Top 12 Airbnb Competitors and Alternatives for Hosts

Several additional platforms compete with Airbnb that you may use to market your vacation rental company in addition to HomeAway, Vrbo, and Booking.com. Learn about the main advantages of some of the most well-known websites in the short-term rental sector besides Airbnb.

Have you ever wondered who the rivals to Airbnb are and why you may want to sell your home on a site other than Airbnb? According to Invezz, Airbnb has a market share of about 20% of the whole vacation rental business, making it without a doubt the most well-liked platform. It’s realistic to assume that this proportion will increase in the coming years given Airbnb’s year-over-year growth.

However, a clever strategy for insuring your company’s success is to offer your rental homes on other websites as well. You may reach a wider range of potential renters by promoting your listing on networks other than Airbnb. Your occupancy rate will rise, and you’ll make more money as a consequence. Differentiating your offerings also prevents you from depending excessively on Airbnb, a business that has received plenty of host complaints and even legal action.

Although it seems like a fantastic concept, finding a new advertising platform for your property may prove to be difficult. It might be challenging to choose which Airbnb substitute to use with so many possibilities available. Check out these Airbnb rivals and discover the essential elements to securing your position in the short-term rental industry.

HomeAway

One of the most well-known Airbnb rivals, HomeAway, has been ruling the market for many years. Given that it is among the top search results for booking sites on Google, you have undoubtedly already come across it there. On HomeAway, there are more than 2 million listings, and the website is accessible in 190 countries. It was established in 2005, and in 2015, it joined the Expedia Group.

The kind of homes available on HomeAway is the primary distinction. HomeAway exclusively allows private vacation homes, unlike Airbnb where owners may provide shared rooms.

Key Features:

• It serves an older demographic that appreciates comfort and is willing to spend more;
• A yearly membership to HomeAway costs $499, or 5% of each reservation plus 3% for credit card processing;
• To reserve your property, guests must sign a rental agreement and pay 10% to 50% in advance;
• The rental agreement will determine cancellations;
• The “Free-to-list” option is offered with no upfront cost; a security deposit is optional (commission is 10% per booking). But bear in mind that listings with premium memberships perform better in HomeAway rankings.

Vrbo

Vrbo, which stands for Vacation Rentals By Owner, is an excellent alternative to Airbnb. Vrbo solely provides private houses and flats, similar to HomeAway.

Vrbo was purchased by HomeAway in 2006, and as of 2015, HomeAway and Vrbo were both owned by the Expedia Group. Your property will be instantly featured on HomeAway if you list it on VRBO.

Key Features:

• There are only private properties listed;
• A yearly membership to Vrbo costs $499, or 5% of each booking plus 3% for credit card processing;
• Each property has a different cancellation and payment policy;
• Additionally, there are “free-to-list” and paid choices. Paid ones get an advantage and are often more prominent on the website;
• No reviews may be deleted by hosts (both positive and unflattering).

Booking.com

With its user-friendly, simple-to-navigate user interface and the possibility for fast booking, Booking.com is ahead of the curve. It is hence popular with curious visitors. With these features, your occupancy rate might rise as more visitors choose to book via the Booking.com website owing to the site’s streamlined reservation procedure.

Understanding Booking.com: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

More than 130,000 locations are covered by Booking.com’s more than 27 million listings, which span 227 different nations.

Key Features:

• Upon guest arrival, Booking.com assesses a 15% host fee on fulfilled reservations. There will be no price for attendees who cancel or fail to show up;
• Possibility of upgrading to Preferred Member service;
• more accommodating to travelers due to its flexible cancellation choices;
• No user booking fees;
• fast and easy hotel check-in procedure;
• advanced filtering and search system. Based on precisely what they are searching for, it displays the results to visitors. This helps hosts advertise their establishment to the right demographic.

Expedia

When customers are searching for holiday rentals, Expedia is often not the first site that comes to mind. Because of this, many hosts often ignore it. Since many hosts are unaware of Expedia, listing your home there might help you edge out the competition.

When you add a property on Expedia, it will also be included on other well-known websites for booking travel, like Hotels.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, Wotif, and others.

Key Features:

• 15% of the total cost of each reservation is paid by the owner; last-minute reservations are accepted;
• localized websites in 33 different nations;
• All of the travel and lodging options are in one location. Expedia is thus ideal for those who don’t want to invest a lot of time in finding the finest offers.

TripAdvisor

The primary function of TripAdvisor is to provide reviews from other travelers. This is also the main reason visitors choose to look for accommodations on the company’s website. It was established in 2000, and throughout the years, a sizable number of reviews have been gathered. For many tourists, TripAdvisor is a reliable source of information.

Your property listing will instantly display in 26 different languages and on 26 different TripAdvisor websites when you use TripAdvisor. By doing this, you’ll be able to reach a wider audience and encourage more tourists from other countries to rent your properties.

Your listing will instantly display on FlipKey after it has been added to TripAdvisor.

Key Features:

• Each booking on TripAdvisor is subject to a 3% host fee. This commission is determined by the host’s total rent, which takes into account all necessary and optional costs for the property;
• many testimonials for lodging, sights, and restaurants gathered over time;
• It is popular among travelers since it provides accommodations, the greatest airfare discounts, and vehicle rentals all in one location. It helps people organize their whole vacation and locate the greatest accommodations;
• it was established in 2000. With such a background, it is a location with the highest recommendations and a well-known travel resource.

FlipKey

FlipKey is a division of TripAdvisor that provides visitors with a variety of vacation rental alternatives.

The pay-per-booking pricing structure of FlipKey is its most distinctive feature. This implies that you won’t pay until after making a reservation.

Key Features:

• Per booking, FlipKey levies a 3% host fee. This commission is determined by the host’s total rent, which takes into account all necessary and optional costs for the property;
• several booking options, including quick booking, inquiries, and booking requests, as well as the “Free-to-list” option;
• great search filtering options (low-cost, luxury, family-friendly filters, etc.). This might assist you in narrowing down your target market and choosing the appropriate category for your listing.

9flats

It functions the same as other Airbnb rivals. By including images, outlining the minimum and maximum stay requirements, the number of rooms, etc., you may improve your listing.

In 104 countries, 9flats has over 30,000 hosts.

Key Features:

• A 15% commission on the entire booking fee is paid by 9flats hosts;
• operates in virtually every continent, except for Oceania;
• Easy booking is available to visitors through the “Book” and “Instant Book” options.

Outdoorsy

Outdoorsy is the world’s biggest marketplace for motorhomes, RVs, campervans, and all other types of mobile lodgings. As it concentrates only on the RV industry, it is compared to Airbnb in the world of motorhomes.

An excellent option for operating a vacation rental company without a house to rent is Outdoorsy. This vacation rental website is useful for attracting visitors who want to experience the great outdoors by renting an RV.

Key Features:

• 20% of the total reservation is the host/owner charge. It covers the overnight charge plus cleaning and any other costs but not taxes or Outdoorsy fees;
• reviews from past users that demonstrate your efforts to provide a wonderful visitor experience;
• A unique experience that will broaden your target audience and draw a more niche crowd.

Homestay

This rival to Airbnb stands out since it only offers hosted lodging when the host is present.

A private or shared room, or a bed, may be rented out here at costs that are more suitable for small budgets. This may be a nice place to start if you’re just starting and have an extra room to rent.

Key Features of Homestay:

• A minimal host service cost (3% of the deposit with a $1 minimum charge);
• Excellent platform for hosts just starting in a company;
• Draws in more young people and students. If you want to draw in people looking for inexpensive housing, advertising on Homestay will make your rental prominent.

Onefinestay

This Airbnb rival approaches the vacation rental industry differently. In addition to Sydney, it also provides opulent rentals in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Paris.

You’ll be able to draw in more affluent visitors if you list your home on onefinestay. Your vacation rental company will reach whole new heights as a result of this.

Owners of rental properties that post them on onefinestay may easily find renters without having to manage them themselves. Onefinestay offers assistance with marketing, public relations, and other tasks in addition to property management.

Key Features:

• depending on your property’s size, design, and location, onefinestay predicts your predicted revenue;
• Individual hosting costs are mentioned;
• specifically created to advertise your opulent holiday rental;

Kid and Coe

This is a great Airbnb substitute that may help you bring in more visitors if your property is family-friendly and your goal is to draw in more families.

This website, which competes with Airbnb, is devoted to offering perfect lodgings and family-friendly experiences. Since more of these people will notice your offer and book your rental if you advertise it on Kid and Coe.

Key Features:

• A $99 listing fee is required from hosts to list a property. The Kid and Coe host charge is determined by the classification of your home. As a result, Professional Partners—those with personal websites that only advertise their homes—pay a 12% fee on reservations.
• The Kid & Coe Community Protection Program offers additional protection for your company in addition to your home insurance for short-term rentals.
• Professional picture editing services to make your property appear its best. 10% processing charge for all other private listings.

HomeExchange

HomeExchange is a portal that facilitates home swaps, as the name of the website indicates. It provides more than 400,000 dwellings in 187 locations. You may make limitless trades all year long if you subscribe for $150 a year.

For stays in the homes of other members in the locations of their choice, hosts may accumulate “guest points” via the HomeExchange program.

HomeExchange is barely a competition to Airbnb in terms of its capacity to assist you in starting your vacation rental company. However, it offers you the opportunity to develop your hosting abilities and mix with like-minded others.

Key Features:

• A $150 yearly membership fee should be paid by hosts to receive an unlimited number of house exchanges;
• Property damage insurance; Platform help in the event of a cancellation.

Conclusion

To develop a profitable vacation rental company and attract more attention to your house, you may want to explore using the Airbnb rivals listed above. By promoting your rental across several rental platforms, you may draw in more visitors and boost your occupancy rate and revenue.

To make your work much simpler, Hosty provides integration with some of the most well-known Airbnb rivals. Our software may be used to manage several homes that are advertised on different rental marketplaces.

• With the sophisticated Hosty channel manager, you can handle bookings from platforms like Airbnb and those of its rivals and manage everything from a single dashboard.
• Automate tasks like managing visitor reviews, pricing, and communications.
• By automating team activities, you may maintain complete control over work management and cleanup.