I rent my $7,000-a-week beach house, and I choose utilizing Airbnb to Vrbo-- here's why

In addition to running a motherhood and child site, I also handle a rental home in Ocean City, Maryland. My partner and I acquired our residential or commercial property, which sits on the beach, when COVID-19 started in 2020, with little plans to rent it out.

However, we also acquired our brand-new main home in Severna Park, Maryland-- which is a little over 2 hours from our rental residential or commercial property-- around the exact same time, and it's a big renovation task.

After hearing the going rate for weekly leasings in our neighborhood, we understood it was excessive to pass up. Our plan is to use our rental revenues to spend for the whole remodelling on our main house.

Our beach house is noted on both Airbnb and Vrbo online rental platforms. I really planned to begin just utilizing Vrbo and published our listing there first on December 2021. Vrbo has a credibility of having really family-friendly users, and I liked that.

Quickly after noting on Vrbo, I check out that it's finest to cross-promote on both platforms, so not long after that I set up our listing on Airbnb, too.

I prefer to use Airbnb to manage my year-round leasings

For beginners, I get way more bookings through Airbnb than on Vrbo. We're currently accommodating 4 to six reservations monthly and will end up the year with around 50 overall. Just 5 of those are through Vrbo, while Airbnb remains our leading platform for the rest of our reservations.

In my mind, Airbnb was understood for quicker, more frequent stays. I think I get more year-round bookings on Airbnb since the short-term rental market sees them the very same method.

Because of this, overall, I spend the majority of my time and energy on Airbnb. On average, I spend between 5 and 10 hours a week directly on the Airbnb platform, versus possibly an hour on Vrbo. Usually, this time is spent answering message inquiries, sending arrival directions for upcoming stays, and interacting check-out reminders.


I find the Vrbo owner mobile app is method clunkier and less user friendly than the Airbnb mobile app

When messaging on Airbnb's app, you'll find good icons at the bottom for fast replies, sending out images, scheduling messages, and sharing recommendations with guests. Each user's picture is revealed at a good size beside their message, and overall, it's a colorful display. Vrbo messenger is all black, gray, and white, and they have two standard buttons that just checked out "utilize template" and "attach file."

I love that Airbnb offers hosts a 3% host commission choice and lets the guest pay the rest. Vrbo requires an 8% host charge (commission plus payment processing), which slowly affected my bottom line.

For instance, the average weekly stay at our residential or commercial property expenses $7,000. Vrbo collects $560 on each of these reservations, whereas Airbnb takes simply $210 for the very same reservation from us. A $350 difference might not seem like a lot, however losing 5% from our bottom line throughout a complete year really adds up.

My No. 1 piece of advice for renting your property on either platform is to purchase professional images

I see so many listings with dark, unsightly mobile phone pictures. If you wish to bring in the optimum quantity of noting views, you require to have intense, clear pictures of your house to lure individuals to click on your listing over another.

You ought to likewise start little. Possibly it's not your goal to make your home a full-blown rental property, and that's okay. You can begin by merely gathering enough "side hustle" cash to cover your car payment, groceries, or maybe even your home mortgage.


Our beach house is noted on both Airbnb and Vrbo online rental platforms. For beginners, I receive way more bookings through Airbnb than on Vrbo. Only 5 of those are through Vrbo, while Airbnb stays our top platform for the remainder of our reservations.

On average, I spend between 5 and 10 hours a week directly on the Airbnb platform, versus perhaps an hour on Vrbo. Key Reference collects $560 on each of these bookings, whereas Airbnb takes just $210 for the exact same reservation from us.