How do I choose a booking site?

Modified on Wed, 8 Jan at 3:36 PM

In this guide, you'll learn how to select the best booking sites to promote your property with Travelnest.

We partner with the most prominent vacation rental companies in the world. Your property will be featured on major platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo, Holidu and HomeToGo as well as on popular affiliate and specialised sites like FlipKey, Hotels.com, and Priceline. With our expertise, your property will be visible to millions of travellers worldwide.

How do I choose a booking site?

Log in to your account and from your home page select the 'Channels' section.

Channels section

Here, you'll see all the booking sites where your property is currently listed. If you wish to advertise on additional booking sites, simply 'tick' the box corresponding to that site to create a new listing, then click on 'save changes' at the bottom of the page. In the image below we have selected Airbnb as an example.

Please note it can take up to 7 days for your listing to be created and go live on all the booking sites.

Selecting Airbnb

Our booking sites explained

Airbnb logo

Founded in 2008, Airbnb has now become a household name. Its online marketplace enables anyone to advertise their space - whether it's a spare room within their own home, an entire property, or a unique space such as a log cabin, yurt, castle, or eco-home.

Key facts:

  • Over 6 million places to stay worldwide
  • 100,000 cities around the world in 191 countries
  • More than 260 million guests have booked and stayed in Airbnb properties since the site was launched
  • Today, Airbnb has approximately 150 million users in 65,000 cities

Who uses Airbnb?

54% of Airbnb guests are female, and 46% are male. The typical Airbnb guest is looking for a space that is affordable, functional and in an urban area. The average stay for Airbnb guests is between three or four nights, and the typical booking is for between two and four people. Airbnb is popular among young people - more than 60 per cent of its users are millennials.

The site is also popular with people looking for a last-minute break, thanks to the instant book functionality. 88% of Airbnb's reservations are for groups of two to four people and 60% of the reservations were for an entire home/apartment.

Booking.com logo

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com has grown from a small Dutch startup to one of the world's biggest travel e-commerce companies. The Booking.com network also includes the Priceline, Kayak and Agoda travel brands. Its vast portfolio includes everything from accommodations, flights, rental cars and other travel-related services.

Key facts:

  • 1,550,000 room nights booked per day from more than 5.7 million listings
  • 143,171 destinations in 230 countries and territories worldwide
  • # 1 most visited travel site by traffic
  • 100+ million visits a month
  • 95,000,000+ guest reviews

Who uses Booking.com?

Booking.com competes with Airbnb to attract millennial travellers, In addition to leisure and personal travel, Booking.com has a focus on the business traveller - 1 in 5 users book hotels and accommodation for business travel purposes.

Expedia logo

Key facts:

  • 590K properties, 1.5M online bookable vacation rentals
  • Access to over 550 airlines, 150 car rental companies and 25,000 activities
  • Localized sites in 33 countries
  • 40M+ post-stay reviews and 30M+ real-time reviews

Vrbo logo

Key facts:

  • Vrbo has over 2 million vacation rental properties worldwide
  • Vrbo operates 50 localised websites in 23 languages
  • Rentals are offered in more than 145 countries, including the US, UK, France and Brazil
  • Vrbo has around 9.5 million unique visitors per month
  • 50% of HomeAway's properties can be booked instantly (approx 1 million rentals)

Who uses Vrbo?

According to Vrbo, its average user is female, 35 to 50 years old who is travelling with family - typically a group of four or more people. Vacations and special occasions are the most common reasons for booking accommodation with Vrbo, with an average stay of seven days.

Holidu logo

Holidu is a search engine for vacation rentals that helps users find the perfect holiday home or apartment for their next trip. It was founded in 2014 and has since grown to become one of the largest vacation rental search engines in the world, with over 21 million offers from more than 600 different booking sites in over 200 countries.

Key facts:

  • The platform uses advanced search algorithms and machine learning technology to match users with the best rental options based on their preferences and budget.
  • Holidu is a search engine for vacation rentals, offering over 21 million offers from more than 600 different booking sites in over 200 countries.
  • Holidu also offers a range of features to help users compare prices, read reviews, and make bookings directly on its platform.

Who uses Holidu?

Holidu is used by travellers who are looking for vacation rentals, including holiday homes, apartments, and villas. The platform is popular among a wide range of users, including families, couples, solo travellers, and groups of friends.

HomeToGo logo

HomeToGo, a leading platform dedicated solely to vacation rentals, provides a focused strategy for connecting with guests who value unique lodging options such as cabins, houses, apartments, villas, and cottages over typical hotel rooms.

Key facts:

  • HomeToGo is a global marketplace for vacation rentals, founded in 2014 by Dr. Patrick Andrae and Wolfgang Heigl in Berlin, Germany.
  • HomeToGo uses intelligent algorithms and machine learning to recognize properties from various sources.
  • The platform lists properties from various sources, including property management companies and Online Travel Agencies (OTAs).

Who uses HomeToGo?

HomeToGo connects millions of travellers searching for the perfect place to stay with thousands of providers offering vacation rentals. Users can find their dream vacation rental on HomeToGo, including cabins, houses, and other vacation rentals around the world. The platform helps users save up to 40% on their bookings.


Travelnest Direct logo


All Travelnest customers have their own personal Travelnest Direct website with unique property URL(s) for each of their properties, which can be accessed, managed and shared from within the Travelnest account.

The website is complete with a seamlessly integrated live calendar, photo gallery, interactive map and a secure payment system giving guests a great overview of the property itself. Best of all, it's completely optimised for mobile.

The information which appears on your Direct page will be taken straight from your Travelnest account and automatically updated regularly. As it's direct, there are no added channel fees - meaning you'll only pay 5% commission which includes payment processing fees. Travelnest handles all the hard stuff. All you need to do is share the page with potential guests.

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