Loading...
Loading...
Category: Listing Optimization
By: Anika Sharma
Reply by Daniel Kowalski:
Cross-listing increased my total bookings by 25-30% with minimal additional effort. Here's the breakdown: **My booking distribution (8 properties, averaged):** - Airbnb: 60-65% - VRBO: 20-25% - Booking.com: 5-10% - Direct: 5-10% **Why VRBO specifically:** - Different guest demographic (families, older travelers, groups — less price-sensitive) - Higher average booking value (my VRBO bookings average $50-80 more per booking) - Less competition on VRBO (many hosts are Airbnb-only) - VRBO charges guest fees differently (included in your nightly rate, not as a separate service fee) - Some travelers ONLY search VRBO (anti-Airbnb sentiment is real) **Why Booking.com:** - Massive international traffic (European/Asian travelers use Booking.com first) - If you host in a tourist destination, international travelers may find you here first - Higher commission (15%) but access to a different audience **Preventing double bookings:** This is the #1 concern and it's 100% solvable: Option 1 (Free): **iCal sync** - Each platform exports an iCal calendar URL - Import each platform's calendar into the others - Sync frequency: every 4-6 hours (NOT instant — there's a delay) - Risk: in high-demand periods, a 4-6 hour lag CAN result in double bookings - Good enough for: 1-3 properties with moderate booking pace Option 2 (Recommended): **Channel manager** - Hospitable (https://hospitable.com) — $40/month — syncs calendars in real-time + unified messaging - Guesty — premium option for 5+ properties - OwnerRez — popular among VRBO-heavy hosts - These tools sync availability INSTANTLY across all platforms - Also unifies your messaging inbox **Additional work required:** - Creating a VRBO listing: 30-60 minutes (you can copy most of your Airbnb content) - Ongoing: checking one more inbox (or use Hospitable to unify) - Different pricing (VRBO lets you build fees into the nightly rate — recommended) - Different guest communication style (VRBO guests expect slightly more formal communication) **My recommendation:** 1. Start with Airbnb + VRBO (covers ~90% of the market) 2. Use Hospitable or similar for real-time calendar sync 3. Add Booking.com only if you're in a high-tourism area with international visitors 4. Build a direct booking website when you reach 3+ properties The incremental effort is minimal once you set up a channel manager. The incremental revenue (25-30%) is substantial. For more on multi-platform strategies, check https://strspecialist.com/blog.
Reply by Omar Hassan:
VRBO-specific tips from a host who gets 40% of bookings from VRBO: 1. **VRBO favors entire-home listings** — if you're renting a private room, stick to Airbnb. VRBO's audience wants entire homes. 2. **Price differently on VRBO** — VRBO doesn't show a separate service fee to guests. Build everything into your nightly rate. If your Airbnb rate is $150/night + $14 service fee, your VRBO rate should be ~$165/night all-in. 3. **VRBO hosts set the cancellation policy AND the platform fee structure.** You can either absorb VRBO's commission (5-8%) in your nightly rate or pass it to the guest. Absorbing it and pricing accordingly feels cleaner to guests. 4. **VRBO's search algorithm is MUCH simpler than Airbnb's.** It heavily weights: price, reviews, calendar availability, and response rate. That's basically it. 5. **VRBO guests tend to book further in advance** (30-60 days vs 7-14 for Airbnb) and for longer stays (5-7 nights vs 2-3 on Airbnb). This means fewer turnovers and more reliable forecasting. 6. **Review generation is harder on VRBO** (guests aren't prompted as aggressively). Actively request reviews from VRBO guests. The VRBO audience is genuinely different from Airbnb. By being on both, you're accessing two separate pools of travelers. Many VRBO users have never opened Airbnb, and vice versa.