As you grow your portfolio, there’s more opportunity to generate revenue, but there’s also more chance of leaving money on the table. So, to max out on your revenue potential, you need software that will take into account a range of factors and help you accurately adjust rates months in advance.
But the specialist tools in this area are highly complex, so it can be hard to understand what differentiates the various revenue management solutions out there. Plus, you may be confused about what distinguishes dynamic pricing tools from revenue management software.
That’s why in this article, we explain the difference between dynamic pricing and revenue management tools, look at criteria you should consider when choosing a solution, and outline the five best vacation rental revenue management tools on the market today.
Revenue management and dynamic pricing explained
While the terms revenue management and dynamic pricing are often used synonymously in the vacation rental industry, they have some important differences.
Dynamic pricing tools automatically update your prices across platforms. They use data and algorithms based on factors like seasonality, demand, and day of the week to set optimal prices.
But revenue management tools offer more than just dynamic pricing. Revenue management encompasses all the factors that help you increase profitability and decrease your expenses, and, most importantly, help you increase occupancy rates and maximize your earnings per booking.
For example, a robust revenue management tool will automatically optimize and update your rates, give you valuable data into your market, and help you analyze your properties’ performance against those of your competitors.
What to look for in a revenue management tool
When comparing revenue management tools, your first stop should be user reviews, which can give you great insights into a product’s customer service and support, as it’s difficult to get this type of information on a tool’s website.
Also pay close attention to the UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) of each product. If you can, sign up for a free trial for multiple tools, and take note of how easy it is to navigate and familiarize yourself with each platform.
There are also a few features you should keep an eye out for in a revenue management tool:
- Dynamic pricing: Getting your daily rates right has a big impact on your revenue, and this feature can make a big difference in your occupancy and profitability.
- Reporting: In order to track key metrics, your revenue management tool should provide in-depth reporting and analytics capabilities.
- Market insights: You want your revenue management tool to give you information about market trends and data that you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else.
- PMS integration: If a tool doesn’t integrate with your PMS or channel manager, it’s not much help. All the following tools integrate with the Hostfully PMS.
Best vacation rental revenue management tools
These six vacation rental revenue management tools can help you optimize your rates and maximize profits across your units. All these solutions are reputable brands, include dynamic pricing, and integrate with Hostfully.
1. Beyond
Beyond, formerly Beyond Pricing, is a robust dynamic pricing tool that analyzes millions of data points while giving you control over how you want to design your pricing strategy. Users speak highly of the support you get from the Beyond team and state that it’s easy to set up and learn.
Beyond’s pricing model tracks seasonality, demand, and other historical data to set nightly rates. And the revenue management tool helps you analyze your market and get insights into how your property stacks up against the competition.
Source: Beyond
Beyond’s features include:
- Dynamic pricing
- Market insights
- Market-based health scores
- Multi-channel rate synchronization
- Detailed performance insights
- Expert revenue management guidance
- Hostfully integration
| Pricing: Beyond offers a basic free plan that includes its insights features. They charge a commission of 1% of your earnings for the insights and dynamic pricing bundle. Custom plans are available for property managers with 10+ properties interested in Beyond’s complete suite of features. |
Source: G2
2. DPGO
DPGO’s AI-driven software considers factors like reviews, competitor pricing, competitor occupancy rates, seasonal fluctuations, local events, and even cancellation policy when making its calculations.
Plus, its customization capabilities mean you can adjust dozens of settings, like discounts, minimum prices, and seasonality, to get more control over your pricing strategy (without having to do the heavy lifting). The tool also offers advanced data and reporting to give you an overview of whether your chosen pricing strategy for vacation rentals is working for you.
Source: DPGO
DPGO’S features include:
- AI-powered dynamic pricing
- Advanced customization capabilities
- Real-time market data
- Growth and performance insights
- A pricing predictions calendar
- Hostfully integration
| Pricing: DPGO’s free plan comes with analytics tools and real-time market data. You get a free 30-day trial for paid dynamic pricing plans, which can be fixed ($1 per booked night), flexible (0.5% of the booked price), or a flat fee of $18 per listing per month. |
3. Nightpricer
Nightpricer’s smart calendar factors seasonality, day of the week, and week of the month into finding just the right rates to maximize revenue.
It automatically marks up rates when there are important events in the area, helps boost occupancy with last-minute rate adjustments, and allows you to customize your algorithm using your knowledge and expertise.
Source: Nightpricer
Nightpricer’s features include:
- Dynamic smart pricing for every day of the year
- Market finder
- Event maximizer
- Last-minute adjustments for a fuller booking calendar
- Hostfully integration
| Pricing: Nightpricer offers a 30-day free trial. Then, there are three paid plan options available—for hosts with 0-10 properties, the price is .75% of revenue. Hosts with 11-99 properties pay .50% of revenue, and hosts with 100+ properties pay .30% of revenue. |
4. PriceLabs
PriceLabs’ solutions are fit for Airbnb hosts, mid-term rentals, apart hotels, and even villa operators, so if you fit into a more niche category of property manager, PriceLabs may be a good fit.
It’s easy to connect properties from your Airbnb, Vrbo, or PMS to the tool, and you’re able to customize your algorithm depending on your market knowledge and industry experience. PriceLabs also offers real-time reporting and valuable market insights.
Source: PriceLabs
PriceLabs’ features include:
- Data-driven dynamic pricing
- Customizable algorithm
- Automatic rate updates to calendars daily
- Dynamic minimum stays
- Portfolio analytics
- Market dashboards
- Hostfully integration
| Pricing: You can use PriceLabs’ portfolio analytics feature for free. The paid plans come with a 30-day free trial, and dynamic pricing starts at $19.99 per month, while the market dashboards feature starts at $9.99 per month. |
Source: Capterra
5. Wheelhouse
Let’s wrap up our overview with one of the most powerful vacation rental revenue management tools on the market: Wheelhouse. The solution offers three products (dynamic pricing, market reports, and competitive sets), so you can get just the features you need to optimize revenue.
You can choose between data-driven, rule-based, and hybrid pricing strategies to optimize your rates and bookings, and Wheelhouse gives you real-time insights into your revenue performance. Wheelhouse works with market data across six continents, so you can use the tool just about anywhere you’re located.
Source: Wheelhouse
Wheelhouse’s features include:
- Dynamic pricing
- Personalized recommendations
- Customizable settings and risk tolerance
- Performance tracking
- Detailed market reports
- Comp sets (competitive sets) broken down by unit and across your portfolio
- Hostfully integration
| Pricing: Wheelhouse charges 1% of revenue for its Pro-Flex account (with a $2.99 minimum monthly fee). The Pro Flat account starts at $19.99 per listing per month. |
Source: G2
Finding a revenue management tool that works for you
Using a revenue management tool isn’t about becoming more detached from your business. In fact, when scaling a vacation rental business, the right solution can help you learn more about your market, set rates that maximize occupancy, and even serve as a selling point when pitching to homeowners.
So before making a choice, think critically about which functionalities will be most valuable to you.
For example, while Wheelhouse offers market reports and comp sets along with its dynamic pricing tool, it comes at a higher price than a dedicated dynamic pricing tool like Nightpricer or DPGO. And Beyond or PriceLabs could be a good fit if you’re an advanced property manager, while Rented’s full-service revenue management solution may be a better option if you’re just getting started.
Finally, when adding a vacation rental management solution to your tech stack, be sure it integrates with your existing property management software.
Frequently asked questions about vacation rental revenue management tools
Why is revenue management important for vacation rental businesses?
Revenue management is a key aspect of running a successful vacation rental business. When operating in a market that’s affected by so many variables, like seasonality and local events, it’s important to use software that helps your decision-making and automates your processes.
This means using tools that offer dynamic pricing, help you understand complex market data, and allow you to carefully track performance. You should also be sure your revenue management tool integrates with your tech stack, from your PMS to your vacation rental payment processing solution.
What are the main components of short-term rental revenue management?
Data analytics, marketing, and sales are the three most important areas of vacation rental revenue management. But to sustainably maximize a vacation rental business’s revenue, a revenue management tool will take into consideration fluctuations in demand, competitor pricing, your range of services, seasonality, and your customized strategies and preferences.
