About Lodgify
Lodgify is a relatively new tech start-up that was formed through Seedcamp London funding. The company is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, and provides its services in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. In terms of the product, Lodgify have created a centralised application that includes a website builder, automated pricing, and integrations with the main vacation rental sites as well as several other applications. The product is aimed at individual owners, agencies, and property managers, with support for a hundred properties under one account.
Key features
Lodgify offers a straightforward, customisable website builder with automatic SEO optimisation and mobile compatibility. The available templates allow site creation in 30 language and the site links with payment providers to accept transfers from 192 countries. One of Lodgify’s other main strengths is that it copes with multiple properties better than some of its competitors, allowing an almost unlimited number in one place. There is also a guest folder to allow for extras, such as local tips and online check-in services.
Communication tools
Lodgify customers can use automated emails for check-in, departure, and other information, making the process more hands-off for owners and agencies alike. There is also compatibility with Facebook Messenger for direct communication. One of Lodgify’s integrated applications is Mailchimp, which means that users can also develop marketing campaigns and monitor results from within the Lodgify platform. This includes A/B testing for smarter marketing, and segmenting recipients to ensure that targeting is more effective.
Website builder
The website builder is focused on being accessible for users with little or no technical knowledge. With just a few clicks, you can select a theme, upload pictures and text, and get started. Users can create their own domains, integrate a range of applications including secure payment systems, and there are a range of SEO tools to ensure the greatest reach possible. Mobile optimisation is automatic, and users can add custom pages, such as blogs and further information, as well as extra options and help for guests.
Price optimisation / Yield management
Through integration with Outswitch, Lodgify offers an automatic, dynamic price optimisation service that feeds into all the platforms the property is listed on, as well as back to Lodgify for further data gathering and optimisation. The extra service costs around €6.50 a month and is fully customisable before use. Outswitch also integrates with the user calendar to ensure that there are no double bookings.
Integrations
As well as integration with Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia integrations are also available for Mailchimp for marketing, Outswitch and PriceLabs for pricing optimisation and yield management, and iCal for calendar syncing across either one or multiple properties and platforms. Property managers can also use Google Analytics to monitor a range of performance statistics, to inform future choices regarding the property.
Costs and fees
As well as a 7-day free trial, Lodgify have two tiers of membership:
€11 per month – 1.9% booking fee, website, payments system
€28 per month – 0% booking fee, website, payments system including manual and scheduled payments
These costs are per property, with the amount reducing slightly, on a sliding scale, with each additional property.
Both tiers also include a free domain and mobile optimisation. Outswitch is available as an extra for price optimisation, and costs around €6.50 a month extra to use.
What is special about Lodgify?
Lodgify’s main strength is that it can cope with up to 100 properties and has positioned itself in the market as much for individuals and agencies as large-scale property managers. The option to add on market-specific price optimisation and yield management helps in particular when multiple properties are being managed, as does the automated email service and the integration with Mailchimp for marketing.
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Conclusion
Lodgify’s website builder is competitive and provides several features, with price optimisation and automated emailing two of the most crucial to success in this market. While there aren’t as many ready-to-go integrations available as some of their competitors, further integration is available outside of the standard apps, through the API. The pricing is also competitive and scales fairly, according to the number of properties managed under one account. All aspects of the site are intuitive, especially the website builder, which also assists with SEO and mobile compatibility to ensure that beginner users don’t run into any difficulties.
Lodgify in social media
Lodgify have multiple social media accounts for blogs, marketing, and more. They use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.