Metro-Tec Rentals

Metro-Tec Rentals brings public-facility scheduling, rental approvals, invoicing and reporting into one platform. It is best suited to schools, cities and community operators managing varied facilities or renter groups. Its configurable rental rules are a strength, but the right plan depends on booking volume and whether renters or the organization should bear payment fees.

Overview

Outside organizations can register, check availability on a branded public schedule without logging in, and submit rental requests for staff approval. Administrators can require insurance and other documents, collect acceptance of terms and registration answers, and review submissions by organization. That makes it useful when staff need to check compliance before confirming access, rather than simply expose an open calendar.

Rates can vary by facility, time, renter group, overhead allocation or special-event override, and changes can take effect on a scheduled date. This flexibility can support different public-use policies; a small operator with one space and a flat rate may have little need for it. Bookings produce branded PDF or Excel invoices based on booked hours, with options to record external payments, void invoices and resend them.

Key features

Reporting covers utilization, underused hours, availability, revenue by group and facility, forecasts, audit history and row-level exports. Those views give administrators ways to examine demand, revenue and facility use. Users can add a booking or a recurring series to Google Calendar, which helps carry scheduled rentals into their existing calendars.

Online card and ACH payments and payouts through Stripe Connect are included in the renter-funded plan. Monthly subscribers can add them for an additional cost. The pricing page also includes role-based access control, audit logs, daily automated backups, self-service restore and CSV/JSON data export. Customers retain ownership of their data and receive a final snapshot on cancellation; backups remain for 90 days before deletion.

Metro-Tec is installable as a progressive web app on iOS, Android and desktop. One operational boundary matters: setup, custodial and maintenance work generated by rentals remains in the customer's existing maintenance system. Deeper work-order integration is on the roadmap, so organizations seeking one system for both rentals and maintenance should look elsewhere for now.

Pricing

Every plan starts with a 30-day guided trial, including a kickoff configuration session, and requires no credit card. All plans include standard email support. The free Renters pay plan has no monthly software fee, unlimited admin and staff users, and custom capacity; renters pay a 4% Metro-Tec service fee plus payment processing at cost on paid bookings. It includes the full platform, but the transaction charges make it less attractive when the organization would rather absorb fees itself.

Tier 1 costs $129 a month billed annually, with monthly billing available. It covers one facility, up to 10 user groups and 500 allocations per month, with unlimited admin and staff users. Tier 2 costs $199 a month billed annually, also with monthly billing available; it raises the limits to three facilities, 30 user groups and 2,000 allocations per month, while keeping unlimited admin and staff users. These tiers suit smaller operators whose facility count and monthly volume fit their caps.

Tier 3 costs $299 a month billed annually, with monthly billing available. It includes up to 20 facilities, 100 user groups and 8,000 allocations per month, plus priority support and onboarding assistance. Tier 4 costs $699 a month billed annually, with monthly billing available, and removes the facility, group and allocation limits; onboarding is included. Tier 3 and 4 are the options for larger operations, with the latter aimed at organizations that would exceed Tier 3's caps. Monthly billing is available on the paid tiers, but the stated prices are annual-billing rates.

Platforms

Metro-Tec supports Android, iOS and web access through an installable progressive web app. That offers mobile and desktop access without a separate platform-specific app requirement.

Who it's for

Metro-Tec is a strong fit for public organizations that need controlled access to school, city or community facilities, with distinct rates, compliance checks and approval steps. Its reporting and capacity-based tiers also suit operators tracking use across multiple facilities. It is a weaker fit for a single-space venue with simple pricing, or for teams that need rental-generated work orders handled within the same system.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Public availability checks and request approvals create a defined route from renter inquiry to staff decision.
• Pros: Facility-, time- and group-specific rates, with scheduled changes, can accommodate complex policies.
• Pros: Reports span utilization, revenue, forecasts and audit history, with row-level exports for further analysis.
• Pros: The no-monthly-fee plan includes the full platform and unlimited admin and staff users.
• Cons: Paid bookings on the renter-funded plan incur a 4% service fee plus payment processing at cost.
• Cons: Monthly subscribers must add Stripe Connect payments if they want online card and ACH payments and payouts.
• Cons: Rental-generated setup, custodial and maintenance work remains in another system.
• Cons: Paid tiers cap facilities, user groups and monthly allocations until Tier 4, which costs $699 a month billed annually.

Alternatives

For a self-hosted option, Velsa has a free Community Edition with the full product and community support but no SLA; its Starter plan is $199 a month. Joinways may suit a venue focused on inquiries: its free plan has no time limit but caps use at one venue, two spaces and 10 inquiries per month, with excess inquiries locked and no proposals or e-.

VenueArc offers a free Starter plan for one facility with core booking and calendar, event scheduling, basic reporting and email support; choose it if those basics are enough. VenueSprocket has a free plan capped at 10 leads per month, with an inquiry form, lead dashboard, event calendar, customer records and email notifications. GridX Events is another freemium web option with a free Venue Base Plan covering leads, customers, an enquiry widget, quotations, packages, menus, bookings with payment schedules, and an availability calendar with blackout dates.

EventPro uses custom pricing based on modules, users, rooms, training and organizational requirements. Venuine is a paid Android, iOS and web option with pricing not published on the pages opened; it invites users to request a demo. Events500 is a paid API and web option.

Browse more options in Event Venue Management Software.

Verdict

Choose Metro-Tec if your organization coordinates public facility rentals and needs configurable rates, approval workflows, invoices and reporting. The renter-funded plan avoids a monthly software fee but adds a 4% service fee plus payment processing on paid bookings; monthly subscribers pay from $129 a month billed annually, with capacity limits that rise by tier. Look elsewhere if integrated maintenance work orders are essential or your rental operation is too simple to justify a specialized workflow.