Vacation rental guest communication tools

Communication is central to establishing a great relationship with your guests, but it can become time-consuming and repetitive, especially if your guest turnaround is fast. These tools can help you automate messages, communicate with guests where they are, and deliver great service quickly.

RueBaRue

Credit: RueBaRue.com

This award-winning platform allows you to:

• Create personalized digital guidebooks with all your local insight and know-how sent right to your guest’s phone.
• A vacation rental welcome book , for all the property information and to improve guest relationships, to make them feel at home right from the start.
• Send vacation rental house rules at the exact right time, so guests will actually read them.
• Communicate easily and regularly with guests via automated messages based on easy vacation rental email templates and templates for SMSs, without any extra work from you.

It also has powerful extras such as:

• Offering guests extended stays within the platform itself, to boost revenue and occupancy.
• Integration with many PMS systems (see “property management tools” below for more) so you can pull data directly and super-fast, and don’t have to input everything manually.
• The option to send guests SMSs rather than email, for easier and quicker communication.

Sending via SMS means that messages don’t get lost in your guest’s inbox, while a unified inbox for hosts and managers means guest requests are answered promptly by your team. A simple yet powerful option for quick and friendly service.

RueBaRue costs from $9.99 per month for the Starter Plan, and $79.90 for the Professional Plan for up to 10 properties. From $249.50 per month for 50 properties. A 14-day trial is also available.

TouchStay

Credit: TouchStay.com

This platform enables you to:

• Easily communicate practical check-in info, access codes, local guides, and more.
• Offers multiple language translation and is accessible offline—great if you have international visitors, or are in a remote location.
• A streamlined tool with a simple goal.

Touch Stay costs from $99 per year for your first property but works out as between $2-6 per property for managers with a larger portfolio. A 14-day free trial is also available.

Hostfully Guidebooks

Credit: Hostfully.com

Hostfully Guidebooks enables you to:

• Offer a digital guidebook for each of your property areas.
• No need for guests to download a separate app.
• Send guests one simple link, which takes them to a “mini, mobile-first” website containing all the local info they need.

The Hostfully Guidebooks platform is free for one guidebook, and $7.99 per month for Power Host, including all features, such as multiple languages and brand personalization.

(Not sure which tool is best for you? See our Hostfully vs Touchstay vs RueBaRue comparison here!)

YourWelcome

Credit: YourWelcome.com

• Unlike most of the other tools on this list, YourWelcome specializes in offering in-room tablets for guests, rather than relying solely on the guest’s own smartphone
• Could be a great option if your guests would prefer to use a separate system to manage their stay.
• Your Welcome also enables you to set up features such as automated guest messaging, digital check-in and arrival, upsells, and even car hire connected to individual stays.

Costs from $15 per month, but you can request a personalized quote for your business on the YourWelcome website.

Vacation rental property management tools

If your business is growing and aiming for real professionalism, it might be time to take it up a digital notch and outsource your most repetitive and complicated tasks to an all-in-one platform that can oversee, automate, and improve a wide range of operations with impressive ease.

All of these tools integrate with other platforms such as RueBaRue, so you can connect them seamlessly and import and share data between your PMS for easier coordination of guest stays.

Streamline

Credit: Streamlinevs.com

• Billed as an all-in-one property management system.
• Streamline software aims to help you with everything from marketing, boosting revenue, automated communication, distribution, accounting, property care, and more.
• Perfect for larger companies looking to scale and grow.

Pricing options are available upon request on the Streamline website .

OwnerRez

Credit: OwnerReservations.com

• OwnerRez aims to offer solutions for property management businesses of all sizes.
• Simple dashboards for managing your calendar, guest list, and bookings across multiple properties.
• Helps you connect all aspects of your business, from OTA inquiries through to booking, automated guest communication, and payment management.
• Services such as channel management and SMS messaging can be added for an extra cost.
• Simple and straightforward.

OwnerRez costs from $35 per month for one property, $226 per month for 50.

Barefoot

Credit: Barefoot.com

• Barefoot describes itself as a “complete vacation rental management solution”.
• Offers tools to help you manage leads, boost revenue, see your calendar at a glance, include upsells and in-room concierge services, analyze your marketing, connect with OTAs.
• Offers different access options for owners, staff, and guests.
• Especially good for larger businesses.

Barefoot costs from $800 per month for up to 50 units, and pricing increases in 50-property increments.

LiveRez

Credit: LiveRez.com

• A vacation rental software solution that focuses on community and partnership.
• Allows property managers to connect unlimited properties, with unlimited customer support. Its tool covers everything from reservations to online booking and guest portals.
• Helps managers to automate emails, lead management, accounting, Airbnb host integrations; and increase vacation rental reviews and surveys.
• A great all-in-one option with excellent support.

Tailored quotes available from the LiveRez website, with prices fully inclusive, and which do not rise for extra properties or users.

MyVR

Credit: MyVR.com

• A dual platform that is both a channel manager and vacation rental software.
• MyVR offers integration with 70+ global listing sites, allowing you to boost and streamline bookings.
• Includes a centralized inbox and availability calendar, and digital coordination across stays, guests, cleaning, payments, and more.
• Especially suited to companies looking to increase bookings and scale significantly over the next 12 months.

MyVR pricing is worked out from Basic to Plus to Professional, depending on the features needed, with a tailored quote offered to you after a demo.

Track

Credit: Trackhs.com

• This award-winning platform again promises to be an “all-in-one” solution for vacation rental property managers.
• Helps you to boost efficiency and revenue
• Improve everything from your website to guest communication portal, channel management to housekeeping, and accounting.
• Perfect for mid-to-large businesses wanting to streamline a range of tools into one single platform.

A custom demo can be requested from the Track website.

Escapia

Credit: Escapia.com

• Simple but powerful software designed to help you scale your business without fuss.
• Includes an at-a-glance dashboard, automated quotes, an intuitive booking calendar, no-fee OTA distribution, a guest portal mobile app, housekeeping, and maintenance tracking, financial tools.
• Focuses especially on easy and accessible property manager support.

Pricing is available via the contact form on Escapia’s website and depends on the number of units.

Vacation rental pricing tools

Pricing is a fine balance, and pitching your rental at the right level is a fine art. These tools will ensure you set your rates at the most competitive, without undercharging, and guarantee the best price per night without sacrificing occupancy.

Credit: BeyondPricing.com

• Formerly known as BeyondPricing, Beyond is a revenue management tool especially designed to help short-term rental managers “take the guesswork out of pricing”.
• Enables you to set dynamic and automated pricing.
• Boost revenue via insights powered by market data, OTA syncing, key performance indicators from regular reports, and future projections.

You can create an account and start a trial for free, with a full quote available directly from Beyond .

PriceLabs

Credit: hello.pricelabs.co

• A dynamic pricing tool that is especially well-suited to companies that use OTAs such as Airbnb and VRBO.
• Its system analyzes your listing and recommends rates based on a range of criteria such as seasonality, day of the week, and local demand.
• Offers intuitive tools such as a color-coded calendar and easy-to-customize pages.

PriceLabs starts at $0 for simple analytics and $19.99 for dynamic pricing. Other prices are available depending on the number of listings you have. It also offers a 30-day trial for one listing.

Wheelhouse

Credit: UseWheelhouse.com

• Calling itself the “world’s leading dynamic pricing tool”, Wheelhouse doesn’t skimp on credentials and was built by a team of PhD data scientists and revenue management company specialists.
• Analyzes billions of data points overnight, enabling you to optimize your pricing based on real-time insights and demand, automatically.
• Offers market reports so you know how well you’re doing.
• Excellent for property managers who aspire to operate as efficiently as major hotels.

Wheelhouse costs from $19.99 per month per listing, with discounts for every 50 more listings; or 1% of revenue for managers with 100+ listings. You can create an account and start analysis for free.

Vacation rental cleaning and maintenance tools

Cleaning and maintenance are arguably some of the least enjoyable, but most important, aspects of running a successful vacation rental, and these tools will enable you to outsource those crucial jobs with minimal effort.

Properly

Credit: GetProperly.com

• Designed especially for property owners, managers, cleaners, and the vacation rental industry.
• Aims to ensure that every turnover between guests is done thoroughly and up to standard.
• Helps to connect each stage of your business and allows you to manage and coordinate bookings, turnarounds, staff, and even pre-stay inspections remotely, to boost customer satisfaction and relationships.
• Great for remote managers wanting to boost cleanliness and quality.

Properly is free for up to two jobs per month, with remote inspection and management extra. From $11.99 per listing per month for unlimited jobs (with discounts for inspection and management), or a personalized quote for property managers with more units, and who want more flexibility.

Breezeway

Credit: Breezeway.io

• A powerful tool that promises to deliver “the best service experience” to clients.
• Ensures the quality, safety, and cleanliness of all of your properties.
• Automated dashboards keep track of the status of your units and allow you to schedule and coordinate cleaning, maintenance, guest communication, service requests, access, and customer service via a single platform.

Breezeway pricing is available upon request, with a demo via the Breezeway website.

Handy

Credit: Handy.com

• An online, on-demand tool that enables you to book a professional “handyman”, cleaner, or maintenance worker in seconds, to ensure that any last-minute or unexpected damage or issues are dealt with promptly.
• Book and manage a range of simple services - from cleaning to plumbing to electrical fixes to furniture assembly - all via the online portal.
• Great for managers looking for ad-hoc or next-day services.

Handy prices depend on service, time, and location, but are calculated upon booking.

Vacation rental home automation tools

With contactless and digital portals now the norm for all good modern rentals, these tools can help you to thrill and satisfy your guests with streamlined check-in and arrival while enabling you to simplify operations, automate front desk tasks, and save money via energy-saving smart devices.

Operto

Credit: Operto.com

• A digital automation tool that enables owners, managers, and guests to manage and access their entire booking from start to finish via an intuitive portal.
• Works without requiring a separate app.
• Enables managers to see the status of their entire portfolio at a glance.
• Enables guests to control in-room smart devices such as thermostats, and allows contactless check-in via smart locks.
• Enables the easy coordination of check-out, cleaning, and maintenance between stays.

Operto costs from $15 per month per unit or room for the Core basic option, rising to $30 for the Pro, including most basic and advanced features. Enterprise is ideal for larger portfolios, and quotes are available on request via the Operto website.

Igloohome

Credit: Igloohome.co

• This company specializes in smart locks and lockboxes.
• Connects with its own smartphone app to enable you to monitor who is going in and out of which property and when.
• Grant or revoke access remotely, and send keycodes to guests and staff via SMS or online messenger.
• Igloohome’s AlgoPIN technology means its locks work even without Wifi—ideal for remote locations.
• Syncs with Airbnb, to send codes to guests automatically.

Igloohome prices start at $236 per lock for the Smart Deadbolt.

Brivo

Credit: Brivo.com

• Brivo specializes in providing digital access solutions - such as smartphone-enabled smart locks - that are designed for style and security.
• Billing itself as “the future of building access control” it offers smart locks and access pads that work with smartphones for digital, contactless access.
• Offers a cloud-based dashboard specially designed for vacation property managers to help simplify operations and boost revenue across multiple properties.
• Connects to devices such as water sensors and thermostats, to help you save energy and money, and deal with issues remotely.

Quotes and more information are available via the Brivo website.

Lynx

Credit: GetLynx.co

• A platform that aims to make “smart devices smarter”, by connecting your PMS to devices enabling keyless entry and contactless check-in, thermostat, and AC control.
• Connects with sensors for issues such as leaks or smoke.
• Also enables property management automation and tools for great guest communication.
• Works across multiple door and property types.
• Boasts integration with more than 300 smart devices and tools.

Pricing and compatibility with your property can be checked via a scheduled demo directly via the Lynx website.

Vacation rental guest verification tools

Operating a busy, remote, online vacation rental business comes with its own risks, and these tools and services help to cut down the chances that your properties—or your guests—will come to any harm.

Safely

Credit: Safely.com

• As its name suggests, Safely specializes in vacation rental insurance to help you protect your property in case the worst happens.
• Offers up to $1,000,000 in home, contents, and bodily injury insurance.
• Unlike Airbnb’s notorious “Host Guarantee”, it aims to screen guests before they even check in.
• Pays out for 80% of claims within four days.
• Integrates with all major OTAs and PMSs.
• Offers predictive tools to help you bar bad guests before they book.
• Perfect for managers looking for real peace of mind.

Tailored quotes are available via the Safely website and plans start from $8 per property per night.

Superhog

Credit: Superhog.com/

• A digital platform with a single goal: To create and improve trust between short-term rental hosts and their guests.
• Requires guests to validate their booking, with a simple invitation link that connects their facial ID to their identity card or passport.
• Offers guests and hosts a “protection toolkit” that is available before, during, and after each stay.
• Excellent for hosts who want to both reassure their guests, and protect their property by verifying bookings before they even arrive.

Superhog costs from £6 (just under $9) per month, or £60 (around $85) yearly, with a $15 (around $21) admin fee.

Vacation rental tools: Making the right choice for your properties

We hope these tools have shown how much digital help is out there to help you manage your business remotely and automatically, with less time, less stress and hassle, a better guest experience, and increased revenue.

While Streamline offers powerful all-in-one vacation rental management software, LiveRez offers excellent all-round support, and WheelHouse and Beyond ensure perfect pricing while you sleep.

Handy is excellent for last-minute maintenance and cleaning jobs, Lynx connects all your smart devices for super-connected services, and Superhog is perfect for building great trust between hosts and guests and giving everyone peace of mind.

Meanwhile, RueBaRue is absolutely key for making sure guests have digital access to beautiful guidebooks, property guides, and your house rules, to ensure everyone is on the same page, trust is built between host and guest, and visitors have a great time exploring the area like a local.

We’re confident that whatever help you need in your business, any of the tools from this list will help you to reduce the boring admin and behind-the-scenes stress and let you get back to what you do best: offering great vacation rental experiences to your happy guests.