Best Vacation Rental Management Software 2021

OwnerRez vs. Lodgify: Compare Vacation Rental Management Software

Is OwnerRez or Lodgify the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best vacation rental management software (VRMS) to help support your rental management business.

Individuals and management companies use vacation rental management software tools to streamline the property management process. Most solutions offer hosted websites, a channel manager, property operation tools, and guest communication features.

There are many VRMS tools available today, which can make it hard to decide which one will work best for you and your business. Throughout this guide, we’ll distinguish the key differences between OwnerRez and Lodgify, highlight the main benefits of each, and make recommendations to help you choose the best software for your business.

All of our recommendations are based on research, product demos with the software companies, and dozens of hours spent hand-testing the vacation rental management tools. More details regarding our research process can be found on our vacation rental management category page.

OwnerRez & Lodgify Comparison Summary

OwnerRez and Lodgify are two VRMS tools with a full list of features. OwnerRez received a rating of 86, while Lodgify received a rating of 84.

Both are worth considering if you’re looking to synchronize listing channels with a channel manager. The main differences between the two are their strongest features and the recommended size of your property portfolio.


Here's a breakdown of our review criteria and how OwnerRez and Lodgify ranked in each category:

CriteriaAnalyst RatingFeaturesUsabilityPricingCustomer Support
OwnerRez869799
Lodgify8481088

OwnerRez is a detailed tool that’s best for those who manage up to three properties. Though the interface is outdated and a bit difficult to navigate, we found no software issues with the tool and found that all aspects of property management were taken into consideration. We felt the strongest features were the native electronic signature and rental agreement features, along with the pre-configured guest message templates.

Lodgify focuses more on website templates and, as such, would be the better choice for an individual or management company that needs a hosted business website for many properties. The tool is also slightly easier to learn how to use, though it’s not quite as feature-rich as OwnerRez. We recommend it for those with between five and twenty properties.

Here’s a quick breakdown to determine which solution is best for you:

You'll prefer OwnerRez if:

  • You want to easily automate all guest communication
  • You want access to more pre-built API integrations with listing channels
  • You don’t mind an outdated interface

Try OwnerRez Today

You'll prefer Lodgify if:

  • You need to build a hosted website for your company
  • You prefer a more streamlined dashboard experience
  • You want a wide variety of integrations with external software tools

Try Lodgify Today


Table of Contents

Who Should Purchase OwnerRez?

OwnerRez is highly beneficial for individual property owners. Large management companies will likely need a tool that’s more streamlined and intuitive due to a higher number of properties. It’s a cost-effective yet powerful solution and is fairly risk-free to try given its 14-day free trial and lack of contract requirements.

When we tested the tool, we found that it worked extremely well and we discovered no software issues. Guest messages were delivered instantly, all details concerning properties can be inputted within the dashboard, and automating communication and tasks couldn’t be easier. Though we did find that it took more time to navigate the tool because it was laid out a bit confusingly, it was a relatively minor inconvenience.

Individual property owners or those with up to three properties who list their vacation properties on multiple channels will benefit from this tool.

Who Should Purchase Lodgify?

Lodgify is a tool which has most of its value in the website building feature, which is streamlined and incredibly easy to use. Because of this, those who need to build a direct booking site for their portfolio of up to 20 properties would benefit most from using Lodgify. The software offers API connections with Airbnb, Expedia, HomeAway/Vrbo, and Booking.com, which streamlines the process of listing across channels.

One of Lodgify’s main drawbacks is that features crucial to management companies like owner reports and payments, task management, and accounting are confined to the most expensive plan. Customers complained that support is not always up to par. Overall, though, we found that the websites and ease of use are highly valuable to those that want a hassle-free experience.

OwnerRez & Lodgify Price Comparison

Though it’s difficult to directly compare pricing due to Lodgify’s complex pricing model, OwnerRez and Lodgify are relatively similar in price. For the sake of simplicity, below we’ll provide the month-to-month cost for one, five, and 10 properties.

OwnerRez charges customers on a per-property basis. One property begins at $35 for basic features, which don’t include property management, a hosted website, or the QuickBooks integration. On the other hand, Lodgify pricing begins at $17 per month for one property in the starter plan, which offers a bookable website, property management and channel management, and scheduled payments. For the starter plan, at least, Lodgify will likely be the more cost-effective option given the included features.

OwnerRez Pricing Details

OwnerRez offers channel management and digital signatures in the base price, which starts at $35 per month. Features that will cost extra are the QuickBooks integration, SMS messaging, property management, and a hosted website. Below is a short table that shows the difference in pricing for standard features and for premium features.

Standard Features
  • One Property: $35 per month
  • Five Properties: $56 per month
  • Ten Properties: $89 per month
Premium Features
  • One Property: $80 per month
  • Five Properties: $131 per month
  • Ten Properties: $188 per month

Lodgify Pricing Details

Lodgify pricing begins at $17 per month for one property on the starter plan. There are three plans to choose from, as well as three contract lengths, which are monthly, yearly, and two years. The yearly pricing is up to 30% off the monthly pricing, and a two-year contract is up to 35% off the monthly pricing. A quick overview of Lodgify’s plans with monthly pricing are below.

Starter
  • Starts at $17 per month
  • Includes website, 1.9% booking fee, and property management
Professional
  • Starts at $46 per month
  • Includes manual payments and damage pre-authorization
Ultimate
  • Starts at $69 per month
  • Includes priority support, task management, and owner reports

OwnerRez & Lodgify Feature Comparison

OwnerRez and Lodgify largely offer the same features, give or take a few nuanced differences. Key features and the few differences between the offered features are shown below. For a full analysis of each solution’s features, read our OwnerRez review and Lodgify review.

FeatureOwnerRezLodgify
Airbnb APIYesYes
HomeAway/Vrbo APIYesYes
Booking.com APIYesYes
TripAdvisor APIYesNo
Expedia APINoYes
Houfy APIYesNo
Direct Booking WebsiteYesYes
Native Document SectionYesNo
Property Management FeaturesYesYes
Automated Guest MessagingYesYes
Task ManagementYesYes
Owner Access and TasksYesYes
Payment ProcessingYes (with integrations)Yes (with integrations)
Robust IntegrationsYesYes

OwnerRez's Top Features

OwnerRez offers website templates, property and channel management, rental agreements, and more. We’ll briefly walk through these features to help you determine if OwnerRez will be the best choice for you.

Website Templates

We found this to be the most tedious of OwnerRez’s features. The website cannot be previewed as you edit, so you have to switch back and forth between the editing page and the website page, where you’ll refresh to see if changes have been applied. On a positive note, there are three different templates to choose from, and customers report being pleased with the end result.

OwnerRez Site Example

Channel Manager & Multi-Calendar

OwnerRez offers API integrations with Airbnb, HomeAway/Vrbo, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Houfy, HomeToGo, and Floridarentals.com. Particularly for smaller owners and managers, large channels paired with more niche channel integrations will be helpful. Along with the channel manager comes a helpful multi-calendar that we found useful and effective given the rate adjustment features.

OwnerRez Calendar

Guest Messaging

A significant benefit of OwnerRez is that messaging features are already pre-configured, so while you can edit all messages and decide which ones to use, they’re set up at the start. The automated feature in Lodgify is confined to the Ultimate plan, which is a drawback, and therefore OwnerRez’s version is slightly more helpful.

Rental Agreements & Digital Signatures

Another of OwnerRez’s benefits is the built-in rental agreement and electronic signature feature. Much like the messages, guest-specific details are auto-filled into the agreements. While it’s always advisable to check with a lawyer that the agreements are legally binding, this feature helps protect both parties during the rental process.

OwnerRez Rental Agreement

Lodgify's Top Features

Lodgify’s best feature is the modern website templates. There are also many key features like API and iCal integrations with a wide variety of listing channels, a centralized calendar, and guest messaging. We’ll briefly walk through some of Lodgify’s features in this article, but to read a full breakdown of features, check out our full review here.

Hosted Website & Templates

Likely the best of Lodgify’s features, the modern templates for hosted websites are top-notch. Lodgify also offers a booking widget that you can integrate into your already-existing non-Lodgify site. Compared directly with OwnerRez, we found the ease of use and style of Lodgify’s websites to be superior.

Lodgify Website

Channel Manager & Centralized Calendar

Though Lodgify doesn’t offer as many API integrations as OwnerRez, they do have integrations with Airbnb, Expedia, HomeAway/Vrbo, and Booking.com. Listings from Airbnb can be imported directly into Lodgify, and most Booking.com listings can be imported as well. The centralized calendar is standard, showing bookings for all properties across all relevant channels.

Listing Management

While you can import listings from some channels, you can also easily configure properties within Lodgify’s dashboard and then push those listings to your website. This process is easy and very streamlined, similar to the way you set up a property on Airbnb. We enjoyed this feature’s setup and design, which allows you to switch between sections from the left sidebar rather than having to swipe through many sections to reach the desired part.

Lodgify Rental Setup

Task Management

Though it’s confined to the Ultimate plan, Lodgify’s task management feature is a key offering in vacation rental management software tools. You can assign tasks to relevant team members, schedule them on an internal calendar, and ensure that they’ve been completed. An image of what that calendar looks like is provided below.

Lodgify Task Management

Bottom Line

OwnerRez and Lodgify are two vacation rental management software tools that offer similar features, but are quite different in terms of usability and who each is ideal for. The main feature-related difference is that Lodgify has strong, easy-to-configure website templates, where OwnerRez’s website feature is not as advanced and is difficult to configure.

  • OwnerRez takes a bit of time to master, but once you’ve got everything down, it works incredibly well to manage a handful of properties. It’s also a cost-effective option with great customer support and more API integrations than Lodgify.
  • Lodgify is a more streamlined tool that subsequently feels more manageable if you’re working with more than a handful of properties. If you want a direct booking site for your business, Lodgify is the right choice for you.

If you’re interested, visit OwnerRez or Lodgify today to get started.

Katelyn Anderson

Katelyn is a Junior Research Analyst at SoftwarePundit, where she conducts in-depth analyses of technology markets & products and writes software-related content. She graduated summa cum laude with degrees in English and Psychology. Her main areas of interest are content creation, user experience, and search engine optimization. You can connect with Katelyn on LinkedIn.

Katelyn is an expert in several software categories including:

  • Accounting software
  • Integration software
  • Live chat software
  • Vacation rental software
  • Video conferencing software

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