The content for this post has been racing around in my head for months. I just haven’t had time to sit down and write it, and to be perfectly honest, I suppose I was also unsure of how to approach it. Today the light dawned!
As you know we joined AirBnB way back in 2013. Earlier this year, we felt that the bookings were slower to come in so we asked over on our Facebook page what booking platforms people used? We rarely get to go away so we don’t get to use these platforms ourselves.
Well, my word, I never knew there were so many!! We had joined various platforms since 2013, but even still the response to my question stumped me at how many others there were out there.
I thought I’d share our feelings and thoughts on the platforms we’ve used and/or tried to use.
Oldfarm – book now
AirBnB
Our first foray into the bed and breakfast world was with AirBnB. To put it simply, we love it. We have met some wonderful people. The couple of times we’ve had any difficulties the staff at AirBnB HQ have been extremely helpful and had things sorted in jig time. The website/platform is easy to use. The guest/host review system works and is a great way to assess who is coming to stay. The payment system is efficient and trouble-free.
Booking.com
This was the platform that was the second most popular response. We had always avoided Booking.com because of their fee structure. However, with it getting so many votes we thought we had to give it a try. We signed up in May and almost immediately bookings started to roll in. Our thoughts? It is definitely a different ‘type’ of person that uses this system…. don’t get me wrong, still lovely people, but the pre-visit communication is not the same. Guests can review us, but we can’t review guests. The ‘extranet’ (that’s what they call their website?) is a bit cumbersome to use. We have to collect the payment ourselves. On the plus side, we have been invited by Booking.com to trial a new app they are developing and we are excited to be part of this process.
TripAdviser
A disaster. Again it was one that was recommended. We went through the process, but failed to get anywhere as we didn’t have a ‘staff’ list for housecleaning….. it is me and him!!!
Wimdu
I cannot remember how we found this app, but we signed up to it many years ago. I think about 5 years ago. In that time we’ve just had one booking. It works in a very similar ay to AirBnB, and for that one booking everything worked seamlessly. And, just now, as I tried to find a link to share with you, I’ve discovered Wimdu actually redirects you to Booking.com!
FreeBirdClub
This is an interesting new platform. It is Irish. I think about 2 years old, and is aimed at people over 50 hosting people over 50. A pretty cool idea. I can’t give any further comment on it as we haven’t had a single booking through it yet.
HomeStay
Again, I believe, this was developed in Ireland. We’ve been on this platform for about 4 or 5 years. We’ve only had one booking in that time. The way HomeStay works is that they take a commission as the booking deposit, and then it is up to the host to collect money on departure.
HomeAway
What can I say about this? I’m sure it probably works well for some, but it was nothing but trouble for us. We signed up earlier this year, got bookings, met lovely people. However, payment was very slow to come through. When we tried to chase it, we were told we shouldn’t even be on their platform as it is only for ‘entire’ properties! Why then do you have a B&B category listed? In the end I just removed our listing… the staff were not helpful at all.
In conclusion, AirBnB is still our number one. It gets so much bad press. For those outside of Ireland, AirBnB is being blamed here in Ireland for causing the ‘housing crisis’. Now let’s make it clear, I am quite sure there are greedy landlords going for the short-term let rather than long term. However, to put our side of the argument… here in rural Tipperary what few people we bring into the area, spend money locally and are helping to sustain and improve this little patch.
We are enjoying the process of working with Booking.com on their new applications. Check out the new ‘book now’ button that they’ve initiated on our Facebook page … more I am sure will follow on this.
We are always open to suggestions.
Are there other platforms we should be using?
A Year In Redwood 