Short-Term Rental and Digitisation – What Management Apps Should I Use?

You’ve done it. You’ve joined the Airbnb ranks, decked your Tweed Coast studio in rattan furniture and eucalyptus-scented candles, and uploaded dreamy sunset photos that would make a travel influencer weep.

Now comes the not-so-Instagrammable part: managing it.

Gone are the days when you could jot down bookings in a Moleskine, text guests manually, and hope Sandra from Melbourne doesn’t arrive while Jake from Brisbane is still trying to figure out the coffee machine. In today’s world of instant bookings, digital keypads, and algorithmic pricing, management apps aren’t a luxury. They’re survival gear.

So let’s dive into the wonderful (and slightly overwhelming) world of short-term rental tech - because if your phone’s going to be your co-host, it better be smarter than just dinging with five reminder emails a day.

Why You Need Management Apps and What Management Apps Should You Use?

Let’s start here. Why bother?

Well, running an Airbnb (or any short-term rental) isn’t just cleaning sheets and topping up the coffee pods. It’s managing calendars, syncing prices, handling guest comms, writing snappy descriptions, staying on top of reviews, and making sure someone gets the cleaner a spare key when they drop theirs in a drain.

If you’re scaling up - or even just value your time - a decent app stack means the difference between chaos and calm. Think of them as your virtual team: one handles bookings, another adjusts your rates, and another reminds you that Tuesday’s guests are allergic to feather pillows.

So, what apps are worth inviting into your digital home?

1. Channel Managers: The Brain of Your Operation

If you’re listing across Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, or all three (you savvy operator, you), you need a channel manager. These apps sync your calendars so you don’t double-book, update prices across platforms, and let you handle everything in one place- without flipping tabs like a caffeinated octopus.

Top Picks:

• Hostaway – Great for growing portfolios. It’s robust, integrates with major platforms, and has reporting tools that even your accountant will love.

• Lodgify – Clean interface, good automation, and you can even build a direct booking site with it. Bonus points for branding options.

• Guesty for Hosts – (Formerly Your Porter). Affordable and slick. Perfect for small-to-medium portfolios.

Why it matters: 

Without a channel manager, running multiple platforms is like trying to herd caffeinated possums. Unpleasant and bound to end in disaster.

2. Dynamic Pricing Tools: Your 24/7 Revenue Manager

You’re not going to sit there every night adjusting your prices based on school holidays, surf comps, and the lunar cycle. But luckily, some clever robots will.

Try these:

• PriceLabs – Very customisable, solid analytics, and integrates with most channel managers.

• Beyond – More of a plug-and-play vibe. Clean dashboard, and it often suggests prices you didn’t know you could charge.

• Wheelhouse – Data-driven and full of insight. If you like numbers (or pretending you do), this is your app.

Hot tip: 

If your Northern Rivers listing isn’t dynamically priced during Splendour in the Grass, you’re leaving money on the table. Literally.

3. Messaging Automation: Say Goodbye to Copy-Paste Hell

Your guests don’t want radio silence. But you also don’t want to be explaining where the spare towels are at 11:30pm on a Thursday. Enter messaging automation.

Apps like:

• Hospitable – Formerly Smartbnb. This one’s a favourite. Personalised messaging, scheduled replies, and it can even auto-respond to reviews.

• OwnerRez – More powerful than pretty, but very efficient.

• Zeevou – Offers both automation and a bit of channel management.

You can set up smart sequences like:

• “Thanks for booking!”

• “Check-in info: Look for the blue surfboard.”

• “Don’t forget checkout is at 10am tomorrow (no pressure, just coffee and yoga on the deck await).”

Guests feel looked after. You feel... like a human again.

4. Cleaning & Task Management: Because Sparkling Sheets Don’t Just Appear

Let’s be honest. Most booking issues can be traced back to one thing: cleaning. Whether it’s missed towels, forgotten bins, or the mysterious appearance of sand in the fridge, clear cleaning coordination is key.

Apps to make life easier:

• Turno (formerly TurnoverBnB) – Automates cleaning schedules, lets cleaners mark tasks off, and even processes payments.

• Breezeway – A bit more high-end. Great for checklists, inspections, and keeping things top-tier.

• Properly – Visual checklists with photos. Want the throw pillows arranged just-so? Now they will be.

Your cleaner might not become your best friend—but at least you won’t be playing phone tag every Saturday morning.

5. Reviews & Reputation Tools: Your Online Street Cred

You can have the best linens in Lennox Head, but if your reviews are scattered, it’s not going to help. Tools like AirReview (a Chrome plugin) show guest reviews across platforms, helping you screen potential troublemakers – or just better understand who’s arriving.

Hospitable (yep, them again) also automates review writing and responses, which saves you time while keeping your reputation intact.

And yes, responding to a guest who left four stars because “the sea was too loud” is still worth doing.

Honourable Mentions

Some other apps worth a peek:

• RemoteLock or igloohome – Smart lock integrations, no more key handovers in pub carparks.

• Xero or QuickBooks – You didn’t think we’d skip accounting, did you? Tax time loves you when your books are tidy.

• Canva – For your listing photos, social posts, or those quirky “Welcome!” printouts.

• Slack or Asana – If you’ve got a team, even a small one, keep comms tight with task tracking or group messaging.

The Final Word: Don’t Over-App

Yes, it’s tempting to download every shiny new thing. One minute you’re adding a dynamic pricing tool, the next you’re syncing a cleaning calendar, automating guest replies, and wondering if there’s an app that can calm your existential dread during back-to-back turnovers.

But here's the thing: too many tools without a strategy just turn into digital clutter. Start with the essentials – a solid channel manager and a smart pricing tool. These are your rental world's wax and fins. Build from there, as your needs (and bookings) grow. You wouldn’t show up to Wategos with eight surfboards strapped to your roof and no idea how to paddle. Same logic applies here.

And if you ever find yourself staring at your phone at midnight wondering if the keyless lock app synced correctly, the calendar’s up to date, and the guest from Berlin got their check-in message – it might be time to reassess the workload.

Which brings us to a very real, very relatable moment in every host’s journey: where can I find a North Coast NSW property manager for my Airbnb?

Because to be honest - apps are brilliant for managing tasks, but they can’t pop by to sort out a dripping tap or calm down a flustered guest. Sometimes, having a trusted manager is the best tech upgrade there is.

What management apps should you use? The real trick? Blending the digital with the personal. Use tech to streamline, humans to elevate, and always keep one eye on the guest experience. Hosting’s not about perfection. It’s about performance – and that, dear Host, is a balancing act worth mastering.

Now go ahead. Pick your apps. Set your rates. And surf the short-term rental wave like a pro.

If you need a gentle push or some guidance, Coastal Luxe Property Hosting can offer this. Ciao!