5 key reasons you need a property management software

Whether you're only just starting to take hosting seriously or you've got a dozen properties already, sooner or later you'll find that you need a property management software to help you manage your workload and make the most out of your properties. Here are some of the key benefits of using a property management software.

Prevent double bookings and keep your calendar organised

Listing on multiple OTAs like Airbnb, Booking.com and HomeAway is a great way to maximise your number of bookings. The more platforms you list on, the more people will see your listings, and the more bookings you'll get. But the more platforms you list on, the more difficult it is to manage. If you don't act quickly enough in blocking off your calendar you can end up with double bookings - and it would require constant monitoring to keep in check.

This is where a channel manager comes in - you sync all of your listings with your channel manager, and new bookings will automatically block off the calendar on other platforms. A channel manager is one of the first things you'll need when you start taking property management seriously - hosting on multiple platforms is practically impossible without one.

Keep more of your profits with direct booking

Like we said above, listing on multiple OTAs is a great way to get more bookings - but cutting out OTA fees with direct bookings is the way to make sure you keep all of the profits of hosting to yourself. The best property management software will be able to generate you your own branded website for direct bookings. Look out for features like letting you include your own branded fonts and the ability to track Facebook ads clicks.

Automate communications

Communicating with your guests and making sure they don't have any issues with their stay is essential - but whether you're a casual host getting woken in the middle of the night or a management company with hundreds of communications a day, staying on top of guest communications isn't easy. There are a lot of things you'll need to speak to guests about, from how to check-out to the Wi-Fi password. Using a property management software to automate these routine communications is a great way to make managing your property easier. You can automatically send info to your guests at any point of their stay, as well as automatically send a quick response to guests as soon as they make an enquiry. By choosing a property management software that's integrated with KeyNest, you can even completely automate the check-in process.

Maximise your revenues with pricing tools

Getting the right balance between maximising your number of bookings and maximising your nightly rate can be tricky - the lower your price, the more bookings you'll get, but you run the risk of losing money overall. That's what makes a property management software's pricing tools so helpful. You can quickly fill out some specifics and the software will do the rest, automatically adjusting pricing on a regular basis to maximise revenue. They can take into account factors like season, local area demand and previous pricing.

Manage your tasks more effectively

With dozens of tasks, from sorting out cleaning schedules to sorting out payments, it's easy to lose track of what needs doing and who's supposed to be doing it. A property management software will let you set up tasks and allocate them to members of your team, as well as set up recurring to-dos that can be triggered by specific events, such as cleaning when a guest checks out. 

KeyNest is the easiest way to hand over your keys to guests and cleaners without meeting them in person. KeyNest is integrated with the leading property management software providers, meaning you can automate your bookings from start to finish.