Hi all
Have made a decent start on Airbnb and now looking at booking.com which I hear is most popular in Thailand. I heard Expedia is in 3rd position.
Any advice on dos and donts. Many thanks.
AirBnB is unique. However I had lots of interest from https://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/ when I listed just before the pandemic lock down in my area. When I went back online I chose AirBnB only.
https://www.furnishedfinder.com/ is popular in my area and includes rooms, not just entire places. Rates seem lower than Air but this could just be my location.
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My understanding of furnishedfinder is that it is used by those who are looking for longer term accommodation, not vacation rentals, therefore rates would be lower.
I’ve had one of my spaces up on furnished finder. It’s not bad, but it’s mostly single people or couples, mostly travelling healthcare, looking for 2-4 month spaces. Since my space is three bedrooms, it really doesn’t fit that demographic. But if you have a smaller space, by all means try it.
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It may depend on the market but there are a lot of people doing STR on there in my area, min stay of 1-7 days. The length of minimum stay is a drop-down menu on FF and includes: 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. But, I believe @lagunafairway said they were in Thailand so it’s not an option for them anyway.
We get a lot of families and larger groups inquiring. I think it’s because we have a big backyard because the apartments are quite small and I don’t try to hide it. I prefer one person but will sometimes take two but won’t do more than two. It’s even worst on Zillow, it’s almost all families and groups that inquire from there, but if you want those then I’d recommend Zillow. Have you tried it?
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Thanks for all the comments. Food for thought.
I book with Booking,com often. I like that I can book way in advance (a year ahead) and it is easy to cancel. I use it mostly for resorts and hotels but would not think it would be a good platform for people renting out their homes.
Are you an Airbnb host?
I am set up and awaiting council approval
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The OP is asking about Thailand, Furnished Finder is only for America,
Where are you based in Thailand? In my many years as a host here in Phuket, Airbnb is No. 1, bookingcom is ok but you have consider the amount of commission they charge if they collect your payments, which is 17.2%, You will have to increase your rates to cover, We don’t get any bookings from any other OTA, nothing stopping you from listing; you might get the odd one, Years ago, we would get the odd booking from Tripadvisor but since covid, nothing.
For hosts abnb is better overall. I can check guest reviews before accepting a booking, and I have more control over how my property is presented to potential customers. In addition, I am able to charge more, both for the main booking and via the cleaning fee. Also (believe it or not) abnb host support is better than booking.
As a guest though, booking is much better.
You can often find the same places to rent on both platforms, the booking one being cheaper and with more guest friendly cancellation/refund options.
Booking also have incentives that you can take advantage of, such as rebates and discounts.
Finally, you can check the location of a property before you book.