All Forum Posts by: Julie Chai

Quote from @Frank Barletta:

Booking.com as a brand doesn't focus on traditional Airbnb/VRBO so I would say no.

Do you only use AirBnB/VRBO?

Quote from @Joel Case:

Quote from @Julie Chai:

Quote from @Joel Case:

Quote from @Julie Chai:

man! all these " dont do it".... I think I should listen to my fellow investors lol.  

 You have to do what's right for you. 

I know right.. I've just snoozed my bookings on there... Going to see how my next guest will be good or bad and then I'll decide to unsnooze it or delete it all together.
I just rather have the piece of mind that whichever platform I use, they have the Hosts's back and screen guests properly.

 If that's the case let me know when you find that platform, because it's not AirBnB. I have yet to need VRBO to step up, so I can't comment. 

Will do! and same with you. I have been on VRBO since I started STR and currently hosting my first guest from them. So far, the guest has been very respectful when we communicate. Hoping to get more from VRBO but don't know why I'm not getting anything...

Quote from @Joel Case:

Quote from @Julie Chai:

man! all these " dont do it".... I think I should listen to my fellow investors lol.  

 You have to do what's right for you. 

I know right.. I've just snoozed my bookings on there... Going to see how my next guest will be good or bad and then I'll decide to unsnooze it or delete it all together.
I just rather have the piece of mind that whichever platform I use, they have the Hosts's back and screen guests properly.

man! all these " dont do it".... I think I should listen to my fellow investors lol.  

Quote from @Eliott Elias:

You should have your property up on all platforms.

 What other platforms have you had good experiences with or recommend?

Quote from @Joel Case:

I have been online with my STR for seven months and have had 2 or 3 bookings come from Booking.com. The guests seem to expect a hotel like experience as far as communication goes, but the guests I have had have been great from Booking.com. My crappy guests (but also the majority of my revenue) have all come from AirBnB.

I'm going to hang in there for a few more weeks and see what happens. I just received my 2nd booking on booking.com yesterday for a one nighter (2 adults, 4 kids)....hopefully they'll be ok.  Since Booking.com now has an option to discount rates depending on how many guests stay...I realized that's what happened with my first guest (that left my door wide open after checking out)!  They only listed 2 guests to get the cheaper rate. So I've opted out of that option now and even raised my prices $10 more a night compared to my AirBnb rates.  I'm hoping this will help filter out the bad ghetto guests.

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Quote from @Jon Martin:

Quote from @Michael Baum:

I have heard they have been revamping their STR section but it appears that it is a long way off.

 I heard this too but their platform is still just as clunky as it was 10 years ago when I first used it, and the design looks just how I remembered it . . . 

I know! It's weird. There have been several articles and the big ad during the Superbowl and it still isn't really going anywhere.

 yes, I don't like their website layout.  Not user friendly.

Quote from @Luke Carl:

Yes. It's fantastic. In Europe. I'm kidding!!!

I'm going to take this as a "NO!" response to use booking.com as a platform lol

Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Hated it. Bad guests, difficult to get paid. 

 My exact first experience with booking.com!  I'm assuming you don't use them anymore?

I just signed up for Booking.com and got my first reservation within a week and turned out they were a bad guest.  The guest had brought additional guests than they listed on the reservation, doesn't respond to my messages/concerns, left my front door wide open when they left.  I was trying to find host reviews about booking.com but couldn't find any. I guess only guests can leave reviews for the property but there's no option (that I see) for hosts to leave guest reviews like AirBnB.  It also takes longer for me to receive my payment where AirBnb and Vrbo payout almost immediately.

Any pros/cons or advise/suggestions on booking.com???  Should I keep my listing on there?  Or is this a bad platform for hosts?

Thanks!