STR Maximize Bookings

[Katie McCartney]

Hi, all! I have survived my first year as a STR host. I have been using exclusively VRBO to gain guests. I was wondering if you find it is worth the time to expand out to another listing sites like Flipkey? It is the "slow" season for my vacation rental so I was wondering if the bother of syncing calendars is worth the effort?

Thanks for your wisdom!

[Ken Boone]

IMO you should be on both VRBO and AirBnb ( I say this cringing as I am not a fan of AirBnb).  You are missing out on guests by not using both platforms.  They have some overlap but each platform seems to have its own demographics.  I am about 70/30 VRBO.  But AirBnb guests seem to fill in the gaps, as well as take up more of the last minute bookings.  On those rare occasions that I have  problem guests, it seems they always come from AirBnb as well.  

[Andrew Steffens]

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Hi, all! I have survived my first year as a STR host. I have been using exclusively VRBO to gain guests. I was wondering if you find it is worth the time to expand out to another listing sites like Flipkey? It is the "slow" season for my vacation rental so I was wondering if the bother of syncing calendars is worth the effort?

Thanks for your wisdom!

 I agree with Ken - I am not fan of airbnb as a company but they have the largest market share and if you are not there as will you are doing yourself a disservice.  We are also on a variety of other sites (Marriott/Jetblue/Allegiant) that only work with larger PM companies, but I believe you can get on Booking.com as a property owner.  They also help filling in the gaps.  I hope that helps!

[Kenneth Garrett]

@Katie McCartney

My first year I exclusively used VRBO.  Second year I added Airbnb.  The first Airbnb guest decided to have a family reunion of 20 plus people.  I prefer VRBO, but anything can happen on either platform.  Adding Airbnb will help you get more bookings, most likely.  

[John Underwood]

Quote from @Ken Boone:

IMO you should be on both VRBO and AirBnb ( I say this cringing as I am not a fan of AirBnb).  You are missing out on guests by not using both platforms.  They have some overlap but each platform seems to have its own demographics.  I am about 70/30 VRBO.  But AirBnb guests seem to fill in the gaps, as well as take up more of the last minute bookings.  On those rare occasions that I have  problem guests, it seems they always come from AirBnb as well.  

 My feelings exactly but if you pickup a couple extra bookings from airbnb then it's a good thing.

[Katie McCartney]

Thanks!  I'll take it under consideration.

[Brian Barch]

Quote from @Kenneth Garrett:

@Katie McCartney

My first year I exclusively used VRBO.  Second year I added Airbnb.  The first Airbnb guest decided to have a family reunion of 20 plus people.  I prefer VRBO, but anything can happen on either platform.  Adding Airbnb will help you get more bookings, most likely.  

@kennith Garrett

   what kind of boost did you see by adding Airbnb?

[Kenneth Garrett]

Quote from @Brian Barch:

Quote from @Kenneth Garrett:

@Katie McCartney

My first year I exclusively used VRBO.  Second year I added Airbnb.  The first Airbnb guest decided to have a family reunion of 20 plus people.  I prefer VRBO, but anything can happen on either platform.  Adding Airbnb will help you get more bookings, most likely.  

@kennith Garrett

   what kind of boost did you see by adding Airbnb?

 Added about 15% to bookings

[Leslie Anne Morris]

Definitely try Airbnb but learn the nuances fast!

[Paul Sandhu]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Craigs List.  Probably 20% of my bookings come from there.  

There is also direct marketing, but that is the subject of another post.

[Michael Efferson]

My STR's are about 70% AirBnb and 25% VRBO and 5% direct rentals. I'd definitely try more than just VRBO

[Gerald Pitts]

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Thanks!  I'll take it under consideration.

 Any reason you've avoided them up to now?  I mean it would seem like 100 reasons ha, but to me, none of them are good enough for me to avoid them altogether.  Or at least for starting out.  I have as many headache vrbo guests as airbnb.  Thankfully, they're in the minority on both platforms.  But i would definitely give it a shot.  You can always take it back down after a few mos. 

[Robert Tinker]

I'm on many platforms. We get 99% Airbnb 

[William Beck]

Vrbo/Airbnb gets you a majority of coverage. I've got Booking.com and have had 2 bookings come through that platform in the span of a year. It's obviously not the same marketplace for STR's as the other two heavyweights.

[Katie McCartney]

Quote from @Leslie Anne Morris:

Definitely try Airbnb but learn the nuances fast!

 What type of nuances?  

[Katie McCartney]

Quote from @Gerald Pitts:

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Thanks!  I'll take it under consideration.

 Any reason you've avoided them up to now?  I mean it would seem like 100 reasons ha, but to me, none of them are good enough for me to avoid them altogether.  Or at least for starting out.  I have as many headache vrbo guests as airbnb.  Thankfully, they're in the minority on both platforms.  But i would definitely give it a shot.  You can always take it back down after a few mos. 

 I wanted to "ease" into this environment.  I like to learn before I go.  I had some VRBO diehards that didn't like airbnbs persuade me not to do it for the first year.  They had a lot of headache from AirBnB guests and double booking.  Plus, I have to admit the VRBO has been lucrative for me.  I'm at the higher price point on VRBO and well, I'm not sure if AirBnB will track.  However, I am on AirBnB now so... I'll find out.  Another "scary" thing has been double booking; but, I have been managing that by going and and manually updating the listing on AirBnB and have not turned on instant book.  At some point I would like to add to the portfolio so I won't be ablet to manually "do" all this fiddling maneuvering myself. However, down the road concerns - right?

[Katie McCartney]

Quote from @Paul Sandhu:

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Craigs List.  Probably 20% of my bookings come from there.  

There is also direct marketing, but that is the subject of another post.

I'm not a big fan of Craigs List in general.  I had to deal a lot back in the day as a Real Estate Agent with fake posts that were rental scams.  I'm skeptical of Craigs List for me.  Happy it works for you.

[Joel Case]

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Quote from @Gerald Pitts:

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Thanks!  I'll take it under consideration.

 Any reason you've avoided them up to now?  I mean it would seem like 100 reasons ha, but to me, none of them are good enough for me to avoid them altogether.  Or at least for starting out.  I have as many headache vrbo guests as airbnb.  Thankfully, they're in the minority on both platforms.  But i would definitely give it a shot.  You can always take it back down after a few mos. 

 I wanted to "ease" into this environment.  I like to learn before I go.  I had some VRBO diehards that didn't like airbnbs persuade me not to do it for the first year.  They had a lot of headache from AirBnB guests and double booking.  Plus, I have to admit the VRBO has been lucrative for me.  I'm at the higher price point on VRBO and well, I'm not sure if AirBnB will track.  However, I am on AirBnB now so... I'll find out.  Another "scary" thing has been double booking; but, I have been managing that by going and and manually updating the listing on AirBnB and have not turned on instant book.  At some point I would like to add to the portfolio so I won't be ablet to manually "do" all this fiddling maneuvering myself. However, down the road concerns - right?

You can definitely do it manually. I use a channel manager which involves a fee, but you could import your calendar once you decide to go live on Airbnb. 

To export your Vrbo calendar into Airbnb:

1. Go to your Vrbo account and select the listing you want
2. Click Calendars in the left navigation menu, then click Reservation
3. Click the Import/Export icon and click Export Calendar
4. In the Export calendar window, copy the link
5. Go to Listing and select the listing you want
6. Go to Pricing and availability > Calendar sync
7. Click Import calendar
8. Copy the link into the Calendar address field
9. Name the calendar (for example, Vrbo)
10. Click Import calendar

[Katie McCartney]

Quote from @Joel Case:

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Quote from @Gerald Pitts:

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Thanks!  I'll take it under consideration.

 Any reason you've avoided them up to now?  I mean it would seem like 100 reasons ha, but to me, none of them are good enough for me to avoid them altogether.  Or at least for starting out.  I have as many headache vrbo guests as airbnb.  Thankfully, they're in the minority on both platforms.  But i would definitely give it a shot.  You can always take it back down after a few mos. 

 I wanted to "ease" into this environment.  I like to learn before I go.  I had some VRBO diehards that didn't like airbnbs persuade me not to do it for the first year.  They had a lot of headache from AirBnB guests and double booking.  Plus, I have to admit the VRBO has been lucrative for me.  I'm at the higher price point on VRBO and well, I'm not sure if AirBnB will track.  However, I am on AirBnB now so... I'll find out.  Another "scary" thing has been double booking; but, I have been managing that by going and and manually updating the listing on AirBnB and have not turned on instant book.  At some point I would like to add to the portfolio so I won't be ablet to manually "do" all this fiddling maneuvering myself. However, down the road concerns - right?

You can definitely do it manually. I use a channel manager which involves a fee, but you could import your calendar once you decide to go live on Airbnb. 

To export your Vrbo calendar into Airbnb:

1. Go to your Vrbo account and select the listing you want
2. Click Calendars in the left navigation menu, then click Reservation
3. Click the Import/Export icon and click Export Calendar
4. In the Export calendar window, copy the link
5. Go to Listing and select the listing you want
6. Go to Pricing and availability > Calendar sync
7. Click Import calendar
8. Copy the link into the Calendar address field
9. Name the calendar (for example, Vrbo)
10. Click Import calendar

 Thanks.

[Trent Reeve]

Quote from @Paul Sandhu:

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Craigs List.  Probably 20% of my bookings come from there.  

There is also direct marketing, but that is the subject of another post.

 probably because there is so much fraud on CL, not many people look there.

[Leslie Anne Morris]

Quote from @Katie McCartney:

Quote from @Leslie Anne Morris:

Definitely try Airbnb but learn the nuances fast!

 What type of nuances?  

It’s a different type of guest - more discerning. Airbnb is also very guest friendly, which can sometimes be aggravating for hosts. But to ensure this doesn’t affect your business focus on being guest friendly yourself and following airbnbs guidelines 

[John Mausteller]

I have only used Airbnb and been very pleased with it - but this forum post has made me decide to try out VRBO as well.  

[Bruce Woodruff]

Another VRBO fan, unpleasant ABNB experiences as a host. Don't like their overall attitude. Their guests tend to be more potentially problematic as well.

But if they can make you another 50% a month (or whatever) why not try it....?

[William Beck]

Vrbo is my top channel for bookings without a doubt. 

[Collin H.]

VRBO is actually putting you on a dozen or so of their own "channels."   We book through our own website and VRBO channels and each of our properties book around 300 nights per year - about where we want them.

[Matt Mertz]

For what it's worth, my place is listed on Airbnb and VRBO and they are almost exactly split 50/50 in the bookings between the two this year.  We have a big cabin that sleeps 16 in the Smokies.  I'm glad we're on both OTAs.