STR+Airbnb Business Automations

A regular question I get in hosting is about the systems we use so I figured I should put together a post about the Tech we use + why!

1. Pricelabs
   I think everyone should have a pricing tool from the get-go unless they are in a market with zero competition (less than 20 listings on Airbnb + VRBO). Our pricing tool has made us a lot of money. It uses an algorithm to determine what is going on in the area and is comparing you to other rentals + hotels. If Taylor Swift decides to announce a tour spot in your City, this will push your prices up appropriately (within reason) to ensure you get good prices on those nights. I think this one is very important to our businesses. Your offseason nights should not be priced the same as your on-season nights. Having a really booked up calendar might mean you are under priced. We were when we started out. Now we make more money per night with less wear and tear on our properties.

2. Breezeway
   This is a software I LOVE. This is where we house cleaning, inspection, and maintenance stuff. We use this to provide our teams with cleaning lists, pictures of what we expect everything to look like, a place for them to tell us how the guests left our properties (and we use this report to review our guests), tell us what supplies are low, if things are broken, ripped or anything along those lines. We also use this for our inspectors to take pictures of cleaner’s work. Maintenance is super easy, you push a + sign, take a picture and write down something that is wrong. Broken window, door, missing coffee carafe? No problem, it gets put into here and someone gets assigned it.
   

3. Hospitable
   There are OODLES of PMS (Property Management Software) options to choose from. Honestly, research a couple of them and just PICK ONE. The best PMS is the one you will use. We prefer Hospitable for its great customer service, ease of use and friendly back end. Everything is intuitive, and we are still finding awesome ways for it to integrate with our other systems!
   

4. RemoteLock
   This one is a bit controversial. We know people who hate Remote Lock and others who love it. We are in the love camp. BUT as of March 2024, we just found out Hospitable has a new lock integration so we might be able to get rid of RemoteLock system. Whatever you do, put a smart lock on your property. It should connect to your phone in an app of some kind. Change the codes for all guests. If you can avoid using keys, do that. We keep 2 different lockboxes with keys on the property. If a guest needs to use a lockbox we change the code on it immediately. We use a different code for every guest and all of it is automated. We personally stay away from touchscreen smart locks because of our weather. -20 degrees typically makes for a frozen screen. Whatever lock you use, make sure it has a smart lock integration for your PMS or for Airbnb and it’s easy to change and input codes.
   

5. Google
   We use a lot of Google Business Suite. We utilize Google Sheets for our ongoing stocking supplies, for our cleaning + laundry coordination with our multiple cleaning teams (Google Calendar+Sheets) and Google Docs for our numerous processes//playbooks. Google Business Profile for our house reviews.
   

6. QuickBooks Online (QBO)
   I’m not sure why people fool around with some of the other bookkeeping programs. Eventually you will probably be on QBO if you have a normal bookkeeper. Just bite the bullet.  And please, Please, PLEASE do not mix your personal accounts with your business. Those Airbnb payments need to be going to your
   

7. SquareSpace and WordPress
   We use both services for our websites. Square Space is super user friendly; anyone can put together a site on it. WordPress is used for our Direct Booking Site.
   

8. Safely
   We now use a group called Safely for our damage waivers for each booking. This means if the guests break a lamp or ruin a towel or set of sheets, we can get reimbursed through our damage waiver program. We charge guests a management fee of $20-50 (depending on the house) and it covers us for a certain amount. Instead of cost of doing business (have you ever had 7 towels ruined from one stay?!), we can submit a request and skip talking to the guest about giving us money for a towel or two. Yes, we know Airbnb has Aircover. No, this isn’t insurance, even though people think its Airbnb Insurance, it’s just their own fund they can choose to reimburse you out of for broken things if they feel like it. Use it as you wish, but the first time they deny you a claim for someone breaking that lovely lamp you bought, you will want to get something like Safely. Another great option is Waivo (same concept, different provider).
   

9. Canva
   If you aren’t using Canva, I am impressed. We use this for social media setups, signs in our houses, graphics for media in general. It is wonderful and lots of great templates!
   

10. QRStuff.com
    We put QR codes in a lot of spots to help guests with shortcuts or how to’s in our houses. This place has good analytics.
    

If you have any questions about the systems we use, drop us a message!

Links are affiliate links. If you choose to sign up, we might get money or a free month of the service in return. None of these services, software, etc. are paying me to say this. I love using them and they make my life easier!