Is Booking.com a good platform to use for hosts?
Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes
Is Booking.com a good platform to use for hosts?
Most Popular Reply
Real Estate Agent · Smoky Mountains, TN · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 984 votes
3yI was on booking.com a few years ago and didn't book much through there. Then I started to hear horror stories such as yours and pulled my listings off the platform. I focus on VRBO/Expedia Group, Airbnb and direct bookings.
74 Replies
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3yI know right.. I've just snoozed my bookings on there... Going to see how my next guest will be good or bad and then I'll decide to unsnooze it or delete it all together.
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
man! all these " dont do it".... I think I should listen to my fellow investors lol.
You have to do what's right for you.
I just rather have the piece of mind that whichever platform I use, they have the Hosts's back and screen guests properly. - Rental Property Investor · Ocean Springs, MS · Member since 2022 · 349 posts · 301 votes3y
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I know right.. I've just snoozed my bookings on there... Going to see how my next guest will be good or bad and then I'll decide to unsnooze it or delete it all together.Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
man! all these " dont do it".... I think I should listen to my fellow investors lol.
You have to do what's right for you.
I just rather have the piece of mind that whichever platform I use, they have the Hosts's back and screen guests properly.If that's the case let me know when you find that platform, because it's not AirBnB. I have yet to need VRBO to step up, so I can't comment.
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3y
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I know right.. I've just snoozed my bookings on there... Going to see how my next guest will be good or bad and then I'll decide to unsnooze it or delete it all together.Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
man! all these " dont do it".... I think I should listen to my fellow investors lol.
You have to do what's right for you.
I just rather have the piece of mind that whichever platform I use, they have the Hosts's back and screen guests properly.If that's the case let me know when you find that platform, because it's not AirBnB. I have yet to need VRBO to step up, so I can't comment.
Will do! and same with you. I have been on VRBO since I started STR and currently hosting my first guest from them. So far, the guest has been very respectful when we communicate. Hoping to get more from VRBO but don't know why I'm not getting anything...
- Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2023 · 163 posts · 95 votes3y
Booking.com as a brand doesn't focus on traditional Airbnb/VRBO so I would say no.
- Rental Property Investor · Ocean Springs, MS · Member since 2022 · 349 posts · 301 votes3y
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I know right.. I've just snoozed my bookings on there... Going to see how my next guest will be good or bad and then I'll decide to unsnooze it or delete it all together.Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
man! all these " dont do it".... I think I should listen to my fellow investors lol.
You have to do what's right for you.
I just rather have the piece of mind that whichever platform I use, they have the Hosts's back and screen guests properly.If that's the case let me know when you find that platform, because it's not AirBnB. I have yet to need VRBO to step up, so I can't comment.
Will do! and same with you. I have been on VRBO since I started STR and currently hosting my first guest from them. So far, the guest has been very respectful when we communicate. Hoping to get more from VRBO but don't know why I'm not getting anything...
I get most of my guests through AirBnB, I think it's just the most popular STR platform. Of my 25 total reservations (not including cancellations) 2 are from VRBO, 4 are from Booking.com, and the other 19 are from AirBnB.
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3yDo you only use AirBnB/VRBO?
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Booking.com as a brand doesn't focus on traditional Airbnb/VRBO so I would say no.
- Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2023 · 163 posts · 95 votes3y
Yes.
VRBO has its own Expanded Distribution Network which includes Expedia Distribution brands, such as:
- Travelocity
- CheapTickets
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Trivago
- KAYAK
- Other affiliates that specialize in vacation rentals.
I get < 10% of bookings from VRBO in my markets so this is my experience.
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3y
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Yes.
VRBO has its own Expanded Distribution Network which includes Expedia Distribution brands, such as:
- Travelocity
- CheapTickets
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Trivago
- KAYAK
- Other affiliates that specialize in vacation rentals.
I get < 10% of bookings from VRBO in my markets so this is my experience.
That's so weird that VRBO has its own network and yet we get only a small percentage of bookings from them... Thanks for that info Frank.
- Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2023 · 163 posts · 95 votes3y
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Yes.
VRBO has its own Expanded Distribution Network which includes Expedia Distribution brands, such as:
- Travelocity
- CheapTickets
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Trivago
- KAYAK
- Other affiliates that specialize in vacation rentals.
I get < 10% of bookings from VRBO in my markets so this is my experience.
That's so weird that VRBO has its own network and yet we get only a small percentage of bookings from them... Thanks for that info Frank.
Airbnb brand is strong 💪
- Rental Property Investor · Ocean Springs, MS · Member since 2022 · 349 posts · 301 votes3y
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Yes.
VRBO has its own Expanded Distribution Network which includes Expedia Distribution brands, such as:
- Travelocity
- CheapTickets
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Trivago
- KAYAK
- Other affiliates that specialize in vacation rentals.
I get < 10% of bookings from VRBO in my markets so this is my experience.
That's so weird that VRBO has its own network and yet we get only a small percentage of bookings from them... Thanks for that info Frank.
Airbnb brand is strong 💪
Correction, AirBnB marketing is strong.
- Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2023 · 163 posts · 95 votes3yThey don’t spend money though 🤓
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Yes.
VRBO has its own Expanded Distribution Network which includes Expedia Distribution brands, such as:
- Travelocity
- CheapTickets
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Trivago
- KAYAK
- Other affiliates that specialize in vacation rentals.
I get < 10% of bookings from VRBO in my markets so this is my experience.
That's so weird that VRBO has its own network and yet we get only a small percentage of bookings from them... Thanks for that info Frank.
Airbnb brand is strong 💪
Correction, AirBnB marketing is strong.
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3y
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
They don’t spend money though 🤓Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Yes.
VRBO has its own Expanded Distribution Network which includes Expedia Distribution brands, such as:
- Travelocity
- CheapTickets
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Trivago
- KAYAK
- Other affiliates that specialize in vacation rentals.
I get < 10% of bookings from VRBO in my markets so this is my experience.
That's so weird that VRBO has its own network and yet we get only a small percentage of bookings from them... Thanks for that info Frank.
Airbnb brand is strong 💪
Correction, AirBnB marketing is strong.
I agree. I have no future reservations on my books right now :(
I put my VRBO rates are slightly lower than AirBnb to try to get intrigue more guests from them but I guess that doesn't work lol. So my 1st booking.com guest left my home in a mess, smoked in the property and left an iron mark on my rug. Making my first claim now. Let's see how this goes. This can be my deal breaker to decide if I'm going to keep my listing on there.
- Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2023 · 163 posts · 95 votes3y
I'm sorry to read this. Wishing you well in this endeavor!
- 3yRyan MoyerBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 991 posts · 1k+ votes
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I'm going to hang in there for a few more weeks and see what happens. I just received my 2nd booking on booking.com yesterday for a one nighter (2 adults, 4 kids)....hopefully they'll be ok. Since Booking.com now has an option to discount rates depending on how many guests stay...I realized that's what happened with my first guest (that left my door wide open after checking out)! They only listed 2 guests to get the cheaper rate. So I've opted out of that option now and even raised my prices $10 more a night compared to my AirBnb rates. I'm hoping this will help filter out the bad ghetto guests.Quote from @Joel Case:
I have been online with my STR for seven months and have had 2 or 3 bookings come from Booking.com. The guests seem to expect a hotel like experience as far as communication goes, but the guests I have had have been great from Booking.com. My crappy guests (but also the majority of my revenue) have all come from AirBnB.
I have also learned through experience not to be the bargain option among comparable homes. Now I regularly review my prices among my 3-4 direct competitors and adjust my prices to ensure that I am not the lowest priced option whenever I can prevent it. But I also make sure that my property has the most amenities as well, so it's not targeted at the budget shoppers.
I use Hospitable for a channel manager and it supports AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com so I have listed on all three. It also allows you to set a percentage differential for pricing between platforms.
Were you able to get the booking.com messaging working on Hospitable? I went through the setup process meticulously like 5 times, and it says everything is fine, support thinks everything is fine, but I don't get any booking.com messages in Hospitable, nor do the automated messages get sent out.
It seems like quite the hack/workaround they have set up with booking.com so I'm wondering if it really works reliably at all.
Cosmic Vacations4.9174 Reviews - Property Manager · Wisconsin and Florida · Member since 2017 · 346 posts · 227 votes3y
Terrible! We had two fraudulent bookings back to back and got no support. We stopped using them
- 3yMichael BaumPro MemberOlympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votesIn 2021, AirBNB spend just over 1.1b dollar on marketing. That is the most recent data I could find. So saying they don't spend money on marketing is pretty waaaay off.
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
They don’t spend money though 🤓Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Yes.
VRBO has its own Expanded Distribution Network which includes Expedia Distribution brands, such as:
- Travelocity
- CheapTickets
- Orbitz
- Expedia
- Trivago
- KAYAK
- Other affiliates that specialize in vacation rentals.
I get < 10% of bookings from VRBO in my markets so this is my experience.
That's so weird that VRBO has its own network and yet we get only a small percentage of bookings from them... Thanks for that info Frank.
Airbnb brand is strong 💪
Correction, AirBnB marketing is strong.
- Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2023 · 163 posts · 95 votes3y
Thanks, Michael.
It's closer to $1.5bn but who's counting? - Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3yThanks I'll need it! I'll post about the outcome of this claim also.
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
I'm sorry to read this. Wishing you well in this endeavor!
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3yHow recent did this happen? How was it fraudulent? Any details would help us understand how booking.com works with claims...
Quote from @Wendy Schultz:
Terrible! We had two fraudulent bookings back to back and got no support. We stopped using them
- Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2023 · 163 posts · 95 votes3y
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Thanks I'll need it! I'll post about the outcome of this claim also.Quote from @Frank Barletta:
I'm sorry to read this. Wishing you well in this endeavor!
Just take a ton of pictures and accurately file the claim with quotes and invoices. I did an AirCoverage claim and got it all covered. Was $4K in damages.
It SUCKED but it was fine. - Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3yNo I haven't tried Hospitable yet.... or any third party to help yet because I'm not profiting enough. I only have one STR listing so I can manage it myself. I was thinking about using Guesty For Host, if I were to use a third party. That's what Robuilt uses for his. Check it out Ryan.
Quote from @Ryan Moyer:
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I'm going to hang in there for a few more weeks and see what happens. I just received my 2nd booking on booking.com yesterday for a one nighter (2 adults, 4 kids)....hopefully they'll be ok. Since Booking.com now has an option to discount rates depending on how many guests stay...I realized that's what happened with my first guest (that left my door wide open after checking out)! They only listed 2 guests to get the cheaper rate. So I've opted out of that option now and even raised my prices $10 more a night compared to my AirBnb rates. I'm hoping this will help filter out the bad ghetto guests.Quote from @Joel Case:
I have been online with my STR for seven months and have had 2 or 3 bookings come from Booking.com. The guests seem to expect a hotel like experience as far as communication goes, but the guests I have had have been great from Booking.com. My crappy guests (but also the majority of my revenue) have all come from AirBnB.
I have also learned through experience not to be the bargain option among comparable homes. Now I regularly review my prices among my 3-4 direct competitors and adjust my prices to ensure that I am not the lowest priced option whenever I can prevent it. But I also make sure that my property has the most amenities as well, so it's not targeted at the budget shoppers.
I use Hospitable for a channel manager and it supports AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com so I have listed on all three. It also allows you to set a percentage differential for pricing between platforms.
Were you able to get the booking.com messaging working on Hospitable? I went through the setup process meticulously like 5 times, and it says everything is fine, support thinks everything is fine, but I don't get any booking.com messages in Hospitable, nor do the automated messages get sent out.
It seems like quite the hack/workaround they have set up with booking.com so I'm wondering if it really works reliably at all.
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3yWow that's crazy! Congrats on getting your money back! I sent pictures of the mess my cleaner sent (ashes, cigar wrappings for their blunts, piss left in the toilet, kitchen sink mess, iron burnt mark on my rug), told them they had more guests and left my front door wide open after checking out......But I'm only claiming the damaged rug because nothing else was really "damaged" . I'm just trying to get a feel how they deal with problems. Will update the results after.
Quote from @Frank Barletta:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
Thanks I'll need it! I'll post about the outcome of this claim also.Quote from @Frank Barletta:
I'm sorry to read this. Wishing you well in this endeavor!
Just take a ton of pictures and accurately file the claim with quotes and invoices. I did an AirCoverage claim and got it all covered. Was $4K in damages.
It SUCKED but it was fine. - Rental Property Investor · Ocean Springs, MS · Member since 2022 · 349 posts · 301 votes3y
Quote from @Julie Chai:
No I haven't tried Hospitable yet.... or any third party to help yet because I'm not profiting enough. I only have one STR listing so I can manage it myself. I was thinking about using Guesty For Host, if I were to use a third party. That's what Robuilt uses for his. Check it out Ryan.Quote from @Ryan Moyer:
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I'm going to hang in there for a few more weeks and see what happens. I just received my 2nd booking on booking.com yesterday for a one nighter (2 adults, 4 kids)....hopefully they'll be ok. Since Booking.com now has an option to discount rates depending on how many guests stay...I realized that's what happened with my first guest (that left my door wide open after checking out)! They only listed 2 guests to get the cheaper rate. So I've opted out of that option now and even raised my prices $10 more a night compared to my AirBnb rates. I'm hoping this will help filter out the bad ghetto guests.Quote from @Joel Case:
I have been online with my STR for seven months and have had 2 or 3 bookings come from Booking.com. The guests seem to expect a hotel like experience as far as communication goes, but the guests I have had have been great from Booking.com. My crappy guests (but also the majority of my revenue) have all come from AirBnB.
I have also learned through experience not to be the bargain option among comparable homes. Now I regularly review my prices among my 3-4 direct competitors and adjust my prices to ensure that I am not the lowest priced option whenever I can prevent it. But I also make sure that my property has the most amenities as well, so it's not targeted at the budget shoppers.
I use Hospitable for a channel manager and it supports AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com so I have listed on all three. It also allows you to set a percentage differential for pricing between platforms.
Were you able to get the booking.com messaging working on Hospitable? I went through the setup process meticulously like 5 times, and it says everything is fine, support thinks everything is fine, but I don't get any booking.com messages in Hospitable, nor do the automated messages get sent out.
It seems like quite the hack/workaround they have set up with booking.com so I'm wondering if it really works reliably at all.
Hospitable saves me $25 a month in time, so it essentially pays for itself. Same for Pricelabs. These are the only two things I pay for. I self manage, work a full-time w2, and only have one property.
Quote from @Ryan Moyer:
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I'm going to hang in there for a few more weeks and see what happens. I just received my 2nd booking on booking.com yesterday for a one nighter (2 adults, 4 kids)....hopefully they'll be ok. Since Booking.com now has an option to discount rates depending on how many guests stay...I realized that's what happened with my first guest (that left my door wide open after checking out)! They only listed 2 guests to get the cheaper rate. So I've opted out of that option now and even raised my prices $10 more a night compared to my AirBnb rates. I'm hoping this will help filter out the bad ghetto guests.Quote from @Joel Case:
I have been online with my STR for seven months and have had 2 or 3 bookings come from Booking.com. The guests seem to expect a hotel like experience as far as communication goes, but the guests I have had have been great from Booking.com. My crappy guests (but also the majority of my revenue) have all come from AirBnB.
I have also learned through experience not to be the bargain option among comparable homes. Now I regularly review my prices among my 3-4 direct competitors and adjust my prices to ensure that I am not the lowest priced option whenever I can prevent it. But I also make sure that my property has the most amenities as well, so it's not targeted at the budget shoppers.
I use Hospitable for a channel manager and it supports AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com so I have listed on all three. It also allows you to set a percentage differential for pricing between platforms.
Were you able to get the booking.com messaging working on Hospitable? I went through the setup process meticulously like 5 times, and it says everything is fine, support thinks everything is fine, but I don't get any booking.com messages in Hospitable, nor do the automated messages get sent out.
It seems like quite the hack/workaround they have set up with booking.com so I'm wondering if it really works reliably at all.
I believe Booking.com messaging works in Hospitable for me, yes. The actual Booking.com site is crap and I have had issues with it, but the integration with Hospitable has not caused me any issue yet.
- Investor · La Palma, CA · Member since 2021 · 71 posts · 19 votes3y
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
No I haven't tried Hospitable yet.... or any third party to help yet because I'm not profiting enough. I only have one STR listing so I can manage it myself. I was thinking about using Guesty For Host, if I were to use a third party. That's what Robuilt uses for his. Check it out Ryan.Quote from @Ryan Moyer:
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I'm going to hang in there for a few more weeks and see what happens. I just received my 2nd booking on booking.com yesterday for a one nighter (2 adults, 4 kids)....hopefully they'll be ok. Since Booking.com now has an option to discount rates depending on how many guests stay...I realized that's what happened with my first guest (that left my door wide open after checking out)! They only listed 2 guests to get the cheaper rate. So I've opted out of that option now and even raised my prices $10 more a night compared to my AirBnb rates. I'm hoping this will help filter out the bad ghetto guests.Quote from @Joel Case:
I have been online with my STR for seven months and have had 2 or 3 bookings come from Booking.com. The guests seem to expect a hotel like experience as far as communication goes, but the guests I have had have been great from Booking.com. My crappy guests (but also the majority of my revenue) have all come from AirBnB.
I have also learned through experience not to be the bargain option among comparable homes. Now I regularly review my prices among my 3-4 direct competitors and adjust my prices to ensure that I am not the lowest priced option whenever I can prevent it. But I also make sure that my property has the most amenities as well, so it's not targeted at the budget shoppers.
I use Hospitable for a channel manager and it supports AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com so I have listed on all three. It also allows you to set a percentage differential for pricing between platforms.
Were you able to get the booking.com messaging working on Hospitable? I went through the setup process meticulously like 5 times, and it says everything is fine, support thinks everything is fine, but I don't get any booking.com messages in Hospitable, nor do the automated messages get sent out.
It seems like quite the hack/workaround they have set up with booking.com so I'm wondering if it really works reliably at all.
Hospitable saves me $25 a month in time, so it essentially pays for itself. Same for Pricelabs. These are the only two things I pay for. I self manage, work a full-time w2, and only have one property.
Quote from @Ryan Moyer:
Quote from @Joel Case:
Quote from @Julie Chai:
I'm going to hang in there for a few more weeks and see what happens. I just received my 2nd booking on booking.com yesterday for a one nighter (2 adults, 4 kids)....hopefully they'll be ok. Since Booking.com now has an option to discount rates depending on how many guests stay...I realized that's what happened with my first guest (that left my door wide open after checking out)! They only listed 2 guests to get the cheaper rate. So I've opted out of that option now and even raised my prices $10 more a night compared to my AirBnb rates. I'm hoping this will help filter out the bad ghetto guests.Quote from @Joel Case:
I have been online with my STR for seven months and have had 2 or 3 bookings come from Booking.com. The guests seem to expect a hotel like experience as far as communication goes, but the guests I have had have been great from Booking.com. My crappy guests (but also the majority of my revenue) have all come from AirBnB.
I have also learned through experience not to be the bargain option among comparable homes. Now I regularly review my prices among my 3-4 direct competitors and adjust my prices to ensure that I am not the lowest priced option whenever I can prevent it. But I also make sure that my property has the most amenities as well, so it's not targeted at the budget shoppers.
I use Hospitable for a channel manager and it supports AirBnB, VRBO, and Booking.com so I have listed on all three. It also allows you to set a percentage differential for pricing between platforms.
Were you able to get the booking.com messaging working on Hospitable? I went through the setup process meticulously like 5 times, and it says everything is fine, support thinks everything is fine, but I don't get any booking.com messages in Hospitable, nor do the automated messages get sent out.
It seems like quite the hack/workaround they have set up with booking.com so I'm wondering if it really works reliably at all.
I believe Booking.com messaging works in Hospitable for me, yes. The actual Booking.com site is crap and I have had issues with it, but the integration with Hospitable has not caused me any issue yet.
I'm not willing to pay $25 just yet. I pay for pricelabs too. I just copy and paste the rate from there and mark up $10 per night now. But like I said, I snoozed my booking.com for now. Hopefully I'll get something from Airbnb next. I like their platform the best so far.
- Property Manager · Wisconsin and Florida · Member since 2017 · 346 posts · 227 votes3y
Quote from @Julie Chai:
How recent did this happen? How was it fraudulent? Any details would help us understand how booking.com works with claims...Quote from @Wendy Schultz:
Terrible! We had two fraudulent bookings back to back and got no support. We stopped using them
This was several years ago now. TThey would only give me back the commission they charged. Here's the red flags that we had missed when we were still fairly green:This was several years ago now. TThey would only give me back the commission they charged. Here's the red flags that we had missed when we were still fairly green:
1) Credit card declined so they gave us a different card from their "sister"
2) Booked last minute
3) Locals
4) We had even asked for an ID so they sent a fake passport but the name was spelled slightly off
They had parties at the property and destroyed some things. Then when the real owner of the credit card number found the charge, they did a charge back. We had some decent guests too but not enough to risk it.
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