If you manage properties for other people, you have almost certainly been asked “can I see the guidebook?” or “can I update the WiFi password myself?” by an owner. Until now the honest answer was no: BetterSTR is connected to your property management system, so only your login could see anything. Owner access changes that. You invite the owner into your account, limited to their property or properties, with exactly the access you choose. They log in as themselves, see only what you allow, and you stay in control.
You’ll find it under your name (top right) → Team & Owners.
Why this matters
Many owners would happily use BetterSTR for their own place, but they cannot: their listings live inside their manager’s PMS, and there is no API key of their own to connect. Owner access means the manager connects once, and each owner gets a window into their own property: the digital guidebook, the reservations calendar, the WiFi status, the TV screens. Owners in the United States who must use a local manager to comply with residency rules, but still want to write their own guidebook, are exactly who this is for.
Inviting an owner
- Open Team & Owners and click Invite someone.
- Enter the owner’s email address. Add a label for yourself, for example “Owner of 12 Beach Rd”.
- Choose a starting point. Viewer (read only) is the usual choice for an owner who wants to keep an eye on things; Editor if they should maintain their own guidebook. Adjust any switch you like.
- Under Which properties? choose Only the properties I tick and tick their property. If you group owners with tags, tick the tag instead and any future property with that tag is included automatically.
- Click Send invitation.
What the owner sees
The owner receives an email with an Accept invitation link. They sign in with their own BetterSTR login, or create a free one on the way through, and then choose which account to work in.
Inside your account they see only their property: their guidebook, their reservations, their WiFi and TV status. Everything else on your account is invisible to them, and a blue bar reminds them whose account they are in.
An owner never sees
Your other properties, your other owners, your balance or transactions, your plans, your integrations, your profile, your SMS or automations. Guest email addresses, phone numbers and ID documents each have their own switch, all of which you control.
Read only, or hands on?
- Read only (Viewer) – the owner can look at everything you allow but every save is refused. Nothing they do can change a guest’s experience.
- Editor – the owner can edit their guidebook, update property details and check-in information, manage their WiFi and their TV screens. Many managers find owners are delighted to write their own local tips and house rules.
- Turn See guest contact details off if the owner should see bookings but not guest phone numbers and email addresses.
Owners with more than one manager
An owner with properties in several cities may use a different manager for each. That is fine: each manager invites the owner from their own account, and the owner sees all of them on one Switch account page after logging in. One login, every property, each inside the right manager’s account.
Withdrawing access
Open Team & Owners and click the remove icon. The owner is out within a minute, even mid-session. You can also tighten or widen their switches at any time with the key icon; changes apply just as quickly.
Who pays?
Today the manager’s account carries any plan, exactly as before; giving an owner access costs nothing extra. We are adding an option for an owner to pay the BetterSTR Simple bundle for their own properties from their own balance, so the manager is only ever charged for the rest. If you have owners waiting for that, get in touch and we will let you know when it is switched on for your account.