Since launching back in June of 2006, HomeAway has become one of the leading vacation rental listing platforms. The HomeAway portfolio boasts more than 2 million listings across 190 countries and owns major vacation rental brands such as the US-based Vrbo and Abritel from France. HomeAway launched its IPO in June of 2011 with a valuation of $2.2 billion, and was acquired in November 2015 by the Expedia Group for $3.9 billion.
Some of HomeAway’s top destinations include the United States (545,000 vacation rental listings), United Kingdom (91,000 listings) and Croatia (89,000 listings), and the platform even has thousands of listings in countries like Israel, South Africa and Costa Rica.
Here’s a brief HomeAway vacation rental guide to give you some quick insight into the popular booking channel.
Is HomeAway Safe?
HomeAway has put several measures into place to help ensure that both hosts and guests feel safe using the listings provided on the site. For guests, HomeAway offers a “basic rental guarantee,” protecting payments, deposits and rental fees up to $1000 for any property listed on the HomeAway website.
For hosts, the site boasts 24/7 customer service and support and provides a direct phone number for urgent issues. Additionally, all hosts are entitled to HomeAway Liability Insurance, covering the host for up $1 million for any damages to properties on reservations made through the HomeAway system.
HomeAway Offerings
The HomeAway vacation rental website provides a handy rental revenue calculator for your short-term rental property listing that provides each host with an estimated expected revenue based on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms per listing.
You can get started using the HomeAway platform with as little as one listing, but if you’re a property manager with 10+ vacation rental listings in your portfolio, the site offers additional services and support.
If you’re looking to learn more about hosting your vacation rental property on HomeAway, you can read everything you need to know in the HomeAway Discovery Hub. Get tips & tricks and inspiration from other property managers and their vacation rentals, and stay on top of industry news and events.
Finally, HomeAway’s website includes a community that acts as a resource for property managers to find out information and learn from others like them in the industry.
Where can I find HomeAway in my region?
HomeAway offers users and property managers the option of utilizing its platform from many countries and regions around the world.
USA: HomeAway.com, Vrbo.com, VacationRentals.com
United Kingdom: HomeAway.co.uk, OwnersDirect.co.uk
Germany: HomeAway.de, FeWo-direkt.de
France: Arbitel.fr, Homelidays.com
Spain: HomeAway.es, Toprural.es
Brazil: AlugueTemporada.com.br
Australia: HomeAway.com.au, Stayz.com.au
New Zealand: Bookabach.co.nz
Asia-Pacific: Travelmob.com
How do HomeAway Payments Work?
When listing properties on HomeAway, hosts are presented with two payment options. The first (and default option) is the pay-per-booking payment option where hosts are required to pay an 8% commission fee for each booking reservation.
The second is a subscription payment model that enables the hosts to enjoy 12 months of using the HomeAway website and all of its services for each of their listings. This service costs $499 for the year.
Should You List on HomeAway.com?
HomeAway.com is one of the leading vacation rental websites on the market with 44 million visitors per month. That’s great exposure and enables amazing opportunities for drawing travelers to your various listings.
HomeAway also offers excellent customer service and support to help ensure that every part of the booking process runs smoothly.
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