Property automation system Operto Guest Technologies has announced a partnership with vacation and short-term rental software provider, Hostfully.

After years of delay, guest sentiment pushed Airbnb into more transparent pricing. It’s great for the short-term rental sector, and many competitors large and small will have little choice but to follow.

The study by Hostfully reveals that while there were more than 115,000 companies managing vacation rentals in 2018, this has now grown to more than 140,500.

Hostfully co-founder and CEO, Margot Schmorak said; “Operto's expertise in IoT and device management will bring tremendous value to Hostfully Property Management Platform users."

The pressures of the pandemic are driving more Airbnb hosts to lure users into booking their properties privately, further straining the already fraught relationship between the company and some of its larger hosts.

Hostfully is revolutionizing guest communication with the launch of InboxAI, a tool that reduces the time property managers spend on guest inquiries.

It's clear that vacation rental hosts and property managers crave direct bookings, and many may be making inroads. Still, the marketing power of big brands is tough to compete with.

Vacation rental managers are seeking to offer services currently not enabled by their software.

Short-term rental property management platform Hostfully has released its eight annual hospitality report, providing actionable data for hosts and property managers of all portfolio sizes.

Independent short-term rental software startups have done well during the post-pandemic travel boom, but the market is starting to get tougher,