There are plenty of PMS tools on the market, but few offer property managers such an easy and efficient solution as Hostify.
The startup is based in the USA, with offices in Bulgaria and Spain. Since launching in 2018, Hostify has helped property managers keep track of more than 28,000 listings in 43 countries.
Their mission? To bring the most up-to-date and advanced vacation rental technology to a user-friendly, flexible property management system that makes life easier for property managers.
Hostify is one of the 20 startups shortlisted for the 2021 VRTECH Competition. If you haven’t yet, vote for your favourite startup now!
What is Hostify?
Hostify is an all-in-one tool designed for property managers.
It’s mainly a PMS but has a wide range of features including channel management, booking engine, website builder, guest messaging, payment processing, automation, multi-calendar management, and more.
One of the tool’s key benefits is its ability to unite information from diverse sources in a single platform. Property managers can access everything they need in one place and rest assured that all data will be synchronised in real-time.
It also includes reporting features that can give you valuable insight into your business, and help you make smarter decisions.
Hostify can reduce how long you spend on your day-to-day operations. This means you’ll free up time to concentrate on acquiring more inventory and growing your business.
What makes Hostify’s PMS different?
Short-term property managers are spoilt for choice in terms of PMS options, but that can make it difficult to choose the best solution for you.
Wondering if Hostify might be the right PMS for your business? Take a look at some of the tool’s best features.
Easy to use
Hostify wants to simplify life for property managers. They’ve created an incredibly user-friendly tool that lets you manage all business operations in one place.
You can view diverse and complex data in clear dashboards. The app is fast and well-designed to give you all the information you need and avoid overwhelm.
The platform is also responsive on mobile devices, so you can manage your business on the go.
Constantly updated
Hostify strives to keep up with changing demands in the short-term rental industry. They focus heavily on product development and continuously update the tool to ensure they stay competitive and provide a great all-round property management system.
They listen to their users and often adapt the tool to serve their needs. In fact, many of Hostify’s popular features were built thanks to feature requests from clients.
Plus, enterprise clients have access to even more customisation options.
Manage short and mid-term bookings
Since the pandemic, more and more property managers have started integrating mid-term bookings into their strategies to maximise their occupancy rates.
However, the management needs of mid-term bookings are very different from those of short-term bookings. That’s why it’s important to work with a PMS like Hostify, which allows you to market and manage both.
Hostify lets you set up different pricing strategies, and give weekly or monthly discounts on longer stays. The platform also allows you to programme payments. For example, if you have a 90-day booking, you can set up a payment schedule and automatically charge your tenants every month.
Furthermore, Hostify connects to a variety of sales channels including niche booking sites designed specifically for business travellers, digital nomads, and other guests seeking longer stays. Thanks to Hostify’s integration with the Rentals United channel manager, you can distribute your listings to these sites and attract mid-term bookings.
API connections
Through Hostify’s API, property managers can connect a wide variety of platforms to the tool, including all the main OTAs, niche sites, and your own booking website.
You can get accurate data in real-time and update listings across all channels with guest and reservation details.
Hostify also integrates with a variety of other tools that you might use in running your business, such as apps you use for payment processing, guest messaging, task management, pricing, and channel management.
Their list of integrations includes Stripe, Paypal, Rentals United, Whatsapp, PriceLabs, Asana, and more.
Automation
Hostify allows you to create automations that can streamline your workflow.
For example, you can send automated guest messages that can be personalised with dynamic variables.
You can also create triggers every time a certain action is taken, such as a new inquiry, a status update, or a payment. With customised triggers, you can automatically create an action or alert in your system. And, you can assign tasks to your team members.
Pricing automation can help you set the smartest prices for weekends, weekdays, and holidays to maximise your revenue.
You can even automate the process of posting guest reviews by using templates. However, you can still post reviews manually whenever you need to leave a specific or negative review.
Booking website
It’s always a good strategy to have your own website to capture direct bookings alongside your OTA listings.
However, designing a website can be time-consuming and frustrating if you do it yourself, and costly if you hire a web design agency.
Hostify offers a hassle-free alternative. They can set up a modern, mobile-friendly website for your business. This website can be created quickly and modelled on your Airbnb content. You also have the option to integrate Hostify with your existing website and domain so that all bookings coming through your site will be pulled into your PMS.
Having your own attractive website helps you maximise direct bookings and avoid OTA fees. You can customise the look and feel of the site with your own images, colours and logo.
Owners’ portal
And finally, Hostify allows you to give your landlords insight and control over what’s going on with their properties by using the owners’ portal.
Landlords can have their own personal dashboard where they can track the performance of their properties. You can give them permission to block calendar dates and let them access guest reviews if you want to.
The owner’s portal provides transparency and lets your landlords see the benefits of having you manage their properties.
How one property manager used Hostify to manage both short and mid-term bookings
To find out more about how Hostify works in action, we spoke with one of their property management clients, VLC Host. The company manages around 30 apartments in Valencia, Spain.
Their portfolio includes a mix of entire buildings and individual apartments for tourists spread across different locations in the city.
As well as these short-term tourist rentals, the company also manages a building of 8 apartments, where individual rooms are rented out on a longer-term basis to students and young workers.
Manuela Lucia Garcia Matas from VLC Host explained what the property management company offers their guests.
“More than accommodation, we have to sell an experience,” she said.
“We’re available 24/7. We help all our guests with all the paperwork they need to do (for mid-term stays) and provide them with recommendations to ensure they have an amazing time in Valencia. We also offer them discounts and promo codes for local businesses, such as bike rentals, restaurants, and more.”
Before they discovered Hostify, VLC Host was looking for software that would allow them to manage their short-term and mid-term reservations simultaneously.
Hostify seemed like the ideal choice, as it offered them the flexibility to manage bookings from these two distinct markets.
When talking about other benefits of the platform, Manuela mentioned Hostify’s attentive customer service and the fact that their team is available 24/7 to help their customers.
She also noted the company’s willingness to continuously improve and grow with their clients.
Since using the platform, the VLC Host team has been able to cut down the time they spend on repetitive daily tasks. They now have one place to manage everything, which has made operations easier.
Manuela says she would recommend Hostify “to all property management teams that sell properties through different sales channels. It will help them optimize their time and increase profits.”
Is Hostify the right PMS for your vacation rental business?
If you’re looking for a property management system that’s easy to use and brings everything together in one place, Hostify could be a good solution for you.
The app provides advanced technology in a user-friendly package. With a wide range of integrations, you’ll find it compatible with many of the tools you currently use.
You can try Hostify for free for 14 days. After that, you’ll pay $10-20 per listing, depending on the number of rentals you manage.
For Enterprise clients with more than 200 units, Hostify offers bespoke pricing available on request.
To keep up with the latest technology and trends in the vacation rental industry, join the VRTECH Community. You’ll also get access to exclusive meetups and events, and a growing network of vacation rental professionals.