Booking engine for short-term rentals. How to use all functionalities?

Maria Pedregosa
March 14, 2023
Expert Tips, Property Management

Nowadays, most property managers are embracing the trend of using a booking engine for short-term rentals, as this type of technology has become especially relevant in the vacation rental market due to the growing interest of travelers in this type of accommodation, which are booking directly from their website. In addition, a booking engine allows property owners and managers to offer a more smooth and personalized booking experience to travelers, which can result in a higher number of bookings and a higher occupancy rate.

What is a booking engine?

It is an advanced tool that allows users to book accommodation, directly through a website, instead of other channels, and is designed to facilitate the booking and payment process for guests and owners. In the case of property management, a booking engine system like the one that Hostify has, allows property owners and managers to accept and manage bookings directly on their website, without the need for intermediaries. Allowing customers to book directly with them and avoid the channel commissions. The main purpose of a booking system is to make the booking process easier and more convenient for customers and for property owners or managers. In addition, it can help improve efficiency and administrative management, allowing property owners and managers to focus on customer satisfaction and improving their business revenue.

Key functionalities

A booking engine for vacation rentals can have various functionalities to improve reservation management and business administration. Typically, it includes an online booking system to search availability, a secure gateway payment to let clients pay online before the arrival. Customers can select check-in and check-out dates, the type of room or property they wish to book, and complete the booking and payment process through the booking engine. In this article, we present three of the most common functionalities of a booking engine for short-term rental property management.

Support for multiple websites

The support for multiple websites is one of the main functionalities offered by these technologies, allowing property owners and managers to use a single platform to manage bookings from multiple websites or sales channels. This means that property managers can publish their properties on different platforms, such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, etc., as well as in your own booking website, and even more, create different websites for different owners, cities, targets, etc. It will help improve efficiency in booking management and reduce the need to work with different platforms and tools for each vacation rental website.

Customizable images and colors

Using a booking engine for property management allows owners and property managers to customize the look and feel of the booking engine to suit their business and website. This means that owners and property managers can choose and change the colors, fonts and images used in the booking tool to match the look and feel of their properties. They can also include high-quality images of the properties and rooms to show customers what they can expect when booking. For example, if a vacation rental property or brand has a specific color palette and logo, that same visual aesthetic can be applied to the booking engine so that it integrates in a complementary way with the property’s website. A visual customization can help improve the customer experience, as the booking engine will appear more familiar and recognizable to website visitors, as well as can be used to highlight specific elements on the booking engine, such as booking buttons, pricing, and more.

Integrations with payment gateways

Payment gateway integration in a booking engine is one of the most crucial functionalities of booking engines for property management, as it allows property owners and managers to accept online payments securely and efficiently. This is a very useful feature, as it enables the automation of payment and billing processes, as well as helping to improve the customer experience by allowing customers to make payments online and securely before their arrival, without the need to communicate with the property owner. That is why when choosing a booking engine for property management, it is important to consider the availability of integration with different payment gateways and the security and reliability of these gateways.

How to get the most out of the booking engine for your vacation rental website?

If you’re looking to get the most out of your vacation rental website’s, it’s important to pay attention to the customer experience. To do this, you will need to ensure that it is up-to-date in real time, easy to use and is optimized for mobile devices, as well as customize the booking tool, adjust prices according to demand and season, integrate with other sales channels and track performance and results. In addition, integrating different payment methods and promoting the booking engine can also improve the customer experience and increase the likelihood of booking. Boost your Direct Bookings with a stunning website offered by Hostify property management system and get all these functionalities and much more. Book a demo with our expert team and start increasing your direct bookings and reducing your channel commissions.