Technology supporting short term rental industry

(both for guests and property managers)

Technology and the web have long been supporting companies in any sector to grow and scale their business. The world of short term rental has also undoubtedly been helped by new technologies: guests can book safely and transparently and property managers like Beahost Rentals can now use various tools to support their daily activities to provide private owners and their guests with a professional and comprehensive management service.

In particular, among the various technological tools available, today’s blog article is dedicated to portals and reservation management software.

PORTALS 

To begin with, to support guests we find a number of tourism platforms through which they can choose their ideal accommodation, in the destination of preference and in total transparency.

Portals such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Holidu, HomeToGo, etc., in fact, present a booking summary, with all costs for the guest clearly explained, before finalizing the booking. Included services, such as breakfast, and fees, such as the tourist tax, must always appear listed in a clear and accessible manner. In the case of extra services not included in the summary of costs on the check-out page, the guest can find them in the detailed description of the listing.

In this case, technology intervenes to foster a transparent relationship between the accommodation manager and the final guest.

Some portals, such as Airbnb, also offer insurance cover by default, aimed at protecting both hosts and guests during their stay. 

Last but not least, the portal, which traditionally has a Customer Service Team operating if not 24/7, at least during traditional office hours, offers guests the possibility of receiving professional support, should any inconveniences arise before and during their stay, or even just to request information.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARES

Technology helps property managers manage their properties efficiently. They have at their disposal different management softwares for bookings and for keeping track of guests’ arrival and departure dates, avoiding overlaps and overbooking by synchronizing calendars.

The management software, traditional Channel Managers and more advanced Property Management Systems, also enables property managers to: 

• create a single listing and export it to all integrated portals;
• send information to guests in an automated and timed manner according to the timing chosen by the property manager; 
• integrate external softwares to support the manager’s activities (dynamic prices, online check-in, etc.), when not offered by the PMS itself;
• generate automatic invoices for third parties (homeowners and external collaborators, such as maintenance and cleaning staff);
• assigning maintenance and cleaning services to co-workers, who are granted a dedicated access to the software, to prevent communication with them through other external communication channels;
• manage the creation of reviews and the reply to those left by guests without individual access to the individual portal;

From the property managers’ point of view, technology is undoubtedly the most powerful ally to scale up their business. 

This kind of technology is not easy and cheap to tackle for whoever is not familiar with the industry and it is one of the main reasons why it is recommended and more successful to rely on a proficient and professional management, as the one offered by Beahost Rentals, able to use these tools smartly and softly.

To these two valuable tools, we can certainly add domotics, check-in automation, all the way to AI… and for this huge chapter, we’ll catch up next month, in a dedicated blog article!