Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2017 · 165 posts · 137 votes
Hi Folks,
I recently took my listings down from HomeAway because I was so frustrated at my inability to match the 'deposit' amounts shown on their excel export of revenue to the amount deposited to my bank account. In only about 40% of reservations was I able to make a match. I searched the web looking for someone else who ran into this problem, or who could decipher it. I didn't find much. Many of you are HomeAway/VRBO veterans. Wondering if anyone has figured this out?
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 142 posts · 79 votes
8y
Thought I would chime in on this also. We had the same frustrations. After much effort (and the use of the deposit emails) we were able to get it to match.
The bigger concern is that between ALL the ways in which they take a bite, their bite was about 20% of the rent. This was MUCH more than I had assumed (shame on me for assuming). This can really eat into your profits -- perceived or otherwise.
In our area we are about 50/50 between VRBO and Airbnb. Don't have a real choice to drop them. Each platform has its pros/cons
Rental Property Investor · St. Augustine, FL · Member since 2017 · 189 posts · 127 votes
8y
Karen,
We had so many issues we made an organizational decision to not list with them any more. Our markets are much more conducive for Air BnB. We had so many issues with correct payments, insurance fees, etc. They are really a second class company at this point.
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 565 posts · 391 votes
8y
The gap is usually due to a few % taken by their affiliate company for the credit card clearance. If you had to cash directly from the client you would also have payment fees from PayPal or any credit card clearance company.
They are quite reliable IMO (I.e. they do pay you what is due).
That said they have an awful user interface, very confusing and literally with wrong statements. As an example they add up the security deposit to the rent amount and the statement says they paid it to you, but the reality is that they hold it.
So yeah their spreadsheet is quite useless and you need to build your own.
Airbnb UI is better in many regards but they only pay you when the guest is in and keep the money between the reservation date and checkin date. Not VRBO.
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
8y
@Karen Chenaille I match the email I get from them to deposits. It shows the break down.
If I get a deposit and 2 reservations are due they combine them into one deposit. I keep notes of this in my rent roll spreadsheet and everything matches up perfectly.
I'm not sure how I did it with Airbnb but they substantially under perform Homeaway (Like 100 to 1) so it just trickles in with them. I love how I can export a date range from Homeaway to an excel file. Everything is so much more user friendly on Homeaway than Airbnb. If it weren't for the Airbnb account being free I would just give them the axe.
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2017 · 165 posts · 137 votes
8y
Hi John
That must be where I am messing up. I don’t keep the email. I was only using the spreadsheet which also breaks it down but there may be multiple lines per reservation if there was a deposit plus final payments.
It’s funny but I have had a great experience with Air BnB payout breakdown. Almost the exact inverse of what you are seeing.
I guess I better giddy up and try HomeAway again, but keep the emails.
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 142 posts · 79 votes
8y
Thought I would chime in on this also. We had the same frustrations. After much effort (and the use of the deposit emails) we were able to get it to match.
The bigger concern is that between ALL the ways in which they take a bite, their bite was about 20% of the rent. This was MUCH more than I had assumed (shame on me for assuming). This can really eat into your profits -- perceived or otherwise.
In our area we are about 50/50 between VRBO and Airbnb. Don't have a real choice to drop them. Each platform has its pros/cons
Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 779 votes
8y
When I excel export from the VRBO interface, or use the email, it appears to line up. Unfortunately if you just look at the data in their web interface, the CC processing or related fee is not reflected. We are struggling with vrbo/homeaway on a few levels.....and their business has dropped from 40% or so of my business down to 10% or so. The bulk of our revenue is Airbnb or direct contract now.
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2017 · 165 posts · 137 votes
8y
@Mark S. I pay HA by the drink. Their fees are really high when you also take into account the credit card processing fee. I am curious, does the 500 include CC processing or is that in addition?
Property Manager · Aurora, CO · Member since 2014 · 221 posts · 210 votes
8y
I find that if you record the Homeaway reservation ID for each booking (starts with "HA" and looks like "HA-SYT8J6" for example) it is easy to match the payment to the booking.
I use gmail and searching for payment amounts or HA ID quickly presents the deposit notice from "Homeaway Payments". The email notification is always dated a day or two before the deposit hits the bank. (I have "Advanced Payments" which means the funds are released to be deposited within a few days of the guest making the payment. If your account has "Check-in Payments" the funds are not dispersed to your bank until the next business day after the guest checks in.)