Advertising Your Holiday Home? Is there such a thing as a 'free lunch'? In short, yes.
Some sites provide this.
Most do not.
Those which do, don't do so for long.
Or, if they do, there are not truly 'free'.
Here are a few common senses in which a vacation rental website might be 'free' for homeowners.
(1) 'Commission free' holiday rental sites One clear and common way in which a holiday home rental site might be free for homeowners is by not charging a commission.
These sites usually charge a one-off (annual or monthly) listing fee which can range from the very affordable to the very expensive.
Once you have paid your fee however, you keep all your rental income and can rent out your holiday home as many times as you like (throughout the duration of your listing) at no extra charge.
This model has many advantages.
If the site gets you customers and the listing fee is not too high, commission free holiday rental sites can work out to be downright cheap - but, of course, not 'free'.
(2) Free listing sites - 'List now, pay a commission (or mark-up fee) later'.
Many sites allow you to list your holiday apartment or house entirely for free but not to get a booking for free.
For the risk averse, this is a great option.
You never lose money as you only pay when you get a booking.
This can however end up being quite expensive, as: (a) you pay again for each booking you get, and (b) the commission charge can be quite high.
What about sites which claim not to charge a commission, but only a 'mark up fee' (which they add to your rental price)? Surely a win-win situation: you list for free; you get bookings commission free; the agency fee is passed on to your customers.
Despite sounding very attractive, this model amounts to much the same as the commission model.
After all, if a 'mark up fee' is charged, you need to keep your rental price lower than you otherwise would, in order to keep the total cost to your customers of renting your property at a reasonable level.
If you do not keep your price down, your customers will simply rent a comparable holiday home from a site which does not charge owners commission (or a mark up fee to customers) and where the cost to them will therefore be lower.
To sum up: 'free listing' followed by a commission or mark-up fee is not a 'free lunch' either.
If anything, it is a more expensive lunch than you might get on a commission free rental site.
For some homeowners though, the advantage of not paying anything unless you get a booking may be worth the additional cost.
In the end, it is a matter of informed personal preference.
(3) List your holiday home for free - 'under certain conditions' Some short term rental sites allow homeowners to list their properties for free under certain (more or less restricted) conditions.
Possible conditions may include: 'for a limited time period only' or 'until you receive an enquiry you want to follow up on', etc.
A feature of most sites which offer conditional free offers is that they tend to be fairly new ventures, offering their services genuinely for free in order to give a kick start to their business and grow to a certain level before they begin fully charging.
These sites offer homeowners a genuine opportunity to 'get in there' while it is still cheap or free to list and to decide for themselves later whether the site is working for them.
When it comes to these sites, you can either list on all of them (hey, they are free after all) or pick and choose the ones you like based on the ethos they convey or on the particular demographic they focus on (artists, academics, travelling professionals, etc.
) (4) Free listing sites - alternative sources of funding (beyond the homeowner or the customer) Some holiday rental sites rely on donations to keep them going.
More often though, totally free holiday rental sites derive their income from advertising.
If you are not bothered by commercial ads and banners (a feature of life in the age of the internet?) then such sites might be for you.
A point to consider though when it comes to sites which rely on advertising for their income, is whether such sites will appeal to those who might want to rent out your holiday home.
They may well do.
Perhaps it is worth a try - these site do, after all, offer a 'free lunch'.
In the end, where you list your property to rent is a matter of personal preference, of personal judgement regarding the kind of site and payment model that works best for you.
There are many sites out there which fit each of the above payment models.
It might be worth listing on more than one such site, or indeed making your choice based on other features they offer.
Think about what matters most to you.
Being able to put up more pictures? Having access to a booking calendar? Additional safety checks on those who contact you? A well thought out decision is the wisest.
Browse around, do your research, and good luck!
Some sites provide this.
Most do not.
Those which do, don't do so for long.
Or, if they do, there are not truly 'free'.
Here are a few common senses in which a vacation rental website might be 'free' for homeowners.
(1) 'Commission free' holiday rental sites One clear and common way in which a holiday home rental site might be free for homeowners is by not charging a commission.
These sites usually charge a one-off (annual or monthly) listing fee which can range from the very affordable to the very expensive.
Once you have paid your fee however, you keep all your rental income and can rent out your holiday home as many times as you like (throughout the duration of your listing) at no extra charge.
This model has many advantages.
If the site gets you customers and the listing fee is not too high, commission free holiday rental sites can work out to be downright cheap - but, of course, not 'free'.
(2) Free listing sites - 'List now, pay a commission (or mark-up fee) later'.
Many sites allow you to list your holiday apartment or house entirely for free but not to get a booking for free.
For the risk averse, this is a great option.
You never lose money as you only pay when you get a booking.
This can however end up being quite expensive, as: (a) you pay again for each booking you get, and (b) the commission charge can be quite high.
What about sites which claim not to charge a commission, but only a 'mark up fee' (which they add to your rental price)? Surely a win-win situation: you list for free; you get bookings commission free; the agency fee is passed on to your customers.
Despite sounding very attractive, this model amounts to much the same as the commission model.
After all, if a 'mark up fee' is charged, you need to keep your rental price lower than you otherwise would, in order to keep the total cost to your customers of renting your property at a reasonable level.
If you do not keep your price down, your customers will simply rent a comparable holiday home from a site which does not charge owners commission (or a mark up fee to customers) and where the cost to them will therefore be lower.
To sum up: 'free listing' followed by a commission or mark-up fee is not a 'free lunch' either.
If anything, it is a more expensive lunch than you might get on a commission free rental site.
For some homeowners though, the advantage of not paying anything unless you get a booking may be worth the additional cost.
In the end, it is a matter of informed personal preference.
(3) List your holiday home for free - 'under certain conditions' Some short term rental sites allow homeowners to list their properties for free under certain (more or less restricted) conditions.
Possible conditions may include: 'for a limited time period only' or 'until you receive an enquiry you want to follow up on', etc.
A feature of most sites which offer conditional free offers is that they tend to be fairly new ventures, offering their services genuinely for free in order to give a kick start to their business and grow to a certain level before they begin fully charging.
These sites offer homeowners a genuine opportunity to 'get in there' while it is still cheap or free to list and to decide for themselves later whether the site is working for them.
When it comes to these sites, you can either list on all of them (hey, they are free after all) or pick and choose the ones you like based on the ethos they convey or on the particular demographic they focus on (artists, academics, travelling professionals, etc.
) (4) Free listing sites - alternative sources of funding (beyond the homeowner or the customer) Some holiday rental sites rely on donations to keep them going.
More often though, totally free holiday rental sites derive their income from advertising.
If you are not bothered by commercial ads and banners (a feature of life in the age of the internet?) then such sites might be for you.
A point to consider though when it comes to sites which rely on advertising for their income, is whether such sites will appeal to those who might want to rent out your holiday home.
They may well do.
Perhaps it is worth a try - these site do, after all, offer a 'free lunch'.
In the end, where you list your property to rent is a matter of personal preference, of personal judgement regarding the kind of site and payment model that works best for you.
There are many sites out there which fit each of the above payment models.
It might be worth listing on more than one such site, or indeed making your choice based on other features they offer.
Think about what matters most to you.
Being able to put up more pictures? Having access to a booking calendar? Additional safety checks on those who contact you? A well thought out decision is the wisest.
Browse around, do your research, and good luck!