What are the differences between Booking.com and Airbnb for hosts? In other words, on which platform to publish its announcement?
Do you want to rent your room to generate income or to save your apartment purchase by placing it on vacation rental? You certainly have already thought to list your property on Airbnb, Booking.com or others Airbnb competitors . But who of these two platforms reports the most bookings?
If Airbnb is a community-based platform for renting and booking housing among individuals launched just 10 years ago, in 2008, its fulgurating growth has pushed hotel industry giants to position themselves on this market. Booking.com, created in 2005, is an online booking site where you can find hotels, holiday cottages but also for several years now villas and apartments. To help you make your choice between Airbnb and Booking, here is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages to rent your property on either of the two platforms.
Airbnb vs Booking.com: Which commission? How much will I touch?
Each transaction involves two parts: the guest and the host. Although Airbnb invoices both parties, Booking.com does not charge a booking fee to customers. On the other hand, it bills guests a percentage of the total price of the reservation you must pay at the end of each month.
If you want to register your property on both sites, you must consider this difference. Otherwise, you might find yourself with less money than you think. This Booking.com policy, which therefore does not impose any commission on customers, allows customers to feel more confident at the time of booking. It’s psychological. So you can slightly increase your base rates on Booking.
How are payments managed on Airbnb and Booking.com?
Airbnb cashes the payment on your behalf and pays you on the day of registration.
If you use Booking.com, on the other hand, you will usually have to take charge of the payment procedure yourself. You will receive a credit card number from Booking.com that will guarantee you the reservation when someone books your apartment. This information is only available within 10 days of booking. In case of no-show (one does not present on the day of check-in) or last-minute cancellation, you alone assume your potential loss. For example, imagine that a booking made several months ago is cancelled at the last minute by the traveller. Since you no longer have access to credit card information, you will find yourself without a tenant.
How does the cancellation policy on Airbnb and Booking.com work?
Although Airbnb has started to put in place more flexible and free cancellation options (and sometimes even compel guests to apply them), the cancellation rates are fairly low as the customers make a payment when they book your apartment or holiday home. When you create your ad on Airbnb, you can select one of the three standard cancellation policies and decide if you can still receive the reservation amount in the event of a cancellation.
Unlike Airbnb, most of the properties listed on Booking.com do not require prepayment and include free cancellation that is very useful for customers and not always fun for guests. Although you have an option to choose only non-refundable reservations, activating it will not be appreciated by Booking customers. Although it is understandable that cancellation rates are higher on Booking.com, it also means that you need to adjust your calendar regularly and make sure there is no difference between your Airbnb and Booking.com calendars.
But by registering despite all your accommodation on Booking.com, you can generate additional income for your unoccupied nights and avoid putting all your eggs in the same basket.
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Once you decide to register your property and make it visible on Booking.com, you must make sure that you are not overbooked on the same dates. Imagine that two passengers, one who booked Airbnb and one on Booking.com, arrive at your home the same day...
How are customers different at Airbnb and Booking.com?
In addition to the different verification methods, Airbnb also offers double-way reviews where you can also leave your guests with reviews. Even if it’s very useful to empower your travellers, Booking.com doesn’t offer it. While on Airbnb you have the opportunity to consult the comments of your potential customers before accepting an application, you will not be able to see previous customer profiles on Booking.com.
As you know, Airbnb customers are eager to ask questions before you book your apartment or house. Sometimes you answer dozens of questions (including requests for reduction) about your property and you still receive a message that the customer has booked another ad. It is extremely frustrating when this happens. Unlike Airbnb, reservations are confirmed without prior communication with customers on Booking.com.
Another thing to know is that customers’ expectations on your property may differ depending on the platform on which they reserve your accommodation. As Airbnb’s customers are aware that they will stay with someone, they expect it to be so. While Booking.com’s guests are more likely to expect accommodation at the hotel’s standards (see arrival in a hotel) such as 24-hour check-in, towels and other free toilet accessories.
Airbnb vs Booking: About Host Warranty
Booking.com does not offer any warranty for guests, unlike Airbnb. Indeed, Airbnb offers the Host guarantee , and the platform communicated a lot about this to reassure property owners. However, it is important to know that this guarantee only applies in rare cases, even when significant damage occurs in your apartment or house.
Conclusion: should he put his accommodation on Airbnb or Booking?
If you don’t think about renting your apartment or house only a few days in the history year to make you a small ticket, then Airbnb will be appropriately. However, we must follow all our advices seasonal rental guide . Booking.com is still dominated by hotels today, and if we add to this the fact that the costs are higher (15% versus 3% on average), the favors return to Airbnb.
However, Booking.com seems to have made a great incursion in the field of seasonal rental, and the platform attracts about 1 million customers who pay every day. When you have this volume of business, reservations become more regular and attractive. Moreover, as the owner (or investor) of property for seasonal rental, you should keep an eye attentive to Booking because the site might well become the dominant market actor. Also, creating an ad now on Booking and understanding its operation would allow you to take a non-negligeable lead on future ads that will come to be created soon.
Ultimately, the ideal answer to the question “Who does Airbnb or Booking have to choose to put its accommodation online? » is both (as well as all other rental sites ). None of these sites have exclusive agreement in their contract, so you can register your property on several sites. The problem is that you will need to manually update the availability whenever your property is reserved. If you are not fast enough, you might face double reservations, among other things...
To solve this problem, there are management software that synchronize the calendar on each platform in real time. You can also call a concierge . In both cases, you will have to leave a percentage of your income. We have nothing without anything...
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