drop in VRBO/HomeAway bookings in 2016
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Anyone else notice that VRBO/HomeAway bookings have dropped dramatically this year? We have had a lot of push back from potential guests about the fees they now charge.
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@Maryrose-Coleman - I found my inquiries dropped by about 80% BUT my conversion rate improved, so I’d like to think that the best match was working on some level. Overall, however, my booking numbers dropped in the early months, but I caught up later by reducing my prices. I’m going to end the year with comparable bookings, but lower revenues
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@Jenny-Oest Thanks for the feedback Jenny. We found people refused to book when they saw the new fees, wanted us to take them offline and generally a drop in revenue and bookings. Will be selective with which properties we renew in 2017.
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@Maryrose-Coleman I found that too. I tell them they’re free to go to my website to book. I also wrote a blog post and a newsletter post and sent it to everyone that inquired on my property in the past 2 years. I just let them know that the fees were now there, and on many other booking sites, but they could always book from my website without fees.
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@Jenny-Oest the problem with allow them to book direct is getting booted off VRBO, although less of an issue if they are not bringing bookings now anyway I suppose!
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It’s only an issue if you are re-directing them WITHIN your listing, OR if you cancel BIN requests and then re-book them. Once they use BIN, I don’t give them the option of canceling and re-booking. I tell them after their stay that for their next trip, they can book directly instead of using a booking service.
I do get phone calls to book, or direct bookings using my attached quote that don’t include the service fee, but the referral still came from HomeAway/VRBO. You do still get credit for that in your conversion rates if you have the integrated listings. -
My personal inquiries dropped 90%+ when Best Match rolled out. I’ve talked to many users with similar type numbers. Reports of booking level changes seem to vary among those I talk to - some up, some down, some unaffected. My bookings are also down a bit. I also just switched from platinum subscription to Pay-Per-Booking this summer, which thus far hasn’t worked out so well but I’ll give it some more time. So far, I wish I had renewed the platinum.
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I moved this to the General Discussion room since it’s not a question about how to use MyVR. Cheers!
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Also, I figured out how to use my admin account for the forum!
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Yes I agree as well. I have many inquiries that never turn into booking.
So I am also in the process of building my own site. Hopefully this will help.Brigitte
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Yes, last fall when, there was some issue (technical) with Google and HA, there was a drop. It has been about normal for me as of this summer and fall.
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We have definitely seen a drop in inquiries and bookings since August and we even kept our platinum listings on most of our listings. However, we are getting more and more Airbnb bookings than ever before.
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@Rikke-Page I’m seeing the increase on airbnb as well. should be interesting to see what happens with vrbo/HA especially now that they have shown the founder the door.
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@Maryrose-Coleman As you folks may know, we’re now integrated with Airbnb. It’s in private beta, and we’ll be rolling out more broadly across our entire user base in the coming weeks.
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@Jonathan-Murray looking forward to the integration!
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@Brigitte-Lepine
Make sure to use MYVR. Its user friendly and just gets better. -
The bookings for both my cabins were hit hard in the Fall 2015. HA/VRBO had generated most of my bookings. In December 2015, I integrated MyVR’s Flipkey channel. I was able to salvage some of the losses from the major decline in bookings.
I really liked MyVR’s format to manage my properties with Flipkey. I took the plunge in January 2016 and integrated MyVR’s HA/VRBO channel. Being able to bypass the traveler’s fees has really boosted my bookings. I am on track to match or exceed my highest annual revenues.
I have noticed a trend that bookings are no longer made far in advance. My high season generally books 6 - 9 months in advance. Other times are booking 2 -6 weeks in advance.
I feel it is to my advantage to be seen by as many travelers as possible. So, I just integrated MyVR’s AirBnB channel. I’m excited to see results!
