Airbnb is the top vacation rental website with over 150 million users. It is incredibly easy and reliable. However, many other excellent vacation rental sites joined the marketplace in the past few years.
One of these sites is Lodgify, which provides similar services to Airbnb but with a few main differences, such as the ability to sync multiple vacation rental accounts like Airbnb. Continue reading to explore Lodgify Vs. Airbnb.
Lodgify Vs. Airbnb: What are Their Similarities and Differences?
Both Lodgify and Airbnb are platforms where you can list your property for rent. The main difference is that Lodgify is a management software platform rather than a travel agency. One of the unique features of Lodgify is the ability to manage your bookings across multiple sites such as Airbnb and Expedia.
All The Unique Features of Lodgify
The best thing about Lodgify is the number of useful features it offers. With Lodgify, you will have complete control over your bookings.
You can manage everything from reservations to payments. You can even monitor how your business performs through the analytics feature. If these features sound appealing, we strongly suggest trying out Lodgify.
- Property Management Software: Lodgify’s property management software is the core of the website. You can manage your reservations, guests, tasks, analytics, and income in the same place.
- Reservation System: The reservation system allows you to manage all your bookings from different sites, such as Airbnb, HomeAway, and Booking.com. Lodgify’s multi-calendar displays all your bookings and lets you write special notes for every guest.
- Unified Inbox: Lodgify’s unified inbox syncs with your other inboxes on different sites. You will never have to worry about missing a message again. This feature ensures optimal organization.
- Guest Management: The guest management feature allows users to set up automated messages. Hosts can also talk to guests through WhatsApp and SMS.
- Task Management: The task management feature enables hosts to assign recurring or one-time tasks to their team members. Once a task is completed, hosts get notified right away.
- Automation: Lodgify’s automation feature adjusts the price of your properties based on supply and demand, holidays, etc. Hosts can also give guests automated information before they arrive.
- Analytics: The analytics feature lets you manage all your business’s data from one dashboard. You can also analyze how your business performed month to month.
- Accounting: This feature automatically generates reports on your income and payments. You can also send payments to your employees.
- Airbnb Management Software: This allows you to sync all your Airbnb bookings and calendars. It will also help you handle all your daily Airbnb property tasks.
- Channel Manager: Lodgify’s channel manager feature is responsible for connecting your listing on different sites like Airbnb, Vrbo, Expedia, and Booking.com.
- Website Builder/Templates: Lodgify allows you to create your own website without hassle. The process is beginner-friendly and fast. Lodgify also offers a variety of templates you can choose from.
- Booking System: Lodgify’s booking system lets you receive direct bookings, which helps save money on third-party commissions. The booking system accepts credit cards, bank transfers, checks, cash, Paypal, and Stripe. You can also enable the Lodgify booking system on websites like WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Drupal, and Joomla.
- Integration: Possibly the best feature of Lodgify, the integration feature allows you to access all the external tools you may need.
The Features and Perks of Airbnb
Unlike Lodgify, Airbnb is an online travel agency. Airbnb’s focus is more on travelers than hosts. However, this does not mean that Airbnb does not offer helpful features for hosts. On the contrary, Airbnb’s features are valuable and extremely practical.
Airbnb’s platform is easy to navigate and use. You can become a host in a few simple steps. It’s no surprise that Airbnb remains the preferred vacation rental site for most people.
- Ability to Host Anything: You will find all kinds of spaces on Airbnb- everything from a castle to a sofa bed. The possibilities of what you can host on Airbnb are truly endless, which is one of Airbnb’s most significant advantages.
- Choose How Much You Charge: Airbnb gives hosts total control of how much they want to charge for their space. Hosts can also include additional fees for guests to pay. The extra fees usually cover house cleaning, prepared food, and pets.
- Choose Payment Method: Airbnb gives hosts the freedom to choose whatever payment method they want. They can pick methods such as direct bank deposit or PayPal.
- Pick Cancellation Policy: Airbnb offers five cancellation policies: flexible, moderate, firm, strict, and long-term cancellation policy. The policies dictate when guests can cancel and still receive a refund. Hosts are free to choose from any one of these policies.
- Create House Rules: Hosts can create a list of house rules and expectations for guests to follow. Airbnb gives hosts the option to add a guest manual to their listings. This way hosts can share important information about their property.
- AirCover: AirCover is Airbnb’s 100% free insurance. AirCover’s features are the following: $1M liability, $1M damage protection, pet damage protection, deep cleaning protection, income loss protection, 14-day filing window, quick reimbursements, and a faster support line for Superhosts.
- Instant Book/Manual Booking: The instant book feature allows guests to book for any available dates. This alleviates the stress of having to review and accept each booking manually. However, many hosts might not want to use the instant book feature. They might prefer manual booking if their schedule is unpredictable. Either way, Airbnb gives hosts both options.
- Calendar Settings: Airbnb’s calendar settings allow hosts to set specific times for check-in and check-out, arrange minimum and maximum lengths of stay, and block dates. Airbnb also allows you to sync your other online calendars.
- Smart Pricing: If hosts are struggling to set a price for their home, Airbnb’s smart pricing feature can help. The smart pricing feature considers over 70 factors to determine the best price.
- Performance Dashboard: The performance dashboard displays the data of multiple listings. Hosts can expect to track their occupancy rate, average nightly rate, and visibility. This valuable information helps hosts make strategic decisions.
- Teams: The teams tool makes it easy for hosts to work together. Everyone can work together from a single account but use their individual passwords. The teams tool facilitates the exchange of information, so every team member knows what to do.
- Host Inbox: The host inbox helps send messages to all your guests. It features a real-time typing indicator and a last-responded label.
- Task Tool: The task tool provides an easy way for hosts to create, assign, and monitor tasks. Hosts can also implement task templates with automated greetings and cleaning instructions.
Pricing of Lodgify and Airbnb: Comparison Chart
| Platforms | Host Fee | Guest Fee | Credit Card Fee | Subscription Plan |
| Lodgify | Booking fee from 0-3.9% | 0 | Stripe or PayPal (2.9% and $0.30) | Offers four subscription plans (basic plan is free with 3.9% booking fee) |
| Airbnb | 3-5% | 14.2% or less | 0 | 0 |
Brief Overview of Lodgify’s Subscription Plans
- Lite: The lite plan is the basic subscription plan. It provides access to basic features such as the channel manager, instant booking, and website building. The plan costs $0 a month with the addition of a 3.9% booking fee.
- Starter: The starter plan costs $12 a month with the addition of a 1.9% booking fee. Unlike the lite plan, the starter plan gives you access to email and phone support, among other features.
- Professional: The professional plan costs $32 a month with no booking fee. It is the most popular plan since it provides exclusive features at an affordable price.
- Ultimate: The ultimate plan provides all advanced features, including accounting and reporting. The plan costs $56 a month with no booking fee.
Quick Overview of Airbnb’s Pricing and Fees
- Split-fee: This type of fee is split between the host and the guest.
- Host Fee: Most hosts pay a fee of 3%, but some may pay slightly more.
- Guest Fee: Guests usually pay a fee of 14.2% or less. It may vary depending on many factors.
- Host-only Fee: The host-only fee is paid only by the host. Most hosts can expect to pay between 14-16%. This type of fee may seem unappealing at first, but it tends to increase bookings. Guests are more likely to pick listings that charge no fees on their part.
Lodgify or Airbnb: Which to Choose?
Lodgify and Airbnb are both incredible sites to launch your vacation rental business. In general, Lodgify is most suited for people who want to go all out. If you want total management of your vacation rental business, then Lodgify is for you.
Airbnb is for people who want their listings to reach the greatest number of people. It’s best suited for people who prefer a straightforward website with practical features.
Instead of sticking to one platform, we suggest using both platforms to maximize the benefits of each. You can achieve this through Lodgify’s channel manager and integration features, which connect Lodgify to Airbnb.
