Choosing the right vacation rental site for your short-term rentals from a vast number of different platforms can be overwhelming for property managers. Especially when you’re managing a multitude of property listings, all catering to different traveler personas with a variety of needs.
Vacation rentals aren’t just for summer vacations and traditional channels anymore. Guests are increasingly opting for vacation rentals over hotels, seeking a more authentic and homelike experience.
In order to meet the international growth of demand for vacation rentals, property managers looking to increase revenue and distribution can list on more than the traditional vacation rental site.
Building a diverse distribution strategy
To make the most of each listing in times of tight margins and revenues, it’s even more important to identify the different types of properties and target groups the rental sites cater to.
So, bearing your revenue targets in mind can put a lot of stress on the already lengthy and difficult selection process. Today, we’re going to list non-traditional vacation rental site websites where property managers can list their vacation rental properties.
We’ve identified the vacation rental site for listing your home rentals and show you how to manage your portfolio of short-term rentals smartly in a single interface.
With 20 years behind us, we’re the longest-standing channel manager and PMS in the industry. Want to see how we’d work for your specific needs? Book a demo today.
Vacation Rental Site for boosting the occupancy and revenues of your vacation home portfolio
The good news first: at Avantio we’re passionate about proactively transforming the vacation rental industry and helping our customers grow.
Therefore, between the following top 8 sites for listing vacation rentals outside the incumbent sites, such as Airbnb or Booking.com, you can find your next vacation rental site thta is already integrated into the Avantio Channel Manager, along with a multitude of other websites.
#1 Vrbo
Vrbo is part of the Expedia Group and has its focus on providing vacation rentals in the United States. Vrbo is a network of 50 sites around the world, receiving 75 million visits per month.
It focuses on non-urban markets, which has made it one of the strongest channels in 2021.
According to a recent study by VRMIntel, Vrbo brought in 23% of bookings to vacation rental managers in 2020, while Airbnb only brought in 11%. Plus, while both Airbnb and Booking.com made drastic cuts to their advertising budgets in 2020, the Expedia Group started investing in Vrbo. Perhaps property managers should follow suit.
Key facts:
- Commission/fees: Vrbo offers two payment models to list a property: you can either pay per booking or by means of an annual subscription. The commission per booking is 5% plus a 3% credit card charge per booking. The annual subscription costs $499 per annum.
- What kind of guests do they attract: Vrbo caters to a wide traveler base. However, they tend to be more of a reference point for families than other channels.
- Who lists there?: You can find a vast offer of property types including houses, apartments, cabins, cottages, bungalows, studios, townhouses, villas, resorts, hotels, guest houses, lodges, chalets, caravans, farmhouses, estates, bed & breakfasts, barns, country houses, boats, and even houseboats.
- Best for: Vrbo’s focus lies on family-friendly vacation rentals.
Want to add Vrbo to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
#2 Holidu
Holidu is a Munich-based price comparison search engine for vacation rentals that was founded in 2014. It allows users to browse millions of properties from hundreds of travel websites.
Holidu not only survived the pandemic—it generated seven-digit positive EBIT figures since May 2020 and had a 2.6x growth in year-on-year bookings and more than €130 million newly generated bookings in July alone.
Holidu focuses on luxury and rural vacation homes for domestic travelers and cityscapers. They cater to travelers who were used to urban travel and reverted to traditional vacation rentals as a safer choice.
Key facts:
- Commission fees: The commission of rate provided by the host.
- What kinds of guests do they attract: Typical Holidu clients look for city breaks, beach holidays, ski trips, and rural escapes.
- Who lists there?: Domestic travelers, cityscapers, and people trying to “get away”. Visitors can browse holiday lettings such as vacation homes, apartments, condos, hotels, villas, beach homes, cottages, and cabins as well as ski lodges.
- Best for: Traditional, destination property managers, seaside villas, and luxury rentals.
Holidu has set up and continuously develops its website with the user experience in mind, resulting in a high-performing and converting tool for property managers.
Want to add Holidu to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
#3 Travelopo
Travelopo is a vacation rental site founded in 2011 and is a globally recognized holiday rentals specialist. Based in Bristol (UK), Travelopo works with the largest network of established property managers and local agents in almost every country across Europe.
They also work with a network of reputable agencies worldwide. The property types in their portfolio consist of approx. 60% holiday villas and 40% apartments and condos.
They match properties to guests: working like a traditional travel agency, if the guest doesn’t find what they want on the platform, their agents will manually find one that matches the guest’s needs.
This is a great opportunity to list properties with niche amenities or property managers who want to build a more loyal guest base since Travelopo’s guests are more likely to return.
Key facts:
- Commission fees: Travelopo charges a 10% commission.
- What kind of guests do they attract: Travelopo specializes in kid-friendly holiday lettings around the globe, their guests mainly being families
- Who lists there?: Travelopo stocks more than 100,000 properties of all types from ski chalets and apartments, to beachside villas on the Mediterranean coast, to countryside farm retreats, and city condos.
- Best for: More personalized, catered stays, that are conducive to repeat stays and customer loyalty
Want to add Travelopo to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
#4 HomeToGo
HomeToGo is a price-comparison search service for vacation rentals, offering 18 million offers in over 200 countries. Founded in 2014 in Berlin, they work with more than 2,000 vacation rental companies worldwide. The platform sees over 23 million visitors every month.
As a search engine, HomeToGo’s main competitor is Google, and it allows property managers to pay for sponsored visibility on their listings. But unlike Google, which uses a CPC (cost-per-click) model, HomeToGo uses only a CPA (cost-per-acquisition) model. Translation? You only pay for actual bookings made, not just clicks.
Some property managers have even found that HomeToGo has filled more vacancies than Airbnb, on average.
HomeToGo also includes the following portals: Casamundo, EuroRelais, Wimdu, CasaVacanza, and Feries.
Key facts:
- Commission fees: The commission fee for hosts for bookings made on the platform depends on the integration option.
- What kinds of guests do they attract: The average Hometogo user is between 30–65 years old.
- Who lists there?: The portfolio of vacation rentals ranges from vacation homes, apartments, hotels, boats, castles, hostels, lodges, hotels, resorts, bed & breakfasts, camping, pensions, and farmhouses.
- Best for: Property managers who want leverage search as far as possible without paying just for clicks and impressions, but paying only for bookings.
Want to add HomeToGo to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
#5 HVN Travel Group
Since its opening in 2018, HVN (pronounced “haven”) has been setting a new standard for the short-term rental industry, defining a category of professionally-managed “private havens” distinguished from both home shares and hotels for their assured quality, unique amenities, and exceptional value.
Just like Avantio, HVN is an exclusively B2B platform, meaning no small-scale, side-hustle hosts list on this channel. They distribute your listings to reach preferred travelers who rarely use mainstream platforms and spend 2.7x more per booking, with longer booking windows and lower cancellation rates than the industry average.
Today it lists over 150,000 unique properties in top locations all over the globe and services a global network of leading travel agencies, travel member clubs, and Fortune 500 employees such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, and T-Mobile in partnership with corporate travel programs and professional travel agencies.
Key facts:
- Commission fees: Listing your short-term rental on HVN is free and at no marketing costs. The aim is to distribute serviced apartment & villa rentals through password-protected portals, at privately negotiated rates, mostly 12%-15% off the public net rate.
- What kinds of guests do they attract: HVN is exclusive to employees of Fortune 500 companies seeking an alternative to hotels. It provides property managers access to an untapped traveler base.
- Who lists there?: HVN is an exclusive, password-protected private channel. The listings include unique apartments, private residences, historic villas, and more.
- Best for: When you want to attract more millennial corporate high-quality travelers looking for a consistent, quality experience away from it all.
Want to add HVN to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
#6 TravelStaytion
Established in 2013, vacation rental site TravelStaytion ranks among the largest and fastest-growing quality accommodation online booking platforms for professionally managed holiday and short-term rentals.
TravelStaytion is a hub for professionally managed properties from verified hosts and property managers. It provides more than 85,000 dedicated holiday and vacation rental accommodations in 600 destinations across the globe. TravelStaytion caters to luxury travelers who seek a professionally serviced property.
They require property managers to offer at least 4 out of 25 of their listed Host Reception services, including services like airport pickup, contactless check-in, in-stay cleaning, or private jet rental service.
Key facts:
- Commission fees: Listing with TravelStaytion is free of charge. The service charge is added to the gross price.
- What kinds of guests do they attract: TravelStaytion targets global guests looking for comfort, quality, and professionalism and who appreciate better services and travel experiences during their holidays.
- Who lists there?: TravelStaytion only lists entire properties, such as studios, houses, apartments, and villas.
- Best for: Quality-seeking millennials looking to elevate their stay in properties that are more than just a property.
Want to add TravelStaytion to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
#7 Atraveo
Atraveo is a thriving German vacation rental site, specialized in holiday apartments and houses, and is part of the TUI group. Founded in 1997, the site lists more than 300,000 vacation rental properties from all over the world in more than 10 languages.
As one of the longest-standing listing channels on our list, Atraveo has been around just after Booking.com was founded—though at the time, hotels and vacation rentals attracted completely different travelers.
It caters to generation X and Baby Boomer travelers who have been dedicated users for decades.
Key facts:
- Commission fees: Hosts pay a 15% service fee on confirmed bookings.
- What kinds of guests do they attract: Atraveo caters to a large variety of different kid-friendly family-holidays.
- Who lists there?: The site lists villas, houses, and apartments.
- Best for: When you want to attract older travelers looking for a family getaway.
Want to add Atraveo to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
#8 Expedia
It’s not just for hotels—Expedia is a great place for vacation rentals, too.
Founded in 1996, Expedia Group was one of the first OTA portals and is among the leading online travel agencies today. It operates in 70+ countries all over the world, listing 1.7 million vacation rentals, and has 750 million visitors per month across all Expedia properties making it easy to unlock new markets.
Expedia’s list of different accommodation types is quite comprehensive. The different types of guests that look for their getaways are equally diverse.
Expedia has a wide range of products that allow you to target specific audiences, like long-stay guests, specific market segments, and international guests. Additionally, they have a data analytics team that can provide property managers with an abundance of data to help them make data-driven revenue management decisions.
Key facts:
- Commission/fees: Registration and listing of a property is free, the commission fees vary from 10 to 30%. The exact amount can be found in the contract.
- What kind of guests do they attract: Expedia caters to both business and leisure travelers offering an extensive business portfolio to cover traveler’s needs, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Egencia, trivago, and CarRentals.com.
Who lists there?: Expedia has a dedicated page for vacation rentals. The listings include: houses, condos, apartments, vacation homes, country houses, hotel resorts, hotels, and bed & breakfasts.
- Best for: When you want to find more millennial travelers wanting to book their next vacation.
Note: Vrbo is owned by Expedia. If your property is listed on Vrbo, has instant book activated, and maintains a consistent price, your listing will be pushed to the rest of the Expedia Group Channels. If you don’t meet that criteria, you have to list it separately.
Want to add Expedia to your list of channels? Check out their integration with Avantio today.
What aspects to consider when choosing vacation rental site for your short-term homes
As a property manager, your focus lies on getting the most exposure to your vacation rental properties to travelers who don’t look on the traditional websites Therefore, the following questions should be answered when you’ve ticked off your checklist, giving you a clear roadmap where to list your vacation rental properties in order to reach your target audience:
- Which traveler base does the site cater for? What are their requirements?
- Which type of rentals are listed on the platform?
- In what way are your properties presented?
- What coverage does the platform have?
- Does the platform make sure that your properties get maximum exposure to potential guests?
- What commission does the platform charge?
Increase your visibility and exposure on the vacation rental site without the overwhelm
With the Avantio Channel Manager, you list on all of the top vacation rental sites and can manage your different properties and bookings in a single interface.
The fully integrated management tool within our software streamlines your listing management by allowing you to handle multiple channels with our vacation rental channel manager. We focus on professional property managers and the channels we integrate will reflect that.
Distributing your listings is a strategy, not a task. Take our free 5-day email course for property managers who want new, creative strategies for distributing their vacation rentals.
