Here is a statistic that just blew me away when I learned it. The % of business booked online for hotels vs. for vacation rentals.
Hotel vacations booked online – over 55%
Vacation rental vacations booked online – about 5%
Since the overall online activity of consumers is only increasing, it is imperative that work on closing this gap. Vacation Rentals need to create an environment where guests are able to get all the information, trust the property manager, and are execute the transaction online.
OK. I know there are many arguments against the online booking. But let me be bold. If we do not address these issues and create an industry that is as ‘online-friendly’ as hotels, retailers, banks, phone companies, car dealers, (you get the idea)……………we, not the guests, will be left behind.
So lets all review our online offerings. Is the information presented professionally? Is the information complete? Can the guest ‘book’ the vacation, or just make a ‘reservation’ that requires a phone call? Can guests find you online?
Tags: Online Booking, vacation rentals
Online booking is pitched as such the holy grail for vacation rentals, but as the owner of 7 vacation rentals, I can tell you flat out, it isn’t. It’s more a pain in the ass then anything else. Some of my rentals are $6000 a week, I like to talk to these people first… I like to know who is renting my place.. Additionally, I have many different minimum night requirements…and then those requirements change as the date approaches, I just end up taking reservations I didn’t want for the wrong dates, calling them back, refunding their credit cards…
Additionally, you think online booking is so great, but the business model everyone thinks of when “booking online”is more prevalent is percentage of booking… but I pay $400 per year total to a couple of listing sites and book my entire year for all 7 units from those services. I am not going to pay a percentage of revenue model for bookings I can get at a much lower cost from flat fee models. It’s reservation cannibalization. I get the same results at a much higher cost per reservation.
Online booking has a place, for property managers, etc. and you can go on thinking of these huge market share gains once everyone is “booking online”, but you heard it here first, it won’t happen. I am seeing all sort of new vacation rental sites based on that model, it won’t work. Vacation rentals are not hotels and the sooner you get that, the better.