Running a small rental means wearing many hats. Managing channels, syncing data, and juggling admin tasks can be dizzying for owners. NightsBridge checked in with three clients, all owners of small apartments in South Africa, for details on how and why they use NightsBridge to make their day-to-day operations more efficient.
The challenge: Manual management causes major headaches.
In case studies of small rental owners, a common pain point emerges: managing bookings manually across multiple channels like Airbnb and Booking.com. In most instances, this manual approach often results in syncing failures, double bookings, and data discrepancies. Without automation, continually matching availability, rates, and inventory across platforms proves extremely tedious, error-prone, and time-consuming.
Marion Lubitz – Quay West, Velddrif.
Marion has been renting out a guesthouse and then her holiday home, Quay West, on South Africa’s scenic West Coast since 2003. With stunning views and proximity to the Berg River, popular for watersports, her coastal cottage in the village of Velddrif attracts plenty of booking interest. However, Marion feared the inevitable “overbookings and payment issues” due to trying to juggle communications, invoices, and data syncing alone. Hiring an assistant was out of budget for her tiny company.
Marion’s top 3 NightsBridge features:
1. Real-time rate updates
Marion’s #1 frustration was trying to manually sync availability, rates, and inventory across her Airbnb, Booking.com, and direct booking channels. According to Marion, NightsBridge’s channel manager integration “…made it so easy. Airbnb draws right from the NightsBridge calendar”. By automatically syncing data system-wide, this feature gave Marion peace of mind and prevented dreaded overbooking conflicts.
2. Easy promotion management
Creating targeted campaigns across channels required Marion to dive into each site. But with NightsBridge, she effortlessly crafts promo offers in one place and automatically publishes them everywhere her guests book, including her website and Airbnb. The niche targeting options also help her boost occupancy during slower periods.
3. Accommodation website builder
As Marion says, “I can update my website pages so easily with NightsBridge’s Springnest integration.” Marion manages content directly through NightsBridge’s simple CMS templates without relying on a web admin. This DIY access with real-time site changes amps up her direct bookings.
Alexander Smith – Livingston Villa, Knysna
Alexander says guests are drawn to his luxe holiday house rental in Wilderness because “they feel like they are in the bush”. Close to the beach and with a garden attracting Knysna loeries and other birdlife, this piece of paradise is particularly popular with European guests – making an online booking system critical.
Alexander’s top 3 NightsBridge features:
1. Channel management
Alexander is grateful for how NightsBridge handles rate updates automatically. It’s a real time-saver, especially for his partner Mariana, who runs the admin. Plus, it keeps their rates competitive without them having to check and adjust them constantly.
2. Guest feedback
Mariana works hard to get TripAdvisor reviews, and Alex says automated review requests for TripAdvisor have lightened her load. “We value reviews because even if guests share recommendations with us, we see it as a chance to improve things,” he says. They’re all about keeping guests happy to generate good reviews and attract more bookings.
3. ‘Book Now’ feature
Alexander noticed an uptick in bookings once they started using NightsBridge’s ‘Book Now’ feature in the front desk booking software. “It’s just so easy for guests,” he says.
Kathi du Plessis – Twilight Cottage, Plettenberg Bay
Fifteen years ago, this innovative entrepreneur pivoted her small-scale clothing factory into a popular self-catering cottage. Kathi says it’s the quality experience she offers that gets her five-star ratings at Twilight Cottage – with the emphasis on cleanliness, excellent coffee, and comfy beds. The Plettenberg Bay property is particularly busy during summer when South Africans flock to the coast, but business travellers are also frequent visitors.
Kathi’s top 3 NightsBridge features:
1. Front-desk booking software
Kathi used to have issues with double bookings before NightsBridge. It got tricky when she received bookings from different platforms at the same time. But now, NightsBridge’s booking system keeps everything in one place, so conflicting bookings are a problem of the past.
2. Online payment solutions
Before NightsBridge, Kathi mainly accepted payments via EFT or cash, which could be a hassle. NightsBridge’s integration with booking platforms has made handling payments smoother for Kathi – and super secure.
3. NightsBridge app
Kathi loves how NightsBridge saves her time. She doesn’t have to be glued to her desk to manage bookings. Now, she can handle things from her phone, giving her more flexibility. It means she can focus on other parts of her life, like property upgrades and maintenance.
Did you know that we celebrated our 10,000th client at the end of 2023? That’s a lot of happy accommodation owners. If you’re one of them, share with us how NightsBridge has upped your property rental game. Share your thoughts here.