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5 Best Airbnb Pricing Tools to Help Maximize Your Profits

Sep 16 2022
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What’s in this article?

Without a pricing strategy, you could be losing money without knowing it. But manually tracking market data and adjusting pricing is time-consuming and costly.  Instead, Airbnb pricing tools automatically optimize your rental pricing, continuously redefine your base price, and let you maximize revenue by taking advantage of last-minute bookings. But there are several tools on the market, with varying features and pricing. So how do you know which is right for your short-term rental? To help you, we’ve put together a list of the 5 best dynamic pricing software tools on the market. We went deep into pricing models, ease of use, features, integrations, and reputation to help you choose the best for your business.  In this post, we’ll cover:
  • What dynamic pricing software is
  • Why you need it
  • Why Airbnb Smart Pricing doesn’t work
  • The 5 best Airbnb pricing tools
  • How to choose the right Airbnb pricing tool for your business
CTA for better pricing tools

What is dynamic pricing software and how does it work?

Dynamic pricing tools adjust your vacation rental pricing in real-time in response to market demand. Instead of continuously monitoring your competition and investing a lot of time and effort into manually adjusting prices, Airbnb pricing tools are an easy way to implement smart pricing.  Best of all, they integrate seamlessly with your Airbnb property management software, which lets you take maximum advantage of automating Airbnb tasks.   For example, if your competitors lower their nightly rates for certain dates, the dynamic pricing tool adjusts your rates accordingly. Likewise, if there are few available rental properties in your area, the software takes into account market data and raises your prices to reflect increased demand. All dynamic pricing software, including Airbnb pricing tools included, uses machine learning. Pricing algorithms analyze the market in real-time to determine the best rates for your rental business. So these tools let you set a pricing strategy based on discounts, selling bundles, or performance (i.e. adjusting nightly rates based on market demand as opposed to the absolute value).

Why do you need an Airbnb pricing tool?

Using an Airbnb pricing tool lets you:
  • Set discount rates based on specific criteria (e.g. at weekends)
  • Adjust prices by bookings platform
  • Gain more visibility into pricing within a single dashboard
  • Win more direct bookings by creating special offers
Let’s say you set $80 as the nightly rate for your Airbnb. If you’re fully booked for a month, that would earn you $80 x 30 days = $2400. However, if you boost the price a bit and make it $110 per night and achieve 80% occupancy, you’ll  earn $110 x 24 days = $2640. Then, you can adjust the price for the remaining 6 days—make it $80 per night again and you’ll earn $80 x 6 = $480. Add this to your original $2640 and you have $3120, more than if you’d stuck with $80 per night throughout.  In a nutshell, dynamic pricing software allows you to automatically optimize your rental pricing and maximize revenue. It’s typically used along with accounting software for Airbnb to get a comprehensive overview of your vacation rental businesses’ financial health. 

Why Airbnb Smart Pricing doesn’t work

On paper, Airbnb Smart Pricing sounds great. The tool generates the best price for your rental property by taking into account different variables—amenities, market demand, views of your Airbnb listing, average rating, availability, and property type. You can also control minimum and maximum prices. However, Airbnb hosts complain about these disadvantages of Airbnb Smart Pricing:
  • Pricing is usually set too low, which prevents you from maximizing profits with dynamic pricing 
  • The Airbnb Smart Pricing tool doesn’t differentiate between high- and low-quality listings
  • It also doesn’t forecast seasonal trends, local events or holidays, so you don’t get to capitalize on them

5 best Airbnb pricing tools 

Next, we’ll take a look at the five best Airbnb pricing tools. We analyzed each based on price, ease of use, tool features, available integrations, and reputation among users.

Wheelhouse

Wheelhouse’s dynamic pricing tool is considered a gold standard in the industry. Its robust pricing algorithm lets you automatically adjust your rates to account for supply and demand. This saves you the expense and hassle of constantly updating pricing manually.
Wheelhouse software showing Last Minute Discounts
Wheelhouse’s last-minute discount pricing lets you maximize revenue on last-minute bookings. Source: Wheelhouse
 
Best for A range of business sizes—from Airbnb hosts who consider themselves ‘hobbyists’ to more experienced homeowners and professional property managers. 
Features
  • Data-driven pricing recommendations based on analysis of your vacation rental and the market
  • Centralized view that allows you to see the impact of your pricing strategy
  • Easily set the base price, minimum price, and maximum price
  • Adjust risk tolerance by controlling last minute discounts, weekend rate adjustments, and seasonal adjustments
  • Create different pricing rules based on length-of-stay
  • Track performance and revenue from a single dashboard
Integrations Currently supports 10+ integrations, including Airbnb, Tripadvisor, and property management software like Hostfully.
Ease of use On G2, Wheelhouse has an average score of 9.7 for ease of use. Users say it’s extremely easy to use and that they love the simplicity.
Reputation The Wheelhouse website has lots of positive reviews.
Pricing Wheelhouse charges 1% per booking or $19.99 per listing per month. Volume discounts apply. A free trial is available; no credit card required.

PriceLabs

PriceLabs is another user-friendly software that allows you to automate data-driven pricing. It has one of the highest amounts of integrations, which is great if you already have your favorite tools in place. It also means you can stick with PriceLabs as you grow, scale, add tools to your tech stack, or switch some out. 
Screenshot of the PriceLabs software showing the calendar view that indicates demand.
PriceLabs calendar shows the optimal pricing for each day according to demand. Source: PriceLabs
 
Best for PriceLabs’ bulk adjustment options make it a good option for property managers with multiple units or several units within the same Airbnb listing.
Features
  • Pricing is automatically updated based on the market data and listing performance
  • Users can control the algorithm to fit their pricing strategy and knowledge of the market
  • Daily rate updates are synchronized directly to your PMS, Airbnb, or Vrbo calendar
  • The tool suggests a base price and adjustments for seasonality, day-of-week trends, last-minute bookings, far-out adjustments, holidays, and events
  • Users can optimize each listing’s availability with dynamic minimum stays
Integrations Currently supports 50+ integrations, including Airbnb, Vrbo, and property management software like Hostfully.
Ease of use According to reviews on GetApp, one of the best things about PriceLabs is its ease of use.
Reputation According to its customer success stories, vacation rental businesses have increased revenue by 15-60% thanks to PriceLabs’ dynamic pricing.
Pricing PriceLabs charges a flat monthly fee of $19.99 per unit. Volume discount applies; see here. A free trial is available; no credit card required.

Beyond

Beyond (formerly known as Beyond Pricing) is a revenue management platform that offers dynamic pricing for short-term rental businesses. It claims to help you significantly increase the number of your bookings and boost revenue by up to 40%. 
Screenshot of Beyond software showing multiple property listings and occupancy levels.
Beyond provides insights about occupancy rates in the area, historic trends, and health scores for each of your listings. Source: Beyond
 
Best for Considering its pricing model (see below), Beyond may be the best option for property managers that don’t have a lot of units. For larger vacation rental businesses, the price can rack up. 
Features
  • Dynamic pricing algorithm that automatically positions your properties to be booked at the best price
  • The tool takes into account seasonality, local demand, and the day of the week
  • The Free Insights tool provides real-time market data to inform your pricing strategy
  • Grid views and bulk actions allow you to easily update all prices and discounts at once
  • Health Scores show how your listings are performing in the market
Integrations Currently supports 25+ integrations, including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and property management software like Hostfully.
Ease of use G2 reviewers love how easy Beyond is to use. The tool has an above-average score of 9.2.
Reputation With a 4.9 score on G2, Beyond has a great reputation. Their customer success stories also show a 15-50% increase in revenue thanks to dynamic pricing. 
Pricing Beyond’s fee structure is dynamic. You only pay 1% when bookings are made. There are no upfront or onboarding fees. A free trial is available; no credit card required.

DPGO

DPGO is a dynamic pricing tool designed for property managers, vacation rental owners, and hosts. It claims to help you increase occupancy rates by 90%.
Screenshot of DPGO software showing Seasonality Adjustment settings.
DPGO allows you to set custom adjustments for certain seasons, weekends, or based on minimum stays. Source: DPGO
 
Best for DPGO is suitable for beginner hosts, experienced property owners with multiple listings, and property management companies with 100+ customer properties in their portfolio.
Features
  • Daily market insights based on billions of data points
  • Fast price reacting and daily adjustments for maximum profits
  • Choose between an aggressive, balanced, or more conservative pricing strategy
  • Set your own custom strategy with over 30 different settings per listing
  • Increase sales by offering last-minute and long-term discounts
  • Configure the algorithm to alter your pricings on weekends or during certain seasons
  • Keep prices within a preset range
Integrations Currently supports 5+ integrations, including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and property management software like Hostfully.
Ease of use According to Capterra reviews, DPGO is simple and intuitive. It has a score of 4.7/5 for ease of use and can be set up in less than an hour.
Reputation DPGO doesn’t have a lot of reviews on Capterra, but they are all positive. Their customer testimonials report an increase in revenue of between 30-50%.
Pricing DPGO has a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Choose between a flat monthly fee ($18 per listing) or a flexible fee (0.5% of the booking). There’s also a free version. A free trial is available; no credit card required. 
Here’s an overview of the differences between DPGO, Wheelhouse, PriceLabs, and Beyond.
A comparison table showing differences between features available in DPGO, Wheelhouse, Beyond, PriceLabs, Airbnb Smart Pricing, and AirDNA Smart Rates.
Here’s a rundown of the different features available with DPGO, Wheelhouse, Beyond, PriceLabs, Airbnb Smart Pricing, and AirDNA Smart Rates. Source: DPGO pricing page.

Rented.com

Rented.com is behind the Automated Rate Tool dynamic pricing platform. Launched in January 2021, it’s a newcomer to the market. 
Screenshot of Automated Rate Tool showing the calendar view with multiple listings and dynamic pricing.
The Automated Rate Tool provides a unified view of listings, along with base rates, average daily rates (ADRs), and optimal prices. Source: Rented.com.
 
Best for Automated Rate Tool is suitable for all property managers looking for a straightforward dynamic pricing tool. Filters and property groups make it easy for multiple property owners to manage all their listings.
Features
  • The tool defines the sample base rate by relying on market data
  • You can adjust your seasonality curve to best fit your property
  • Sort, filter, and make changes to groups of properties using tags 
  • Set fixed or percentage adjustments to specific listings or dates
  • Set minimum and maximum prices
  • Create groups for similar properties and easily manage cohorts 
Integrations Currently supports 15+ integrations, including Airbnb and property management software like Hostfully.
Ease of use Rented doesn’t have many reviews testifying to its ease of use but, from the interface and product demos, it seems pretty intuitive. To get started, just create a free account, import your listing via URL, and review your base rates while evaluating the functionality and value the software provides.
Reputation Customer success stories show that Automated Rate Tool helped vacation rental businesses increase their Unit Revenue by 38% and RevPAR by 19%.
Pricing Has a freemium version. Or you can upgrade to the full-feature version at $19/month per listing.
 

How to choose the best Airbnb pricing tool

Here’s what you need to bear in mind when choosing the best Airbnb pricing tool for your STR business.

Pricing model

Before you decide on your Airbnb pricing tool, you need to analyze its pricing structure. This is key to being able to assess value for money. Some pricing plans involve turning over a percentage of your revenue to the vendor. Others offer fixed monthly prices per listing. So you need to weigh up which will work best for you based on how many listings you have, etc.  Bear in mind that, in most cases, taxes and fees aren’t included in the price, so you’ll need to factor them in. 

Ease of use

Looking beyond pricing, evaluate the ease of use—check online reviews of existing and former customers, book a demo, or sign up for a free trial. To assess the learning curve, ask yourself:
  • Is the interface intuitive?
  • Are there helpful in-app tips to guide end-users?
  • What does user onboarding involve?
  • Is customer support available?
  • What level of technical skill do end-users need?
  • Are there helpful product resources available?
Bear in mind that if a tool is complex, unintuitive, or doesn’t offer great customer support, this can be a costly burden on your resources—especially if you need to assign a dedicated tech support person. Delays caused by waiting for customer support can also hurt efficiency. 

Tool features

Not all vacation rental managers and property owners need the same type of features from their Airbnb pricing tool. The features a property manager of multiple units will appreciate may be different from those needed by an Airbnb host who’s just started building their portfolio.

Integrations

Check if the pricing tool integrates with your existing tech stack. Ideally, it should slide into your existing tech stack or enable you to easily connect any new tools you want to implement. For example, if you’re using a property management system like Hostfully, it’s easy to configure pricing the way you want thanks to a huge range of best-in-class integrations. Just import properties into your pricing tool of choice and sync with Hostfully to dynamically price your listings on your Hostfully calendar. Get instant visibility into price points in a unified calendar view; no more switching between different tools and tabs.  You can also set discounts for weekly bookings, adjust prices by channel, and win more direct bookings. The benefits of integrating your pricing tool with your PMS include:
  • Full visibility into your business
  • Time and cost savings
  • Improved data hygiene and visibility—as opposed to having siloed information in different tools
  • Get yourself up for growth with a single scalable system
  • Streamline collaboration between your teams 
  • Improved efficiency and productivity 

Reputation

To assess a tool’s reputation, check NPS scores and online reviews on SaaS review sites like G2 and Capterra. Pay close attention to the overall level of customer satisfaction. Persistent bugs, limited product releases, and negative comments about customer support are red flags to look for.
Related post: Airbnb Management Software: Boost Your Bookings and Income

Airbnb dynamic pricing tools: don’t leave money on the table

With so many Airbnb dynamic pricing tools on the market, it can be challenging to evaluate which is right for your business. Start by evaluating the range and value of different features and how well any tool will fit with your existing tech stack. What do you need to run and grow your business, and which tools do you need to do that? The ROI from Airbnb pricing tools is unquestionable, so it makes sense to take advantage of them. Here’s a summary of the five best Airbnb pricing tools to help you choose which to invest in. 
  • Wheelhouse is the most flexible software on our list that provides value for a wide range of users (Airbnb hosts, advanced homeowners who are in the short-term rental business, and professional property managers)
  • PriceLabs is great for larger property companies and owners with multiple units
  • Beyond is great for property managers that don’t have a lot of units
  • DPGO is suitable for novice hosts, experienced property owners with multiple listings, and property management companies with huge portfolios
  • Automated Rate Tool by Rented.com is suitable for all kinds of property managers
Look for a tool that fits your budget, needs, tech stack, and skill level and you’ll have everything you need to start boosting revenue with dynamic pricing.  CTA for better pricing tools

Frequently asked questions about Airbnb pricing tools

What is dynamic pricing for Airbnb?

Dynamic pricing for Airbnb means changing the price of your Airbnb vacation rental by taking into account the fluctuations in market demand. It allows you to offer last-minute discounts, change pricing based on seasonality, and keep up with the competition’ pricing strategies.   

Why is Airbnb smart pricing so low?

There are several reasons why Airbnb smart pricing can be low. If the area you operate in has many Airbnb listings and a disproportionate number of guests, the algorithm is likely to lower the nightly rates. In general, Airbnb smart pricing is designed to increase the number of bookings, not your overall revenue. 

How do I add dynamic prices to Airbnb?

To add dynamic prices to Airbnb, either use the Airbnb Smart Pricing tool or a dynamic pricing software of your choice. To turn Airbnb Smart Pricing on or off, go to your Listings, click Pricing and availability, and then go to Pricing. Next to Nightly price, click Edit. Enable Smart Pricing and enter the minimum and maximum prices. Then, click Save.
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