Posting my 1st STR. How to use multiple platforms?

Question

Im finishing up basic touch ups on a house to use as my first STR.

I know theres a program or app to use that will combine any listing platforms i use, to avoid overlap bookings.

I forgot the name of the app.

Also, I know AirBnB just changed their rules about basic house-hygiene, but they are also a top booking platform. So as much as i would like to avoid using AirBnB, i'm going to host with them.

What other platforms do you guys have success with?

Thank you for any and all info. Im so nervous and that's probably why i've delayed in getting this house ready to rent, quicker.

Lauren Kormylo · Answer

Vrbo is the other main platform that you should be on. Booking dot com is another one, but I'm not on that yet so can't help with it.

If you're not using a "channel manager" which syncs calendars for short term rentals and charges a monthly fee, then you'll want to connect the calendars yourself so they sync.

Open pages at the same time in both Airbnb and Vrbo and sign in to each, go to your listing's calendars on each platform. On Airbnb, on the right side click on Availability, then scroll down and you'll see Connect Calendars, follow the instructions. You'll be copying and pasting links from one site to the other. Then you'll want to do the same thing on Vrbo - go to your calendar, then settings, then click on Availability, then Connect Calendars, and do the copy and paste there as instructed.

One caveat, when you get a booking on Airbnb, your calendar on Vrbo does not always sync immediately and block the dates. Vrbo is a little behind the times with technology. Sometimes it can take 10 minutes or so, but that can leave you open to a double booking, especially if you have Instant Booking turned on. You do not want a double booking, both platforms have very expensive penalties for that. I try to immediately go to Vrbo and make sure the calendar dates are blocked, and if not, sync it manually so they are. If you're using a channel manager, you won't have to worry about that.

Nadia Daggett · Answer

Crystal, the calendar-sync advice above is solid — for one house, Airbnb + Vrbo with the calendars connected will carry you fine to start. The one thing I'd add from running multiple listings: sync can break quietly, and you won't get an alert when it does.

I audit mine a few times a year, listing by listing, both directions. On the last pass I found one house where the Vrbo calendar import into Airbnb had disappeared entirely — bookings were still flowing one way, nothing was flowing back, and the only reason it hadn't double-booked was luck. Ten minutes of checking per listing, a few times a year, is cheaper than one double booking.

And second the point about your cleaner seeing the real dates. More stays get messed up by a cleaner working off an old checkout date than by almost anything else. Congrats on the first one — the nerves are normal, and they fade after the first few guests.

Aleena Merilien · Answer

Crystal, the tool you're thinking of is a channel manager (some PMS products like Hospitable, Hostaway, and Guesty do this too). Whichever you pick, test it before your first guest: block a night, book a test stay if you can, and cancel one, then confirm every platform's calendar matched. Also set the same minimum stay, cleaning fee, and house rules on each site, since they don't carry over on their own. Since you're nervous, starting on Airbnb and Vrbo and adding more later is a perfect plan. Disclosure: I work with Guest Haus Company, which helps owners with listing setup, pricing, and guest communications if you ever want a second set of eyes.

John Racine · Answer

@Crystal Crow the calendar sync side is well covered above, so I'll add the one platform nobody here is on yet. I use Booking.com and it's been a great channel for me. That said, results on Booking.com can vary from market to market, so test it in yours before counting on it. Airbnb is still almost 90% of my bookings, so I agree with starting on Airbnb and adding sites once you've watched a few stays go through cleanly.

When you do add Booking.com, go through its cancellation and payment settings one by one during setup. They don't automatically match what you picked on Airbnb, and it's easy to end up with a looser policy on one site than the other.

Nerves are normal. Getting the first few guests through is what makes it click.

Daniel Jung · Answer

Congrats on getting the first one close to ready. Keep the launch simple.

Start with Airbnb and Vrbo only. Connect the calendars by hand using the iCal links for free. The catch is that free sync can lag, so a guest can book the same night on both sites. Until you have watched a few bookings sync cleanly, turn off Instant Book on the second site and leave a one-night gap between stays.

A channel manager is the tool you are thinking of. It keeps calendars and messages in one place and pushes changes to every site at once. For one house it is a nice-to-have, not a must-have. Try the manual route first. If double bookings or missed messages keep costing you time, that is when the monthly fee pays for itself.

Price the first few weeks a little below similar homes nearby to earn reviews fast.

Andrew Steffens · Answer

Congrats on your upcoming first STR! I am in the camp that I do not think that you need a whole bunch of tech to manage 1 listings. I did not have a lot of tools til I was around 10-15 listings. You can just list your property on Airbnb and VRBO and Booking.com if you want and sync the calendars. The only software I would recommend for self managing is pricing.

Stephany G. · Answer

The app you're thinking of is called a channel manager. Hospitable, OwnerRez and Guesty are a few common ones. For one house, connecting the calendars by hand (like explained above) works fine to start. Just know that free calendar syncing can lag by a few hours, so two people can book the same night on different sites. A simple fix is to turn off same-day bookings until you add a channel manager. One thing new hosts miss with two platforms: the fees are different. Airbnb now takes about 15.5% from the host, and Vrbo moved to 12% at the end of October. So a $200 night pays you about $169 on Airbnb and about $176 on Vrbo. Decide what you need to take home per night and set each site's price from that, not the same sticker price everywhere. And on the nerves: that's normal. Start with Airbnb + Vrbo, price your first few weeks a little below similar listings to get reviews fast, and add more sites later once you have a rhythm. Done is better than perfect here.

Tyler Sorenson · Answer

the thing you're thinking of is a channel manager / pms. lauren's ical walkthrough is solid for day one on airbnb + vrbo. free calendar sync works until one side lags (vrbo is usually the slow one) and you've already got a double book risk, especially with instant book on.

hospitable is a common lighter pick if you want real two-way sync instead of pasting calendar links. for one unit you don't need anything heavy. turn off instant book on the second channel until you've watched a few bookings sync, and leave a one night buffer on turnovers while you're learning.

platforms: airbnb + vrbo covers most short stays. when we started doing more 30+ night stays, furnished finder mattered more than booking.com in our mix. and yeah, make sure the cleaner sees the updated dates too. that part bites people as much as the calendar.

nerves are normal on the first one.

Matthew Tregoning · Answer

Crystal, I use Hospitable on the operations side too. Since the tech is the stressful part, I’d ask for a walkthrough using your actual listing: block a night, change an existing reservation and follow a cancellation through the calendars. Know where you check that everything matched. Then make sure the cleaner sees the updated dates too. That last connection matters just as much as getting the booking.

Chris Brown · Answer

Hi @Crystal Crow ,Congrats on your first STR. It is exciting and very nerve-racking to get started. I use Hospitable as my PMS. There are several others that do a great job to help you sync calendars to all the OTAs. The thing I best recommend a PMS is they help to simplify the process of using all the OTAs like Airbnb and VRBO and many others. I can make one change in my PMS and it will sync out to the OTAs I’m listed on. So in my opinion I would be scared to NOT have an PMS. Gives me nightmares of double bookings and missed messages. Lol. 😂 They help with automated communication to guests, direct bookings, pricing and more. So definitely worth the money. Hope that helps and wish you the best in your venture.

Posting my 1st STR. How to use multiple platforms?

Posting my 1st STR. How to use multiple platforms?

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