You might be asking, should I list on Airbnb or Vrbo? Or both? Can I use another site for direct booking? Let’s break down the details.
First, an overview-
Market Share:
According to the latest data from SimilarWeb, Airbnb is the larger of the two platforms with a global market share of 71.9% as of January 2023. In contrast, Vrbo’s global market share is 28.1%.
User Demographics:
Airbnb and Vrbo attract different types of users. Airbnb tends to be popular among younger travelers, with 60% of its users being under the age of 35, while Vrbo’s users tend to be older, with over 50% of its users being over the age of 50. Additionally, Airbnb users are more likely to travel solo or with a partner, while Vrbo users tend to travel with families or groups of friends.
Host / Owner Support:
Airbnb in our experience offers more customer support and has the Aircover program which can help if guests damage something at your property. Vrbo gives hosts more liberty in collecting deposits, but in our experience, the accounting process and workflow for this can be challenging.
Types of Listings:
Airbnb and Vrbo also differ in the types of accommodations they offer. While both platforms offer a wide variety of accommodations, Airbnb is known for its unique and quirky listings, such as treehouses, yurts, and tiny homes. Vrbo, on the other hand, focuses on more traditional vacation rentals, such as condos, cabins, and beach houses.
Fees:
Both Airbnb and Vrbo charge fees to hosts AND guests, but the structure of these fees differs. Airbnb charges guests a service fee of between 0% and 20% of the booking subtotal, depending on the cost of the reservation, while hosts are charged a 3% fee on each booking. Vrbo charges guests a service fee that ranges from 5% to 15% of the booking subtotal, and hosts are charged an 8% fee on each booking.
User Interface:
Vrbo was the first out of the gate, created in 1995 and frankly, in some ways, it feels like it hasn’t been updated since 1995. Of course, it has been, but changes made to a listing in the back end often take 24 hours to register on the site, the web interface and design feel clunky, and the overall experience feels less intuitive. Airbnb has a slicker, more modern feel.
What’s best for you?
Reasons to choose one platform:
If you are just getting started, and if your location has enough customers using one platform to get you the bookings you need, it may be better to pick the platform that seems best to you compared to trying to integrate both platforms. Many hosts choose to host on Airbnb or Vrbo only. Although you will lose out on a lot of eyeballs on your listing by going with either site, it’s best to get started with one site only because though similar, the platforms are very complex, and each has its own set of policies and functionalities to navigate.
Platforms favor properties that are not often blocked (as you might for an owner stay or other period of unavailability, including hosting a booking on another platform).
Which platform should I choose?
Based on what you know about the property or potential property you’re planning on hosting, you may already have a sense of which platform may fit your needs best. For example, if you are hosting a property with any shared spaces (such as a bedroom where the living room is shared with the host or other guests), then you are a fit for Airbnb all the way. Vrbo does not support that. If you are renting an entire beach house that appeals to an older demographic and want to collect a refundable damage deposit from your guests, Vrbo would be the right platform for you. Airbnb does not support that.
How can you tell if a booking platform will work for your market? Simple. Act like a guest. Jump on your web browser, pull up a platform, and check for nearby rentals that are similar to yours. This should be your first step in getting started with short-term rentals.
Reasons to choose more than one platform:
Many hosts feel that having more than one booking platform is most important if they have a seasonal market (for example, lots of tourism in the summer but not much in the winter) to help them maximize revenue in the off-season. This is true in Colorado Springs, where we would feasibly have plenty of bookings for summer through Airbnb only, but when things slow down in the winter, it’s awfully nice to have access to potentially another third of the vacation rental market through Vrbo’s market share (plus we like Vrbo guests; the older demographic is respectful of the property of others and are more oriented toward a quality accommodation and good experience rather than toward price alone).
Another reason for using more than one platform is platform risk. Many hosts experienced a change (I’m sure it was great for some but it was very bad for many!) when Airbnb changed their homepage to promote unique listings in certain categories in an effort to influence the times and places guests would travel, rather than primarily catering to guests’ inputted preferences in terms of location and dates. Hosts had no control over this change and found themselves the victim of platform risk, having to deal with the change, losing revenue, and having to figure out a new way to appeal to the AI-driven categories (such as changing keywords, asking guests to mention certain things in reviews, etc.).
How can I integrate both?
It’s possible to create an account on Airbnb as well as an account on Vrbo and use iCal links to keep the calendars synced, but it’s not perfect and may at times result in double bookings. It also takes longer to maintain and update your listings. For example, a guest asks if you have covered parking (or a grill or how fast the wifi is or…) and you realize it’s not mentioned on the listing. To avoid answering the question repeatedly it’s best to update your listing with this information. You’ll have to log in to Airbnb, update your listing, then log into Vrbo and do the same. Multiply that by many clicks, keystrokes, copy/pastes, and photo uploads, and you have a lot of work on your hands. The use of channel management software can eliminate some of the redundant work, but at a monthly cost and a steep learning curve.
What about direct bookings?
With direct bookings, the difference is both its strength and weakness: the guests interact directly with the host. If the host is professional and has a good review history, this will not change the guest’s experience at all. However, in the case of a less communicative host, working directly with that person can be challenging. In most cases, direct bookings save the guest and the host money and are worth it.
With Go Explore’s Guide service, we provide homeowners integrated listings on Airbnb, Vrbo, and a direct booking site where the calendars sync to avoid double bookings, plus a hospitality team to operate it so you don’t have to! Find out more.