US: Vacation rental software provider Hospitable has announced the launch of Hospitable Connect, making it the first property management software [PMS] in the world to provide third-party tech platforms with direct access to online travel agents [OTAs] without an integration.
Powered by Hospitable’s robust API, Hospitable Connect facilitates a swift and straightforward connection that enables tech providers to leverage their customers’ OTA reservation data — even if the hosts themselves are not yet a PMS user.
This means that, for the first time, hosts can take advantage of a far wider range of tech tools, which would normally only be available to those with a portfolio large enough to warrant a PMS subscription.
Hosts are finally able to build a bespoke tech stack, levelling the tech playing field between themselves and larger property management companies. With more apps to choose from, hosts can select the right tools to help them solve individual problems and elevate their operations – signalling a new chapter of accessible technology for the short-term rental industry.
In turn, STR tech vendors gain access to a wealth of invaluable host data, including real-time listings, calendars and reservations, as well as historical channel data. Equipped with these insights, vendors can better understand the needs of their customers, refine their services and expand their product offering.
Hospitable Connect aligns with Hospitable’s core mission to gift hosts their time back. While the software provider will leverage the relationship with other platforms and their customers to increase its own subscriber base, the ultimate goal is to provide hosts with the tools they need to efficiently run their business.
Hospitable Connect is available for Airbnb at the moment, but Hospitable has plans to extend its services to more OTAs soon. The platform has an existing partnership with Airbnb and leverages their official API to facilitate this connection, meaning vendors are not connected directly to Airbnb’s API, but to Hospitable Connect’s API.
Coming at no cost to vendors or hosts, Hospitable Connect builds on the company’s API, which enables third-party vendors to access host data from Hospitable’s customer stack. This enables software vendors to market to a growing number of self-managers and property managers spanning 183,975 properties, and hosts to connect with more software providers and better automate their processes.
Pierre-Camille Hamana, founder and CEO of Hospitable, said: “Hospitable Connect empowers short-term rental tech vendors to build smarter solutions, and hosts are finally able to create their perfect tech stack. By removing the barriers to OTA integration, we’re opening the door for vendors to build the tools that really address the specific needs of every host at any budget.
“With access to a wider spectrum of tools, hosts can compete with the most professional managers. Our aim has always been to support self-managers and hosts, and Hospitable Connect is the missing piece of the puzzle for those not quite ready to go down the PMS route but who quickly could once they realise how much easier their lives could be with a full tech stack,” he added.
Founded in 2016, Hospitable is a vacation rental software provider offering a suite of tools that empower hosts to automate the most time-consuming elements of hosting.
Hamana will speak on an upcoming STRz webinar on ‘Building a strong company culture in the era of remote work’ on Tuesday 27 February [4pm GMT]. Book your no-cost virtual seat now at this link.
