Reservation management software recommendations

[Sara Abernethy]

Hi all!  

I am expanding my vacation rental portfolio from 1 to 4!  I'm acquiring 3 cabins on a piece of land in the Finger Lakes.  They're already set up to rent and they're almost completely booked for the summer already.  My current vacation rental is on AirBnB, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor, and they all share the calendars with each other, so I can look at any of the three and see what's going on.  The three I'm acquiring were all booked over the phone and written on a paper calendar!  This old school approach has been super successful, and I definitely respect it, but there's no way I could manage a paper calendar.  Nor can I use my old way of managing work when I have 4...

I started looking at reservation management software and quickly got overwhelmed.  I need something where I can document all of the on-paper reservations, and still manage to market the leftover nights (as few as there may be) on AirBnB/HomeAway.  Has anyone tried Lodgify, OwnerRez, Kigo, Ciirus, Streamline, Guesty, FutureStay, Lodgix, MyVR, RNS, HostAway, VReasy, Bookerville, VRscheduler, RDPWin, YourPorterApp, PriceLabs, EasyInnkeeping, Beyond Pricing, OneRooftop, Barefoot Agent, 365 Villas, the list goes on and on....?  Many offer live demos, but it's going to take me forever to research these from scratch.  Any shortcuts are welcome "this one is terrible, this one won't work for you, etc."  I did call HomeAway and theirs is more for 25+ units (it's $7k setup and $500/month).  I'm looking to spend $50-100/month on this.  

Thanks all!  

Sara

[Sid Payne]

I really like ownerrez. There is a learning curve but it is pretty powerful and their support is great. I had a suggestion yesterday and they said they would implement it. 

I could help you with the basics if you decide to give them a try. 

[Paul Sandhu]

I have 22 STRs with 82 beds.  A paper calendar is what I use.  Most reservations are made 12 hours or less in advance.  3 days is pretty far in advance.  I can count on 1 hand the number of reservations made more than 7 days in advance. 

But my market is not your typical market. 

[Sara Abernethy]

@Paul Sandhu - I was reading about your "themed" rooms in another discussion and it's hilarious.  Your market sounds awesome and quirky and I definitely want to visit there:)  It's not typical of my market - my summer is nearly booked already.  Are your STRs in Kansas?  

I guess an important aspect to this is that I live about 4.5 hours from my vacation rentals (I live in NYC).  I have onsite management, but I manage reservations and communications remotely (and I have a full time job, so I really need the software to keep me organized, not the other way around, haha!).  

To that point - does any of the software have an app that accompanies it?  My onsite management team pretty much uses their smartphone for everything and I want them to be able to view the calendar and communications.  

[Luke Carl]

I manage 5 vacation rentals remotely. They are in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. I use the AirBnB app and the VRBO app and sometimes I make changes to my listings using my desktop. I do 95% of the work from my phone while on the can. And I have a day job.

[Ethan Cooke]

@Sara Abernethy - Have you tried to just use the AirBnB calendar "Private note" feature? I have 7 furnished rentals in the Bay Area and many reservations come in through craigslist, word of mouth, etc. I can block out specific dates on the calendar for a property and add a note that says, "Guest Sara Abernathy," $125/night, paid through cozy.co". See below.

I have found that all I need is AirBnB (linked to HomeAway and TripAdvisor) with no additional reservation software. 

When it comes to delegating property management, a spreadsheet definitely helps since I can add details for each unit, e.g. Entry lock combinations, Wifi Info, Trash Night, etc. But that's a different subject. If you are just looking for something to manage the reservation details, AirBnB's "Notes" should be fine. 

[Michael Greenberg]

@Sara Abernethy - one other to take a look at is Tokeet, but the bigger question to me is "how active vs. passive" do you want to be with this process?  If you want to remain active, then it can still be done manually.  If you're looking for a passive solution (or wanting to unload pieces of the process then technology is your solution.  Some of the solutions you mentioned are not management software, but only a piece of the solution.  

The ones I have heard of/tested are as follows:

Beyond Pricing, PriceLabs - are automated pricing tools

Lodgify - is strong in website development (if you want to drive direct bookings) but from what I viewed are not as strong in the management tools

YourPorter - Cleaner communication tool

OneRoofTop - decent tool set, heavy lifting, questionable sustainability

MyVR - expensive but decent tool set

Bookerville - their customers love them, their technology appears to be old school (so does their name)

I too am on the hunt for a solution because I want to become more passive, moving away from the daily grind of working "in" my business so I can work "on" my business.  Love to hear what you decide to do and why.

@Paul Sandhu - impressive

@Luke Carl - TMI

@Ethan Cooke - great tip

@Sid Payne - You're not the first to state the same, really like it with some learning curve

[Arlen Chou]

Ok... @Sara Abernethy has got me interested...@Paul Sandhu what are you doing that has 22 STR equaling 82 beds and crazy short reservation times? "Inquiring minds want to know" ;-)

[Paul Sandhu]

@Arlen Chou There is a petrochemical refinery and ammonia fertilizer plant in this town of 9000.  It's about half a square mile of pipes, electrical work, sensors, chemical reaction vessels and towers, storage tanks, etc.  All those things require maintenance.  Sometimes they break down.  This kind of work requires special skills that most of the people in this town don't have.  People (contractors) come here from far away to do the work.  Instead of staying in a motel for the duration of the work, they choose to stay in one of my furnished houses.  99% of my renters are guys.  Most have a high school education.  Most make $24-$38 and hour with a $100 a day per diem.  60 hours a week is normal.

1. Costs less than a motel.

2. They can cook.

3. They can do their laundry.

A dining room table is a waste of space.  It's never used for its intended purpose.  I normally put a bed in them.

[Cherie Tormey]

Has anyone in this thread tried Hostaway?

[Bryce Cutler]

Quote from @Cherie Tormey:

Has anyone in this thread tried Hostaway?

 Hey Cherie, I am using Hostaway. Any questions I can answer for you?

[Jeremy Jareckyj]

Quote from @Cherie Tormey:

Has anyone in this thread tried Hostaway?

 I use IGMS. it does cleaning scheduling, calendar management, syncs with wheelhouse and pricelabs, and can also do direct bookings.