5 Best Vacation Rental Websites to Post Your Property
Written by
Karen Doyle
Edited by
Angela Corry
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If you’re thinking of buying a vacation home, already own one or have multiple properties to rent out, it’s important to choose the right vacation rental website on which to list your property.
No matter whether your needs include having access to a large number of quality potential renters, a site that’s easy to navigate, doesn’t have too much competition or a plan that isn’t cost-prohibitive, the best website for you may not be best for someone else.
Here are the vacation rental websites that offer the most options to help you decide which one is best to post your property.
Airbnb
Airbnb is the vacation home listing site that has become synonymous with rentals, and for good reason — it’s flexible, popular and easy to navigate.
Typically, the host pays 3% of the reservation subtotal, which includes the nightly price times the number of nights, plus added fees like cleaning or pet fees. The guest pays service fees of up to 14.2% of the subtotal. Some hosts choose the ‘host-only’ fee option, which means you pay 14 to 16% of the subtotal and your guests don’t pay anything.
Bonus feature: Airbnb offers co-hosts. These are local people who will manage the details of your listing, including taking photos, posting on the site, managing reservations, even checking guests in and cleaning up afterward. This is a great option if your vacation home is far from your primary residence.
Vrbo
Vrbo is another site for vacation rentals. This is an option that has no upfront costs and built-in tools for great for newbies.
Hosts on Vrbo pay a 3% payment processing fee and 5% commission on each booking. There’s no charge to list your property — you only pay when it’s booked.
Vrbo offers property managers to help you set up and manage your listing, which is a benefit if you do not live near your vacation property.
The Vrbo site also offers pricing tools to help you get the most for your property, based on seasonality and competition.
HomeToGo
HomeToGo claims to have the ‘world’s largest selection of vacation rentals,’ with over 15 million rentals — which could be good or bad for you depending on how niche your space is. This site tends to have a wider variety of rentals, including B&Bs, and more international rentals, with properties and guests in over 25 countries.
Their guest demographic is advertised as an advantage to hosts: 70% of guests are over 35, the typical stay is 7 days, and guests typically book 90 days in advance.
If you are working within a limited budget, HomeToGo offers a choice of fee structures. You can pay a host-only fee of 15% per booking, or a split fee of 3% plus a variable guest fee based on “smart pricing.” The host-only fee is recommended, as it’s more transparent.
Booking.com
Booking.com is a site for all things travel, not just a vacation rental site. This means you may get access to more travelers. In particular, those who may not have considered renting a vacation home for their getaway, as opposed to a hotel.
The drawback to this site is that the commission structure is less transparent than some of the other sites. When you sign up to list your property, how much you pay can vary based on the country and the type of property. You won’t know what your commission percentage is until you register your property.
But pricing is transparent to guests — they pay the price you set.
Kid & Coe
Kid & Coe is a specialty vacation rental site, only lists properties that are family-friendly. The site also features properties in locations where there is a lot for families with young kids to do. (Hint: There are no listings on the Las Vegas strip.)
That means some extra up-front costs since rentals include essential supplies like toys and books as well as cribs and high chairs. Each rental is screened to ensure it is childproof and kid-friendly.
The other problem with listing at Kid & Coe is that they offer both vacation rentals and hotels, so your house may be competing with the Ritz-Carlton for guests.
Unlike the more general sites, Kid & Coe charges a fee of $149 to list your property. However, that does include fact-checking and editing your copy and/or photos, which can improve your home’s desirability. In addition to that fee, if you are listing a private home, you pay a 5% host fee on all bookings.
The Bottom Line
Making extra income from renting your vacation home requires extra work, but the results can be well worth it. Whether you choose to list your rental property on one of these sites or all of them, each has a way to help make the process easier and more profitable.
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