The vacation rental industry is always changing. Not only that, many of the “big name” companies are changing the rules in their own favor. Owners are constantly looking for alternatives from the big name sites like HomeAway. They’re charging more fees than ever, taking a bigger cut of the profit than ever, and cutting down on owner/renter communication.
So if you’re a disillusioned owner who is looking for an alternative to Homeaway for listing your vacation rental, you’ve found the right spot.
Here you can learn the differences of the big sites and more about ours. There are constantly new sites launching so it’s best to understand, so you can pick the right one for you!
Best alternatives to VRBO
VacationRentals.com
VacationRentals.com has anywhere from 250-600 thousand visits per month. Most of their traffic is from Canada and the US. They offer beautiful homes for good rates. Some even have more amenities than hotels. There are some complaints as they have been bought by a bigger conglomerate.
EDITORS NOTE – 5/21/18: VacationRentals.com has merged with the VRBO/Homeaway family and is no longer a viable alternative to VRBO.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a well known and trusted marketplace for vacation rentals around the world. It was founded in 2008 and has grown in success. They have a whopping 88 to 120 million visitors to their website each month and boast world class service and accomodations for all price ranges. They are unique by offering shared spaces where the owner can be home during the stay. This also leads to more cost effective accomodations.
TripAdvisor Rentals
TripAdvisor has billions of visitors each year to their site. That means your listing without a doubt will get a lot of views. The owner platform has been simplified and it’s free to sign up, however you will pay a commission for each booking. The more your listing gets rented is more money for both you and TripAdvisor, so it is a win-win.
FlipKey
FlipKey offers vacation rentals through the TripAdvisor platform. It is free to publish your listing and then they take a 3% commission from your guest’s payment. Since it was bought by TripAdvisor it has seen great success and a lot of views.
FloridaRentals.com
We started FloridaRentals.com in 2017 with over a decade of experience in the industry. We know what owners want, and we know exactly what they’re NOT getting from some of the big names on this list.
What sets us apart? Well, we only work exclusively with properties in Florida. From the theme parks to the warm gulf waters and the sugar sand beaches – you can’t beat a trip to Florida. Travelers know that if they want the best inventory of Florida properties, they should book with us.
We charge NO service or booking fees – which saves you 20% over other rental websites. Our team consists of rental industry experts, and we take pride in providing the best customer service to travelers.
You can trust that the properties listed are as advertised. We also allow travelers to connect directly with owners, removing communication restrictions normally placed on rental sites.
We have subscription fees ONLY. We’ve heard from thousands of rental owners that they hate the “pay per booking” model and we do not have that. Many of the larger sites are forcing owners to adopt this model, and we will never do that
Booking.com
With over one million properties this site books millions of rooms daily. You will pay per booking like most of the big sites. And you will get a lot of views since it is the biggest travel site online. The site does have extra costs for owners and travelers, so beware you will be dealing with quite a few extra fees. However, it is free to list.
2 Comments
Sorry. I don’t know. My friend said she got practically no inquiries from a slightly lower Tier after her first free three months. She said this happened to her aunt and uncle too with their house. They had all tried it together. I was just too afraid to try. I think they went back to VROB. They felt they had no other choice.
As a family who books houses several times a year, vrbo used to be my go to. Then I noticed my rental fees went to about $500 per stay. I refuse to use vrbo and I think more renters are doing the same.