TripAdvisor vs. Airbnb

[Jeff Piscioniere]

Am I missing something with TripAdvisor?!?!?! It seems that I only get inquires with TripAdvisor/Flipkey! Everyone asks whether our cabin is available and what the rate is. Isn't this something that should be clear as day when they are searching on either one of these platforms? So I always cordially respond and I never hear from the people again. Is TripAdvisor/Flipkey the platforms that people go to to get a bargain? I feel like everyone is waiting for me to say sure buy one night and get 2 free! Lol. At the minimum they should be able to know if the cabin is available since it came up in their search. Airbnb is seemless and an absolute blessing. People either inquire or they send a reservation request. They respond quickly and cordially and people are thankful when you communicate with than. Are there strategies that I'm missing with TripAdvisor/Flipkey that I should know about? Thank you in advance! Jeff

[Jeff Piscioniere]

@John Underwood I am in the process of listing on VRBO and I chose the per booking fee to start with.  Now when I signed up the subscription choice I saw was for somewhere in the range of $300-400 per year.  I was suspicious of this because many people I talked to said the annual fee was around $1000 and on top of that VRBO then tries to bait you into paying more to get listed higher up.  Is any of that true???  The other thing I discussed with someone is that thinking with a conspiratorial mindset, what would VRBO's motivation be to rank a listing high when the person has already paid their annual fee?  It would make more sense to get the per booking listings as visible as possible because otherwise no one will see them.  Am I being a little overly suspicious here?

I have been slow to get my listing up on VRBO because Airbnb has been an absolute dream and like @Michael Greenberg said, it is a wonderful community where I feel both the host and guest have an unspoken agreement to make each other's experience better.  I've not met a guest on Airbnb who didn't epitomize courtesy and decency.  I understand VRBO is the giant in the industry but they are more expensive per booking than Airbnb and I've really had a great experience.  I suppose with the slower winter season not far away I'm going to need VRBO to get more visibility.

Gentlemen, thank you both for the input!!!