Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com -- Are you using one of them, two or all three?

[Robert Carmody]

I've seen some recent articles indicating that Booking.com is trying to compete more against Airbnb. Currently our primary source of bookings is Airbnb, followed by VRBO. Earlier this year, we were also posted on Booking.com, and while the listing did produce several reservations, it came with a huge amount of frustration and more last-minute cancellations that we've experienced (significantly more as a %) than the other 2 booking platforms, Airbnb and VRBO. There were issues syncing the reservation calendar, and it is nearly impossible to reach a customer support representative with Booking.com as an individual STR owner. The guests that booked through Booking.com, who did not cancel ahead of their check-in date, were good guests, but we didn't receive near the response rate for guest feedback that we do from Airbnb and VRBO. Once the Booking.com commission was paid for each reservation, the net payout was usually slightly less than if the guest had booked through Airbnb or VRBO. We canceled our listing on Booking.com towards the end of the summer. Our occupancy rate has been higher this fall, using Airbnb and VRBO than it was during the summer and spring months, when we were listed on all 3 platforms. I'm not suggesting that the higher occupancy is the result of dropping Booking.com but am not sure that it ultimately contributed to more reservations or a greater success rate. Curious about the success others are having with these platforms or if anyone thinks Booking.com is becoming a necessary tool for securing STR reservations?

[Patricia Andriolo-Bull]

I have a Booking.com guest in one of my properties right now and he is fabulous - 8 night stay for the holiday.  That said, my last Booking.com guest a couple of weeks ago was a bit difficult pre-arrival but ended up being a great guest and left a 10 star review (no comments though).  A few points on my experience:

-  I list to have more eyes on the property

-  I don't get many bookings on Booking.com.  I have 3 right now only because they got a new listing discount.  I don't expect any more, sadly.  I just a premium to offset the 15% commission they charge so I'm out of whack on prices with much of my competition.

-  Setting up Booking.com was a pain in the butt but unlike others on here have said, I haven't had issues with them.  I get paid within a day of arrival (I now set up direct pay so I will handle my own payments going forward).  Yes, their support is atrocious but after it is set up I really haven't had many reasons to work with their support.

-  I agree that their guests don't generally leave reviews.