We have 4 Airbnb's Does anyone run airbnb's ?

[Cathy Horner]

We have 4 Airbnb's. Trying to think of creative ways to advertise and scale them. Does anyone use Homeaway or Vrbo? Love to hear your ideas! Also started and IG page for them but not sure who or my target? Looking for ideas! 

[Luke Carl]

Instagram waste of time. Yes you need VRBO. 

Sounds like you’re not booked enough with Airbnb? 

My properties are very popular and nearly impossible to book. Happy to help lmk. 

[John Underwood]

I use Homeaway / Vrbo and Airbnb. I got most all my bookings from Homeaway / Vrbo.

[Jay Hinrichs]

are they in Oregon ?    I just actually rented my first str on a fishing trip to montana last week and I used VRBO.. and looking for a unit in Maui when I go in Dec  so going to use VRBO again.

WE have our first one as an owner up and running in INdy.. got tenants first week on market.. hopefully a good sign. I have a manager managing it though so not sure where the tenants come from.. our location I think is more corporate though. 

[Cathy Horner]

Yes in Oregon! Willamette valley. Ours is more corporate verses vacation. I like that in and out. 

[Paul Sandhu]

The majority of my online rentals come from Craigslist.  My renters are refinery contractors, not people on vacation.  Big burly scary looking guys with neck tats.  They drive jacked up 4x4s, chew tobacco in their sleep, and smell like diesel fuel.  You'd avoid the aisle in Wal Mart if you saw one there.  I'd go up to him, punch him in the arm and say "What's up mofo?"  If he saw me in a bar, he'd send the waitress with the largest cleavage over with a round of drinks.  I decorate my places like Hugh Hefner would.  For some reason, I don't think this strategy would work in your market.

[Mike Neubauer]

Hi @Cathy Horner,

we have several STRs on Maui. 99% of bookings come from Airbnb. We do have a website though that we list properties, what we’re working on, things to do, see, etc. By creating content we get higher rankings on Google etc. we also link to Instagram and Facebook. We can post to all at the same time. We keep an average of 95% occupancy on the year. 

Good luck!

[Patrick Franta]

@Jay Hinrichs My wife runs a PM company in Maui, CB Island Vacations.  No matter where you decide to stay you can save the VRBO booking fee by find the property on VRBO and then contacting the management company directly to book the unit.  This will save you quite a bit of money.  

[Ken Latchers]

There are four primary listing sites  for vacation rental.  If you're renting out rooms in vacation rentals there are fewer.

Booking.com
Airbnb
vrbo
tripadvisor/flipkey.

some of the four are more used in some parts of the country.

honestly, a new person should be an all 4 to start and then see where their bookings are coming from. But there's a lot of complexity that goes into this, and you really should be studying how to have good photos and good descriptions and good service and a well-designed short term rental and a lot of other things.

is not something you learn by reading a few Forum posts.

Originally posted by @Cathy Horner:

We have 4 Airbnb's. Trying to think of creative ways to advertise and scale them. Does anyone use Homeaway or Vrbo? Love to hear your ideas! Also started and IG page for them but not sure who or my target? Looking for ideas! 

[Don Konipol]

@Paul Sandhu

Love your posts!

[Don Konipol]

@Patrick Franta

Does VRBO, or AirBNB do anything to combat this?

[Patrick Franta]

If the management company is aware that you found their listing on VRBO they are required to charge you the VRBO fee. But if you found the property on the management company’s website no fee is required 😉

[James Wilcox]

@Cathy Horner we have 2 Airbnb's and love them! We advertised locally at all the local hotspots with flyers and to get our name out there. Our target audience are younger professionals that are doing the "Bourbon Trail" in Kentucky. Likewise, we went to all the closer distilleries and let them know who we were and what we were doing. We also did this with local restaurants and businesses of interest. We even asked for a few things for our place and got some free stuff for our homes. It was a win win all around. I suggest doing something similar and encouraging local businesses to get involved with your homes.

[Cassandra Kimberling]

My personal preference- Airbnb, Homeaway, or VRBO. :)

[Michael Ablan]

@Cathy Horner -Are you having issues filling them?

We use AirBNB, VRBO, Craiglist and Facebook and stay full.  I think the issue to scaling is how to keep them maintained and professionally cleaned because the repairs need to happen immediately, and the cleaning needs to happen in a short window of time, on specific days (no matter what).  The more you own, the harder this gets to handle without companies dedicated to this line of work.   

[Cathy Horner]

Originally posted by @Michael Ablan:

@Cathy Horner -Are you having issues filling them?

We use AirBNB, VRBO, Craiglist and Facebook and stay full.  I think the issue to scaling is how to keep them maintained and professionally cleaned because the repairs need to happen immediately, and the cleaning needs to happen in a short window of time, on specific days (no matter what).  The more you own, the harder this gets to handle without companies dedicated to this line of work.   

Thank you! I have a few slow months just trying to be creative so I can keep them full. 

[Ken Barton]

It's a good idea to promote your property on Instagram to be more visible online and it's free. 

[Shane Verville]

Check out a company called Evolve Vacation Rental - they list your property on VRBO, Homeaway and a few others. For 10% of the bookings you get access to their algorithm that figures out the right rent rate to ensure you're getting it occupied as often as possible, for top dollar. They can also help with scheduling cleaning services etc but it may increase their charge, not sure.

[Kerry Baird]

I have been going for six months now, in coastal Florida.  I have a 3/2 house for six guests, a few blocks from the ocean and one house from the intracoastal waterway.  I have found that my demographic is not what I expected, and that is that most of my guests are grandparents who meet their adult children and a few grandchildren.  Most are from another place in Florida. 

That said, I'd expect more bookings from VRBO.  But, no.  Most of them are coming from AirBnb.  My occupancy has been quite high until October and Nov, where it has dropped to 55%. 

There is a recent post about Booking.com, which was interesting. We do get Europeans visiting, but not as many as I expected.  When we were stationed with the Air Force in Europe, we found that Booking.com was the best site to use.  I just haven't found too many Americans who are familiar with the site.  In an effort to nudge up occupancy in these slow months, I am going give it a go.

[Richard Lee]

@Cathy Horner we use both Airbnb and VRBO but 95% of our bookings are Airbnb.

We also give all guests messaging encouraging direct booking (and a discount) on future stays. These are all vetted by their first stay with us.

[Ken Latchers]

As I said in a couple of threads, I put my price up high during leaf season and I'm getting a steady stream only from booking.com almost nothing for Airbnb except discount Seekers. And none of the booking.com people have been Europeans, only Americans. Yes it is a bit of a bear to set up properly, but they have educational materials and support is always ready to assist. I said what my settings were in booking.com to optimize in another thread.

posted by @Kerry Baird:

I have been going for six months now, in coastal Florida.  I have a 3/2 house for six guests, a few blocks from the ocean and one house from the intracoastal waterway.  I have found that my demographic is not what I expected, and that is that most of my guests are grandparents who meet their adult children and a few grandchildren.  Most are from another place in Florida. 

That said, I'd expect more bookings from VRBO.  But, no.  Most of them are coming from AirBnb.  My occupancy has been quite high until October and Nov, where it has dropped to 55%. 

There is a recent post about Booking.com, which was interesting. We do get Europeans visiting, but not as many as I expected.  When we were stationed with the Air Force in Europe, we found that Booking.com was the best site to use.  I just haven't found too many Americans who are familiar with the site.  In an effort to nudge up occupancy in these slow months, I am going give it a go.