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User Stats

19
Posts
3
Votes
Edwin Buitrago
3
Votes |
19
Posts

Short term rental management sites

Edwin Buitrago
Posted

Hello BP community. I am launching my first STR and I was wandering what are the most common site for bookings besides Air b n b and what are their pros and cons.


On the other hand, I would like to hear some recommendations on sites to manage the different postings on different platforms, again I am a beginner with only one villa, so I would like to stay on the $20-$40 a month. 

User Stats

12,017
Posts
14,375
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John Underwood
Pro Member
#1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
  • Investor
  • Greer, SC
14,375
Votes |
12,017
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John Underwood
Pro Member
#1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
  • Investor
  • Greer, SC
Replied

Vrbo and Airbnb are the 2 biggest.

I get 95% of my bookings from Vrbo and very few from Airbnb.

  • John Underwood
  • User Stats

    215
    Posts
    182
    Votes
    Mike Grudzien
    Pro Member
    • Lender
    • Eugene, OR
    182
    Votes |
    215
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    Mike Grudzien
    Pro Member
    • Lender
    • Eugene, OR
    Replied

    John,
    I'm the flip-side: I get 95% Airbnb vs. VRBO.  10 years on both platforms.  Airbnb SuperHost and VRBO Premier Partner.

    The house is a 2 bed, 2 full bath, great room, 1400sqft. in Eugene OR.

    Curious: why the difference?  You have a 4-5 bedroom?

    Mike

  • Mike Grudzien
  • Hospitable logo
    Hospitable
    |
    Sponsored
    Sleep easy, host confidently. Manage your STRs while you sleep with innovative AI technology and an abundance of automation tools.

    User Stats

    781
    Posts
    859
    Votes
    Lauren Kormylo
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Phoenix, AZ
    859
    Votes |
    781
    Posts
    Lauren Kormylo
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Phoenix, AZ
    Replied

    I'm on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Houfy, which is like direct booking - no fee to the guest, and a small yearly fee to the host to list. You'll need your own credit card processor for that one too - Square and Stripe are integrated with the platform.

    User Stats

    20
    Posts
    15
    Votes
    Ryan Osborne
    • Property Manager
    • Tampa, FL
    15
    Votes |
    20
    Posts
    Ryan Osborne
    • Property Manager
    • Tampa, FL
    Replied

    Airbnb, VRBO, Direct, and Google Vacations

    User Stats

    7,588
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    6,095
    Votes
    Michael Baum
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Olympia, WA
    6,095
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    7,588
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    Michael Baum
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Olympia, WA
    Replied

    Like the others said, AirBNB and VRBO are the 2 top OTA's for STRs.

    I haven't heard how much others have brought in for others.

    User Stats

    21
    Posts
    8
    Votes
    Erwin Sham
    • Alhambra, CA
    8
    Votes |
    21
    Posts
    Erwin Sham
    • Alhambra, CA
    Replied
    Quote from @Edwin Buitrago:

    Hello BP community. I am launching my first STR and I was wandering what are the most common site for bookings besides Air b n b and what are their pros and cons.


    On the other hand, I would like to hear some recommendations on sites to manage the different postings on different platforms, again I am a beginner with only one villa, so I would like to stay on the $20-$40 a month. 


    Airbnb and VRBO for beginners. You should have noise monitoring aka minut and exterior cameras. Once you gained experience vetting guests you could try BDC but your prices need to higher than your Airbnb prices and you be very careful as the platform has tons of scammers looking to prey on unsuspecting newer hosts. If you don't have stripe setup than opt for payment processing by BDC. I would recommend listing on Peerspace first. Also most platform won't charge you to list. There are some platforms where you will need a channel manager those costs vary by who end up choosing.

    User Stats

    19
    Posts
    3
    Votes
    Edwin Buitrago
    3
    Votes |
    19
    Posts
    Edwin Buitrago
    Replied
    Quote from @John Underwood:

    Vrbo and Airbnb are the 2 biggest.

    I get 95% of my bookings from Vrbo and very few from Airbnb.


     Are you using any management Site like gesty to sync the different platforms? 

    User Stats

    19
    Posts
    3
    Votes
    Edwin Buitrago
    3
    Votes |
    19
    Posts
    Edwin Buitrago
    Replied
    Quote from @Michael Baum:

    Like the others said, AirBNB and VRBO are the 2 top OTA's for STRs.

    I haven't heard how much others have brought in for others.


    Are you using any management Site like gesty to sync the different platforms?

    User Stats

    12,017
    Posts
    14,375
    Votes
    John Underwood
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Investor
    • Greer, SC
    14,375
    Votes |
    12,017
    Posts
    John Underwood
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Investor
    • Greer, SC
    Replied
    Quote from @Edwin Buitrago:
    Quote from @John Underwood:

    Vrbo and Airbnb are the 2 biggest.

    I get 95% of my bookings from Vrbo and very few from Airbnb.


     Are you using any management Site like gesty to sync the different platforms? 


    No.

    Vrbo and Airbnb can sync the calendars with each other.

  • John Underwood
  • User Stats

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    Andrew Steffens
    Pro Member
    #3 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Tampa, FL
    1,523
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    1,976
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    Andrew Steffens
    Pro Member
    #3 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Tampa, FL
    Replied

    With just 1 house you definitely need to be on Airbnb and VRBO.  Different markets yield different results between the two.  I would collect guest data for 1 year (phone and email) and then have a direct booking site and a marketing campaign to previous guests to book direct.  I personally would also do booking.com but my experience has not been as negative as some others here.

    There are a lot of other platforms I use as a PM like Marriott Homes and Villas and JetBlue airlines but they only work with PM's with over 50 units.

  • Andrew Steffens
  • [email protected]
  • 813-563-0877
  • User Stats

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    Michael Baum
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Olympia, WA
    6,095
    Votes |
    7,588
    Posts
    Michael Baum
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Olympia, WA
    Replied

    Are you using any management Site like gesty to sync the different platforms?

    Nope, like @John Underwood said, you can sync with the built in tools.

    User Stats

    12,017
    Posts
    14,375
    Votes
    John Underwood
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Investor
    • Greer, SC
    14,375
    Votes |
    12,017
    Posts
    John Underwood
    Pro Member
    #1 Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions Contributor
    • Investor
    • Greer, SC
    Replied
    Quote from @Mike Grudzien:

    John,
    I'm the flip-side: I get 95% Airbnb vs. VRBO.  10 years on both platforms.  Airbnb SuperHost and VRBO Premier Partner.

    The house is a 2 bed, 2 full bath, great room, 1400sqft. in Eugene OR.

    Curious: why the difference?  You have a 4-5 bedroom?

    Mike

    This one is a 3 bedroom Lake House. Maybe because it's a true vacation rental.
  • John Underwood
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    User Stats

    19
    Posts
    3
    Votes
    Edwin Buitrago
    3
    Votes |
    19
    Posts
    Edwin Buitrago
    Replied
    Quote from @Michael Baum:

    Are you using any management Site like gesty to sync the different platforms?

    Nope, like @John Underwood said, you can sync with the built in tools.

     Thanks @John Underwood and @Michael Baum

    User Stats

    288
    Posts
    182
    Votes
    Garrett Brown
    Pro Member
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Houston, TX
    182
    Votes |
    288
    Posts
    Garrett Brown
    Pro Member
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Houston, TX
    Replied

    Welcome to the forums @Edwin Buitrago The big ones have been covered like AirBNB, VRBO, and even booking.com is pretty solid. I would check out Hospitable for property management software that does a lot at a reasonable price! Even with 1 property, it can help with many things in the STR world. Let us know if you have any more questions that come up!

    https://hospitable.com/biggerpockets-2/?utm_source=biggerpoc...

  • Garrett Brown
  • [email protected]
  • User Stats

    438
    Posts
    342
    Votes
    Trent Reeve
    • New to Real Estate
    • Atlanta
    342
    Votes |
    438
    Posts
    Trent Reeve
    • New to Real Estate
    • Atlanta
    Replied
    Quote from @Edwin Buitrago:
    Quote from @John Underwood:

    Vrbo and Airbnb are the 2 biggest.

    I get 95% of my bookings from Vrbo and very few from Airbnb.


     Are you using any management Site like gesty to sync the different platforms? 


     we have 3 properties. but the best benefits to me are the message templates and automatic messaging and door coding, along with being able to handle direct bookings. Im about 25% Airbnb, 25% Direct and 50% VRBO.