In this article, I’m taking a look at two different property management software: Hospitable vs iGMS.
I’ve tried both of them, and I’m going to talk about what they offer, how they’re different, and hopefully help you choose between the two to manage your vacation rental property.
So let’s see which Airbnb property management software is best for you.
Why should an Airbnb host use automated property management software?
Regardless of whether you’re a DIY host or a professional property manager, at some point in your short-term rental career you’re going to have to start automating.
Otherwise, you risk hosting burnout and not being able to take a higher-level view of your business. Airbnb property management software helps you sync your calendars, manage multiple channels, automate guest communication, automatically assign tasks and more.
If you’re doing all of these things yourself, you’re not only wasting valuable time, but wasting money as well. That’s why I’m comparing two of the top PMS in the short-term rental landscape today: Hospitable vs iGMS.
What should you look for in property management software?
The main factor that should influence your decision is what kind of host your are.
Do you have only a few listings or do you have a ton? If you have 4 properties of less, then iGMS is completely free, so it would make sense to use that one.
But iGMS is also great if you have a lot of listings. What factors make Hospitable stand out, then? Well, its automated messaging system uses AI to naturally and instantly answer all guest queries. iGMS also has automated messaging but it’s slightly less sophisticated.
Let’s take a look side to side:
What’s the same:
- API integration with Aibnb, VRBO and HomeAway
- Calendar sync with other platforms like Booking.com
- Automated cleaning & team management
- Operational tasks
- Automated messaging
- Only pay for active properties
- Push prices to Airbnb and HomeAway
What’s the same:
- API integration with Aibnb, VRBO and HomeAway
- Calendar sync with other platforms like Booking.com
- Automated cleaning & team management
- Operational tasks
- Automated messaging
- Only pay for active listings
- Push prices to Airbnb and HomeAway
What’s different:
- Free plan for up to 4 properties
- Sophisticated metrics
- Fee/commission management
- $18/month/property for PRO plan
- Flexible plan of $1 per booked night
What’s different:
- Trainable machine-learning messaging
- Metrics feature
- $18/month for 2 properties
- Supports 28 different languages
What makes Hospitable special?
Hospitable is slightly pricer than iGMS but it does have its strengths.
What I think makes Hospitable stand out is its machine-learning messaging. It really makes the responses seem like they’re coming from a human. You give the AI example questions that it can learn from like whether you have baby chairs or where they can find parking. It starts to understand different contexts of questions that your guests could ask and eventually can cover 95% of your communication with guests.
While iGMS does have automated messaging, it doesn’t have this AI feature that understands what guests are asking you. It can however send messages based on time-based triggers and their software also visualizes a messaging timeline to schedule tailored responses and has handy predefined message variables.
Both iGMS and Hospitable have pretty sophisticated team management and task automation features. You can assign team members to specific tasks and properties and it syncs with your calendar so that they get automatically notified when something happens. You can also choose to assign things manually if you want to retain some more control.
What’s special about Hospitable, is that you can even do task/team management in 28 different languages. Useful if your listing is in another country!
What makes iGMS special?
One of my favorite things about iGMS is that you can start using it for free if you have up to 4 properties. That means smaller-scale Airbnb hosts can already start using it and automating a lot of property management.
But they also compete on more than just price.
They have advanced reporting features which is a great tool for professional property managers. That means no more endless excel sheets, no more hours spent creating reports — it does it all automatically for you.
Plus, iGMS also has a pretty decent automated pricing tool, which automatially updates your pricing every day so that you can keep your calendar fresh. It’s not as sophisticated pricing as a tool like Beyond Pricing but it’s definitely a good feature to have so you don’t have to update the prices manually.
Readers of my blog also get a discount on the iGMS PRO plan! Cool, right? So if you want $30 off you can use the iGMS promo code GPFYP30
Hospitable vs iGMS: which one is right for you?
In the end it depends on how you want to run your Airbnb business and what you prioritize. Is it pricing? Smart communication? Financial reports? Both have great features and both can completely transform someone’s short-term rental business.
In the end, it’s up to you to choose!