Advertising on multiple holiday-let platforms can cost you time and money

Airbnb, which started in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests into their San Francisco home, has now grown to over 4 million hosts worldwide and 1.4 billion guest arrivals in almost every country of the globe.

It is clear why Airbnb is dominant in the holiday rental industry: they cover nearly all guest demographics and offer a simple approach to listing your property.

However, because they are a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ platform, listing only on Airbnb can stagnate your business’s growth.

Where to promote your property

Choosing the best site to list your property depends on what your property offers and who you want to target. If you are listing a private room or shared space, Airbnb is one of the only platforms you can list on. They are great at targeting budget travellers, those who are away for work and solo travellers, as well as families and groups.

Your property will be more competitive on Airbnb, so you must make your listing attractive. Click here for our guide to getting started with holiday letting management, where we list all the important information you need to know to make your listing the best it can be.

If your property is more luxurious and you want to target families or large groups, we recommend listing it on additional platforms like PlumGuide or Vrbo for more exposure.

Vrbo is great as it has a large audience, thanks to being a part of the Expedia Group. As mentioned, PlumGuide requires your property to be inspected before listing: if your property is of a high standard and stylish, PlumGuide is the platform for you.

Expedia and Booking.com started focusing on hotel bookings but have expanded to cover all types of holiday accommodation.

If you want your property to have slightly less competition, these are your sites. Booking.com is more favourable than Airbnb in Europe, so check it out. However, it is worth noting that they still have a slightly different audience demographic, and some guests will be looking for hotel stays.

Finally, we have TripAdvisor. Overall, TripAdvisor is a traveller’s best friend when planning a holiday, thanks to the many reviews and activity suggestions.

They have begun branching into the holiday rental sector but still have much catching up to do. It is a personal preference if you choose to list on TripAdvisor, but we recommend looking at the other sites first, as they all have more to offer.

Overall, listing your property on multiple sites is a great way to increase exposure and bookings. Each site offers a unique and different experience for both hosts and guests. On the talk of experiences, Airbnb has also launched Experiences, which offers tourists and locals a range of things to do in the local area.

If you decide to list on multiple sites, ensure you have a thorough and accurate method of organising your property listings and bookings: you don’t want to end up double booked and lose money.

If you think you will struggle or just want peace of mind that everything is being dealt with appropriately, at HelloGuest, they offer a full management service that covers everything from communicating with guests to managing bookings. Your property will have its own account manager dedicated to ensuring everything runs smoothly.