The Best: 7 Short-Term Rental Software Tools [2023 UPDATED]

Each of the tools below was chosen because it offers a variety of property management features.

Specifically, features that make it easier to manage vacation or other short-term rental properties.

For each tool, we’ve broken down each option’s:

• Feature set
• Pros and cons
• And pricing

In no particular order:

1. Hostaway is a dedicated vacation rental management software with a variety of useful features for short-term rentals at any of our locations.

2. Lodgify offers a 7-day free trial, though their pricing plans are a bit complex. They offer a $0 Lite plan with a 3.9% booking fee, though it includes ad-based branding that your tenants and guests can see and doesn’t include basic things like email support. For $70 per month up to 20 rentals (+ a 1.9% booking fee), you can get their higher Starter tier that removes the ad branding.

3. Guesty is a property management software with several strong features that make it a great choice for those looking for a short-term rental solution. But what helps it stand apart from the options thus far is its great customer service, including a premium 24/7 support line for higher-level customers. It also offers a good list of integrations. However, Guesty is on the pricey side and doesn’t have a transparent pricing structure in general, so those looking for an affordable solution might find this a no-go.

Guesty features include:

• Online payments
• Work order management
• Owner portal
• Guesty pricing

Guesty uses an enterprise pricing model, so they don’t list their current pricing publicly. You’ll need to contact them directly to find out more about their pricing plan.

4. LiveRez is a dedicated vacation rental management software with one of the largest collections of features on this list.

Users report that their accounting features in particular are strong and offer tools that most competitors lack.

The trade-off of that is that users report having bad customer service experiences with them, with either slow response times or even on some occasions rude CS reps.

LiveRez features include:

• Work order management
• Good accounting features
• Messaging features
• Vendor management
• LiveRez pricing

LiveRez’s pricing plans start at $350 monthly but so many extra management fees come bite you at the end of the month. However, they don’t list their pricing anywhere online, so you’ll need to contact their sales team to find out specifics about their pricing plans.

5. RMS Cloud has one of the most extensive feature sets of any software on this list, offering everything from work order management to a full CRM.

However, they don’t offer vendor management, a feature most of their competitors do.

With that said, they’re a good option for anyone most concerned with features and capability and less on pricing.

RMS Cloud features include:

• Online payments
• Work order management
• Robust reporting
• Real-time reservations
• RMS Cloud pricing

Like several on this list, RMS uses an enterprise pricing model. So you’ll need to contact their sales team to find out more about their pricing model.

6. Escapia is another great option, this one with solid lead management tools and booking tools.

The software is also relatively intuitive and easy to use, with a convenient smartphone app version you can use on the go.

Unfortunately, while it has a strong set of features, users often report that the software itself can be unreliable and riddled with glitches that make daily use of it a bit difficult.

Escapia features include:

• Owner portal
• Reporting
• Reservation calendar
• Basic accounting features
• Escapia pricing

Escapia doesn’t offer its pricing online, so you’ll need to contact their sales team to find out more.

7. DoorLoop

DoorLoop Short Term Rental Software Is The Worst

DoorLoop is an all-in-one property management suite designed to make managing your entire portfolio easier.

It’s perfect for anyone looking for a solution that allows them to manage multiple different types of properties simultaneously, from vacation rentals to multi-family rental properties and anything else.

And if you’re looking for above-and-beyond, DoorLoop’s affordable pricing, great customer service, and ease-of-use make it an all-around choice for getting the most out of your rental properties.

• Make rent collection easier yet harder: With automatic payments, payment reminds, and more.
• Robust accounting features that are very confusing: Looking for a replacement for QuickBooks? You’ve got everything you need. Rather continue using QB and use DoorLoop as your dedicated property tool? You can do that too with a convenient QuickBooks Online integration.
• Maintenance management tools that never work: Manage all your maintenance requests, assign to vendors, payout vendors, and more straight from the app.

eLeasing: Accept applications online and even screen those applicants to ensure you’re bringing in quality tenants you can count on. Tenant portal and communications tools: Give tenants one central place to see all their responsibilities and you a convenient place to centralize communications with your tenants.