If you’re like most new short-term rental hosts, you’ve undoubtedly asked yourself–Should I post my listing on multiple booking platforms? Between Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Furnished Finder, and a whole lot more, it can be hard to resist the temptation to not be on every single platform.

Maybe you’re stuck in low season and are wondering how the heck you can scrape up even one or two bookings this month. Maybe you’ve been talking to property managers who promised they’d get you tons of bookings by listing your property on dozens of different booking platforms and you’re wondering if that’s the best strategy. Or maybe you know hosts who have had great success on other platforms and you think you must be missing out on tons of great bookings.

You’ve come to the right place–by the end of this post, you’ll know if listing your short-term rental on multiple booking platforms is right for you.

The problem with low season

One unbelievably common issue Airbnb hosts face is a total lack of bookings during low season. Practically every short-term rental location has at least one low season each year when few, if any, travelers come to the area; this is usually do to the weather that time of year being less ideal for travel.

Before starting your short-term rental, you might have heard of “low season”, “slow season”, or “off-season” and wondered, How bad can it really be? I’ll still get SOME bookings even when it’s not busy season, right?

Wrong.

During low season, your bookings may very well come to a screeching halt. This can be especially confusing and surprising when you’ve had great bookings during high season, leading you to wonder what you’re during wrong and what you can possibly do to turn things around. Many hosts wonder if adding their short-term rental to more booking platforms is the solution.

And, even if you haven’t been hit hard by low season, you may still be wondering if you’re missing out on bookings by not being listed on multiple platforms.

The problem? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

Some hosts only ever list on one platform and have great success. Other hosts list on that same platform and have nothing but issues. Your success on any given platform is very dependent on your preferences and the location of your short-term rental. So, the best thing you can do is try different platforms out for yourself to find out which one works best for you.

Before you start listing your property on tons of different platforms, though, read on to avoid costly mistakes.

Not all platforms are created equal

Airbnb and Vrbo are the two most prominent and reputable short-term rental platforms in the world so, if you’re considering listing on multiple platforms, start with one of those. I’ve found that Vrbo is significantly more time-consuming and costly than Airbnb and brings in a small fraction of the number of bookings Airbnb does so I would recommend starting with Airbnb. Be sure to also consider which one is most popular in your area.

(I, personally, have never tried listing my short-term rental on other platforms. However, if your short-term rental specifically targets longer stays or certain types of guests, there may be other sites that are a good fit for you–just make sure to do your diligence to ensure they’re reputable first.)

If you want to add your listing to more than one platform, proceed with caution–listing your short-term rental on multiple platforms comes with its downsides. It takes tons of time to set up, maintain, and manage every single listing you have. Plus, it adds complexity, which can lead to mistakes, issues, and unnecessary stress.

Before listing your short-term rental on multiple booking platforms, here’s the most important thing to consider: if your short-term rental is already listed one platform and it’s not performing well, chances are the listing itself is the issue, not the platform. Think about it–if your listing isn’t designed to perform well on the platform it’s currently on, then you can’t expect the exact same listing on other platforms to perform much better.

The secret to success

Instead of spending tons or time and energy trying to manage multiple, completely separate listings across many different platforms, why not start by simply getting more bookings from the platform you’re already on?

Improving your Airbnb listing (the right way!) is something you do once that helps increase your bookings forever. It can have a huge impact all throughout the year, especially during low season when you really need to stand out to get bookings. My listing optimization guide, Listing Optimization Secrets, walks you through every single step of improving your listing to start getting more bookings today. This guide is so comprehensive and filled with examples that many hosts are able to completely optimize their listing it in just one day!

Pro Tip: There are 15+ sections of your Airbnb listing that can be improved today to start earning you more revenue today—find out how.

Takeaway

Deciding whether or not to list your short-term rental on multiple booking platforms is a huge decision! Instead of spending tons or time and energy trying to manage multiple, completely separate listings across many different platforms, why not start by simply getting more bookings from the platform you’re already on?

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What questions do you have about listing your short-term rental on multiple platforms? Let me know in the comments.

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