I’ve been on FlipKey for more than two years. It was good for a few bookings at first but only one booking since then. The biggest thing to know is that they still keep customer service separate from TripAdvisor, even though they market under TripAdvisor. So when you need CS support you wait more than 12 hours for someone to get back to you…even then I had to bug them repeatedly. Fortunately it was not a pressing issue but just be advised…you will need to be very self sufficient, and I certainly would NOT count on them if there was a problem.
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You have a suite on a floor of your home and list as a private room? What is the best performing platform for you?
Airbnb, hands down. I’m also working hard on my own bookdirect listings, though, so I have a GMB website (Google My Business) and am on Houfy.com, which I would encourage everyone here to do.
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I created our listing on Flipkey/Tripadvisor last night, just waiting for them to make it go live. I will give it a shot and see what happens. We are a vacation rental.
I don’t have a vacation rental and its not a good fit for my business.
how many bookings have you got through Houfy so far @Atlnative and how do you find their software?
Thanks @ Helsi
I put my listing on nursefinder for traveling nurses. They stay usually minimum 90 days. I’m hoping this one lead will convert and I won’t have to do airbnb anymore.after 4 yrs I’m done.,having hosted over 300 couples!
Did you try that already?
The nurse will be gone a lot. My prior long term guest lost his job so he was always there.also I’m getting 400 a Mo more this time.
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Many years ago I had a nurse as a roommate. Best roomate ever… at first. I hope it goes well for you.
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I had a gay male nurse as a housemate for years when I was single. Best housemate ever for me as a single female. He worked doubles all the time and when he wasn’t working he was out being a flamboyantly wonderful young gay man with his cohorts, i.e. he was never home. I saw lots more of his money than I ever did of him lol.
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Last fall I had a great situation. A dentist found my place and booked most of the fall about 18 days a month. He worked long hours, never entertained, never needed anything, paid cash after the first 8 bookings. and I could still book weekends and keep my account active and reviews coming in. I take another like him in a heartbeat and may eventually try the traveling medical option. I’m half a mile from a hospital. But I don’t have a full kitchen or lounge space and that’s a big sacrifice for most to make.
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It wouldn’t have been for my housemate nurse. He didn’t cook. Ever. I don’t remember him ever having anything at all in my refrigerator and he didn’t have one in his room. I think he lived with me for 3 years IIRC.
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I got into the most peculiar wrangle with Air last year when a SH booked on IB for 2 nights. Her terms were arriving 2 hours early, and having no contact with another human being on arrival for the first 2 hours of her arrival plus every day after, et cetera.
Normally this would be a facile turn down because its a shared house. But the CSR started to ARGUE. Why not? Why can’t you do this and that? Went on for OVER AN HOUR. For a $25/nt room.
Finally I told the CSR to take $50 out of my account and pay her to go away, along with the CSR. They still argued!
My bet was that the Diva was the arguee. But I still say it was money well spent.
I created our Booking.com profile. I read a lot about the platform here and I got cold feet. I never made it go live. I was thinking I’ll give it a shot after we get the cameras installed. So I kept researching and came across this article, which has been the proverbial nail for me. I’ve decided it’s definitely not for me. (Just adding this for the benefit of anyone else going through this same dilemma.)
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@Allison_H, FYI, I rent out the entire lower level apartment of my home (advertised as owner occupied) and get about 40% of my business via Vrbo.
Hi @Helsi, sorry for the delay in my response…we’ve been “off the grid” I have had one inquiry via Houfy so far and I find the software to be pretty good overall. If something needs attention, it’s addressed pronto. I would probably get more inquires if I marketed it more…I could do more TBH. Several owners have gotten multiple bookings.
Actually I am a software engineer and math was one of my fav subjects in school. Geometry, trigonometry, calculus, stuff like that.
I never read, or I couldn’t find written anywhere explicitly how much ABB and booking charge but maybe i didn’t know where to look. All I know is that I advertised the same price in both places and with booking I got paid way less.
Hence my dismay, ok? If I were you I’d stop insulting people I don’t know anything about. Anyone can calculate some freaking percentages once we have the info.
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Just got my 6th booking on Houfy today. Woo hoo!!
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