Airbnb Alternatives for Hosts

Have you ever wondered who the Airbnb rivals are and why you might consider selling your home on non-Airbnb websites? According to Invezz, Airbnb is certainly the most popular platform, with a market share of about 20% of the whole vacation rental business. With Airbnb’s year-over-year growth, it’s reasonable to assume that this proportion will continue to expand in the coming years.

However, offering your rental homes on other websites is a prudent strategy for assuring the development of your company. Promoting your listing on alternate sites to Airbnb will help you reach a bigger pool of renters. As a consequence, your occupancy rate and profitability will grow. Differentiating your offerings also prevents you from being too reliant on Airbnb, a firm that has seen its share of host complaints and even litigation.

While this seems like an excellent concept, establishing a new platform for advertising your home may provide another obstacle. It might be tough to determine which Airbnb alternative to employing with so many possibilities. Consider these Airbnb rivals and get familiar with the main elements that will help you obtain a spot in the short-term rental market.

Vrbo

Vrbo, which stands for Vacation Rental By Owner, is another excellent option for Airbnb. Vrbo, like HomeAway, focuses only on private houses and flats.

HomeAway bought vrbo in 2006, and the Expedia Group acquired both HomeAway and Vrbo in 2015. If you offer your home on Vrbo, it will be featured on HomeAway immediately.

Significant Characteristics:

There are no public listings;

Vrbo charges $499 for a yearly membership or a 5% + 3% credit card processing fee on each booking;

Policies regarding cancellation and payment vary per property;

Additionally, there are paid and “free-to-list” choices. Paid ones are preferred since they are often more prominent on the site;

Hosts are unable to erase any reviews (both positive and unflattering).

Booking.com

Booking.com is ahead of the curve with its guest-friendly, easy-to-navigate user interface and immediate booking option; Booking.com is ahead of the curve. As a result, it is a popular destination for enquiring visitors. These features may increase your occupancy rate, as more guests will book directly via the Booking.com website, owing to the website’s easier booking procedure.

Booking.com has over 27 million listings in over 130,000 locations in 227 countries.

Significant Characteristics:

Booking.com charges a 15% host fee upon guest arrival on fulfilled reservations. No money will be charged if visitors cancel or do not show up;

Upgrade to Preferred Member status;

Because of its liberal cancellation policies, it is more traveler-friendly;

Users are not charged for bookings;

A hotel’s check-in procedure is fast and straightforward;

System of advanced search and filtering. It provides visitors with results tailored to their specific search criteria. This enables hosts to market their property to a targeted audience.

Expedia

When customers are searching for holiday rentals, Expedia is often not the first site that comes to mind. As a result, many hosts often ignore it. You may jump ahead of the competition by listing your home on Expedia since many hosts are unaware of it.

When you advertise a property on Expedia, it will show on other prominent online travel sites such as Hotels.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Wotif, among others.

Significant Characteristics:

Owners pay a 15% commission on the entire value of each booking;

Bookings are accessible on a last-minute basis;

Localized locations in 33 countries worldwide;

Car rentals, flights, and lodging are all conveniently located at one location. This makes Expedia ideal for visitors who do not want to spend considerable time looking for the greatest offers.

TripAdvisor

The most noticeable aspect of TripAdvisor is that it collects input from the travel community. This is also the primary reason why visitors choose to look for accommodations on the company’s website. It was started in 2000 and has amassed many reviews throughout the years. For many tourists, TripAdvisor is a reliable source of information.

Your property listing will be instantly translated into 26 languages and shown on 26 TripAdvisor sites when you partner with TripAdvisor. This will enable you to broaden your reach and increase the number of foreign tourists booking your rental homes.

Once your listing is approved on TripAdvisor, it will instantly display on FlipKey.

Significant Characteristics:

TripAdvisor imposes a 3% host fee on each reservation. This commission is calculated on the entire rent paid by the host, including all mandatory and optional fees indicated for the property;

Numerous evaluations of hotels, attractions, and restaurants accumulated throughout the years;

Provides vehicle rentals, the greatest airline discounts, and lodging all in one location, making it a tourist favorite. It assists them in arranging their whole vacation and locating the most suitable accommodations;

It was established in 2000. This kind of history is a destination that receives the finest recommendations and is a well-known platform among tourists.

Homestay

What distinguishes this Airbnb rival is its sole emphasis on hosted lodging when the host is present.

You may rent a private or shared room, or a bed, here at more affordable rates. If you’re just getting started and have an additional room available to rent, this may be a wonderful place to begin.

Significant Characteristics:

A minor host service fee (3% of the deposit, with a minimum payment of $1);

Excellent platform for hosts who are just getting started;

Increases the number of students and younger individuals. Promoting your property on Homestay will increase visibility if your objective is to attract folks in need of economical housing.

Coe and Kid

If your property is family-friendly and you want to attract more families, this is an ideal Airbnb option that can help you increase your visitor count.

This Airbnb rival focuses on family-friendly rooms and offers an exceptional experience for families with children. As a result, advertising your rental on Kid and Coe will guarantee that more of these people will notice your offer and reserve it.

Significant Characteristics:

Hosts must pay a one-time listing charge of $99 to market their property. The classification of your home determines the Kid and Coe host charge. Thus, Professional Partners, or those who have their dedicated website to promote their house, pay a fee of 12 percent on reservations. All other private listings are subject to a 10% booking charge;

Professional picture editing services to enhance the appearance of your home;

In addition to your house insurance, the Kid & Coe Community Protection Program insures your company for short-term rentals.

HomeExchange

As the website’s name implies, HomeExchange is a platform for home swaps. It has about 400,000 residences in 187 locations. By paying a $150 yearly membership fee, you have access to limitless exchanges for the calendar year.

HomeExchange has a unique system of “guest points” that hosts may accumulate and then redeem for a stay at another member’s house in any place.

In terms of assisting you in establishing your vacation rental company, HomeExchange is barely a competition to Airbnb. However, it provides an opportunity to hone your hosting abilities and connect with like-minded others.

Significant Characteristics:

Hosts should pay a membership fee of $150 per year to get an unlimited number of house exchanges;

Assistance with the platform in the event of a cancellation;

Coverage for property damage.

Conclusion

To grow a profitable vacation rental company and increase exposure for your house, you may want to explore partnering with one of the Airbnb, as mentioned earlier rivals. By promoting your property on many rental platforms, you may enhance your visitor count, occupancy rate, and revenues.

iGMS integrates with some of the most famous Airbnb rivals, which simplifies your task significantly. Our software enables you to manage many homes listed on several rental marketplaces.

Utilize a powerful channel manager to handle bookings from Airbnb and its competitors’ platforms and control everything from a single dashboard.

Automate activities such as messaging, pricing, and the maintenance of visitor reviews.

You may maintain complete control over work management and cleaning by automating team activities.