The question every owner asks first
You look at a new tool and see a monthly fee for each unit. You multiply it by your units, and the total looks large. The real question is what comes back each month.
There are two answers. The software can bring in money, and it can save your team time. Count the money first, because it is easy to measure.
Start with the fee for one unit
Work with one unit, not the whole company. Find the monthly fee for that unit. Then check if the vendor also takes a share of what the software sells.
A share makes the fee grow when sales grow. That can be fair, but count it in the cost. Our roundup shows how the price models compare across nine tools.
Count the paid extras it sells
Paid extras are things a guest buys during the stay: a late checkout, an early check-in, a mid-stay cleaning. Look at what the software sold for one unit in a month. Use your own prices for each sale.
Count only the sales your team would not have made. A guest who asks at night and gets no answer often leaves on time. That late checkout was lost before the software came.
A worked example for one unit
Example: one unit sells two late checkouts in a month, at your normal price. If one late checkout costs more than the monthly fee, the first sale pays the fee. The second sale is new money.
Do this for a quiet unit and a busy unit. A tool that pays for itself on your quiet units pays for itself everywhere.
Then count the time your team gets back
Look at a normal week of guest messages. Many ask the same things: the wifi, the parking, the check-in time. Count how many the software answers well.
Your team still handles the work that needs a person. The time they get back goes to that work: problems, owners and new units. Our AI for property managers guide shows what to hand over first.
Four questions to ask before you buy
Does it check your calendar before it sells a late checkout? Does the price come from your own price list? How does an Airbnb guest pay? What does the vendor take from each sale?
A tool that sells the time your cleaners need costs you more than its fee. Ask the vendor to show you each answer in a demo.
How TravelPal does this for you
TravelPal answers your guests and sells paid extras in the same chat. Prices come from your own price list, and it checks your calendar before it offers. It sends offers before arrival and before checkout, so the guest does not have to ask.
The Flat plan is $25 per unit per month. No share of your late checkouts or cleanings goes to TravelPal on Flat. Compare both plans on the pricing page. Or try your numbers in the late checkout calculator.