Top 10 Vacation Rental Software’s Features To Look For

It’s critical to check for vital features that will help you manage your vacation rental business successfully while looking for vacation rental software.

Say you’re the owner or manager of a rental property, you may have soon discovered that the vacation rental process is complicated. You’re in charge of contacting guests, processing payments, updating the rental availability, arranging to housekeep, and so on.

While running a vacation rental business may appear to be a simple concept, many intricate elements go into making it a success. Vacation rental software can make your job as a property manager or owner easier.

The top ten features to look for in vacation rental software are listed below.

Top 1 

 Calendar Organization

You must incorporate a calendar management system into your vacation rental business. There’s a reason this feature is at the top of the list. To run a profitable business, you need to know what’s available and when you can make reservations. If your property’s availability is inaccurate, you may lose out on potential cash as well as irritate guests.

Guests don’t want to discover that the vacation property they’ve reserved has already been reserved by another guest and isn’t visible on the internet. The calendar system in your vacation rental software will help you keep track of your reservations and availability.

Listing your vacation rental on many websites increases the likelihood of it being rented, but it also involves keeping track of multiple calendars. Vacation rental software should connect with other listings’ calendars so you can see the property’s current availability in one place.

Finally, many guests may prefer to speak with a live person about their reservation. When you’re on the phone with a possible guest, the last thing you want to do is stare at a calendar that doesn’t represent current reservations and availability. It can result in a double booking or a cancellation.

Guests that need to cancel their reservation due to a last-minute change in plans will contact you directly. Because you’ll be managing these reservations on a single calendar, you’ll be able to make changes immediately in the vacation rental program.

Top 2 

Automatic Messaging

It’s best if you give your visitors as much information as possible. After booking the property, a guest does not want to have to wait for a confirmation email or arrival instructions.

Using vacation rental software, you can send automated emails to guests who have made a reservation. Emails can include confirmation emails, arrival directions, departure information, and friendly reminders about their upcoming vacation.

Another automatic message you can send to guests is a reminder to post a review of the resort. This automatic email can be scheduled to be delivered a day or two after the guest has checked out. It permits the guest to go home and submit a review while their memory of the encounter is still fresh.

Automate These 4 Areas of Vacation Rental Software Management

When it comes to providing five-star service to your visitors, vacation rental operations management is crucial. Property managers who rent out multiple properties remotely in various areas, on the other hand, find staying on top of their operational chores difficult and time-consuming. As a result, vacation rental managers are refocusing their efforts to automate operations management to stay competitive, free up time, decrease workload and stress, and devote more time to growing their hospitality businesses.

The following four aspects of vacation rental operations management can be entrusted to automation by vacation rental managers.

1. Housekeeping

Housekeeping is essential to providing a 5-star guest experience and becoming a successful host; but, managing multiple homes in different places from afar is not a simple task. Guests want your property to be spotless, and if it isn’t, they will leave negative reviews, reducing your competitive advantage in this saturated market.

Keeping your home spotless and fulfilling your visitors’ high standards, as well as dealing with emergency property cleanings, additional and last-minute requirements, and scheduling difficulties, all take a lot of time and work. As a result, vacation rental managers require software to establish cleaning assignments and allocate them to specific housekeepers on an as-needed or continuing basis.

Send check-in and checkout notifications to staff members through text, email, or in-app notifications. They will report back when their responsibilities have been finished, and the property is ready to welcome new guests.

Housekeeping workflow automation prevents many common headaches, such as forgetting to send check-in instructions to guests and sending the wrong property’s or staff member’s information and keeps housekeepers informed of any changes, such as check-in/checkout time changes due to flight delays, heavy traffic, or bad weather, or canceled reservations.

2. Maintenance

Guests want to stay in well-maintained residences. One of the most significant difficulties facing property managers is maintenance. A rental with a damaged air conditioning system, leaking faucets, and non-functioning electric appliances cannot provide a comfortable stay for its guests and is unlikely to obtain great feedback. Vacation rental managers require the following software to assist them:

ensure that their property is in good working order by scheduling preventative maintenance or repairs regularly (before their arrival);

take care of any amenity issues as soon as possible (during the stay);

Ensure that everything in their rental is in functioning order, and conduct inspections for missing things and probable damage caused by their visitors.

3. Vetting of Guests

Check-in and out

A smooth check-in process can improve your guests’ experience and result in more favorable evaluations. To make your guests feel at ease, meet and greet them in person, give them a tour of your property, explain the house regulations, and provide local guides and recommendations. However, for hosts who manage many properties in different locations, greeting guests in person are challenging; therefore, they might delegate this task to an individual or a concierge provider firm. Additionally, vacation rental managers can use automation systems to lower their running costs and improve their company’s productivity.

Self-check-ins are made possible by vacation rental software companies. Guests can get all kinds of information from this program before they arrive, such as booking confirmations, payment reminders, check-in instructions, house manuals, and checkout information. Furthermore, thanks to automatic lock technology that provides keyless entry codes, vacation rental managers can avoid the hassle of handing over keys while also keeping their properties secure.

4. Security

As a vacation rental manager, one of your key considerations should be keeping your home secure and giving your guests peace of mind. Your vacation rental must include correct door locks, safes, alarms, smoke detectors, and first aid kits to assure the safety of your guests and the security of your property. However, on top of all of this, you must protect your property from unruly visitors, fraud, chargebacks, and guest-caused property damage. As a result, you’ll need automated software that can handle e-signature, secure automated payments, automated accounting,, and reporting, and integrate with apps for contactless check-ins.

Top 3

 Web Design

With so many guests booking vacation rentals online, having a user-friendly website is critical. A website design option in your vacation rental software should allow you to add a calendar, process payments, and upload photos. This website should be simple to navigate on both a desktop computer and a mobile device.

Top 4 

Accounting System

A good accounting system is required by any firm that sells a product or provides a service. If you’re collecting payments or making a budget, you’ll need to know how much money your company produces and whether it’s in red, green, or black.

Top 5 

Guest Reviews

Guest evaluations enable word of mouth, even if it is virtual, to have an impact on how frequently your rental is booked. A guest with many positive reviews to read could be the determining factor in choosing your resort. Use vacation rental software that allows you to incorporate a review section on your website for guests to submit feedback.

Top 6

Flexible Rental Rates

You’ll be able to change the rental rate for your home depending on the time of year if you include a pricing mechanism in your vacation rental software. Guests who are able to travel during the week are more likely to choose a property that has a lower weekday rental rate than one that has the same rental fee on both weekdays and weekends.

When establishing your rental fee, however, you should take into account popular travel dates and seasons. Increase your nightly charge if you’re traveling during a busy time of year, such as a holiday weekend or a season, to get the maximum return on your investment.

Top 7

Scheduling Housekeeping and Maintenance Services

Housekeeping will be required throughout each guest’s stay at your rental home.The cleaning company you employ will need to be scheduled in order to know when and where to clean.It would be beneficial if you used vacation rental software to schedule housekeeping services around the reservation schedule.

If the rental home has a hot tub or a pool, you may need to schedule weekly or monthly pool service. No guest would want to be bothered by a cleaning service in charge of the property’s facilities.Using a calendar system that shows current availability, you may schedule housekeeping and maintenance without disrupting guests.

Top 8 

Rental and Payment Options

While setting a reasonable and competitive rental rate is critical, you must also factor in relevant taxes, fees, and deposits. You should apply all necessary additional fees for the visitor to review using the vacation rental program you chose.

Guests dislike being shocked at checkout with expenses not included in the original estimate.

In addition to precise rental totals, you should provide guests the option of establishing a partial or split payment arrangement. This modest amenity will increase the likelihood of a guest booking your home.

You can choose to use non-refundable deposits or the total reservation amount due at a specific time to control the process.

Top 9

Social Media Integration

Guests of all ages are active on social media. A social media advertisement presenting your resort, similar to word of mouth, can attract a potential guest’s notice. The most prominent social media platforms among users are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Having a digital presence on these sites might help you reach a larger audience and increase your chances of getting your property booked.

Top 10

Reports

Running a successful firm involves an in-depth analysis of each department to determine whether it is working at maximum efficiency. You can use the reporting capabilities in your vacation rental software to inspect all aspects of your rental property to see if any changes are required.

Sidenotes: It’s possible that you’re overspending on housekeeping or that your property is consistently vacant at certain times of the year. You can leverage the maximum potential of your vacation rental business by using vacation rental software to conduct numerous reports.

How Much Assistance Would Your Virtual Property Management Assistant Requires?

Truth be told, most vacation rental owners or managers are jack of all trades, from housekeeping to content marketing, revenue management, and tenant screening. It is a waste of time to do everything yourself when you could be focusing on building your business. However, another approach to improving your performance without wasting time is hiring a property management virtual assistant.

The majority of your real estate business may be managed online. As a result, hiring a virtual assistant for property management is a great way to obtain more independence and maximize your time by focusing on the most critical tasks.

But don’t be concerned. PlistBooking.com, as a leading PMS in the short-term rental business, ensures that only one virtual property assistant will be enough. How? Plistbooking.com has prepared the way for you and your virtual assistant by offering a wide range of automatic capabilities.

If you have admitted to automating your rental operations to a large extent, you can make use of several of our valuable services. Our operation solution and automated services may help your virtual assistant manage a variety of operational activities remotely, including:

• Management of check-in and check-out. All check-ins and checkouts will be handled efficiently by the VA.
• Keep track of your expenses. Virtual assistants can provide a comprehensive profit report for your multi-property portfolio.
• Management of reservations. If you offer your assistants more authority, they may quickly change bookings using the simple booking calendar.