You’ve got a few properties under your belt and are well on your way to running a successful property rental business, you might even consider starting your own Airbnb consulting business at some point.

Renting out properties is a great way to make an income (or boost your existing income), but it can also be hard work. Keeping on top of the admin and communication associated with running a prosperous vacation property rental business can be a full-time job in itself! It’s no wonder that so many hosts turn to Airbnb Management Software to help them manage and automate their business.

The Pros of using Airbnb Management Software

As with any system, there are pros and cons to consider, so first off let’s look at the pros of using Airbnb Management Software:

1. Save Precious Time

The average Airbnb host spends around 5 hours per week dealing with each listing, and when you have multiple properties to juggle that’s a lot of your precious time gone (time that could be spent growing your business). There are queries to answer, guests to connect with, maintenance and cleaning to organise, reviews to write – the list seems endless! Using Airbnb Management Software to automate your business will save you time and increase your productivity.

2. Improve the Flow of Communication

Effective communication is a critical element of renting out vacation properties – communication should be prompt and professional.  Airbnb Software Management can be used to create triggers and templates, which will allow you to automate a huge amount of your communication. You can even pre-set templates and send automated guest reviews (increasing the chance of them generating a positive review for you in return).

3. Climb Up the Search Ratings & Increase Bookings

Using Airbnb Management Software will help you to stay up to date with messages, which, in turn, will help you to keep guests happy. Happy guests equal good reviews and as a result your ratings will improve. The better your ratings, the more bookings you are likely to receive.

4. Simplify Cleaning and Maintenance Schedules

Guests expect sparkling clean rental properties, anything less can lead to poor reviews and disgruntled guests may ask for a refund (not to mention the potential lost earnings from future bookings). Airbnb Management Software allows you to collaborate with your cleaning and maintenance operative(s) to schedule work and keep them updated.  Keep your properties clean and your guests sweet!

5. Integrate Systems and Stay Organised

Airbnb Management Software allows you to stay organised by exporting bookings to your external calendars, and we all know organisation is key when you’re managing multiple properties! It can be tricky to keep on top of bookings when you have properties on different platforms, Airbnb Management Software helps you to prevent double-bookings and keep everything in order.

Double-bookings upset customers and vacation rental platforms don’t like it either- they often dole out severe penalties to hosts who cancel for that reason. Airbnb software enables you to integrate all of your listings and accounts together – that means everything together on one simple dashboard, so you can gain a snapshot of your property business at any time.

The Cons of Airbnb Management Software

So far, so good, but is there a downside to using Airbnb Management Software? There are a couple of minor points you might want to think about:

1. You Need to Get to Grips With The Available Tools and Features

Airbnb Management Software can seem a bit overwhelming at first, there are a lot of features and tools, and you might think it’s a bit too much to deal with. When you’re running a business, it can feel like there just isn’t time to get to grips with a new way of doing things, and installing and using new software might feel like just another job on the to-do list!

2. You might feel like you’re no longer in total control  

Technology does seem to be taking over the world, and not everyone is comfortable with that. If you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy you could find the prospect of installing and using new software daunting. Automation is a concept that puts some people off  – the prospect of loosening the reins and allowing the software to “do its thing” and help you can seem worrying to those who like to feel fully in control.

3. Like most good things in life – it’s not free!

Airbnb Management Software doesn’t come free, if you want to automate your business and free up time then you are going to have to pay for the privilege!

There are various business models to choose from – charging different prices per property per month, and offering different amounts in terms of commission. However if you want to get your hands on all of the time-saving, productivity-increasing features we’ve talked about earlier on, then it’s worth shelling out for automation software.

Is Airbnb Management Software for Me?

As we can see the pros seem to far outweigh the cons, so If you want to increase bookings, save time, grow your business and get organised, then  Airbnb Management Software is certainly for you. There’s plenty of support if you don’t feel that you are tech-savvy, and at the end of the day you remain in control of your business – automation is merely there to assist you. Why don’t you give Airbnb Management Software a try?

About the author

Inna is an expert in vacation rental management business and is currently working as a marketing director at AirGMS, the vacation rental software company.  She is a dedicated marketer with over 11 years of experience and passion for content writing. This piece is a guest-contributed post.