Rent Manager Review: From Our Team of Superhosts

Throughout our combined years of experience as Superhosts, we’ve had the opportunity to take a look at numerous property management software. We believe that our experience and knowledge put us in an excellent position to judge other potential PMS for vacation rentals. This brings us to today’s Rent Manager software review.

We’ll put Rent Manager to the test and see if it’s a worthy addition to your business. We’re going to discuss our opinion about its key features, pricing, potential comparables, and the general reviews from the public.

Best Rent Manager Features and How Hosts and Property Managers Can Use Them for Their Rentals

Rent Manager offers numerous tools that greatly help in proper rental property management. As we were exploring the property management software, there were a handful of features that stood out.

Tax Tools: Rent Manager's tax tools simplify the often stressful and time-consuming process of filing taxes. The software supports electronic filing through the IRS FIRE system, ensuring compliance with the latest IRS requirements. For STR superhosts like us who manage multiple properties, this feature can save significant time and effort during tax season.

Payments: The platform enables users to electronically process tenant payments, owner contributions, and vendor bills in real-time. This feature is particularly useful for long-term rental owners, as it automates the rent collection process and ensures timely online rent payments. However, STR hosts can also benefit from this feature by easily tracking and managing payments from various booking platforms.

Built-in Reports: With over 450 pre-defined reports, Rent Manager provides essential insights into the inner workings of your business. These reports cover financial aspects as well as property-specific data. For both STR hosts and long-term rental owners, having access to such a wide range of reports can help identify areas for improvement and optimize overall performance.

Report Automation: Rent Manager allows users to automate their reporting processes. This feature is especially valuable for property managers handling multiple units, as it saves time and ensures that key stakeholders receive regular updates on the properties' performance.

Resident Screening: Rent Manager's integrated resident screening capabilities help uncover potential credit issues, criminal history, and eviction records. This feature is fantastic for long-term rental owners, as it helps mitigate the risk of renting to problematic tenants. Vacation rental hosts can also benefit from screening guests to ensure the safety and security of their properties.

Prospect & Tenant Portal: The online portal allows prospective and current renters to pay rent, sign leases electronically, and submit maintenance requests. This feature streamlines the leasing process and reduces the workload for property managers. For STR hosts, an online portal can be used to provide guests with essential information about the property and surrounding area in a quick, unique, and efficient way.

Guest Cards: Guest Cards enable prospects to quickly submit inquiries via a contact form on your website. This feature is particularly useful for STR hosts, as it allows them to capture lead information and follow up with potential guests.

Resident App: The rmResident mobile app keeps renters and property managers connected, allowing residents to make payments, view and submit work orders, and more. This feature is valuable for long-term rental owners, as it enhances communication and streamlines maintenance processes. STR hosts can also use a similar app to provide guests with a seamless experience during their stay, providing direct customer support to their guests.

Communication Tools: Rent Manager offers various communication tools, such as built-in texting and email capabilities. These features enable property managers to quickly and easily communicate with tenants, vendors, and owners. For STR hosts, effective communication is key to providing excellent customer service and ensuring guest satisfaction.

Mobile App: The mobile app allows property managers to access their data and perform essential tasks on the go. This feature is particularly useful for STR hosts who may need to respond to guest inquiries or address issues promptly, regardless of their location.

Maintenance Scheduling: Rent Manager enables users to schedule and track maintenance tasks. This feature helps ensure that properties are well-maintained and that issues are addressed in a timely manner. For vacation rental owners, proactive maintenance is essential to keep properties in top condition and maintain high guest ratings.

Billing: The software allows users to bill tenants for maintenance work. This feature is particularly useful for long-term rental owners, as it ensures that tenants are responsible for any damages they cause. Hosts and property managers can also use this feature to charge guests for any damages incurred during their stay.

API and Open Access: Rent Manager's API and open access allow users to integrate the software with other systems and customize it to meet their specific needs. This feature is valuable for both STR hosts and long-term rental owners, as it enables them to create a tailored solution that fits their unique business requirements.

Rent Manager Pricing: How Much Does Rent Manager Cost?

Rent Manager’s pricing can be a bit confusing since their plans per unit only starts at a dollar. However, when taking a closer look, you’ll have to spend way more than $1.00. Here are all of their available plans:

• Basic - The basic plan only costs $1 per unit per month. It has a monthly minimum of $200, and an implementation package worth x2 the monthly fee. It includes their accounting services, work order management, marketing and leasing tools, online portals and apps, and rent manager online (RMO).
• Plus - It’s their most popular plan at $1.50 per unit per month, with a monthly minimum of $300, and an implementation package worth x2 the monthly fee. Includes everything in Basic with an added pro version of the mobile app, phone broadcast, and bank syncing.
• Premium - their priciest plan costs $2.50 per unit per month, with a minimum monthly fee of $500, and an implementation package worth x2 the monthly fee. The features include everything in Plus with video inspections, maintenance scheduling, customer success team, and white-glove data importing.

Rent Manager also charges extras for their Rent Manager API and some of their other integrations, so keep these potential fees in mind.

Rent Manager also offers demos for each of their plans, so feel free to contact them directly if you’re eager to learn more.

Overall, we’d say that Rent Manager plans can be quite expensive. While most of their services can make it more convenient to manage your rentals, the costs involved are simply not worth it if you only own a handful of properties.

Rent Manager Pricing vs Alternatives

Based on our experience with the Rent Manager software, it might not be the most suitable platform for hosts and property managers who only have vacation rentals. We’ve gathered a couple of potential PMS alternatives for STRs and their prices.

• Guesty - Lite: starts at $16 per listing/month for up to 3 listings. Pro and Enterprise: For 4-199 listings and 200+ listings, they offer custom prices and you’ll need to contact them for pricing. Guesty also charges for some of their extra features.
• Hostfully - Starter: $119 per month for up to 4 listings. Pro & Pro Plus: $215 per month for up to 11 listings, and $269 per month for up to 19 listings, respectively. Premium: Custom plans for hosts and property managers with numerous listings. They also offer a 10% discount for annual plans.
• Hospitable - Host: $29 per month for 1 property plus $10 per additional active property. Professional: $59 per month for 2 properties and only charge an extra $15 per additional active property. Mogul: $99 per month for 3 properties and charge an extra $30 per additional active property.
• Lodgify - Starter: $20/ month + 1.9% of booking fee per listing. Professional: $50/ month per listing. Ultimate: $73/ month per listing. They also offer discounts per plan per additional listing you have, along with up to 25% off on yearly and two-year plans.
• Hostaway - Hostaway isn’t fully transparent with their rates. They charge a monthly or annual subscription, according to your preference, and prices will vary depending on what features you’ll be using, and the number of listings you’ll manage. You’ll need to contact them directly for pricing inquiries.

As you can see, you’ll oftentimes get a cheaper plan from other STR-focused property management software available in the market. This can make it easier for hosts and managers with only a handful of listings to still take advantage of the efficiency and convenience of a PMS.

Rent Manager Reviews From Across the Web

In this section of our Rent Manager review, we’ll be talking about verified comments by Rent Manager users left on different software review sites. So, we’ve gathered a handful of opinions and reviews from users to get a better idea of the general user experience that the Rent Manager software provides.

• Maica left this comment: “RM is incredibly complex, which means that there's always going to be some new functionality that you can discover, and some new tool that you can use. The option for addons is also incredibly useful and makes RM practically limitless in scope when it comes to property management software.”
• Scott E. states: “The best! Really can't say enough about the product and the people. It has made sending rent invoices manually (including printing, stuffing, and mailing) from a 4 hour process, to literally a 5 minute process for our properties.”
• Cristina C. says this: “Rent Manager helps keep easy track of all aspects of property management. With so many integrations, you can do everything in one place. From keep tracking of your leads/prospects, to processing their applications & move them in!”

Overall, it seems that most users are satisfied with using Rent Manager as their primary property management software of choice. Most positive comments typically praise Rent Manager’s wide range of products that make accounting, reporting, and marketing easier. Some users have found it a bit difficult to use, because of their many tools that can be overwhelming at times. In the end, Rent Manager scores 4.6 stars out of 5 on GetApp and 4.7 out of 5 on G2, suggesting highly pleased users.

Final Thoughts

There’s no denying that Rent Manager is a powerful piece of property management software that does almost everything you could ask for. They even offer great customer service that replies quickly. However, its versatility and wide range of services are also the main reasons why it’s not ideal for hosts or property managers within the vacation rental business.

Most of its features are better fit for other real estate ventures such as long-term rentals, associations, or commercial-related businesses. We highly recommend the platform if you have a large portfolio from these different industries with a couple of STRs on the side. But, if you only have vacation rentals, especially only a handful of them, you’re likely better off choosing a PMS that solely focuses on the short-term rental market. This doesn’t take away from the fact that Rent Manager is incredibly good, the fit for STRs is our main issue here.

If you’re considering starting out your own Airbnb rental or just looking for a new addition to your portfolio, we suggest checking out our BNBCalc property analysis tool to give you an insight into properties on your radar. It can help you make data-driven decisions, based on what active rentals are already earning, allowing you to get an idea of not only revenue but also expenses, and paint a fuller picture of your potential investment.