Are you looking to rent out your Long Island home to travelers? New York saw an increase of almost 10% in tourist visits last year, according to NYC Tourism's annual report. No doubt, this increase will be even for 2024.
Now's the best time to try to attract guests to your Long Island home. One of the biggest challenges for vacation hosts is deciding which vacation rental platforms are the best.
This short guide will compare and contrast the best rental platforms so you can make your decision.
Here's what we suggest:
Airbnb
This remains one of the most popular options for new and experienced vacation hosts.
With Airbnb, you don't have to pay a listing fee to add your property. With each booking, Airbnb will charge a commission fee. You can also charge your guests cleaning fees if needed.
Airbnb lets you build a reputation as a host. If you're able to make it to 'Superhost,' you'll have no problem receiving an abundance of booking requests. Even if you use other booking platforms, you should consider using Airbnb. It'll often be the first and only place where potential tourists will look for vacation homes.
Booking.com
This is probably the best alternative to Airbnb. Guests can accumulate points to get discounts on bookings, so they'll often come here to find cheap deals.
Nevertheless, one should consider Booking.com as it works in a similar fashion to Airbnb. You'll pay a commission fee for every successful booking. One challenge is that hotels are also listed on the platform. You'll have to offer a superior service to a boutique hotel if you wish to compete with them.
Plum Guide
Have you been decorating your home to make it into a luxury property? Then you might want to try to list it on Plum Guide. Unlike Airbnb and Booking.com, there are higher standards for getting your listing approved on Plum Guide.
Plum Guide focuses on luxury properties and caters to high-end travelers. This is often the best option to maximize profit if you're lucky enough to get approved.
You might want to focus on Airbnb and Booking.com first before moving on to Plum Guide. If you're new to being a vacation host, you'll want to learn the skills first.
There's a one-time set-up fee of $400 to use the platform. Afterwards, you'll pay a 3% service charge per successful booking. Despite its exclusive nature, hosting on Plum Guide doesn't forbid you from continuing to list your property on other platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
Whichever platform you choose, make sure you also hire a vacation rental management company. They'll help you handle many of the tasks required from a vacation host.
Choose Among These Vacation Rental Platforms
All of these vacation rental platforms can help you build a successful rental business for your Long Island property. They'll all take a small commission fee, with Plum Guide also charging a one-time fee to get started.
If you're unsure of how to get started, you'll need to speak to a vacation rental management company. At PMI Eastern Long Island, we have a team that has over 20 years of experience working in real estate.
