There comes a time when running your short-term rental business without software solutions tends to get stressful. Whether you're a seasoned vacation rental host or a complete beginner, handling things manually may leave you feeling burned out. This is where property management system (known as a PMS) and vacation rental channel managers come into the frame.
No matter how big or small your vacation rental business is, you must find a better way to streamline operations if you're still linking calendars by hand and fear double bookings. You might be thinking: I'm not a massive company with dozens of properties, do I really need fancy software to manage my rentals?
If you aim to remove boring and repetitive tasks and enjoy the perks of being a host without working another 9-5, yes, you do. The good news is that not all PMSs and channel managers are complex. Hosthub's user-friendly and agile solution will save you time by automating processes while increasing your revenue. Let's take a closer look at how a PMS or channel manager can boost your short-term rental business.
What is a PMS?
A PMS is software that replaces the traditional pen and paper way of managing your vacation rentals and instead focuses on streamlining operations and automating repetitive tasks through an all-in-one focal point. The result? Fewer boring admin tasks to worry about and more precious time to devote to the things that matter most in your business.
What are the benefits of using a PMS?
Here are the most important benefits of investing in a PMS like Hosthub:
Automated messaging: send pre-written emails at specific intervals throughout the guest’s booking journey. The emails can be customised by including reservation-specific details, like the guest and listing name, to make communication with your quests more personalised.
Unified inbox: struggling to keep everyone in the loop, including staff, guests, and owners? With a PMS, you can collect communication under one umbrella to chat, get updates, and help guests find important info.
Cleaning schedules: assign cleaning automatically to your staff, send notifications, and schedule maintenance. A PMS lets you send invoices or plan your staff's payroll. At the same time, you can integrate with third-party providers to handle cleaning more efficiently.
Expense management: losing track of your vacation rental expenses? With a PMS, you can refine your data and make informed decisions to balance costs and profits.
Team management: coordinate your business partners, accountants, owners, and cleaning providers to improve cooperation and professionalism. Grant different permission levels to disclose only essential information to each employee.
Simplified accounting and invoicing: do spreadsheets and numbers drive you crazy? A PMS will help you easily create invoices, track income, and generate financial reporting.
Integrations: A PMS like Hosthub integrates with more than 30 business partners to help you tailor your experience to your unique needs.
Reporting and analytics: generate complete reports regarding your total booked nights, your average nights per stay, your occupancy rate and most importantly, your revenue. Get a clear image of your progress and plan your next moves.
Improved guest experience: by facilitating guest messaging, automating check-ins/check-outs, and sending rental agreements, guidebooks, and welcome letters, you can show professionalism and achieve great guest impressions. Plus, you can collect more guest data, such as preferences, behaviours, and requests, for marketing purposes.
What is a channel manager?
A vacation rental channel manager allows you to diversify your vacation rental strategy by syncing your calendars and prices across multiple online travel agencies. For example, instead of juggling multiple calendars from your Airbnb to VRBO, and Booking.com listings, a channel manager like Hosthub lets you manage your bookings from a single location for over 200 channels.
What are the benefits of using a channel manager?
Here are the most important benefits of using a channel manager:
Avoid double bookings: cancelling a guest's booking plans due to a double booking equals upset customers, negative reviews, and penalties from online travel agencies. Hosthub is the only channel manager that will automatically update your availability and rates across multiple channels every 2 minutes, relieving you of the stress of doing things manually. But even if a double booking occurs (once every 1,000 bookings), Hosthub will talk to the affected guests on your behalf, find them alternative accommodation and cover all the relocation costs up to $500 without any restrictions to your OTA account.
Single dashboard for listing management: manage all your bookings from all your channels from one location. This will save you an enormous amount of time and eliminate human error.
More time for other tasks: with a channel manager, you don't have to spend hours on tedious admin tasks. Get your business running on autopilot and manage all your listings from one dashboard.
PMS vs. channel manager: what's the difference?
The main difference between a PMS and a channel manager is their focus. A PMS allows you to manage your properties efficiently with native tools like team and expense management, unified inbox, reports, and charts. On the other hand, a channel manager lets you sync your calendars and rates across multiple vacation rental channels.
In reality, while the two software have separate functions, when used together, they provide a robust system that helps you save time and money while increasing occupancy rates and revenue. Short-term rental hosts have two options:
Use a channel manager and a PMS together and connect them with an API: in that case, you'll have to work on and pay for two separate software.
Opt for a PMS with a built-in channel manager: this way, you won't have to separate systems and only focus on one platform like Hosthub.
Do you really need the extra icing on the cake with a PMS or channel manager?
Look, we get it. There's a lot of pressure in the industry to purchase a fancy PMS or channel manager for game-changing results. It's also tempting to believe that by investing in one, you'll suddenly get booked calendars and cash flow out of nowhere. But that's not the point of investing in software.
A PMS will save time and help you offer a more professional service to upscale your business. There's no magic wand or tricks here. You'll still need to put in the work; only now you'll have the tools to level up faster. The wisest course of action is to decide what your business needs right now.
If you're a novice host renting a single property, perhaps you don't need all the bells and whistles of a PMS. On the other hand, investing in software is paramount for a sustainable business if you rent a handful of properties on multiple channels and must focus on one platform to manage them remotely.
To make a long story short, you’ll have all your work centralised, and you’ll save yourself an incredible amount of time when it comes to managing your properties. Better to put your time into growing your business or improving your guest experience!
Hosthub: the all-in-one solution for vacation rentals
Hosthub is a top-rated PMS designed to streamline the management of your vacation rental properties. With a built-in channel manager and synchronisation with 200+ channels, it offers unprecedented peace of mind and lets you get as many bookings as possible.
Elevate your property management journey with Hosthub's features, including:
Revenue booster: find the perfect channel mix for your properties with expert help.
Website builder: build your own direct booking website without OTA fees and commissions.
Booking engine: transform your existing WordPress website into a fully functioning direct booking system.
Special tools and features: Hosthub integrates with over 30 partners to offer you smart pricing, remote home management, task and cleaning scheduling, insurance, and much more.
Curious? Hosthub offers a 14-day free trial and 30% off for Holiday Cottage Handbook readers! Hosthub's team will set you up and get you synced with zero effort on your side. Benefit from world-class partners and take your vacation rental business to the next level.
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