6 Best Channel Managers for Airbnb and Vacation Rentals

Vacation hosts thrive on efficiency, and while it might not be the first tool that comes to mind, a channel manager is a software that can greatly benefit hosts by simplifying the management of their vacation rental.

Most hosts advertise on multiple channels, like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. A channel manager centralizes everything by synchronizing property availability, rates, and bookings across the different platforms, streamlining the process and reducing the risk of double-bookings. All in all, this tool helps increase a property's visibility and revenue.

The best channel managers for Airbnb are:

1. Smoobu: Best Overall Channel Manager
2. Your.Rentals: Best Budget-Friendly Channel Manager
3. Guesty: Best User-Friendly Channel Manager
4. Lodgix: Best Channel Manager for Multi-Property Hosts
5. iGMS: Best Channel Manager for Small-Scale Hosts
6. Hostaway: Best Channel Manager for Integrated Features

How We Selected the Best Airbnb Channel Managers

Because the right channel manager can improve your business tenfold, we followed a thorough selection process of various channel managers based on six key factors.

We evaluated each channel manager based on:

• Host Recommendations: We considered channel managers highly regarded by experienced hosts.
• Online Reviews: We also analyzed feedback from hosts to gauge real-world performance.
• Ease of Integration: We assessed how easily channel managers work with the different platforms.
• Pricing and Value: We examined costs and value to accommodate different budgets.
• Customer Support: We factored in the quality of customer support.
• Functionality: We looked at features that simplify property management and offer customization and automation options.

Based on our criteria, the best Airbnb channel manager is Smoobu due to its user-friendly interface, extensive features, and strong customer support. It's a practical choice for hosts of all sizes, simplifying property management and boosting bookings.

1. Smoobu: Best Overall Channel Manager

Smoobu is our go-to channel manager pick for short-term hosts, offering a practical solution to streamline property management. Smoobu comes with a wealth of functions (aside from a pretty great channel manager), like a free website builder, rates synchronization, online check-ins, availability calendar, and automated messaging for a seamless hosting experience.

Its user-friendly interface simplifies tasks like updating calendars and managing bookings, and its compatibility with various OTAs ensures efficient cross-listing. With hundreds of app integrations with popular hosting apps—including payment gateways and cleaning apps—you can get top-tier functionality in one simple dashboard.

Smoobu currently has three plans to choose from—monthly, yearly, and every two years—with discounts given for longer plans. Smoobu also lets you choose how many units you’re handling, with each added unit costing extra. Prices start at $31.29/month for one unit on a monthly plan, so although it's a well-rounded platform, its pricing structure isn’t conducive for hosts with tons of properties.

If you’re interested in Smoobu, they currently offer a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, though this doesn’t come with a channel manager. Visit Smoobu now and see how it works for yourself.

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2. Your.Rentals: Best Budget-Friendly Channel Manager

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If you're looking for a more affordable way to manage your property, look no further than Your.Rentals. This budget-friendly channel manager offers hosts a cost-effective solution without compromising essential features. 

Like other channel managers, Your.Rentals simplifies the management of property listings, synchronizing them across 20+ booking platforms. It has all the other important features like a nifty messaging function, a website builder, a management system for guest reviews, and more, but what sets it apart is its pricing structure.

Instead of paying a monthly fee, Your.Rentals has a Guaranteed Payout system—you set the payout you want, and Your.Rental deducts their service fees and other fees every time a guest books your property. Whatever payout you choose will directly be sent to you.

With no set-up and subscription fees, Your.Rentals is your best bet if you’re still growing your business. However, it does have a custom pricing system for 5 or more properties, so this may not be as budget-friendly for hosts managing a large amount of listings.

3. Guesty: Best User-Friendly Channel Manager

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Not techy? Don’t fret! Guesty is the perfect user-friendly choice. Its interface is straightforward and uncomplicated, making property management tasks easy to handle, even for those without advanced technical skills.

With Guesty, you can effortlessly manage your listings, handle bookings, and automate guest communication. Guesty’s customer service is great: they have a huge knowledge hub and responsive account managers to help you with your issues. They also have a free 14-day trial so you can test out their services.

But the price for this user-friendliness is pretty steep—prices start at $49 for one rental when billed monthly. Still, for those who prioritize efficiency and ease of use, Guesty is the ideal solution.

4. Lodgix: Best Channel Manager for Multi-Property Hosts

If you own multiple properties, it’s difficult to find a cost-effective solution to manage them all. That’s where Lodgix excels: it’s a low-cost and user-friendly solution to vacation rental management.

Prices start at $69.99 monthly for 1–7 properties, and go to up to $299.99 monthly for 71+ properties. Take note that these prices don’t include additional fees per channel (which range from 0.5% to 2% per channel you list on).

What these prices include, however, are unlimited team members, no setup fees, and great customer support. If the additional channel fees still bother you, there are ways around them, like manually entering the bookings on your Lodgix account.

This makes Lodgix a fantastic low-cost solution for those managing multiple properties, but it can also become expensive very quickly if you’re planning to list over a certain number. However, for small-time hosts with less than 8 properties, Lodgix is our top pick. Try it free for 30 days now.

5. iGMS: Best Channel Manager for Small-Scale Hosts

As a small-scale host, it’s understandable that you don’t want to pay for a channel manager that’s more efficient at managing multiple properties. For this, we recommend iGMS—the best channel manager for hosts managing just a few (or even one) properties.

Pricing starts at $14 per property per month, with a 33% discount if you pay annually (this option is only available for 4 or fewer properties, and only works with Airbnb).

Alternatively, you can choose the Flex plan which charges $1 per booked night with a minimum of $20 per property per month. There is also the “Pro” plan which charges a flat $18 per property. These are both for an unlimited amount of properties, and work with Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, among others.

The downside to iGMS is its lack of integrations. Currently, iGMS only has 27 apps in its third-party marketplace, and some of them aren’t fully functional yet. 

However, if you’re looking for a simple channel manager to manage a single property, it may be worth your while to visit the iGMS website and start your 14-day free trial now.

6. Hostaway: Best Channel Manager for Integrated Features

For a channel manager that comes with a full suite of compatible third-party applications, you can’t go wrong with Hostaway.

With more than a hundred apps in its marketplace, you can integrate apps that deal with everything from cleaning management down to abandoned booking recovery. It boasts that it has the largest app marketplace for any channel manager, and we’ve found this to be true.

Even without any third-party applications, Hostaway has a ton of built-in functionality. Hosts can benefit from features like automated messaging, pricing optimization, and guest communication, all within a unified platform.

Unfortunately, Hostaway isn’t as transparent about their pricing as we would like. To know how much it’ll cost you, Hostaway requires you to submit details and get a customized quote. They also don’t offer any free trials.

If this still sounds like something up your alley, you can visit the Hostaway website and contact them today.

Key Takeaway

Hosts should take advantage of various software to make managing vacation rentals seamless and stress-free. One must-have software is the right channel manager. From budget-friendly choices to feature-rich platforms, you have a range of options to simplify property management, boost bookings, and improve the guest experience.

Can’t decide on which to pick? We recommend Smoobu. You can’t go wrong with this channel manager—this reliable software comes with great built-in functionality and hundreds of integrations, all for an affordable price.