Best Booking Platform Outside Of Airbnb And VRBO?

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Best Booking Platform Outside Of Airbnb And VRBO?

Pablo Flores
Rental Property Investor · Palm Springs, CA · Member since 2016 · 138 posts · 38 votes

Hello,

     I am considering expanding to a third OTA. Potentially Google Vacation Rentals or Booking.com. Which do you all consider as the third best OTA? I think most people would agreer that Airbnb and VRBO are #1 and #2. I am currently getting about 65% of my bookings through Airbnb, 20% through VRBO and 15% through our website. I've refrained from expanding in the past because every OTA is so different and I have always been a believer in mastering a few OTA's instead of marketing on all of them and spreading myself too thin. But I don't think Airbnb has as much of a hold on the industry as years prior so I want to add another OTA to our mix. Would love to hear everyones thoughts! 

     FYI, I manage 31 homes and use Hostaway as a PMS. So integration with our system and visibility of fees on our PMS is very important.

Thanks

Pablo

Helios Vacation Rentals

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  • Calvin Baughman
    Member since 2023 · 78 posts · 37 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Pablo Flores:

    Hello,

         I am considering expanding to a third OTA. Potentially Google Vacation Rentals or Booking.com. Which do you all consider as the third best OTA? I think most people would agreer that Airbnb and VRBO are #1 and #2. I am currently getting about 65% of my bookings through Airbnb, 20% through VRBO and 15% through our website. I've refrained from expanding in the past because every OTA is so different and I have always been a believer in mastering a few OTA's instead of marketing on all of them and spreading myself too thin. But I don't think Airbnb has as much of a hold on the industry as years prior so I want to add another OTA to our mix. Would love to hear everyones thoughts! 

         FYI, I manage 31 homes and use Hostaway as a PMS. So integration with our system and visibility of fees on our PMS is very important.

    Thanks

    Pablo

    Helios Vacation Rentals


     I don't know if "best" is the right term, but I believe that Booking.com will bring you more guests.

    0Reply
  • Pablo Flores
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Palm Springs, CA · Member since 2016 · 138 posts · 38 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Calvin Baughman:
    Quote from @Pablo Flores:

    Hello,

         I am considering expanding to a third OTA. Potentially Google Vacation Rentals or Booking.com. Which do you all consider as the third best OTA? I think most people would agreer that Airbnb and VRBO are #1 and #2. I am currently getting about 65% of my bookings through Airbnb, 20% through VRBO and 15% through our website. I've refrained from expanding in the past because every OTA is so different and I have always been a believer in mastering a few OTA's instead of marketing on all of them and spreading myself too thin. But I don't think Airbnb has as much of a hold on the industry as years prior so I want to add another OTA to our mix. Would love to hear everyones thoughts! 

         FYI, I manage 31 homes and use Hostaway as a PMS. So integration with our system and visibility of fees on our PMS is very important.

    Thanks

    Pablo

    Helios Vacation Rentals


     I don't know if "best" is the right term, but I believe that Booking.com will bring you more guests.


     What is your experience with Booking.com vs the other main channels?

    0Reply
  • Sarah KensingerPro Member
    Real Estate Consultant · OH · Member since 2023 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2y

    Try to get on as many booking sites as possible. Yes, it's great to master the OTA your property is on, but if your listing is pulled for one reason or another, nobody is getting eyes on the property. 

    [email protected]330-557-3021
    0Reply
  • Kerry BairdPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Melbourne, FL · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    2y

    I have a sour taste from Booking when I just got started in STRs.  They arranged for a guest, which caused a double booking as the integration between OTAs wasn't there.  I canceled on the Booking guest, since the other was already in place.  Booking charged me several hundred dollars for the experience. 

    There are processes that can stop double bookings, and they work better between AirBnb and VRBO. 

    On that note, I also had a couple of recent double bookings due to some issue that VRBO caused with calendar integration.  They allowed me to cancel with no repercussion.

    0Reply
  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    2y

    We have 90 doors and are on both.  We get more from Booking.com, but why not both!?

    It also depends on your demographics - Booking.com a lot of Europeans use and we get a lot of them in FL.

    [email protected]813-563-0877
    Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Pablo Flores
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Palm Springs, CA · Member since 2016 · 138 posts · 38 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Andrew Steffens:

    We have 90 doors and are on both.  We get more from Booking.com, but why not both!?

    It also depends on your demographics - Booking.com a lot of Europeans use and we get a lot of them in FL.


     Have you had any issues with the OTA to PMS integration for Booking.com or Google Vacation Rentals?

    0Reply
  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Pablo Flores:
    Quote from @Andrew Steffens:

    We have 90 doors and are on both.  We get more from Booking.com, but why not both!?

    It also depends on your demographics - Booking.com a lot of Europeans use and we get a lot of them in FL.


     Have you had any issues with the OTA to PMS integration for Booking.com or Google Vacation Rentals?


     Not that I am aware of - I would have to ask our office manager who does it but she did not mention anything.  We have Streamline which is connected to BookingPal which pushes out to all of the other OTA's except Airbnb/VRBO which has a direct connection with Streamline.

    [email protected]813-563-0877
    Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Calvin Baughman
    Member since 2023 · 78 posts · 37 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Pablo Flores:
    Quote from @Calvin Baughman:
    Quote from @Pablo Flores:

    Hello,

         I am considering expanding to a third OTA. Potentially Google Vacation Rentals or Booking.com. Which do you all consider as the third best OTA? I think most people would agreer that Airbnb and VRBO are #1 and #2. I am currently getting about 65% of my bookings through Airbnb, 20% through VRBO and 15% through our website. I've refrained from expanding in the past because every OTA is so different and I have always been a believer in mastering a few OTA's instead of marketing on all of them and spreading myself too thin. But I don't think Airbnb has as much of a hold on the industry as years prior so I want to add another OTA to our mix. Would love to hear everyones thoughts! 

         FYI, I manage 31 homes and use Hostaway as a PMS. So integration with our system and visibility of fees on our PMS is very important.

    Thanks

    Pablo

    Helios Vacation Rentals


     I don't know if "best" is the right term, but I believe that Booking.com will bring you more guests.


     What is your experience with Booking.com vs the other main channels?


     I'm probably not the best person to talk about all the other main channels, as I currently only use Airbnb. However, in terms of my experience with Booking.com and TripAdvisor (which I tried but didn't like), Booking.com seems easier to use and has better search results. So, I had more guests searching for my properties on Booking.com than on TripAdvisor.

    0Reply
  • Alex F.
    Investor · Plymouth, MN · Member since 2020 · 157 posts · 102 votes
    2y

    @Pablo Flores - my vote is master an OTA then move to the next specialty if your PMS had a quick and easy way of publishing many OTAs

    The two main ones are definitely Airbnb and VRBO.

    But others can help get more bookings. In the orlando area we did have one month where all bookings came from booking.com.

    Other small ones are only strong in some markets such as whimStay for last minute bookings. And now we are trying Marriot Homes and Villas - also integrates with our PMS.

    0Reply
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