After you buy a short term rental, you need to make sure that the management of your property is optimized in order to maximize occupancy, income, and return on investment. If you’d like to be a DIY host, you’d need to get the best Airbnb channel manager to streamline and automate the management of your property.
Here we’ve ranked the top 8 vacation rental channel managers for different types of hosts and rentals so that you can find the one that matches your needs most closely.
What Is an Airbnb Channel Manager?
An Airbnb channel manager, also known as a vacation rental channel manager, is a software platform that helps hosts streamline and centralize all the tasks related to owning and managing a short term rental property.
This tool works across various vacation rental booking platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and more to allow property owners to enhance listings, synchronize calendars, dynamically adjust pricing, and everything in between that’s needed for Airbnb property management.
Why Every Real Estate Investor Needs an Airbnb Channel Manager: 7 Benefits
The benefits of using an Airbnb channel manager
Using a channel manager for Airbnb has become a must for hosts and those who co host Airbnb properties if they want to be competitive without having to turn vacation rental management into a full-time job.
The main advantages of this short term rental software include:
#1: Better Short Term Rental Listings
The best tools help hosts optimize their listings on multiple platforms, including the listing title, the listing description, guest review collection, and other aspects. In other words, channel managers know how to tailor your listing to the requirements of Airbnb SEO so that it ranks higher in guest search results. This translates into more potential reservations and more income even if you don’t have expertise on how to list on Airbnb.
#2: Increased Exposure for Listings
This tool enables online booking management on multiple platforms quickly and easily. This means that your listing can show on numerous websites without you having to put extra effort, getting in front of the eyes of significantly more potential guests.
#3: End to Double Bookings
An Airbnb channel manager ensures the real-time synchronization of booking calendars across all platforms where your property is listed. As a result, there will be no more double bookings and no more disappointed guests that you have to turn down.
#4: More Bookings
The combined result of Airbnb listing optimization, listing on more websites, and syncing calendars will be more bookings for your vacation rental. This will lead to a higher Airbnb occupancy rate, which directly affects the money you make from your real estate investment.
#5: Maximized Revenue
This short term rental management software will help you earn more money from your property, and revenue maximization in real estate is the ultimate goal of every investor. A channel manager allows you to optimize the Airbnb daily rate dynamically to strike the best balance between nightly rates and occupancy, bringing in more income.
#6: Improved Efficiency
The property management automation which this tool brings will help you improve the performance of your short term rental while spending less time on managing it. You will no longer need to hire a professional Airbnb manager or be a full-time Airbnb host to run a successful vacation rental business.
#7: Saving Time
All in all, a channel manager for Airbnb properties boosts the real estate investment optimization, and at the same time it helps hosts save a ton of money. You can use this time to enjoy your short term rental income or strategize about your real estate portfolio.
How We Chose the Best Airbnb Channel Managers
With dozens of vacation rental channel managers on the market, it’s important to choose the best one. After all, not all of these software tools are created equal. While they all fulfill more or or less the same functions and goals – namely, Airbnb rental management automation – there are important differences between them that you need to take into consideration.
Below are the main criteria we’ve used when selecting the best Airbnb channel manager tools available to hosts in the US market:
- Tools and functionalities: First and foremost, we chose channel managers that cover all the aspects of property management automation, from calendar synchronization to guest experience enhancement.
- Integrations: We focused on tools that work seamlessly with all the largest vacation rental listing websites as well as with other tools needed by Airbnb hosts.
- Ease of use: We made sure that the recommended software is easy to use by non-professional property managers and does not have a prohibitively steep learning curve.
- Pricing: We ranked options that are affordable and that lead to an overall increase in cash flow and return on investment through enhanced efficiency.
- Customer reviews: Last but not least, we took into account what Airbnb hosts and property managers say about the selected tools in their online reviews on trustworthy websites.
Using these criteria, we’ve ranked the 8 best Airbnb channel manager platforms as:
- Hostfully: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Integrations
- Hostaway: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Features
- Smoobu: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Free Access
- Your.Rentals: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Channel Integration
- iGMS: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Free Trial
- Guesty: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Simplicity
- Lodgify: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Website Builder
- Lodgix: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Numerous Properties
#1: Hostfully: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Integrations
Hostfully is one of the most popular names in the channel management industry, which stands out with the number of integrations with third-party tools that it provides, including distribution, communication, data, dynamic pricing, Airbnb insurance, accounting, cleaning, safety, turnover, and others.
Hostfully Features
Hostfully offers access to the following tools:
- Automation
- Channel manager
- Central calendar
- Direct booking website
- Booking pipeline
- Unified inbox
- Integrations
- Open API
- Mobile app
- Digital guidebooks
Hostfully Integrations
Hostfully integrates with over 60 tools and platforms including but not limited to:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- Homes & Villas by Marriott International
- QuickBooks (Airbnb accounting software)
- RedAwning
- Beyond
- PriceLabs
- Rented
- Mailchimp
- Wheelhouse Booking Insights
- Lynx
- NoiseAware
- Clearing
- Mozio
- Viator
- DropboxSign
Hostfully Pricing
The price of Hostfully depends on the number of properties that a host has, with the price for each property going down as the number of properties goes up. The pricing for one listing is $109/month, while it’s $199/month for 10 properties. Annual subscriptions enjoy a 10% discount.
Hostfully Pros and Cons
The main advantages of Hostfully over other channel manager options include:
- Complete property management automation for vacation rentals
- Multiple integrations with third-party tools
A disadvantage to keep in mind is:
- Steep pricing for small portfolios of properties
Hostfully Reviews
You can check out online customer reviews of Hostfully on:
#2: Hostaway: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Features
Hostaway is the best Airbnb channel manager for access to features
Hostaway is another well-known name in the vacation rental management industry. The main benefits offered by this platform are the multiple features which go beyond simple Airbnb channel management.
Hostaway Features
With Hostaway, Airbnb investors get access to a wide range of tools and features like:
- Channel manager
- Distribution channels
- Multi-calendar
- Multi-unit support
- Cross-listings
- Property management system (PMS)
- Reservations manager
- Performance dashboard
- CRM and lead management
- Revenue management
- Analytics and reporting
- Occupancy reports
- Owner statements
- Dynamic pricing
- Financial reporting
- Expense tracking
- Unified inbox
- Owner portal
- Guest portal
- SMS and WhatsApp
- Contract signature
- Payment processing
- Guest invoicing
- Automated payments
- Task management
- Automated messages
- Automated tasks
- Automated reviews
- Smart locks
- Booking website
- Website builder
- WordPress and Wix Widgets
- Coupon management
- Notifications
- Open API
- Mobile app
Hostaway Integrations
Hostaway integrates with, among others:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy
- Google Vacation Rentals
- Stripe
- Operto
- Breezeway
- PriceLabs
- Safely
- Beyond
- Wheelhouse
- Turno
- Ximplifi
- RemoteLock
- Zapier
- Turnify
- Slack
- HubSpot
Hostaway Pricing
The Hostaway website does not provide detailed pricing information. Prices are customized according to the needs of Airbnb hosts and property managers and can be either fixed or commission-based. However, it’s not clear what range investors can expect.
Hostaway Pros and Cons
The most important benefits of Hostfully are:
- Access to full property management automation
- Multiple integrations
Meanwhile, the main drawback is:
Hostaway Reviews
You can find online Hostaway reviews on:
#3: Smoobu: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Free Access
Smoobu is one of the few vacation rental channel managers that offer a free 14-day trial so that hosts and property managers can decide if this is the right tool for their needs. Moreover, there is a free basic plan that excludes the channel manager, though.
Smoobu Features
Smoobu allows hosts to use the following features:
- Channel manager
- Rates synchronization
- Reservation system
- Free website
- Booking system
- Availability calendar
- Guest communication
- Automated templates
- Guest check-in
- Guest reviews
- Guest guide
- Statistics and KPIs
- Shared accounts
Smoobu Integrations
Smoobu integrates with multiple third-party tools, some of which are:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Agoda
- Trip.com
- Hotels.com
- Tripadvisor
- FlipKey
- HolidayLettings
- VacationRentals.com
Smoobu Pricing
Smoobu is one of the few tools on our list of the best Airbnb channel managers that offers a free trial. Moreover, there is a free Basic plan for those who need PMS, website, basic statistics, and self-setup (no channel manager).
Access to the Professional plan costs $31/month, and access to the Team plan is $215/month. Annual subscriptions get a 10% discount, and biannual subscriptions get a 20% discount.
Smoobu Pros and Cons
The most significant pros of Smoobu are:
- Availability of a free trial
- Free plan (excluding the Airbnb channel manager functionality)
The key Smoobu cons to take into consideration include:
- Limited features outside channel management
- Lack of integrations beyond listing platforms
Smoobu Reviews
You can read detailed customer reviews of Smoobu on:
#4:Your.Rentals: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Channel Integration
Your.Rentals is a good channel manager for Airbnb investors who would like to list their properties on as many booking platforms as possible since the tool integrates with 40+ listing websites.
Your.Rentals Features
When using Your.Rentals, Aibnb hosts and managers get access to:
- Channel manager
- Listing builder
- Calendar sync
- Payments
- Messages
- Online check-in
- Guest reviews
- Direct booking
- Website
- Home monitoring
- Insights
- Collaborator
- Account manager
- Personalized service
- Mobile app
Your.Rentals Integrations
Your.Rentals integrates with more than 40 channels, including but not limited to:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- TripAdvisor
- Agoda
- MagicStay
- Hotels.com
- Stayz Vrbo
- Trip.com
- Rentberry
- Hometogo
- FlipKey
- VacationRentals.com
- Misterb&b
- Hyperguest
- Cozystay
- Tripping
Your.Rentals Pricing
With Your.Rentals, hosts and property managers do not pay a subscription fee but instead pay a commission per booking. However, it’s not clear how big this commission is and what factors it depends on.
Your.Rentals Pros and Cons
Some worth-mentioning pluses of Your.Rentals include:
- Integration with popular and less popular channels
- Access to all channel manager functionalities
At the same time, some Your.Rentals limitations compared to other tools include:
- No integrations with third-party property management tools (beyond channels)
- Limited features outside channel management (accounting, cleaning, task management, etc.)
- No clear pricing
Your.Rentals Reviews
You can check out customer reviews of Your.Rentals on:
#5: iGMS: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Free Trial
iGMS is one of the best Airbnb channel managers available to both hosts and property managers, with single and multiple properties. The platform offers several subscriptions with flexible pricing to meet the needs of diverse customers. There is a 14-day free trial.
iGMS Features
The iGMS platform includes the following features for short term rental management:
- Channel manager
- Inbox
- Calendar data sync
- Changing pricing via the system
- Multiple Airbnb accounts management
- Automated messaging
- Direct booking management
- Website builder
- Automation tools
- Cleaning and team management
- Online payment processing
- Invoice management
- Guest communication productivity tracking
- Security damage deposit
- Financial reporting
- Email and text notifications
iGMS Integrations
iGMS offers integrations with all major OTAs as well as some other tools like:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- OwnersDirect
- VacationRentals.com
- Stayz
- Abritel
- Homelidays
- Stripe
iGMS Pricing
To begin with, iGMS offers a 14-day free trial, which makes them the best vacation rental channel manager in this category. Later, pricing depends on the access to features and the number of properties.
Subscriptions plans include:
- Lite: $30/month for one property
- Flex: $1/booked night (minimum of $20/property/month)
- Pro: $40/property/month for one property; $27/property/month for 10 properties
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for 30+ properties
Annual subscriptions include a 30% discount.
iGMS Pros and Cons
Some major benefits of iGMS compared to other channel managers include:
- Comprehensive channel management capabilities
- Flexible pricing
The main drawback that hosts and property managers need to consider is:
- Limited integrations outside channels
iGMS Reviews
You can read through iGMS reviews by customers on:
#6: Guesty: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Simplicity
The Guesty channel manager stands out with its simplicity and ease of use compared to other alternatives available to short term rental property investors.
Guesty Features
Guesty offers the following tools:
- Channel manager
- Unified inbox
- Multi-calendar
- Payment processing solutions
- Automation tools
- Pricing automation
- Guest communication automation
- Damage protection
Guesty Integrations
Guesty provides integration with several booking platforms including:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Hopper
Guesty Pricing
The Guesty website does not provide any information regarding the pricing structure.
Guesty Pros and Cons
The key advantages provided by Guesty for those learning how to start an Airbnb business comprise:
- Channel management automation
- Simple platform
The main minuses compared to other vacation rental channel managers are:
- No integrations beyond channels
- No pricing information
Guesty Reviews
You can find Guesty online reviews by customers on:
#7: Lodgify: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Website Builder
Lodgify is yet another top Airbnb channel manager. What makes them different from alternative solutions is the well-developed website builder for vacation rentals.
Lodgify Features
The features available on Lodgify include:
- Channel manager
- Reservation system
- Unified inbox
- Guest management
- Task management
- Automation
- Website builder
- Website templates
- Booking system
- Accounting
- Analytics
- Reporting
- API
- Mobile app
Lodgify Integrations
Some of the integrations provided by Lodgify comprise:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- eDreams
- TripAdvisor
- Misterb&b
- Hotelbeds
- HouseTrip
- Lastminute.com
- WordPress
- Squarespace
- Wix
- Weebly
- Drupia
- Joomla
Lodgify Pricing
Lodgify offers three different subscription plans:
- Starter: $17/month + 1.9% booking fee for one property; $54/month + 1.9% booking fee for 10 properties
- Professional: $48/month for one property; $168/month for 10 properties
- Ultimate: $73/month for one property; $257/month for 10 properties
The pricing depends on the access to features and the number of properties. Moreover, there are discounts with annual and biannual subscriptions.
Lodgify Pros and Cons
The most considerable advantages of using Lodgidy as your Airbnb channel manager include:
- Access to all must-have features of a channel manager
- Superior website builder with templates
A couple of drawbacks to consider include:
- Limited integrations with tools beyond channels and bookings
- More expensive pricing for a single property than some competitors
Lodgify Reviews
You can go through detailed Lodgify reviews on:
#8:Lodgix: Best Airbnb Channel Manager for Numerous Properties
Lodgix is a channel manager that is a particularly good choice for hosts and managers who take care of multiple Airbnb properties listed on various channels. The pricing model is very reasonable for numerous listings.
Lodgix Features
With Lodgix, Airbnb hosts and managers can access:
- Channel manager
- Channel reservations
- Website and phone bookings
- Automated communication with guests, team members, and owners
- Dynamic documents
- Team members management including housekeepers, front desk, bookkeepers, and maintenance
- Owner statements
- Connectivity with lock providers, dynamic pricing, analytics, website design, bookkeeping, housekeeping, and task scheduling
- Housekeeping tools
- Reporting
Lodgix Integrations
Lodgix integrates with the following (among other) tools:
- Airbnb
- Vrbo
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- WordPress
- QuickBooks
Lodgix Pricing
Lodgix provides a 30-day free trial, more than other vacation rental channel manager platforms. The pricing depends on the number of properties under management.
The fee for 1-7 properties is $69.99/month in addition to $24.99/month for the property management module and $20/month for the QuickBooks sync module. The pricing reaches $299.99/month for 71+ properties plus $99.99/month for the property management module and $90/month for the QuickBooks sync module.
While the cost is rather high for the owners of one or a few properties, especially if they want access to the optional modules, it is quite affordable for owners and managers with multiple short term rentals.
Lodgix Pros and Cons
The most significant benefit of Lodgix is:
- Affordable pricing for numerous properties
For investors who’re considering whether to add Lodgix to their Airbnb host checklist, some limitations to consider include:
- Limited integrations with third-party tools
- Steep pricing for a small number of rentals
- Additional pricing for access to some modules
Lodgix Reviews
You can find customer reviews of Lodgix on:
Maximizing Your Airbnb Listing’s Performance with the Best Channel Manager
These are the top 8 Airbnb channel manager tools for hosts and managers looking to streamline and automate the management of their vacation rentals on multiple booking websites. Each one of them comes with its own pros and cons. When choosing which one to get for your short term rental business, you need to consider the available features, integrations with third-party platforms, the pricing model, and customer reviews.
While many vacation rental channel managers have some listing pricing capacities, they don’t generally offer specialized dynamic pricing, like Mashvisor. The Mashvisor Airbnb Dynamic Pricing tool allows investors to automate the daily pricing of their short term rentals in a way that boosts income and ROI rather than simply occupancy. By connecting your Airbnb listings to Mashvisor, you can take your pricing strategy to a whole new level, with zero efforts from your end. Pricing is dynamically based on prevailing rates in your market as well as seasonal changes in supply and demand.
Get started with the Mashvisor Dynamic Pricing Software now.
