What’s going on in the vacation rental world?
HomeAway is at it again with pricing changes!
The Expedia-owned, multi-billion dollar company has announced a new pricing structure that will raise the listing subscription fee by 25%.
Beginning in March 2018, one HomeAway listing subscription will cost $499- that’s a $100 jump from the current cost.
Upsetting, but that’s not what’s really stirring the pot.
HomeAway also announced a new policy that will charge vacation rental companies a 10% commission on each booking that occurs off the platform.
Insane.
HomeAway will be using a “match-back” process to find bookings that occur off the website. HomeAway will find a VR management company’s direct bookings, match email addresses, and date searches on their website back to direct bookings. They’ll then invoice property management companies a fee which “will amount to 10% of the pre-tax total booking fee for direct reservations.”
They’ll also be taking more fees in 2018 from direct bookings that come from HomeAway’s integrated booking software.
VR industry expert Amy Hinote was first to break the shocking news this past weekend.
Amy shared HomeAway’s most recent email announcement, and explained HomeAway’s new fee structure in detail. Amy also shows you examples of how much HomeAway could profit from your business. You can check that out here.
According to Amy, vacation rental managers across the nation are furious!
Are you?
If you haven’t started your journey to independence yet, you need to start right away.
2018 is right around the corner. You must develop your own website and campaigns; diversify your marketing.
BreakAwayVR.com is a great place to start. It’s the alternative to HomeAway minus commission and booking fees.
If you haven’t gotten on board with BreakAway, I encourage you to join today and support the BreakAway movement. Together we can make a difference.
Use coupon code FREEDOM for $50 off the listing plan of your choice. Click here to view the listing plan options.
Its not just HomeAway- Other listing sites are going up in 2018, too. Flipkey just announced that they will be raising their listing fee to almost $700 just for one listing.
Let’s take back our businesses!
I’ve created a space on BreakAway Vacation Rentals for owners and managers to come together as a community and vocalize our thoughts, opinions and experiences with HomeAway. You don’t have to be a BreakAway member to share!
Please share your reviews of HomeAway and VRBO here.
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