Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for vacation rental operators.
A checklist built from how vacation rental operators work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Unit calendar and reservations
- Channel and direct booking intake
- Guest messages and arrival details
- Turnover and inspection tasks
- Maintenance and contractor jobs
- Deposits, folios and tax lines
- Owner statements and payouts
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the operations manager
- For reservations staff
- For housekeepers and inspectors
- For maintenance coordinators
- For owners
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Occupancy and average nightly rate by unit
- Arrivals, departures and turnovers for the week
- Income by booking channel and platform fee
- Open deposits and damage claims by stay
- Repair jobs and costs charged to each owner
- Owner statement and payout for the month
- Occupancy tax collected by stay
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Channel manager or booking channels
- SMS
- Smart lock codes
- Card and bank payments
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is this a channel manager?
- How does it stop a night being sold twice?
- Can housekeepers use it on their phones?
- What does an owner receive?
- Can one repair be charged to either the owner or the guest?
- How are security deposits tracked?
- We run homes in several countries. Is that possible?
- Can our existing bookings and owners be brought in?
- What does a rollout cost and how long does it take?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Calendars drift apart across channels
- Turnover cleans start without the booking
- Damage deposits have no trail
- Owner statements are rebuilt each month
- Faults reported by guests are not followed
Prefer to talk it through? See the vacation rental operators page.