Hospitable Pilots Trust Accounting for Australian Property Managers

Hospitable, a short-term rental operating system, has launched a trust accounting product for property managers in Australia. It is a paid private pilot, offered to users of the Mogul plan, and works alongside the company's Owner Statements product.

The aim is to stop managers reconciling trust records in a separate system. Hospitable Trust Accounting links trust account records to the bookings and owner statements already in the platform. Bank transactions and balances import daily through a read-only connection with an accredited open banking provider. Managers can also upload CSV or PDF statements.

Transactions appear with suggested matches, linking deposits to platform payouts and transfers to owner payments or management fees. Once a transaction is confirmed, the system issues a numbered receipt to the owner ledger. Each owner and property gets its own trust ledger that cannot be overdrawn. Reports include reconciliation, ledger balance and payment register, plus a permanent month-end record.

Hospitable says the software cannot move money out of the bank account. It also says this is a record-keeping tool and does not replace legal or accounting advice. The product was first built around Queensland's trust accounting rules, and location-specific rules for other states are planned. A private pilot is also running in the United States.

Ethan Brown, Hospitable's APAC general manager, said managers find it hardest to keep their trust account in step with bookings and payouts held elsewhere.

For Australian managers, trust accounting rules differ by state, so check that the pilot covers your state before relying on it. This is also a sign that STR software vendors are moving further into the financial back office.