One calendar, two OTAs, shrinking margins. On the surface, relying on Airbnb and Vrbo feels simple: your listings are live, bookings roll in, and revenue shows up in your account. But behind the scenes, single-channel dependency quietly eats into profits. Commissions can take a noticeable slice from every stay, while sudden changes to search rankings or policies can knock your visibility overnight.
Even when things are steady, you’re still missing out on the long-term value of guests who could have booked with you directly. Below, we’ll break down why putting all your eggs in the Airbnb and Vrbo basket is riskier than it seems, and how property managers can diversify, build direct demand, and boost RevPAR in a more sustainable way.
The Hidden Cost of “Easy” OTA Bookings
Airbnb and Vrbo make it look effortless to fill a calendar. You list the property, they bring the guests, and the booking fee gets handled automatically. The catch is in the fine print. Both platforms charge service fees that cut into every payout, and those fees can vary depending on the plan you are on.
On Airbnb, the “split fee” model takes about 3 percent from the host, while the “host-only” model can be closer to 15 percent. That’s a big gap. If your nightly rate is $200, you either lose around $6 or as much as $30 per night. Over a week, that’s more than $200 gone before you even cover cleaning or operations.
Vrbo follows a similar path with either a subscription fee or per-booking commission. Add in payment processing and housekeeping costs, and your margins get thin quickly.
To make things tougher, guests also see their own service fees tacked on at checkout. That extra sticker shock often leads to abandoned bookings or pushes them toward a competitor with a lower all-in price.
Platform Risk: When One Policy Change Tanks Your Calendar
When most of your bookings come from Airbnb or Vrbo, you are at the mercy of their rules. A sudden account suspension or a flagged listing can wipe your calendar clean, sometimes without much explanation. Even something as small as a guest complaint or a misunderstood policy can put your visibility at risk.
Then there are the ranking shifts. Airbnb’s Guest Favorites program and other algorithm updates have already reshuffled who shows up at the top of search. One month you might be fully booked, the next you’re buried several pages deep. That kind of volatility is tough to plan around.
If 80 to 100 percent of your reservations depend on a single platform, every policy tweak or ranking change hits your bottom line directly. Cash flow becomes unpredictable, which makes it harder to cover expenses and nearly impossible to build long-term stability.
The Money You Leave on the Table Without Direct Bookings
When every reservation flows through Airbnb or Vrbo, you miss opportunities to make extra revenue that guests are often happy to pay for. Simple upsells like early check-in, late check-out, or pet fees are harder to manage through OTAs, yet they add up quickly when handled directly. You can also package local experiences, airport transfers, or concierge-style services that OTAs rarely showcase in a way that benefits you fully.
The bigger issue is repeat guests. If someone loves your property and wants to come back, why should you pay the same commission to host them again? With a direct booking setup, you can capture their email, drop them into a simple CRM, and send personalized offers that bring them back at a much lower cost.
Email is consistently one of the highest ROI channels in travel. Owning your guest database means you are not just filling nights but also building a pipeline of loyal guests who will keep your calendar strong long after one platform changes its algorithm.
Diversify Discovery: Beyond Airbnb and Vrbo
If all of your bookings come from just two places, you’re missing a huge share of travelers who start their search elsewhere. One of the easiest wins is getting listed on Google Vacation Rentals, which can point guests directly to your own site. The best part is those clicks come commission-free, so every dollar of that booking stays in your pocket.
It’s also worth testing broader and niche platforms. Sites like Booking.com and Expedia Group bring in different guest profiles, while regional portals often attract travelers looking for local experiences. Using a channel manager makes it easier to distribute your listings without worrying about double bookings.
Finally, don’t judge new channels only on volume. Look at the cost per acquired booking compared to the revenue you keep. A smaller stream of high-margin reservations often beats a flood of low-profit ones.
What Hotels Learned (and STRs Can Steal)
Hotels have been wrestling with OTA dominance for years, and the trend is shifting. Industry studies suggest that by 2030, direct bookings will actually surpass OTAs as the leading digital channel. The way hotels are pulling this off comes down to three things: rate parity, guest perks, and smart use of CRM tools. They make sure prices on their own websites match or beat what guests see elsewhere, they sweeten the deal with extras like free breakfast or early check-in, and they stay in touch with past guests to drive repeat visits.
Short-term rental managers can borrow the same playbook. You might not have a loyalty program like the big hotel brands, but you can still offer member-only discounts, create small but memorable perks for repeat guests, and advertise a best-rate guarantee on your direct site. These steps build trust, encourage repeat stays, and shift more of your revenue away from OTA commissions.
Build a Direct-Booking Engine That Converts
If you want more guests to book directly with you, your website has to feel just as seamless as an OTA. Guests are used to speed, clarity, and trust, so your site should check all the boxes that keep people from clicking away.
Website must-haves:
- A fast, mobile-friendly experience that loads in seconds
- Instant booking with real-time availability
- Clear and transparent pricing without hidden fees
- Trust signals like verified reviews, secure payment badges, and professional photos
- Local content that shows you know the area better than any platform
Your tech stack should include:
- A property management system (PMS) to keep operations organized
- A channel manager to sync rates and calendars across OTAs and your own site
- A booking engine that connects directly to your website
- Payment processing that is secure and simple for guests
- Email and CRM tools to capture guest details and stay connected after checkout
Finally, track where your bookings are coming from. Compare your customer acquisition cost (CAC) across channels and shift more budget into the ones that deliver higher lifetime value. Direct bookings often win here because once a guest is in your system, you can nurture repeat stays without paying a commission every time.
Metasearch & Performance Marketing Without Bleeding Margin
OTAs are experts at bidding on your own property name, which means a guest searching for you on Google often ends up clicking an Airbnb or Vrbo link first. The result is paying commission for a booking that could have been yours directly. A smart way to fight back is to run branded search campaigns and use Google’s Performance Max campaigns with tight targeting. This keeps your name at the top of the results and helps you capture guests who are already looking for you.
On the metasearch side, connecting through Google Vacation Rentals or a trusted partner can drive high-intent traffic straight to your booking engine. Unlike OTAs, you’re only paying for the click, not a big percentage of the reservation. The key is to set clear cost-per-acquisition limits so your paid channels stay profitable. Done right, you can win more direct bookings without letting marketing spend eat into your margins.
Pricing & Availability: Use Multi-Channel Without Double-Booking Chaos
One of the biggest fears property managers have when listing on multiple platforms is the dreaded double booking. The good news is that it is completely avoidable if you centralize your rates and availability through a channel manager. Instead of juggling calendars across Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and your own website, everything syncs in real time. That means no more late-night panic when two guests try to book the same weekend.
Channel managers like Hostaway, Guesty, Lodgify, and Hostfully are built to take the stress out of distribution. They connect directly with the major OTAs and your property management system so every update to pricing, availability, or restrictions flows everywhere at once. Many also allow you to push promotions by channel, automate guest messaging, and integrate with payment tools or CRMs.
Once your foundation is solid, you can get strategic with yield rules. Open your OTA listings to capture extra demand during slower shoulder nights, but keep your best dates reserved for direct bookings. This way you fill gaps without handing over your peak season profits to commissions. With the right setup, you are not just avoiding chaos—you are using pricing and availability as levers to maximize revenue on your terms.
Risk Management: Regulations, Reviews, and Resilience
Relying too heavily on Airbnb or Vrbo makes your business more vulnerable than most managers realize. A sudden regulation in your city, like new licensing rules or caps on short-term rentals, can hit hard when all of your bookings are tied to a single platform. If your calendar goes dark there, your revenue stream follows. Spreading your bookings across multiple channels and investing in direct reservations gives you a safety net when the rules change.
Reputation risk is another piece of the puzzle. A handful of poor reviews on Airbnb can drag down your ranking and limit your visibility, even if guests love their stays overall. The bigger issue is that those reviews stay locked inside the OTA. They don’t automatically transfer to your own website or other platforms. That is why collecting first-party reviews directly from guests is so valuable. Not only does it give you control over how you showcase your reputation, but it also creates a bank of social proof that you own.
Looking ahead, the short-term rental market in 2025 is expected to get more competitive and more regulated. Managers who build resilience now by diversifying channels and owning their guest relationships will be in a stronger position to weather policy shifts, protect their brand, and keep revenue steady.
Action Plan: 30–60–90 Days
1. 30 Days: Lay the groundwork
Start with a clear picture of where your bookings are coming from today. Audit your channel mix so you can see what percentage of revenue is tied to Airbnb, Vrbo, and any other sources. Next, expand your reach by connecting your listings to Google Vacation Rentals through a connectivity partner.
This step gets you in front of travelers who are already searching on Google without paying high OTA commissions. Finally, add an email capture form to your website or digital guest guide. Even a simple pop-up that collects addresses in exchange for a discount code or insider travel tips gives you a starting point for building your direct booking funnel.
2. 60 Days: Build your direct booking muscle
With the basics in place, it’s time to create reasons for guests to book directly with you. Launch direct-only perks such as waived fees, flexible cancellation, or an early check-in option that is not available on the OTAs. Add simple upsells like airport transfers, local tours, or pet packages. These not only bring in extra revenue but also give guests a better experience.
At the same time, put a CRM in place, whether it’s through a tool like Lodgify or another property management platform, so you can start automated email flows. A well-timed welcome series, pre-arrival reminders, and post-stay offers can keep guests coming back without the OTA middleman.
3. 90 Days: Optimize and reallocate
By this point, you should have enough data to see what is working. Look at cost per acquisition and return on ad spend for each channel. If direct bookings are showing stronger margins, shift more of your marketing budget toward those efforts. This might mean investing in paid search campaigns for your brand name, retargeting ads for past visitors, or content marketing that drives organic traffic. At the same time, refine your yield rules.
Use OTAs to fill gaps on slower nights, but keep high-demand weekends and peak seasons reserved for your direct channel. The goal is to create a balanced mix that protects cash flow while steadily growing your direct booking share.
Wrapping Up
Relying only on Airbnb and Vrbo might feel convenient, but it comes at a cost. Commissions, policy shifts, and limited control all chip away at your margins. The path to stronger profits is clear: diversify your distribution and build a direct booking engine that you own. That mix gives you better control, higher lifetime value from guests, and the resilience to handle market changes.
A simple first step is to run an “effective net rate” comparison for your top 10 listings. See what you actually earn after fees across different channels, then set a realistic target mix that increases your share of direct bookings.
If you want support in making this shift, RedAwning’s property management services can help. From multi-channel distribution to direct booking tools, they give you the systems and expertise to maximize revenue while taking back control.
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