Alternative to Airbnb? Houfy?

[Jennifer2682]

Hey all, like many hosts, I've seen my bookings drop to pretty much nothing since the new release.    I'm now in total survival mode and am doing everything I can to keep the vacation rental that I've poured my heart and soul into alive.  Last night I came across "Houfy" which seems to be what Airbnb USED to be.  They pretty much provide the platform and leave everything else to the host and guest.  I was setting up my account to test it out and had a question... to which I got a speedy and accurate response without all the gushy platitudes!  (How about that?!?)  The interface is actually very similar to Airbnb and it was easy to get my listing on there. Houfy is small and doesn't really market itself except through word of mouth, but I think once it catches on it could be the next big thing.  At this point, it's pretty clear that we hosts have to band together to make something new work... Airbnb certainly isn't going to help us save our livelihoods.  Check Houfy out.  Curious to know your thoughts on it!    @Mark116  @Mike-And-Jane0 @Huma0 @Nancy1633 @Anonymous 

[Huma0]

@Jennifer2682 

Thanks for pointing this out. It's always good to have other options and those are limited here for home shares.

I signed up to Houfy in April 2020 and listed one of my rooms. However, I've not had a single enquiry or message since then, let alone a booking, so I'm really not sure how many guests are aware of it. During that two years and three months, the listing has only had 26 views, which is especially low considering it's one of the most competitively priced on there.

Also, there is something weird going on with the pricing. Many of the listings in London are showing up with crazy prices, e.g. £1,500 per night before fees for a one bedroom flat in Elephant & Castle. I suspect it is a glitch as most of the listings seem to have similarly ridiculous prices, or that the hosts don't want to get the bookings there? Mine is showing with a normal price.

I tried to import the calendar too, but it just showed all nights as available when they are not. So, for now I have snoozed it, as that room is the only one that is booked for a considerable time (long booking from a repeat guest). I might try with one of the other rooms, providing I can actually import the calendar, as I'm not keen on having to do this manually.

[Jennifer2682]

I think in the past, guests and hosts alike had no need to look at alternatives to Airbnb and VRBO and so Houfy has remained small and on the down-low.  But since this disastrous summer release (and probably before it as well), folks have been frustrated and are now actively searching for something better.  My prediction is that there will be a mass shift... either many independent hosts will end up out of the vacation rental business entirely OR they'll look for a site that more closely aligns with their needs and visions.  Guests are fed up with Airbnb and are looking for something better as well.  The more listings on the site, the more it grows, the more word spreads, and the more bookings we all receive.  A "rising tide lifts all boats" kind of scenario.  Versus the sinking ship we're all clinging to at present.

As for importing the calendar, that's exactly what I had contacted them about!  They got back to me in a timely fashion with a response that worked and was easy to implement.  You have to go into your Airbnb Listing, Pricing and Availability, Calendar Sync, Export Calendar.  You'll then have a link that you copy and paste into Houfy's Calendar import.  Once I had these directions, I was able to sync my calendar, no problem!  As for pricing, I'm not sure what's going on with that.  All of my pricing and other information is showing up correctly.  

To me, it's very clear that Airbnb has kicked us small, independent hosts with "normal" spaces to the curb.  It is time for a change and if this thing builds, I think it could be just what we're all looking for.  

[Huma0]

@Jennifer2682 

Thanks for passing on the advice RE the calendar. It's good to know that their CS was responsive to your question too.

I might give it a go with my other listings but, for the time being, I don't hold up much hope. Of course, there is a possibility that Houfy will take off, so as long as the calendars are synced, it's worth a go. You never know.

Otherwise, I'll be looking into more direct ways of securing bookings. As I host long term guests, this means contacting universities, hospitals etc. and maybe trying to market the listings myself via social, which I've never really tried to do. 

I might also think about long term lodgers again, although I really don't want to go that route unless it's someone tried and tested, e.g. a former guest. And I could sign up again with a location agency for shoots. I tried that before and there were plenty of opportunities, but the agency really didn't like me having guests so that plan was scuppered at the time as I had constant Airbnb bookings.

[Anonymous]

@Huma0   That thing with the crazy prices is also happening with Airbnbs in Berlin now. But it's not a glitch; the "hosts" are actually landlords putting a monthly rate in the nightly field and asking for offers. They're not actually doing any bookings through Airbnb, it's just a lure to get people to communicate and pay off-platform. Most likely scams - some of these homes have design features that don't even exist here.

@Jennifer2682  Definitely let us know if you start getting bookings on this one, I hope something works out for you soon! I've never heard of Houfy before; what is it about it that set it apart from all the other myriad STR startups? clicked on a couple listings that seemed to have a lot of reviews, but on closer inspection all the reviews actually came from Airbnb or VRBO, so I haven't seen any indication that it has its own guests. The user interface in general was pretty clunky, and I still have no idea how to pronounce it. HOO-fee? HOW-fee? Or if you're French, oo-FEE? 

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

That's interesting. Most of the London listings on Houfy have nightly prices that look like monthly prices. I wonder if they are all scammers. I didn't look in detail, so maybe it is just a small handful of hosts with multiple listings all doing the same thing. 

I think why I decided to give Houfy a go was because it was one of the few STR platforms operating in the UK where you could list home shares. Perhaps there are others, but I haven't really come across them in searches. 

Yes, you're correct that the reviews etc. come from Airbnb, even the listing details and photos. I am not sure of the legality of that, but that's how it's set up. If you already have a listing on Airbnb, you can basically import all of that info into Houfy. That part made it very quick and simple to set up. I only did it with one listing in 2020 because of the pandemic. I wanted one, long term guest, not a bunch of travellers. Then I basically forgot about it until now as I never received any messages since then.

[Jennifer2682]

@Anonymous Lol, I keep wanting to say HOO-fee, but it's short for "House For You" so I think it's HOW-fee.  Though I like your French version!

Like I said, I'm just now discovering it and testing it out, but what immediately stands out to me is how much more control hosts have over their own listings.  And there are no service fees, which would be a big plus for both hosts and guests alike.  Guests book directly with their hosts, skipping the middle man, but I'm not sure how (or if?) reviews are posted other than the ones that are imported from other sites.  

I figure, at this point, with no new bookings coming in from Airbnb, it can't hurt to give it a shot!  

[Huma0]

@Jennifer2682 

If there are no service fees, how does Houfy make any money? Or, do you think they will maybe introduce a service fee once the site takes off?

[Jennifer2682]

This is what I was able to pull from their site, @Huma0 .

"Houfy does not really make any money at the moment..

Some hosts have "Featured" their listings or created "Last Minute Specials". For some of these hosts this works wonders. The price is around 3-4 $ a day.

We are in the process of creating a program to charge hosts for Houfy widgets.. Also here, these are powerful tools to use for your own website. This is currently free, but we will be charging for this sometime in 2022.

We are in the process of fine tuning our website creator process. This too will be a paid service.

Houfy is all about direct bookings and we are creating systems to help you with this. The only request we have is to promote Houfy as much as you can. Hosts who use our system but promote their own websites and thus not promoting Houfy should therefore pay a small fee for using the above mentioned tools.

Our mission is to give hosts and guests the option to book direct without service fees/commissions. Hopefully we can create this and fund Houfy with the above services we offer.

Houfy is a project made with a lot of love and dedication from many hosts and members of our community and hopefully with your help sharing your Houfy listing with previous guests/on business cards, on social media will continue to grow Houfy into a serious competitor to the currently known OTAs out there.. (Airbnb/VRBO/Homeaway/Booking and Tripadvisor)

Thx T"

[Jennifer2682]

Heck, I wouldn't even mind paying a fee, if I had control over my listing and was getting bookings again!

[Huma0]

@Jennifer2682 

Okay, that makes sense. I used to use a site called spareroom to find long term lodgers. It worked in the same way. It was free to list and free to search and there was no commission for teaming landlords with renters. However, there were a number of options to pay for increased visibility and something called 'early bird'. So, basically, in the first week of the listing going live, only renters who had paid for early bird could message the landlord. The site has been around for years and I believe is the most popular site here in the UK for this particular market. So, it can work. You just need a lot of users, and a high enough percentage of them willing to pay for the extras, to make it work.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

yes, I've also heard about them

[Mitzi-And-DeeDee0]

Has everyone bookings slowed down?  Last year in July we were booked every weekend and this year for July zero bookings?  Does anyone know what'g going on?

[Huma0]

@Mitzi-And-DeeDee0 

Please do a search on the CC for 'summer release' and you will find plenty of info on what is going on...

[Jim1888]

What is CC? We have been happy with Air bnb until a month ago, everything stopped. I am trying to find out what changed. Thank you.