It’s hard to believe that there are still short-term rental hosts who are reliant on manual inputs and research. Hosts managing their Airbnbs the old-fashioned way are missing out on some serious ease and efficiency. The right short-term rental software can streamline your bookings, optimize pricing, and handle all the little details so that you don’t have to—saving you time, effort, and money overall.
Here are our picks for the best short term rental software to look at:
- SummerOS: Best Overall STR Software
- Wheelhouse: Best for Dynamic Pricing
- Guesty: Best for Property Management
- Hospitable: Best for Communication
- Hostfully: Best for Multiple Channels
- Forecast: Best for Data-Driven Decisions
How We Selected the Best Short Term Rental Software
Picking the right software for your short-term rental business isn't just about fancy features—it's about finding the perfect fit for your needs. We dove deep into the options out there and looked at what really matters to hosts.
Here’s what we looked for in short term rental software:
- Value: Budget matters. We looked for options that offer great bang for your buck, giving you top-notch features without draining your wallet.
- Ease of Use: Nobody has time to deal with complicated software. We chose tools that are straightforward and easy to navigate.
- Features: We wanted robust features like booking management, guest communication, and smart pricing to cover all the bases.
- Integrations: It’s important that your software plays well with others, so we picked ones that easily sync with popular booking platforms and other essential tools.
- Customer Support: Great support is a lifesaver when things go wrong. We made sure these tools have a team that’s ready to help when you need it.
- Scalability: Whether you're managing one rental or a hundred, the software should be able to grow with your business.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive solution, we highly recommend SummerOS. Our overall best STR software has all the features you could possibly need. SummerOS centralizes your vacation rental data and operations into one powerful platform, helping short-term rental managers grow faster, manage smarter, and stay ahead with proactive management tools.
1. SummerOS: Best Overall STR Software
SummerOS is the all-in-one platform designed by property managers for property managers, helping you take control of your short-term rental business. From centralized data to advanced market insights, owner communication tools, and advanced underwriting capabilities, SummerOS empowers you to grow your portfolio, retain owners, and streamline every aspect of your operations.
The platform centralizes your data and tech tools, allowing you to track performance, automate tasks, and scale your business with ease. With features like lead generation, performance tracking, and advanced underwriting, SummerOS helps you grow smarter and operate more efficiently.
Whether you’re managing a few properties or an extensive portfolio, SummerOS empowers you to:
- Centralize your data and operations to manage your portfolio from a single platform
- Track property and portfolio performance with real-time data insights
- Generate reports and dashboards to present key performance metrics to property owners
- Build accurate comp sets to identify new investment opportunities
- Capture new leads and upsell services with built-in tools
- Onboard new properties and team members quickly to drive faster revenue
- Automate alerts and tasks to stay ahead of operational issues, review trends, and maintenance needs
- Retain owners with automated updates and tailored insights for their properties
- Manage financial health with advanced underwriting and pro forma tools
- Identify underperforming properties and optimize strategies to boost performance
- Enhance guest experience by resolving issues proactively through automated processes
Ready to take your short-term rental business to the next level? SummerOS gives you the power to go from reactive to proactive management, putting you in control of your portfolio’s growth and success. Learn more here!
2. Wheelhouse: Best for Dynamic Pricing
If you’re looking specifically for dynamic pricing capabilities, Wheelhouse is your go-to. Dynamic pricing uses advanced algorithms to automatically analyze market trends and adjust your prices accordingly, without you having to lift a finger. It’s the best way to optimize your pricing strategy, especially during peak seasons.
Wheelhouse offers different pricing plans—one based on 1% of your revenue (plus a $2.99 monthly fee), and one that charges a flat $19.99 per listing. You can learn more on Wheelhouse's website.
For the price, you get software with comprehensive data analytics that provide insights to help you make informed decisions about your pricing strategy. Don’t worry, the tool also makes suggestions based on your risk tolerance. Everything is placed in an easy-to-use dashboard so you can monitor and adjust your performance accordingly.
While Wheelhouse can be a bit overwhelming at first due to its data-heavy interface, hosts who want to optimize their pricing and boost revenue should really invest in this tool.
3. Guesty: Best for Property Management
Guesty is our recommendation for property management, particularly for hosts with multiple listings. This software is all about making your life easier by automating tasks like booking management, guest communication, and coordinating with your staff. Like Lodgify, it also has a comprehensive set of features that can enable hosts to do practically anything they need.
While those features are impressive, what really sets Guesty apart is its ability to sync with various booking platforms and provide a unified calendar. This makes it a must-have for hosts managing several properties.
Guesty offers 3 plans—the cheapest starting at $16 per month billed annually, with a custom pricing plan for larger portfolios. For more information, visit Guesty.
Don’t get us wrong: Guesty can be pricey, especially for hosts with more than 3 properties (their Pro plan requires a custom quote). Despite this, Guesty’s user-friendly interface and great property management features make it our top pick for managing your properties with ease.
4. Hospitable: Best for Communication
Formerly called Smartbnb, Hospitable is our top choice for communication. It’s the ideal solution for hosts who want to maintain high engagement without a lot of manual effort. It automates messaging across multiple platforms with numerous templates and AI—with natural language capabilities—to help hosts get started.
Unfortunately, these features come with a hefty price: Hospitable starts at $29 per month, and only goes up for every additional listing. You can find out more about their pricing scheme on the Hospitable website.
While it’s top-notch at communication, the prices do hurt. Some hosts may also find the initial setup of the messaging feature tedious. However, it’s still an effective and excellent investment for hosts who prioritize efficient guest communication.
5. Hostfully: Best for Multiple Channels
Managing bookings across channels? Hostfully excels in this. Whether you’re posting on Airbnb, Vrbo, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, or all 4, it simplifies the complex task of juggling different calendars and guest communications. Never miss a message or double-book a property ever again!
What we like about Hostfully is its digital guidebooks which provide all necessary information in one place for the convenience of your guests.
Hostfully charges $119 per month for its cheapest option, with scalable options for larger portfolios. Guidebooks will cost extra. Hosts who want more details can visit Hostfully.
Hostfully prices are definitely on the higher side, and hosts with only a few properties may not find it worth it. But, for hosts managing multiple channels, Hostfully is a very valuable tool that can streamline your operations.
6. Forecast: Best for Data-Driven Decisions
Summer Forecast is your go-to platform for building a high-performing Airbnb portfolio. Our institutional-quality Airbnb data and forecasting tools are designed to help property managers and investors like you make smarter decisions. With intuitive insights on revenue, occupancy rates, market trends, and comps, Forecast enables you to evaluate new investments, optimize your portfolio, and stay ahead in the competitive short-term rental market.
Short term rental property managers can use Summer Forecast to analyze new markets before venturing into them, research new potential properties before onboarding them, and set up owner expectations based on comps performance. In addition, Airbnb managers can compare their portfolio to the average market performance, identify underperforming properties, and build strategies to enhance results.
Meanwhile, Summer Forecast can help vacation rental investors analyze expected performance before purchasing a property as well as understand how their properties perform compared to competitors in the market. With Forecast, you can:
- Understand how your markets and properties are performing month-to-month
- Research potential properties and analyze new markets
- Show owners comparable nearby properties and update them on market expectations
- Generate sales collateral, proformas, and revenue projections
- Select markets for high-yield alerts and analyze homes for cash flow potential
- Understand how your investments are performing and generate custom reports
- Analyze comparable properties and nearby homes for standout amenities
- Take notes on insights and trends for future investments
Learn more about Summer Forecast now!
Bottom Line
There are plenty of short-term rental software options available, but if you’re looking for a comprehensive solution to streamline and grow your business, look no further than SummerOS. While some platforms may offer basic features, SummerOS combines powerful tools with ease of use, allowing you to manage every aspect of your vacation rental business—from lead generation to portfolio optimization—all in one place. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale, SummerOS is designed to help you succeed.
