- Accounting: It’s worth noting that OwnerRiz works with a number of vacation rental accounting software tools including Intuit QuickBooks. This can help with keeping track of short term rental tax deductions.
- Business intelligence
- Devices
- Websites
- Others
OwnerRez Pricing
The OwnerRez pricing is a bit more expensive for small-scale property owners as it starts at $40 per month for a single property. This makes Smoobu not the best vacation rental software for 1 property.
Meanwhile, the monthly cost for 500 short term rentals is just below the $1,500 mark, so this is a relatively affordable solution for vacation rental management companies with local or regional coverage.
OwnerRez comes with a 14-day free trial.
OwnerRez Pros and Cons
The positive aspects of the OwnerRez application that stand out are:
- Excellent customer reviews
- Important accounting software integrations
- Good insurance integrations
Some major negatives to take into account include:
- Expensive pricing for one property
- Relatively smaller company
OwnerRez Reviews
OwnerRez reviews are available on:
- Capterra: 4.9/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.9/5 stars
- Software Advice: 4.9/5 stars
- G2: 5.0/5 stars
Uplisting: Best for Add-Ons
Uplisting is the final vacation rental software on our list of top choices. This platform offers more add-on features than most competitors, so hosts and property owners can customize their product based on their exact needs.
Uplisting Features
Uplisting supplies short term rental property hosts and managers with access to:
- Uplisting channel manager
- Guest payment links and plans
- Direct booking website
- Cleaning scheduler
- Guest identity verification
- Rental agreements
- Security deposits
- Multi-calendar
- Unified inbox
- Automated communication
Uplisting Integrations
Uplisting integrations cover 100+ third-party tools in the following categories:
- Dynamic pricing
- Revenue generation
- Guest experience
- Cleaning
- Accounting
- Reporting
- Marketing
- Smart homes and locks
- Guest screening and damage protection
- Website builders
Uplisting Pricing
Uplisting pricing includes two tiers, with the cheaper one starting at $400 per month, while the pricing of the more expensive plan is custom. This is rather pricey for owners and managers with small portfolios of vacation rental properties.
Add-on features are charged separately.
There is a free trial.
Uplisting Pros and Cons
The chief advantages of the Uplisting software solution are:
- A wide range of add-ons
- Customizable plans
Meanwhile, some disadvantages to keep in mind include:
- Few online customer reviews
- Expensive monthly plan for small portfolios
- Multiple add-on feature fees
Uplisting Reviews
Uplisting reviews are available on:
- Capterra: 4.9/5 stars
- GetApp: 4.9/5 stars
- Trustpilot: 3.3/5 stars
- G2: 4.8/5 stars
How to Choose the Best Software for Your Vacation Rental Business
Depending on the size of your vacation rental business and the services that you need, you can select the most appropriate tools for the management of your short term rentals.
When deciding on the best tools for your business, you need to account for the following factors:
- Features and integrations: First and foremost, you should look for a tool that offers all the functionalities and capabilities that you need to manage your portfolio. Some hosts and managers require more assistance with communicating with guests, while others need more accounting support. Additionally, you have to make sure the chosen software integrates seamlessly with the third-party tools you’re already using.
- Pricing: The best vacation rental software offers high value for money. It might be a bit more expensive than competitors as long it provides more features and integrations.
- Customer support: You want to work with a company that values its customers and is always available to help out, whether by chat, email, or phone.
- Customer reviews: You should review what other customers think about their experience with different tools. Checking out third-party review websites is the best option in this regard as these reviews are likely to be honest and objective.
Getting Started with the Best Vacation Rental Software
Implementing a software solution in your short term rental business has the potential to bring many positives, including more guests, optimized daily rates, higher income, and better profitability. However, your experience will be only as good as the platform that you opt for.
Our review shows that Mashvisor is the best vacation rental software product available on the market. The main advantages of Mashvisor over competitors include the truly comprehensive platform, the affordable pricing, the always available customer support, the ever-evolving features, and the access to reliable short term rental data.
With Mashvisor, you can enhance your entire vacation rental investment experience, from choosing a market and buying a property, all the way to putting management on autopilot and maximizing revenue.