Are you using a Property Management System?
When we started this journey just over a year ago, we had 1 listing. It's hard to believe, but it's the truth. We had one listing in Bend, Oregon that also happened to be our home. 18 months later, here we are with 10 properties and we are growing. Gary asked me when we started actually taking on clients last July what I thought about 10 listings or 15 listings, I honestly was like we will need to look at things a little different if we get to that point.
So, here we are 10 properties and looking at things a little different. Actually, when we contracted our 8th listing we started looking at things differently. Ya'll know that Gary left his job at Nosler Inc. of 12 years in March, that was such a HUGE step for us. Can I just tell you that it has been SO worth it! There is no possible way that we could have gotten through another summer without Gary dedicated solely to our business. With Gary being able to help out full-time I have been able to focuse more on building the business.
We built our first page on our website in March of 2018, it was poorly done., by yours truly. I've have learned a lot in the last 1.5 years about what works and what doesn't on a website or in social media. In June of 2018 we started exploring the idea of a direct booking site but we weren't quite ready for a Property Management System (PMS), so we decided to work with Vacation Rental Desk. We were super happy with the performance of the system that they have set up for the time that we used it and would recommend it to hosts or property managers that have 5 properties or under. The credit card fee is low and the monthly fee is very reasonable. It's easy to use and sending quotes to guests from your phone is a breeze.
Once we picked up our sixth property, the calendar and rates started to get really hard to control. I was spending most of my time looking at three different calendars and changing the rates in three different locations. At this point I started looking for other options that were more inclusive.
I have talked about how I manage rates before with Pricelabs and it was important to me that the PMS that we were switching to also integrated with Pricelabs, this way all the rates are the same everywhere our homes are listed. Genius right?
In the end we went with Lodgify after looking at many different options, I feel that this PMS is the best fit for us in the current state of our business. With the integration of all three calendars, as well as Pricelabs it was so easy for me to get organized right away. The best part? The inbox and messaging system! No longer do I have to go to 3 different sites to communicate with our guests! It's all in one inbox, they also do all the communication for you. It sounds impersonal when I say it that way, what I mean is you have so many options for pre-set emails and of course they have them pre-written but you can write them in your own words and voice. You can also choose which ones you want to use and which ones you don't.
So, I have better more direct communication with our guests, I spend less time managing calendars and rates, what else made me take the leap? They let me keep my domain name and customize our website to match our brand. That was huge for me, it's who we are. The monthly rate for the system is really reasonable, I was honesty surprised with all that it offers how reasonable Lodgify is. The credit card rates are one of the lowest I have seen, which is even better because we don't charge our guests booking fees- this includes credit card fees- and with systems like these we will be able to keep it that way.
If you are looking for a new PMS system and have your properties on more than one channel, I would suggest Lodgify for sure. It's easy to use for you and your guests. We would be happy to answer any questions on the subject if anyone has any, drop us a line. Happy hosting!
So, here we are 10 properties and looking at things a little different. Actually, when we contracted our 8th listing we started looking at things differently. Ya'll know that Gary left his job at Nosler Inc. of 12 years in March, that was such a HUGE step for us. Can I just tell you that it has been SO worth it! There is no possible way that we could have gotten through another summer without Gary dedicated solely to our business. With Gary being able to help out full-time I have been able to focuse more on building the business.
We built our first page on our website in March of 2018, it was poorly done., by yours truly. I've have learned a lot in the last 1.5 years about what works and what doesn't on a website or in social media. In June of 2018 we started exploring the idea of a direct booking site but we weren't quite ready for a Property Management System (PMS), so we decided to work with Vacation Rental Desk. We were super happy with the performance of the system that they have set up for the time that we used it and would recommend it to hosts or property managers that have 5 properties or under. The credit card fee is low and the monthly fee is very reasonable. It's easy to use and sending quotes to guests from your phone is a breeze.
Once we picked up our sixth property, the calendar and rates started to get really hard to control. I was spending most of my time looking at three different calendars and changing the rates in three different locations. At this point I started looking for other options that were more inclusive.
I have talked about how I manage rates before with Pricelabs and it was important to me that the PMS that we were switching to also integrated with Pricelabs, this way all the rates are the same everywhere our homes are listed. Genius right?
In the end we went with Lodgify after looking at many different options, I feel that this PMS is the best fit for us in the current state of our business. With the integration of all three calendars, as well as Pricelabs it was so easy for me to get organized right away. The best part? The inbox and messaging system! No longer do I have to go to 3 different sites to communicate with our guests! It's all in one inbox, they also do all the communication for you. It sounds impersonal when I say it that way, what I mean is you have so many options for pre-set emails and of course they have them pre-written but you can write them in your own words and voice. You can also choose which ones you want to use and which ones you don't.
So, I have better more direct communication with our guests, I spend less time managing calendars and rates, what else made me take the leap? They let me keep my domain name and customize our website to match our brand. That was huge for me, it's who we are. The monthly rate for the system is really reasonable, I was honesty surprised with all that it offers how reasonable Lodgify is. The credit card rates are one of the lowest I have seen, which is even better because we don't charge our guests booking fees- this includes credit card fees- and with systems like these we will be able to keep it that way.
If you are looking for a new PMS system and have your properties on more than one channel, I would suggest Lodgify for sure. It's easy to use for you and your guests. We would be happy to answer any questions on the subject if anyone has any, drop us a line. Happy hosting!
Comments
Post a Comment