how is listing your property on multiple platforms is working

[Sam397]

Now that people have been listing their properties on multiple platforms for a little while now I was wondering how that is working out. What issues have you come across and which platforms do you think are good and which ones are bad.  

[Kath9]

Hi @Sam397, good question! I'm probably not the best one to comment as I haven 't got my property on multiple platforms, but I listed on FlipKey about two months ago, and haven't had a single request. My Airbnb calendar is pretty full, so that may be why, but it seems pretty clear that Airbnb have cornered the market!

[Robin4]

@Sam397 

Hi Sam, mate I was always an Airbnb man but the Australian host payout saga last November shook most of us in the community here in this country. We lost a lot of trust and respect for Airbnb because they failed to keep us informed on what was going on. Like many, I ghosted my listing across to another platform....Homeaway/Stayz....and I am having considerable success with this move. 

It's a pity that it happened but Airbnb have shot themselves in the foot here and my Stayz business is picking up each week with more enquiries coming. Here is a section of my current callendar Sam.....

Airbnb bookings are still dominant but Stayz are certainly catching up as each month goes by. Tonight and tomorrow evening are both seperate Stayz reservations!

This is not my loss Sam, I actually get a nett $7.00 per night more from a Stayz reservation than I get from an Airbnb reservation....the only ones missing out here are Airbnb as less of my nights are available to them!

I am managing my calendars manually at the moment, as soon as a Stayz booking comes in I block my Airbnb calendar and vice veca and to this point there have been no issues. I have both Airbnb and Stayz apps on my phone so the contact I have from one platform to the other is seemless.

As I said Sam I would never have chosen to go down this path, but this seems to be a classic illustration of what is happening to Airbnb at the moment because of their dismissive approach to their bread and butter....their good hosts. Their business is being 'white anted' away from them as we competent hosts search out a better deal to keep our money coming in!

All the best Sam, I hope that weather in Nevada is being kinder to you than what we are seeing in the rest of the US.

Cheers......Rob

[Kath9]

Hmmm @Robin4, interesting! I had the impression that Homeaway was more for separate accommodation, but maybe your studio counts as that. Do they not have a function to sync calendars with Airbnb?

[Robin4]

@Kath9 

Kath, they no doubt do but, having been here for a few years and read all the horror stories about calendar syncing that for one reason or another did not sync, I have chosen not to leave it to chance.

The moment a reservation comes in on one platform I block it on the other. I do it from either my PC, or if I am out I can do it from my phone.

Sunday the 17th February we set off from here driving to NSW for three weeks During that first day on the road I got 2 bookings, one from Airbnb and one from Stayz, I was able to attend to them immediately even though we were on the road.

I don't expect a problem because I am always available to handle an inquiry.

I wish I hadn't had to do it Kath, I was quite happy with the way Airbnb were filling my space, but you, as much as anyone else felt the panic of having all our payouts put on hold on an indefinite basis. Really poor form by Airbnb, and as much as they might say.."come on, it's in the past, let's move on"....It's like a person you know really well who has come into your house and taken something....you would never trust them again.

Any way I am all set up for both platforms now. One way the welcome card reads Airbnb...

Turn it over and it reads Homeaway/Stayz.......

The guests don't care, just so long as they know where to come.....and all I have to do is remember which guest belongs to which platform....and everythings good!

Cheers......Rob

[Wendy117]

@Robin4   i just love your sign! How clever!  I would love to do this, just a little nervous about advertising to the neighbourhood and in particular,  my Local Council who may be passing by.  In some ways i am looking forward to NSW finalising their STR regulations because at least we will then know where we stand.

[Robin4]

@Wendy117 

I was initially forbiden from putting signage out the front in this R1 residential area, and I didn't have a strong opinion about it.

But one guest marked me down overall saying the place was hard to find and a sign would have been helpful. No other guest has managed have an issue with walking 30 steps up a driveway and into a property but this guy did.

So I approached council and talked out alternatives and have come to an agreement, as long as that sign is only displayed when guests are expected and is taken in as soon as they have.....then council will allow it.

And I have to say Wendy, it has worked well, all guests do seem to think it is an added nice touch.

Cheers.......Rob

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Robin4 @Wendy117 

interesting... here we are obligated to have a sign for STR. And not just any sign - it has to be bought form licenced producer and placed at the building entrance AND at the apartment entrance. 

It's made of metal, it's not cheap and looks like this:

[Wendy117]

@Branka-and-Silvia0In Australia we are yet to have consistent regulations in place for STR so who knows what will eventually be required. In the meantime each local council may set the rules. Some are tough and ban it, some are not. My State NSW is getting close and were set to introduce published regulations for the whole State.  Today we are having a State election with a high probabilty the opposition will win, and they have stated they are not happy with what has been agreed by current government, and in addition, they will have mandatory registration for STR.  Fees, inspections, signs, details - all unknown as yet. These things do not move quickly so we will continue to tiptoe around until then taking extra care not to upset our local councils. 🙂

[Wendy117]

@Kath9     @Sam397 

I also use Airbnb and Stayz/Homeaway.  I started Stayz as there are now just too many Airbnb in my location and my booking rate dropped dramatically.  This may change when NSW decides on STR regulations which will happen sometime after the upcoming State election.

I use auto-book on Airbnb but guests must send a request on Homeaway to avoid conflicts. 

I use the Airbnb calendar as my main calendar and manually block the corresponding calendar when I get a booking.  Homeaway is growing since they took over Stayz so my percentage of bookings from them is growing, probably 25%.  As my listings are lower cost, or is it because of auto-book, not sure,  i really notice the difference in the quality of guests from the two platforms but i need both sites to keep my calendar full.

I looked at Bookings dot com and Trip Advisor but felt they were more geared to hotels.

[Inna22]

@Sam397  I list on homeaway which is connected with VRBO, Expedia  and most other Airbnb competitors. I also list on booking.com.

I use their syncing system and have had a double booking once or twice, but it was worth doing it through them instead of being paranoid to step away from my phone/computer to manually enter each reservation. I also have four listings so four times the work. Plus doing things manually is also an invitation for a mistake. So maybe use the sync but manually check as well?

As far as things to be aware of - each site has a slightly different set of rules so I have to remember to do certain things differently. For example, on Homeaway it is the owners job to make sure the guest has paid the reservation in full so I need to remember  to check on that. With booking.com there seems to be an issue every single time. Their site is ever changing with never ending glitches. However, every once in a while they do send a great reservation my way so for now I’m sticking with them. Overall, it is about 20% Homeaway, 5 percent Booking..com and the rest is Airbnb.

Hope this helps. 

[John65]

@Inna22 

great post. I’m thinking of listing in other places like you mention. What synching system do

you use? My concern is that with Airbnb’s instant book I’ll get double bookings. Look forward to your reply thank you. John

[Inna22]

@John65 since I have made this post I started paying for a channel manager but accidentally just today decided to drop it. All platforms offer their own sync with other sites/calendars

[Debra300]

@John65, @Inna22,

Each OTA has greater market share in different regions of the world.  I've listed my place in St. Lucia on a half-dozen of them with varying amounts of activity.  I have paused the listings on the lesser performing platforms.  The following are by observations:

1. Airbnb - represents about 30% of bookings (mostly North Americans).  Pros: payment processing requires no investment in equipment, or setting up an online payment or credit card processing account.  Payouts are usually done within 24 hours after guest check-in.  Cons: Inability to collect a true security deposit, inability to include fees for extras as part of the booking, guests have the ability to refuse to pay for damages, and Airbnb can over-ride cancellation policies. Host fees: 3% per booking.
2. Booking.com - 30% of bookings (mostly Europeans and Caribbean residents). Pros: Hosts can collect a pre-payment deposit. Hosts can collect a security deposit and have the guest's credit information to pay fees for extra services or expenses.  Guests tend to behave when they know they have something to risk.  Cons: Due to marketing slogan, "No credit card needed", there is a high rate of placeholder reservations and cancellations.  Booking.com doesn't verify credit cards validity. A guest must be given 24 hours to provide a valid card/payment before the booking is cancelled (dates are blocked on the calendar).  The credit card CVV can be viewed only once, while the credit card details can be viewed three times.  The security deposit is limited to $300USD (the amount might differ based upon location).  Host must open online and/or credit card processing accounts. Host fees: 15% per booking + payment processing fees (3-5%).
3. Expedia.com - 10% of bookings (mostly North Americans and UK residents). Pros:  Choice between Expedia or Host collecting payments.  Hosts can participate in Expedia travel packages. Hosts can collect a pre-payment deposit. Hosts can collect a security deposit and have the guest's credit information to pay fees for extra services or expenses.  The security deposit limit is $5,000USD (amount may differ based upon location).  Guests tend to behave when they know they have something to risk.  Cons: Expedia does not verify the validity of the credit card.  Host must open online and/or credit card processing accounts.  A guest must be given 24 hours to provide a valid card/payment before the booking is cancelled (dates are blocked on the calendar).  Expedia charges an additional 5% to process the payment.  Payout is either on an electronic virtual card, and the host incurs credit card processing fees to obtain payment, or via invoice, which is paid 30 days after submission.  To participate in Expedia travel packages, hosts must agree to provide an additional 10% discount.  Host fees: Host Collect CC- 15% per booking + payment processing fees (3-5%);  Host Collect Invoice- 15% per booking + 0%; Expedia Collect - 20% per booking + payout and payment processing fees (3-5%).
4. FlipKey (TripAdvisor): 0% of bookings. Pros: Hosts can collect a pre-payment deposit. Hosts can collect a security deposit and have the guest's credit information to pay fees for extra services or expenses.  There is no limit for the security deposit.  Guests tend to behave when they know they have something to risk. Cons: Lesser known OTA, and much of the TripAdvisor visits are for reviews or research.  Host fees: 3% per booking + payment processing (3-5%).  I have deactivated this listing due to low activity, but may restore it next year.
5. HomeAway (VRBO): 0%.  I never received a booking on this platform.  I deactivated it last year, and don't have anything to list for Pros, Cons and Host fees.  I may reactivate it next year.
6. My own website, Google site, locals, word of mouth: 30% of bookings. Pros:  Hosts can collect a pre-payment deposit. Hosts can collect a security deposit and have the guest's credit information to pay fees for extra services or expenses. Cash payments can be accepted from locals.  Cons: Guests tend to have less travel experience, and not understand the requirement for a security deposit or presentation of a credit/debit card, or that there are set check-in and checkout times. Host fees: payment processing (3-5%). 

All of the sites allow calendar with other sites.  However, the automated syncing schedule varies, and I have experienced a double booking as a result.  If you do decide to use the free calendar sync features, set up syncing from only one site.  For example, import the calendars from other OTAs to your Airbnb calendar, but don't also import the Airbnb calender or sync calendars between the other OTAs.  Doing so will cause difficulty with removing calendar blockings on multiple calendars.  As @Inna22 mentioned, a channel manager is the best tool to maintain the syncing among multiple calendars.

@Wendy117, @Branka-and-Silvia0, @Sam397, @Robin4 

[John65]

Hello @Debra300 and @Inna22 thank you so much for your detailed response. I really appreciate it. 

regards,

john