Ready to significantly improve business processes and grow your bottom line?
Software automation is here, and for many companies and individuals it’s the solution to a massive range of daily tasks.
Forget about shuffling papers and performing menial, repetitive tasks. The future is here.
Spend more time focusing on your business by saving time, cutting costs, improving workflows, and increasing capacity thanks to the wonders of software automation.
How Does Software Automation Work?
The first thing that anyone should realize about software automation is that it does not mean you will never need to work again.
We are no where near the level of artificial intelligence that it would take to replace the human touch – at least not yet…
Using software automation is truly about working smarter, not harder.
There are certain tasks or aspects of our work that we do over and over – simply because it needs to be done to keep everything moving.
Most of these tasks do not require any special skills or critical thought – they are simply repeatable and manual items in the to-do list of running a business.
These are the types of tasks that can be replaced by automation.
Yes – it takes some time to set up.
Yes – you need to monitor your automation and modify to make it as effective as possible.
However, with a little bit of initial input and selecting a great tool – software automation can make your day easier and give you more time to focus on growth!
Let’s Look At A Real-World Example …
Vacation rental businesses may not be the first example you think of in regards to software automation, but this is a great example of how it can be applied for ‘real-world’ tasks and duties.
First, let’s consider the problem.
Many vacation rental businesses are conducted on websites like Airbnb. These sites provide a platform that helps facilitate transactions between hosts and guests, but it doesn’t necessarily provide the tools that can be used to improve the actual vacation rental process.
Tasks like maintenance duties, housekeeping, management of multiple listings, and syncing of calendars need to be done manually–or perhaps there is another solution?
Software as a service (SaaS), while not a new concept, is becoming the go-to method for managing these types of problems. Software automation integration can help people overcome manual tasks and create smooth workflows.
These types of solutions can really be applied across many different industries – but below, we’re going to outline a few prime examples of exactly how software automation can improve a vacation rental business.
Repetitive Task Automation and Team Management
Customarily, specialized task requests and work orders have been delivered to team members one-by-one by a manager. Juggling each of these orders in turn can be a substantial time sink.
However, imagine how work orders for your staff can be handled with software automation.
It provides the ability for staff to automatically receive and coordinate on work orders once they are created. Everything is permission-based, so only those that need to be “in the know” have access to specific orders.
In addition, team members can view and respond to work requests and duties on a per-booking basis. This is a huge boon to workflow and overall cohesion of efforts across multiple properties.
This is but the tip of the iceberg, however. Once we dial down into more specific use cases, we’re able to easily discover how useful vacation rental software can be to improving a business.
Synchronization of Multiple Accounts and Platforms
Let’s say you are a host with multiple listings.
This can quickly become overwhelming as you are consistently switching between accounts to make sure everything is being taken care of.
Answering guests’ messages and controlling bookings for each separate listing can be a real problem. Compounding this, some people may even have multi-platform listings that could cause double bookings.
Synchronizing multiple accounts and platforms is a lot easier than it used to be thanks to recent software automation advances. Some software solutions can enable you to see everything in one dashboard.
For example, a business owner could sync various calendar data—Booking.com, HomeAway, TripAdvisor, and more—direct to a single interface.
If they are managing several listings, this means they won’t have to log in and out of different accounts to figure out what’s going on. This makes it possible to manage various properties in one place no matter where they are listed.
The result? An improved overall customer experience and tons of time and effort saved on behalf of a property manager.
In short, software solutions can bridge multiple accounts into a single platform that caters to multiple needs.
Automated Messaging
In almost every industry – business owners receive multiple messages asking similar questions.
Vacation rental managers specificly receive an enormous amount of messages from guests each day. All of the queries need to be answered promptly in order to impress the guest and get the booking. Fast replies can also help boost Airbnb rankings, which can help push up appearance in the priority list of properties.
All of this can be solved with automation software. It can provide sensational, sophisticated guest communications.
There is auto-scheduling of messages that can be triggered at predetermined times or actions.
Don’t want to miss guest messages or a booking alert? A pop-up notification will help you with this.
Need a single inbox for guest chats? Today’s software automation offers that, as well, funnelling all communications into an easy-to-access feed.
This is especially true if a business owner has many listings to manage. Software automation is the key to responding quickly and easily.
Improve Efficiencies Whenever Possible
In the end, software automation is about improving overall team management and efficiency. Having a platform that everyone can see and use to coordinate daily tasks helps enormously.
There are so many small tasks that can be entirely automated with software solutions. Any company that doesn’t adapt will probably become a relic in a short time.
In fact, it is so inherent to nearly every industry that SaaS comparison tools like G2Crowd are popping up to help guide people’s choices.
Now, make no mistake—software automation can’t solve all of your company’s problems, but it can alleviate bottlenecks and provide you with the tools you need to be successful.
How do you use Software Automation? Please share and comment below!
