Adriaan de Jager
Looking for a booking calendar for your rental property or rental business but not sure which system to choose? We’ve listed several booking tools and compared them so you can make a wiser choice.
We discuss the following booking tools: • Bookingmood • Lodgify • VacationRentalDesk • Guesty • Smoobu • Booqable
Bookingmood is a flexible, user-friendly booking calendar that blends perfectly with your website, allowing you to accept online bookings or just display availability. It’s the easy, affordable way to receive and manage bookings.
Bookingmood aims at a wide group of customers in the vacation rental market, varying from small vacation home rental owners to property managers. But Bookingmood can also be used for other rentals, like cars, wedding venues, and equipment. This makes it an interesting booking tool whatever you’re renting.
• Property management software • Booking calendar and availability calendar • Integration with other platforms • Synchronization with external websites • Styling options • Custom pricing options • Auto-generated webpage
Bookingmood offers three price plans: Basic, Plus, and Premium. Prices range from $3 per month for one rental in the Basic plan to $156 per month for 99 rentals in the Premium plan. For 100+ rentals, a custom price can be discussed. In conclusion, Bookingmood is very attractively priced, making it an appealing booking tool for your holiday home or rental object.
Lodgify is a comprehensive vacation-rental management software system. Lodgify focuses on building direct channel technology that empowers vacation rental owners and property managers to create a professional website and grow direct bookings, free of commissions.
Lodgify aims at the whole spectrum of the vacation rental market, from small vacation rental owners to property managers. But it’s limited exclusively to the vacation rental market – you can’t use Lodgify for other types of rentals.
• Property management software • Channel manager • Booking calendar and availability calendar • Website builder • Templates • Integration with other platforms • Synchronization with external websites
Lodgify offers four price plans: Lite, Starter, Professional, and Ultimate. Prices start from zero USD per month for one rental in the Lite plan (but with a 3,9% booking fee), rising to $1127 per month for 100 rentals in the Premium plan. From 100+ rentals, a custom price can be discussed. Note that the Lite package is for rental businesses with occasional bookings, and no support is given. The Ultimate plan is for scaling businesses with advanced property needs. In conclusion, Lodgify is priced at the high end of the market, but in return, you get a lot of features and good support.
VacationRentalDesk is an easy-to-use website builder and reservation management software for do-it-yourself vacation rental managers. Using the platform’s online management software, you can build your own vacation rental website and set rates and availability for your vacation rental calendar.
VacationRentalDesk aims at the whole spectrum of the vacation rental market, from small vacation rental owners to property managers. But be aware that VacationRentalDesk is for use in the vacation-rental market only – you can’t use it for any other types of rentals.
• Website builder • Property management software • Booking calendar • Payments • Keyless Entry Door Locks • Damage and Travel Protection • Synchronization with external websites • Custom pricing options
VacationRentalDesk offers two price plans: a free plan and a paid plan. The free plan, unsurprisingly, doesn’t support all features. The payment plan starts from $10 per rental per month and rises to $350 for 100 rentals per month. In conclusion, VacationRentalDesk is a mid-priced option that could be an interesting tool for your holiday home.
Guesty is a property management platform for the vacation rental market. Property managers use it to manage short-term and vacation rentals listed on multiple platforms and websites.
Guesty is designed for all kinds of users within the vacation rental market, from small vacation rental owners to big property managers. But be aware that Guesty is limited exclusively to the vacation rental market – you can’t use it for other types of rentals, like cars or boats.
• Property management software • Channel manager • Booking calendar • Website builder • Templates • Integration with other platforms • Synchronization with external websites • Custom pricing options
Guesty works with custom pricing models based on your needs, so we can’t give any specific prices here, but you can get a quote directly through their website.
Smoobu is an all-in-one vacation-rental management system that allows renters to manage short-term and vacation rentals.
Smoobu’s all-inclusive solution is aimed at holiday rental owners, from small vacation rental owners to large hotels and everything in between. But it is limited exclusively to the vacation rental market – you can’t use Smoobu for other types of rentals.
• Property management software • Channel manager • Booking calendar • Website builder • Payments • Integration with other platforms • Synchronization with external websites • Custom pricing options
Smoobu offers two price plans: a free plan and a paid plan. The free plan obviously doesn’t support all features, only a few. The paid plan goes from $17,50 per rental per month to $472,90 for 100 rentals per month. In conclusion, Smoobu is a mid-priced option that could be an interesting tool for your holiday home.
Booqable is a rental software company that enables businesses to improve their rental operation and offer the best customer experiences, online and in-store.
Booqable doesn’t focus primarily on the vacation rental market but more on small and medium-sized rental companies in a variety of markets – bike or equipment rentals, for example.
• Inventory management • Trackable items • Booking and availability calendar • Website builder • Payments • Integration with other platforms • Shortage management • Custom pricing options
Booqable offers three price plans: Essential, Pro, and Premium. Prices start from $29 per month with the Basic plan for small companies and go up to $249 per month for large organizations in the Premium plan. In conclusion, although Booqable is at the high end of the market and quite pricey, this dedicated rental system gives you a lot of handy features in return.
Choosing the right booking calendar starts with thinking about your own rental business. What business are you in, and what exactly do you want to achieve with your booking tool? How much money do you want to spend on a booking system and what do you want in return? It’s wise to get these things clear before you try out a booking system.
If you own one or two vacation homes and you’re looking for a lightweight booking calendar that’s easy to use, Bookingmood would be an excellent option. Or maybe you’re a property manager with multiple rentals that you want to manage with an extensive booking tool? In this case, Lodgify or Smoobu could be the right option, along with Bookingmood, which is also designed for property management.
Do you own a car or a wedding venue you want to rent out? Then check out Booqable or Bookingmood – both focus on the global rental market.
All these booking tools offer you a free trial to test them out and see which one suits you best!
If you’re interested in a flexible, user-friendly, easy-to-manage booking system, give Bookingmood a try. Sign up here, and start your 14-day free trial today.