ABNB vs VRBO

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Kellie104
Level 4
Leslie, MI

ABNB vs VRBO

Hello.  New to hosting. Only renting out in the summers starting next year.  Can Hosts also host at VRBO? Does anybody here host on there as well?  Which site do you find better? Google says VRBO is but their fees are higher.  If I remember correctly they don't allow long term, their site provides more info and better options for the Hostess.  After reading some of the cons about ABNB I am thinking maybe it's not that great of place for renting out our place.  Thoughts are appreciated.  TIA. 

1 Best Answer
Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Kellie104 which site is "better" depends a lot on your place and your market. Vrbo's host fees are higher but their guest fees are lower-- and the Vrbo market generally seems to support higher prices. Hosts have much more control on Vrbo. What kind of place do you have?

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9 Replies 9
Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Kellie104,

You may list your property on as many platforms as you choose.  None of them has an exclusivity clause.

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Kellie104 which site is "better" depends a lot on your place and your market. Vrbo's host fees are higher but their guest fees are lower-- and the Vrbo market generally seems to support higher prices. Hosts have much more control on Vrbo. What kind of place do you have?

@Lisa723 

Sorry for not responding sooner. Still trying to figure out how this page works.  To answer your question of what type of place we have we have a cottage on a lake in Michigan. 

@Kellie104 I would definitely list on both sites in that case. As time goes on you will discover the pros and cons for you.  See the following articles for instructions to link the calendars.

 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/99/how-do-i-sync-my-airbnb-calendar-with-another-calendar

https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-import-my-iCal-or-Google-calendar

 

Scope out your competition on both sites to determine pricing. When starting out, you may want to price just slightly below competition, and gradually raise your prices over time as you accrue good reviews.

 

There is also automatic pricing software (I love Wheelhouse).

 

Do not succumb to Airbnb's "smart" (aka dumb) pricing.

 

You can also use channel manager software to coordinate the listings, communications, etc., but that may be more of an effort and expense than you want to undertake right away.

 

 

 

@Kellie104 In response to your comment on another thread, I took a look at your listing. The place is very cute, and the views are fantastic-- but the photos are bad, to be blunt. They are a jumbled mishmash and don't give a good sense of what you get. With no photo captions it's even harder to understand your "story". The bed looks very uncomfortable with a ridge in the middle, no bedside tables and one tiny lamp. The listing says there are two beds, but there is a photo of only one. Definitely get rid of the photo of the couch with all the personal junk behind it-- and get rid of the personal junk while you're at it. (I don't think the size of the bathroom is an issue.)

 

Most guests pay much more attention to photos than text, so it's very important to do those well. Personally I am in favor of professional photos, though other hosts here will argue against that. Even if you don't get professional photos you can stage carefully (do you have a realtor friend who could help maybe?), and use a consistent high-quality device. An iphone is fine, with a tripod and good light source. I would use a wide-angle lens but again, other hosts here will argue that this is misleading.

 

For a new listing not to have a reservation yet with first availability in May is not surprising to me, especially this year. You have plenty of time to reset your listing. The guests will come!

@Kellie104 one more thing, reconsider this:

 

Check-in: Flexible
Checkout: 1:00 PM
 
This is going to cause trouble when you have a guest who wants an 11am check-in and a another guest checking out that same day; even if you don't do same-day turnovers you will get guests wanting to check in unreasonably early (e.g. 12:01am). Set a check-in time that works for you.

@Lisa723 

We are actually renting it out every other week because husband wants to be able to up there as well so after they ck out we will be going up that evening to stay and clean.  It will be empty until the next Friday at ck in.  I know that is odd but husband doesn't want to hire someone to clean and we are 2.5 hours away. 

@Lisa723 

Wow.  Thank you so much for the review.  I actually loved it and honest.  

1. I know my pics are a mess.  We r also doing little updates so I clean areas to get pics. I don't know how to order the pics. Some I see they are all over and others are in order. I did have them in order of walking thru the front door.

2. The beds hmmm.  I will look because we have one bed and a sofa sleeper plus the love seat which I will change over to a couch.  I will correct that. The bed looks hummed in the middle because it is a Sleep Number and stupid me took the air out for the winter. Not sure why.

3. The couch with the junk is the sleeper sofa and on the right are the games to play but yes on the left is some of my junk that I thought would be ok to leave in there.  I will clean that.

4.  Thank you so very much.  I appreciate your review.

Has anyone also seen a switch in bookings away from Airbnb (80%) to VRBO (20%). Lately it has beeb VRBO (85%) and Airbnb (15%). This concerns me as I really like using Airbnb over VRBO......