Results most notably exposed a vociferous critique by vacation rental owners and managers about how listings sites operate and what they currently offer rental advertisers. Scores of respondents referred to many of the larger companies as 'arrogant', 'bullies', 'controlling', 'aggressive' and 'unwilling to listen'.
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – The vacation rental market is an enormous, multi-billion dollar industry which continues to grow annually at phenomenal levels. This sharing economy has seen a surge in ‘listings sites’ or ‘booking portals’ where private accommodation is typically advertised to leisure and business travel guests on a short-term basis. While rental owners and managers regularly express opinions on a multitude of online platforms, there have been few studies evaluating hosts’ burgeoning expectations of these websites.
NeedMoreRentals has undertaken an independent survey; Listings Sites – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. 684 individuals from 47 countries answered 10 questions about these sites relating to their personal use, general perceptions and suggestions for improvement.
Results most notably exposed a vociferous critique by vacation rental owners and managers about how listings sites operate and what they currently offer rental advertisers. Scores of respondents referred to many of the larger companies as ‘arrogant’, ‘bullies’, ‘controlling’, ‘aggressive’ and ‘unwilling to listen’. The leading issues and concerns were found to be spiralling subscription costs, poor returns on investment, payments being delayed until after a guest has arrived and an uncontrolled/saturated market place.
The survey results also revealed the most lucrative listings sites, those which are not recommended, why owners do not complete listings, the most common problems for hosts, suggestions for change and which companies offer the best and worst levels of customer service.
NeedMoreRentals.com is the leading information and advice portal for holiday rental home owners and managers. The website offers over 250 pages of free practical and marketing recommendations for both novice and experienced hosts.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
