4 Alternatives to ShowMojo's Self Guided Showings Software

It is the year 2023 and technology has made life easier. Recently, at a convention, you learnt about property management software. You were skeptical at first but have warmed up to the idea since. You decided to start with research but it has confused you even more because there are so many options to choose from.

Before we go any further, here’s a self-questionnaire to help you assess your needs.  

Which features should property managers look out for in leasing software?

Renters expect a faster leasing process now more than ever with technology dictating that everything be time efficient.

Here’s a list of features that have become the need of the hour for leasing agents and property managers and how well ShowMojo fares in comparison to its alternatives. You can download your own free copy of the analysis here.

Lockboxes and Self Guided Tours

Perhaps the most time-efficient of them all, lockboxes facilitate self guided tours and make it redundant for the property managers to be present at the site of the showing. Surveys show that over 80% of the leads prefer touring on their own and find it more convenient since it allows them to view properties outside business hours.  

LetHub

LetHub has used industry insights to finesse its offering. Starting at $75 per lockbox, property managers have two options to choose from for self guided tours; Junior Codebox and Senior Codebox.  

• Junior Codebox , the recommended option, can hold up to 2 to 3 keys.
• Senior Codebox holds more keys and has a rubber battery cover, as opposed to Junior’s plastic one.  
• LetHub offers lockboxes on credit for larger businesses, in addition to offering hybrid plans; a mix of in-person and self guided tours.  
• Property managers have the option to integrate their old lockboxes free of charge.  
• Prospects have to follow a rigorous two-step verification process. They have to register with a valid ID and scan their face from all angles using LetHub’s latest technology.  
• All information is verified through Stripe’s large database.  
• Once they arrive at the property, they can only access the lockbox with an OTP issued to a registered number.

ShowMojo

ShowMojo offers three varieties of lockboxes for self guided tours; codebox, Vault eLockbox and Mojolock.

• Codebox is the most common lockbox in the industry with several other software opting for the same brand. It is inexpensive, does not need to be charged, is weather resistant and produces a new code for each self guided tour. Codebox does not require a secondary device to give access.
• Vault eLockbox is accessed via Bluetooth. Leads can unlock the lockbox via the ShowMojo app on their phone.
• ShowMojo has recently launched MojoBox which is a digital device ‘designed and priced to replace mechanical lockboxes’. It’s built for residential properties, integrates with ShowMojo and does not need an internet connection.  
• Prospects have to submit their valid ID cards for verification.  
• Property managers who use ShowMojo lockboxes have complained that the batteries die sooner than claimed.  

Tenant Turner

• Tenant Turner offers Codebox Junior, Codebox Senior and SentriLock.  
• SentriLock is considered one of the best in the industry due to its stability and superior technology. It is more expensive but is considered worth the investment by those who use it.
• In case of issues, Tenant Turner can be contacted via chat, email, and phone but the support team takes up to 20 minutes to reply.

Rently

Rently offers three different kinds of lockboxes; Classic lockbox, Blue Digital Lock or SmartLock 2, and Rently Smart Home. Lockboxes enable self guided tours and the other two are smart home systems that continue to be of use to tenants after they move in. 

• Classic Lockboxes are of the standard keyholding variety.
• SmartLock2 is a touch screen, Wi-Fi-enabled digital lock. No keys are required.
• Rently Smart Home Solutions goes beyond just accessing the property via a code, it offers door and motion sensors and other features to ensure security control, damage prevention, and energy management.

However, Rently lockboxes do not have the best reputation in the market.

• The codes to these lockboxes can sometimes require resetting before a showing.
• Rently has a chatbox to offer lockbox support but it’s only available on weekdays.
• Property managers have also reported squatters on properties protected by Rently lockboxes.

We have very strong reasons for recommending LetHub. Their prospect verification process is impregnable. Not only is a valid photo ID required but the selfie verification feature scans the prospect’s face from all angles, leaving absolutely no room for rental scams. They can also not access the property without the OTP which is issued only to the number used at the time of registration.  

Industry favorites Codebox lockboxes sufficiently meet every property manager’s requirement for self-guided tours.  

Inquiry Management

It’s no secret that property managers are met with a splurge of rental inquiries every day. Our research suggests leasing agents get 200+ renter inquiries per listing ad, with each consuming an extra two minutes of the leasing agent’s time to respond.

Automating your inquiry management will help free up time you can commit to other aspects of your business, increasing your team’s productivity by 40%.  

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LetHub

• With 40% of the renters being Gen-Z and expecting instant responses, LetHub is the only communication platform that provides instant information in zero seconds.
• Intelligent AI assistant, River, stays active 24/7, even on weekends at no additional charge, giving conversational, human-like responses.  
• River is unit and property-specific, meaning it provides accurate and detailed information to prospective renters.

ShowMojo

• ShowMojo’s leasing team responds to inquiries manually. They have managed to keep the response time down to an impressive 2 minutes.
• Scheduling tours and responding to each inquiry with detailed information can increase the response time of each agent by a good 20 minutes.

Tenant Turner

• Tenant Turner has a website bot. It is available 24/7 and provides hard-coded responses only since it is not artificially intelligent.

Rently

• Similar to Tenant Turner, Rently has a website bot. It is also not artificially intelligent, redirecting most inquiries to a leasing agent.  
• Rently offers a leasing call center with two options; a foreign shared call center for $100 per month plus an additional $0.5 per minute or a US-based call center agent for at $30 per hour.  
• The US call center agent is by far the most expensive option, costing property managers up to $4800 for just weekday business hours.  

Lisa by Appfolio

• Appfolio’s Lisa is an AI leasing assistant which provides human-like responses.
• It is reportedly $3/unit per month, pricier than other options, and has to be individually activated for each property.  
• Lisa is responds only to building-specific questions, meaning that you will not be able to customize information for a unit in the building.  

Prospects’ Pre-qualification

Pre-qualifying prospects is another game changer for property managers. Companies that implement AI in their workflows, accomplish this task in a minimal amount of time. AI-powered assistants make inquiries on behalf of property managers, as opposed to companies where representatives go back and forth with leads to fete out qualified ones.

In short, by prequalifying prospects, you can avoid rental scams and save time by only moving forward with eligible leads.

LetHub

• LetHub allows property managers the option to add a custom pre-screening criterion, taking it a step further by offering unlimited customizable questions.
• These can be numeric, text, or simple yes/no questions.  
• Pre-screenings are conducted by River, LetHub’s AI assistant who pre-qualifies renters before booking a showing.  
• For $34, LetHub also offers thorough background and criminal checks through seamless integration with Certn. You have the choice to pay for these checks themselves or pass the cost on to the lead.

ShowMojo

• Property managers can pre-define criteria so only the rental applicants who qualify move forward in the leasing process.  
• ShowMojo offers both, soft background and credit checks on rental applicants but the minimum 100 units requirement makes it difficult for small property management companies to take advantage of these services.

Tenant Turner

• Tenant Turner gives the option to pre-screen prospects, complete with customizable questions.  
• Tenant Turner conducts background criminal and credit checks for $40, payable by the lead only.

Rently

• Rently’s agent scheduler asks the lead a series of pre-qualification questions before booking a showing.
• Instant but robotic responses increase the time spent qualifying each lead.
• iQual Plus for property managers allows them to match prospects who qualify with available properties.
• iQual Plus for renters gives them the option to authorize a soft credit check with TransUnion for $7.99 per month.

Lisa by Appfolio

• Lisa, Appfolio’s AI Leasing assistant pre-qualifies prospects by making inquiries of her own as per the screening criteria.  
• Appfolio also offers tenant screening with just a click. In a short time, you can receive a report on the tenant’s criminal and eviction history, credit score, and income.

Calendar Sync

This is another feature that reduces the time spent in conversation with a lead before a showing, specifically, the time spent trying to arrive at a mutually suitable time for a showing.

LetHub

• LetHub offers the most calendar sync features for property managers.
• We uniquely take into account buffer times when scheduling consecutive showings. This gives property managers sufficient time to travel between properties for showings.
• Other options include limiting prospects per showing, limiting showings per day, and canceling showings for properties that are no longer on the market.  
• Property Managers can also alter their availability for specific properties and stop appointments for the day.  
• River, the AI assistant is unit specific, meaning you can customize information for each individual unit, making it more holistic than the rest.
• Prospects are texted and emailed two hours before a showing and if there is still no response within 45 minutes of the showing, it is automatically canceled. This has enabled property managers to reduce no-shows by 4x.

ShowMojo

• ShowMojo calls their automated confirmation plan ‘Automated Confirmation on Steroids’. They confirm with a lead excessively over text and email starting 24 hours before a showing, then 6 hours before, and then finally 2 hours before a showing.  
• They cancel the showing automatically in case of no response within an hour of the showing.  
• However, ShowMojo doesn’t cancel showings for rented units, creating an issue for property managers to manage showings and responding to unnecessary inquiries.  

Tenant Turner

• Tenant Turner also allows property managers to customize questions and sends automated confirmations before a showing.  
• It offers limited customizable calendar sync features like agent-specific availability. The showing link is then sent to the lead via chatbot.  

Rently

• Rently too syncs with your calendar to book showings but it is only compatible with Google and not Microsoft.  
• Property managers can unfortunately not set property-specific availability or customize it in any other way.  
• Rently also sends confirmations via call, text, and email to the lead before showings and cancels showings in case of no response.  

Appfolio

• Lisa automatically schedules showings, providing the lead with a link to select the option that is most suited to their timings via email.  
• It syncs with your Google calendar but you have to install an additional extension to sync with Microsoft.

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Wondering How Much These Features Will Cost You?  

Here’s a breakdown of how much you can expect to pay with each of the aforementioned PM companies.  

LetHub

• LetHub is by far the cheapest option with property managers only paying $0.85 per unit per month ($1.50 per unit per month with lockbox) with an annual plan, making it feasible for businesses of all scales.
• For under a dollar, you can automate your leasing process with an AI chatbot that responds to queries, schedules, confirms and cancels bookings, advertises on Facebook Marketplace, facilitates self guided tours and get automated feedback and reports.
• LetHub also dedicates a trained representative for premium accounts, ensuring that technical support requests have a short response rate.

ShowMojo

• ShowMojo is not considered suitable for property managers with small businesses with its pricing plans are mostly targeted towards those with at least 200 to 300 units.
• Starting at $69/month and going up to $1800/month, it is not suitable for small and medium-scale companies.  

Tenant Turner

• Tenant Turner is also a good option option with just $1 per unit per month.  
• Their leasing call center is slightly expensive with $150/month for the first 50 minutes and an additional 65 cents for every minute after that.  
• For property managers truly looking to automate, their chatbot misses the mark with rigid and robotic responses.  

Rently

• Rently came into the industry to revolutionize self guided tours and is one of the few property management companies out there making a move towards digital locks and smart home systems, that go beyond the leasing process.

Appfolio

• Appfolio is one of the most expensive property management software companies you can opt for.  
• At $3.00 per unit per month for just Lisa, it is more expensive than any other option and this is just for the small and mid-sized properties.  
• Clients complain that they often offer a low entry price and then increase it once you are part of the system.  
• They also have a high onboarding fee, $400 minimum.  
• All this makes it more feasible for larger property management businesses with at least 700 units under their wing.  

Which Property Management Software is the Right Fit for You?

The table below summarizes all our findings, recommending the best company for the features discussed above and then some.  

Okay, okay we admit that was a lot of information. We, unfortunately, cannot decide which PM software is going to be the right fit for you. Each PM business has its own needs. If LetHub feels like a good fit for you, click here to book a free demo.  

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