One platform strategy

[Joel Oh]

Hi guys, I posted that hosts should focus on one platform to boost ranking instead of spreading out multiple platforms and I think I owe more explanation since all the seasoned hosts do not agree with me. Please understand that my post is for helping new hosts and showing them the STR world changes so fast and the information from the book or podcast you are using can be outdated.

Airbnb / Vrbo previously never penalized hosts for using multiple platforms. It was simply because there were always more guests than hosts and the platform's focus has been collecting more hosts on their platform to increase its size. Since posting your listing on multiple platforms had no downside for such a long time, this "post your listing on every platform because why not" became a standard of how to run your STR. I remember seeing this method in many popular books and podcasts.

However, the STR world has changed so much ever since with its exponential market growth. STR industry led by Airbnb is a new normal just like Uber or Doordash. Their focus changed from how to get more hosts to how to give a better experience to guests and how to make the guests use our platform over others. The era of platform war started.

With the change, platforms started to emphasize more and more on pricing, unique features, accommodation, and availability over host qualities such as super host status or overall ratings. This can be shocking news for many people, but your rating may not be as important as you believe. You can confirm this by searching popular cities and seeing what comes on the first page. (Don't get me wrong, the rating is still important but not as much as before)

The STR games are all about whether can you be on the first page or not. A very small amount of guests check anything beyond page 5 and most people finalize their booking on the first or second page. Just think about how often you look for pages 7 or 8 when you search for something on Google or buy something on Amazon. With this system, you, especially new hosts, who don't have a high ranking but getting the platform's blessing of "New" status, you absolutely have to focus on climbing the ranking during this time. If your listing is booked by other platforms during this New status and has a low occupancy rate, you will be placed on page 8 or 10. It is incredibly difficult to climb the ranking once you are placed at the bottom. That is why most listings can't pass the 40~50 % first-page search impression rate even after you fix everything. (I helped/mentored a lot of hosts to know this)

Of course, it is market-dependable and depends on the size of your accounts. If you have 30+ listings and handling 7+ figures, of course being on one platform is not the best idea. Finding what works best is always your responsibility as a business owner.

Since there were a lot of people who were questioning my credibility, I am attaching my booking conversation for 2024. I run multiple STRs along with hundreds of LTRs. I know there are many bigger hosts here who outperform me. I am not trying to brag about anything but helping new hosts to see that there have been changes that require our attention. Good luck with your journey and have a great 2025!