STR, Airbnb, vacation rental, and wait, what’s a Vrbo?
A roundup of all the terms.
STR – STR simply stands for Short-Term Rental. If a space or property is rented out for less than 30 nights, it’s typically considered to be a short-term rental or STR.
Vacation Rental (VR) – Any property that is rented out to travelers for short-term stays. People often refer to STR’s as vacation rentals, even if the target guest is not on vacation (STR’s may cater to people on work or military assignments, etc.).
OTA – OTA stands for Online Travel Agency. It is a platform that allows property owners to list their vacation rentals and for guests to book them online.
Airbnb – You might hear people say, we rented “an Airbnb” or that “Airbnb down the street is always rented,” or (and we cringe a little at this one) “That house is owned by Airbnb.”
It might seem obvious, but we’ve encountered some confusion on this matter, so we’ll go ahead and clarify: Airbnb does not typically own the houses you rent through their platform. Furthermore, Airbnb does not manage properties, at least not to our knowledge.
Airbnb and Vrbo are advertising channels (also called “booking platforms” or “OTAs”) through which you can book an STR (or a medium-term rental in some cases–we’ll go into that in a bit). In the same way that you can book a flight through, say, Expedia, but you don’t expect the plane to have an Expedia logo on it, or to be served a beverage by an Expedia employee after you get to cruising altitude. When you book a house (or bungalow or glamping tent) through Airbnb, you can expect to be connected with a host or homeowner. They may or may not be the same person. Homeowners often choose a person or company to operate their property for them, and these folks are variously called managers, hosts, co-hosts, caretakers, and that sort of thing.
Airbnb rentals, despite the Acronym baked into the name, typically do NOT include breakfast, in fact, many cities do not permit serving food in STRs, or require different licensing and restrictions to do so.
Vrbo – As just stated, another channel/platform for STRs, recently updated from an acronym of Vacation Rental by Owner to be thought of as its own word, pronounced “verb’-oh”).
Medium-Term Rental – A term loosely referring to a property or space that’s rented out for more than 30 nights at a time but less than a year. Typically they are furnished and include flexible lease terms, or (unadvisedly) no lease at all, and usually include utilities. These are sometimes called “Corporate Rentals” as well.
Long-Term Rental (LTR) – Since we are defining all the terms, a long-term rental is typically unfurnished and rent doesn’t include utilities. Lease lengths for LTRs tend to be about one year.
ADR – ADR stands for Average Daily Rate. It is the average amount of money a guest pays per night to stay in a vacation rental.
Channel Manager – A Channel Manager is a software tool that enables vacation rental owners and operators to manage their listings across multiple OTAs and platforms from a single platform. Want to list on Airbnb and Vrbo at the same time? You may need a channel manager.
Yield Management – Yield Management is a pricing strategy used by vacation rental owners to maximize revenue by adjusting rates based on demand and supply. Airlines, hotels, and other industries all optimize pricing using their own yield management systems… professional STR operators do as well.
Housekeeping – Maybe this is self-explanatory, but housekeeping refers to the process of cleaning and preparing a vacation rental property for new guests. The importance of good housekeeping cannot be overstated.
Keyless Entry – A system that allows guests to access a vacation rental without the need for traditional keys. It may involve using a digital keypad, a smart lock, or a mobile app to unlock the door.