Pricelabs No Longer Compatible with YourPorter?

Question

I really wish these softwares would get their act together

The good news is Beyond Pricing recently added Min Night Stay options so I guess we’re going back to them.

Cliff H. · Answer

Hi @Brian Gerlach I have used both PriceLabs and BeyondPricing. I would not say authoritatively that one is absolutely better or worse than the other. Ultimately they are both trying to do the same thing: estimate forward-looking pricing for your market based on a set of variables that are fairly easy to pull.  Theoretically, we also want third party tools we are paying for to be more in line with increasing profits for us versus a native platform’s smart pricing algorithm that’s designed to maximize occupancy and increase profits for the platform because said platform never has have to factor in increases in capital improvements costs from increased occupancy rates.

Honestly, I switched over to PriceLabs because I stumbled on a STR blogger that claimed it was more accurate for US-based STR properties. I dropped it a couple months later after finding I preferred BeyondPricing’s dashboard a tad bit more and was tired of paying a flat rate that was not based on the amount of activity the toolset was actually generating on my rental.

At this point I really think either one is better than the native smart pricing tools, but since I’m now using an automated PMS (YourPorter) that can add margin on top of AirBnB’s smart pricing tools maybe I should just reconsider and try the fully native solution?

Anyone that tells you there is definitely one or the other tool that’s the best has probably just not tested enough tools themselves. The goals are the same, pricing differs, and question of who their pricing is designed to benefit still critical to consider.

Good luck!

Cliff H. · Answer

Porter and BP now and appears to be fine. Part of the challenge of using all these systems is remembering which one’s in the drivers seat for any number of different settings. I have:

BP push rates to AirBnB, which direct syncs to Porter, with Porter then marking up pricing to HomeAway and Booking.com, while simultaneously marking down rates on my private booking site (run by Porter) since there’s no booking fees and I control the customer relationship.

Took months to get it right and I’m still not pleased with having to make price changes in BP’s terrible mobile UI but it does work for the basic idea of ensuring that I receive the same net revenue per night, regardless of what booking platform, fees, structure, etc folks come through the front door on.

Benjamin Vail · Answer

Pricelabs gives the user more control, and more tools. I tried BP, wheelhouse, and Pricelabs. Beyond pricing is like bowling with bumpers on (it guides you, and it is hard to mess up). Pricelabs is more like sitting in the cockpit of a 747 (lots of buttons, confusing at first, but once you learn the system you can do amazing things).

The #1 tool for my business is the dynamic minimum night stays on Pricelabs. Before I tried pricelabs, I didn’t even understand why that was important. But now I live by it. It allowed us to be mores selective on only getting the reservations, and the guests we want (longer stays, higher rates). Then at the last minute it opens up the gap nights. In my urban market, this equates to full calendars at high rates. With all that said, Pricelabs is also far less expensive. For me, it costs less than $5/month per listing.

I attended DARM (data and revenue management) conference put on by VRIntel a few weeks ago. I got to see all these companies demo their product, and compete for large VR managers business. BP has some impressive new features with data analysis, and KPI reporting that look nice. They basically tell you which listings need attention on pricing. However you can get similar data from PL and other sources.

Switch to Pricelabs, bite the bullet, and never look back!

Brian G. · Answer

@Cliff H. Do you have any personal experience using Pricelabs? If so, why do you prefer BP? I’m currently using BP with Your Porter and like it’s simplicity. Of course I would rather be on a flat fee pricing model like Pricelabs and since I want to be like @Luke Carl (aka Yoda) when I grow up, might try Pricelabs at some point. The big question for me is which dynamic pricing tool yields a higher gross revenue. Hi @Reagen Natho have you done a side by aide real time comparison on BP/Pricelabs? If so, what have you learned (ie how similar do they price)?

Brian G. · Answer

@Cliff H. Do you use a CRM tool to capture guest booking info automatically for future marketing?

Luke Carl · Answer

HEADS UP!

This issue has been resolved. And I’ve been told it’s been resolved for all PMS not just yourporter.

I continue to be a Pricelabs fanboy. Highly recommend.

Luke Carl · Answer

@Cliff H. I’m being told +/- 2 weeks and the YourPorter situation will be fixed.

Cliff H. · Answer

Haha. Too funny. Looks like they’re working on BP and Wheelhouse pricing integration as well.

Luke Carl · Answer

@Cliff H. I know people :) Although they didn’t tell me about this. Very exciting!

Cliff H. · Answer

Looks like you pulled some important strings @Luke Carl

Pricelabs No Longer Compatible with YourPorter?

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