Your phone buzzes while you’re trying to spend quality time with your family. Guest A can’t figure out the smart lock, Guest B swears the WiFi password is wrong, and your cleaner found a “mysterious stain” and needs immediate assistance. It makes you want to pull your hair out. 

If this scenario feels familiar, you NEED Airbnb systems, STAT. You don’t have to drown in the daily drama of running a vacation rental or property management business. There’s a better way to do it, and it doesn’t involve being chained to your phone 24/7. Let me explain!

What Are Airbnb Systems?

Airbnb systems are repeatable processes that run your business without you being the bottleneck.

It’s the infrastructure that handles guest communication, maintenance processes, and other processes so you’re not personally involved in Every. Single. Thing. that needs to happen.

Because automated processes > boring repetitive tasks.

In my experience, many Airbnb business owners get addicted to being needed. Property managers convince themselves that only they can handle the WiFi troubleshooting, only they know which cleaner to call, only they can write the perfect guest response…but the truth is that this way of thinking gets you trapped.

You’re in a desperate need for Airbnb systems when:

• You’re answering the same guest questions over and over again
• Your cleaner calls you during family dinner because they can’t find spare towels
• You’re manually adjusting prices every week instead of having dynamic pricing handle it
• You can’t take a vacation without your business falling apart
• You’re working IN your business instead of ON your business

So many entrepreneurs talk about wearing their CEO hat in their business more, but my hot take is that the ultimate goal isn’t to become a CEO.

It’s to become a Visionary.

When you’re the CEO, you’re still managing people all day long. But when you’re the Visionary, you become the person who thinks big picture, makes strategic decisions, and has the mental space to scale their short-term rental business. 

Why You Need to Have Airbnb Systems

So. Many. Reasons. A solid Airbnb management system helps you to:

• Reclaim your time and stop being the 24/7 customer service department
• Scale without going insane and take on more properties
• Create predictable income because consistent processes lead to consistent results
• Prepare for the future because a business that runs without you is a business you can sell someday
• Sleep with your phone on silent (no comment)
• Take vacations where you don’t spend half your time putting out fires back home

In other words, property management systems allow you to focus on growth instead of daily operations.

Personally, I used to work 100-hour weeks managing multiple properties, and I wore that badge like it was something to be proud of. I was always “on,” and then I realized that I wasn’t running a business, I just had a very stressful job that was consuming my life.

The “always on” mentality makes you a prisoner of your own success.

You also can’t add more properties if you don’t have solid systems in place. Your current chaos will just multiply, and trust me, three times the mess isn’t three times the fun.

5 Core Airbnb Systems Everyone Needs

Every successful Airbnb operation needs systems for:

• Guest Communication: Check-in instructions, house rules, local recommendations, and automated messages to save time.
• Cleaning and Maintenance: Reliable teams who know your standards and can handle issues independently.
• Pricing: Dynamic pricing tools that adjust your nightly rates based on demand, season, and local events.
• Emergency Response System: Clear protocols for when things go wrong. Your team knows exactly who to call, when to call them, and how to handle situations without panicking or calling you first.
• Guest Experience: Streamlined processes that create consistent five-star stays.
• Marketing: Promoting your business across multiple channels to keep your calendar full without constant attention.

Building systems for all of these comes down to two things: hiring the right team and having the right tools. Here’s how to do it.

Who Do You Need on Your Vacation Rental Business Team?

Virtual Assistants

I use virtual assistants for SO many things! They’re a fantastic addition to your team as you continue to grow and scale with so many different abilities. I have a team of 9, but generally 3 VAs can cover from 7am–11pm, seven days a week.

Many Airbnb hosts use VA agencies. Traditional agencies will pay your VAs for you while helping with any HR-related tasks. My favorites are Valor Pro and Bravo.

However, if you want to hire a VA directly (as in, with no ongoing VA management fee), I offer a VA placement service.

I’ll connect you with a pre-vetted, skilled VA from the Philippines who can take over tasks like guest messaging, social media management, calendar management, and more.

There’s a one-time placement fee, and after that you’ll manage your relationship with your VA directly, paying them an hourly rate – usually about $3-7/hour.

Operations Manager

An Operations Manager is your right-hand person. They handle day-to-day logistics like managing cleaners, onboarding properties, coordinating with vendors, and ensuring SOPs are followed. They’re essential if you’re stepping into a true Visionary role.

Look for someone local if possible. You can use Facebook groups, Indeed, or referrals from other hosts. You can also train a rockstar VA to step into this role over time. 

A good time to hire an operations manager is when you hit 10–15 properties or when the daily details are taking over your time and mental energy, OR when you just feel like you want to step away.

Revenue Manager

A Revenue Manager helps optimize your pricing, occupancy, and profitability. They use tools like PriceLabs or Beyond to set smart pricing strategies, adjust rates, run promotions, and track booking trends. In other words, you’ll make more money from all your listings!

Bookkeeper

A Bookkeeper keeps your finances clean and organized, tracking income/expenses, reconciling accounts, creating owner statements, and generating profit and loss statements each month. You need one as soon as you start generating consistent income, and definitely by the time you have 3–5 properties. Here is my favorite bookkeeper (she does my personal properties) 

Onboarding Specialist

This is usually a local person who helps bring on new properties by staging, photos, pricing setup, listing details, security setup, and filling out spreadsheets and data. It helps keep onboarding smooth and standardized. This can be a cleaner, an ops manager, or a separate role.

You’ll need one as soon as onboarding new homes becomes a bottleneck or causes delays or chaos. Typically I see this as a revenue share position OR per onboard fee.

Marketing & Social Media

Property owners and managers need a team member to help improve your online presence, build your brand, create content, and engage with your community. This is typically paid per post or per month, or likely a combination of the two.

Finding the Right Tools

Property Management Software

You absolutely need a PMS (Property Management System), it’s the brain of your entire operation.

I’ve tested three different systems, and Hospitable wins every time.

It’s ridiculously simple to use and handles everything from automated messaging to calendar syncing across platforms. Even with 45 properties, it never breaks a sweat!

If Hospitable isn’t your vibe, OwnerRez is my second pick, but honestly, any solid PMS beats trying to manage bookings manually.

Project Management Tool

Your team needs a central command center, and Monday is perfect for this. Every task, update, and project lives in one place where your entire team can see what’s happening.

If Monday isn’t your thing, other solid options include Asana, Trello, Notion, and ClickUp. Just pick something and stick with it.

HappyGuest

HappyGuest is awesome for creating those “wow” moments that turn into five-star reviews. It handles digital guidebooks with videos, automated upsells, and rental agreements. The guidebooks are honestly better than most other platforms out there.

One heads up: it requires their damage waiver system, so if you already have that covered, this might not fit. Alternative options include Safely and Waveo.

Turno

Turno has saved my sanity more times than I can count. It automatically schedules cleaners based on your booking calendar, handles payments, and lets you quality-check every clean with photo verification.

Schlage

Schlage smart locks are non-negotiable. In my STR business, we won’t even take on a property without them. They integrate seamlessly with your PMS to generate unique codes for each guest, eliminate key exchanges, and let you monitor access remotely. They’re a bit pricey, but SO worth it.

Clearing

Clearing saved my business from drowning in spreadsheets. It handles automated bookkeeping, trust accounting, expense tracking, and owner statements all in one place.

If you’re still managing finances with Excel, please stop torturing yourself and get something that works for vacation rental businesses!

Open Phone

For external communication (guests, vendors, owners), OpenPhone gives you a professional phone system without the enterprise-level price tag. Shared inboxes, auto-replies, and mobile-friendly interface make it perfect for property management teams.

Slack/WhatsApp

For internal team communication, you have two solid options.

Slack is ideal for larger teams. You can organize everything into channels (cleaning, onboarding, guest issues), search message history, and integrate with all your other tools.

WhatsApp works better for smaller teams that need quick, mobile communication with voice notes and instant photo sharing.

Looking for more? Try these Airbnb hosting tips!

Grow Your Airbnb Systems, Grow Your Business

Vacation rental management systems help you increase efficiency, get more bookings, and, most importantly, KEEP YOU SANE!

But it takes more than just getting an Airbnb management software. You need to strategically organize your systems and train your team so YOU can finally use your brain for what truly matters: scaling your business, and enjoying your life.

Learn more about my services to see how I can help with VA placement, Airbnb systems education, and Fractional COO Plans!