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Comparison Of Different St Rental Sites

ST Rental Booking Sites While Airbnb is the most dominant force in the short stay booking market, there are other formidable competitors that have a decent base of visitors and users as well. Here is a list of all the major players in the holiday accommodation booking industry in Australia. Site What it offers to […]

  • By George
  • 3 minutes reading

ST Rental Booking Sites

While Airbnb is the most dominant force in the short stay booking market, there are other formidable competitors that have a decent base of visitors and users as well.

Here is a list of all the major players in the holiday accommodation booking industry in Australia.

Site What it offers to hosts
Stayz
  • 2% service fee
  • 40,000 rental property listings in Australia
  • In Jan ‘20, stayz had 1.6 million unique visits to the site (Australia)
Airbnb
  • 3% service fee
  • 137,900 active listings in Australia (4 million around the globe)
  • In Jan ‘20, airbnb.com.au had 8.6 million visits
HomeAway (Owned by Expedia)
  • 2 million listings in 190 countries
  • From Jan-Jun ‘20-, 89K unique visits to the site (Australia)
  • Free protection against internet fraud
  • Two payment options for hosts: Annual subscription for $499 or 8% service fee per booking
Homestay
  • Mostly for renting out spare rooms and focus on facilitating personal host-guest interactions
  • 15% booking fee charged to quests
  • 33K homes in 160 countries
  • 5K unique monthly visits to the site (Australia)
Home Exchange
  • $150 annual fee for unlimited home swaps and free cancellation
  • Can offer another member ‘GuestPoints’ instead of home swaps to use their home
  • 400,000 homes in 187 countries
Flipkey (Owned by TripAdvisor)
  • 3% service fee
  • 300,000 vacation homes (only entire homes or private rooms, no shared rooms) in 11,000 cities & 34,000 users
  • Guest payment protection of up to $10K USD for fraud or misrepresented properties
VRBO (Owned by HomeAway/Expedia)
  • $499 annual subscription fee or 5% service fee per booking (and 3% fee for payment processing)
  • Rental guarantee and damage/cancellation insurance available
  • 2 million listings (only entire homes, mostly larger spaces) throughout the world
  • Avg 2.3 million monthly visitors to the site

Multi-Site Property Management

Many property managers (link to internal) offer listing creation and management on multiple sites. Calendar management will be key and property managers normally use advanced booking software to manage an integrated calendar so you don’t accidentally double book or have to cancel on your guests which will affect your ratings. But multi-site listing could really help you maximise the occupancy rate.

Some sites are more popular to travelers residing in certain regions so you can reach a wider base of prospective customers by listing on various sites. In addition, booking sites such as VRBO are more known for high-end properties that are spacious and private. Airbnb offers programmes such as Airbnb Luxe or Plus to help distinguish certain properties but entry requires going through a significant vetting process. So listing on other sites may help you reach the target/idea clientele without jumping through so many hoops.

George

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SELF MANAGED GUIDES

Overview

Airbnb Hosting 101

You can post either the entire place or part of the property for rent (private room or shared room) on Airbnb. Airbnb will take 3% commission from the hosts and 6-12% from the guests.
Be memorable

Furnishing and Amenities

You want to make sure the guests have access to the bare minimum they would have come to expect nowadays and also deliver pleasant surprises to make their stay memorable in a positive way.
Attract attention

Making a Good Listing

You want to include the photos highlighting the best features of the property but also want to set realistic expectations with the guests.
What to charge

Pricing Strategy

While the maximum and minimum you can charge are likely set by the value of your property (based on size, location, etc.), you have quite more control over the revenue stream than you realise.
Guidelines

Guest Screening & House Rules

If expectations are not clearly set, you can be on the hook for damages caused by guest behaviours not explicitly prohibited by your house rules.
Ratings affect your status

Reviews & Becoming a Super Host

According to the survey, 94% of consumers will avoid dealing with a business with bad reviews. People don’t trust businesses with lower than 4-star ratings. So listings with lower ratings will have to compromise seriously on the price to attract bookings.
Listing occupancy

Maximising Airbnb Occupancy

You want your occupancy rate to be 80% or higher for the next couple weeks and be at about 30-60% for the next 2 months.
What you should know

Insurance & Risk Management

Airbnb offers $1M host protection insurance and $1M host guarantee to almost all hosts globally. The host guarantee is not insurance but a resolution program offered by Airbnb to help hosts in cases of theft or property damages.
Dedicated management

Using Property Managers

Oftentimes property managers will offer a shared revenue model in exchange for full management services. Some (although not a lot) offer a la carte services where a host can cherry pick some key services a property manager can offer.
What is it?

Airbnb Plus & Luxe

Airbnb Plus is an invite-only programme made up of top superhosts and places. Airbnb Luxe, on the other hand, is even more of an elite programme for the most extraordinary homes handpicked by the Airbnb team.
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