Where Do You Rent Your Vacation Home

Question

Disclaimer*** I own a rental company.

I'm curious when you look into renting a vacation home in a beach or mountain town for whatever reason.

Are you more likely to look at small rental companies in the area or are you more likely to look for a vacation home with one of the big players like HomeAway, VRBO, Airbnb?

John Underwood · Answer

I have only used Homeway / VRBO as opposed to some local company to find  place to rent for a family vacation. It is easy to compare price and features. I am not looking for a bed and breakfast or renting a room at someones house.

After Using Homeaway and Airbnb to advertise my STR, I can tell that bargain shoppers are more on Airbnb so I would probably look their too since prices seem to be cheaper there. I get a much higher price and many more bookings on Homeaway on my STR. This is just my personal experience.

Myka Artis · Answer

Timesharing has actually boomed with the emergence of Airbnb & VRBO. People now post their timeshare units on those sites and get great returns. I have over 150+ units listed on Airbnb and they are always booked.

Nick Winikoff · Answer

@Myka Artis good to know. Timesharing is an interesting market, I wonder how it will change with this big push to vacation rentals and away from hotels.

Nick Winikoff · Answer

@Myka Artis : So out of curiosity you wouldn't even consider using a local company for wherever you were going?

John Underwood · Answer

@Nick Winikoff,

Using Homeaway allows me to easily self manage for a much lower costs than a PM.

They have a huge audience and conduct national advertising.

Plus I answer calls or respond to inquires after hours.

Homeaway is keeping my calendar full. I get a few Airbnb bookings per year if I discount my homeaway price.

I also personally have never used Airbnb to rent a place. It still has the stigma of a place to rent a room even though I know they have evolved into more.

Eric A. · Answer

@Nick Winikoff I think you are seeing a huge shift because of VRBO and now Air BnB. Ironically, the guy who started VRBO / HomeAway' business plan to venture capitalists was to buy vacation rental properties all over the world and then list them. He quickly realized it was crazy to buy them when you can just list them on the internet. The reason I'm telling you this is because I just don't see small management companies buying properties and then renting them out. You can just manage the property and put it on the various sites. There is a benefit in that for sure.

I have seen several management companies in my area decide to go this way. AirBNB provides a much better product to the end consumer because of their inherent vested interest. Just my opinion.

Best Regards,

Eric

Erin Spradlin · Answer

I think of Airbnb as more urban and for singles/couples, and VRBO being more appropriate for families or people wanting larger homes.

Personally, I'd stick to the bigger names because I know there is a well thought out system if and when there are issues. There's a record, insurance and a moderating voice that may just not be available with smaller rental companies.

Garry C. · Answer

To be clear, I don't believe that urban centers or anyone else are putting restrictions on 'AirBNB'. However, they are adding restrictions around Short Term Rentals (STR) in general. So, it doesn't matter if we list with AirBNB, VRBO, or a small local rental company, we will still be subject to the same restrictions.

Many times these restrictions are to prevent rentals of less than 30, 60, or 90 days. In these cases it's still possible to list a property as a Corporate or Traveling Nurse rental. More lucrative than a traditional rental, but probably not as good as an STR.

Nick Winikoff · Answer

@Myka Artis That is very interesting. I'm going to have to look into it for sure.

Myka Artis · Answer

@Nick Winikoff Not really because I also own a timeshare which gives me huge breaks whenever I want to vacation. Unless the company gave me something that I can't get through Airbnb, VRBO, or my timeshare then I probably wouldn't consider it.

Where Do You Rent Your Vacation Home

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