Proving the old saying “dog eats dog” perhaps, hotel marketplace disrupters like Airbnb and Vrbo are now being challenged at their own game by a vacation rental platform taking the disruption a step further and set to expand across North America.
With a mission to “reduce costs and bring hospitality back to the vacation rental industry”, the new kid on the block is bnbfinder, a book-direct vacation rental marketplace with two policies that set it apart from its accommodation platform competitors.
No service fees or commission
The bnbfinder platform charges no service fees, saving guests unwelcome additions at the checkout of up to 20% compared to Airbnb and Vrbo, according to Forbes. On many stays, that represents a significant amount of extra money that guests could spend on other travel priorities or treats.
Hosts are also said to benefit from bnbfinder’s no commission model, meaning they do not lose any income to the platform – unless they choose to take the option of a monthly subscription to a “Premium Listings” upgrade, offering increased visibility for their property.
Professionally-managed listings only
The properties listed by bnbfinder must be vetted and classed as hospitality sector professionals. One of the issues dogging competitor sites is that non-professional “peer-to-peer” rentals offer unpredictable amenities and service quality. Among all its listings, only Airbnb “Plus” properties rated properties are vetted, whereas bnbfinder claims guests will find more consistent rental quality among their all-professionally-managed listings, whether guests want to stay in a bed and breakfast, a self-catering rental, a tavern or guest house, or hotel.
That wide variety of beds, rooms and properties will also help bnbfinder rival Airbnb, on “type of accommodation offered”. In a NerdWallet survey, Airbnb was rated more highly than Vrbo because the latter offers stand-alone vacation homes only. Airbnb has market dominance in the sheer number of rooms its guests are able to choose from, including unusual small and shared spaces, competitive on price. It remains to be seen whether bnbfinder’s professional listings will include those quirky and atypical spaces.
New tech and mobile friendly app
The gauntlet is being thrown down in the tech and functionality arena too with bnbfinder set to roll out new site features and mobile-friendly options. Neither Airbnb nor Vrbo came off particularly well in these stakes when compared. Vrbo’s mapping was said to look outdated, but its filter options were more varied. Airbnb meanwhile is cleaner and has some “nice visual elements” but, said nerdwallet, “seriously limits users’ capacity to filter and search”.
If bnbfinder can get both the look and the usability of its platform right, across devices, and offer a wide enough range of properties while maintaining the consistent quality it claims, it may be well placed for its big push as, in the words of CEO Eric Goldreyer “the next-generation vacation rental marketplace and community”.
