Airbnb Alternatives in Australia That You Should Know About

Airbnb hosting is a great way to earn some real estate passive income and build a successful vacation rental business. But although Airbnb is still the biggest and most popular vacation rental site out there, there are other options to list your property and reach millions of travelers who can become your potential guests.

Wondering which of them is the best for your STR property in Australia? To help you make an informed decision, here we’ll share a list of Airbnb alternatives in Australia that are worth checking out. These websites offer a variety of accommodations that suit any budget and taste, from luxury villas and apartments to cottages and tiny homes.

6 Airbnb Alternatives in Australia Worth Considering for Your Property

Suppose you are just starting Airbnb in Australia and looking to increase the occupancy and revenue of your vacation rental. In this case, it is essential to remember that a well-planned online distribution strategy is crucial to your success. Listing your property on multiple platforms will increase your visibility and help you get more bookings.

Managing listings on multiple booking websites requires additional work—such as messaging your guests, updating your calendar and prices, assigning tasks to your cleaners, and more. But you don’t have to do everything manually—you can automate your routine operations using short-term rental software like Hospitable and save a lot of time.

Now let’s look at the online booking platforms popular among vacation rental property owners and travelers in Australia. 

Booking.com

It’s a global platform that operates in more than 220 countries and has over 28 million accommodation listings, making it a good option for attracting international travelers. Originally, Booking.com was a platform for hotel rooms and luxury resorts. Still, now it includes a wide range of accommodations, such as apartments, vacation homes, cottages, cabins, villas, boats, glamping, and more. Booking.com also allows travelers to book flights and rental cars all in one place.

Although hosts can list their properties for free, they must pay a 15% service fee for each booking, while guests are not charged a service fee. Hosts receive protection against liability claims from guests and neighbors up to $1,000,000 for every reservation.

Agoda

Owned by Booking Holdings, Agoda is an online travel platform that allows travelers to book hotels, flights, airport transfers, car rentals, and more. It also offers a wide range of vacation rentals through Agoda Homes, which now features over 2 million properties in 200 countries and regions worldwide.

You can list different property types, including homes, apartments, condominiums, ryokans, villas, bungalows, beach houses, chalets, and more. Hosts don’t have to pay to list their vacation rentals on Agoda, but the platform charges a commission for each booking.

The commission fee for hosts ranges from 5% to 15% and is determined based on each property’s location, specifically its city and country. Agoda’s commission rate is also influenced by the specifics of the property’s discount type settings.

Vrbo

Founded in 1995, Vrbo has 2 million listings in 190 countries worldwide. It provides ordinary people with a platform to easily offer private rentals to travelers. Still, unlike Airbnb, it only allows renting out entire places, such as family homes, condos, apartments, or cabins, instead of single rooms or shared spaces. Vrbo can be a good option for hosts who want to target families with children and groups of people.

Hosts can choose from two types of Vrbo listing fees: a yearly subscription of $499 or a pay-per-booking option. The pay-per-booking fee is approximately 8% of a listing’s nightly rate. It includes a 5% commission to Vrbo and a 3% credit card fee. Vrbo hosts are protected by $1,000,000 in primary liability coverage for all stays processed by the platform.

Listing your property on several OTAs is a reasonable decision to increase visibility and get more bookings. The only drawback is having your property booked simultaneously on multiple platforms. Luckily, modern short-term rental software will protect you from double bookings.

Stayz

Founded in 2001, Stayz is Australia’s leading vacation rental platform, now part of Expedia Group, just like Vrbo. It offers travelers access to over 40,000 holiday homes in 2,000 locations across Australia and to over 2 million properties in other countries.

Listing your property on Stayz can be a good option if you want to increase your local visibility in Australia. The company is committed to providing a safe and secure platform for both guests and hosts. It gives property owners $1,000,000 in liability protection for all stays processed online through the Stayz checkout at no additional cost.

Previously, the company charged hosts a $164 annual listing fee plus $15.90 for each night booked. However, in 2021, these charges were eliminated and replaced with a 10% pay-per-stay commission for hosts.

Wotif.com

Wotif is a travel booking website where travelers can book flights, accommodations, car rentals, activities, and packages for their next holiday in Australia and international destinations worldwide. It was established in 2001 by tech entrepreneur Graeme Wood to help Australian businesses sell their vacant hotel rooms. But in 2015, Wotif.com became a part of the Expedia Group.

Hosts can list various properties, including private homes, apartments, villas, cabins, treehouses, cottages, houseboats, and more. You can sign up for free and pay a commission of 15% for each booking made on the platform.

Hipcamp

Hipcamp is a popular online platform built on a mission to get more people outside and is often referred to as the Airbnb of camping. Although its core audience is primarily in the United States, the website, designed for campers and adventure seekers, is also accessible in other countries, including Australia.

Hipcamp focuses on unique outdoor experiences, helping travelers discover and book nature-focused accommodations, including private campsites, RV parks, working farms, ranches, vineyards, as well as treehouses, yurts, glamping tents, and cabins. You can even list a piece of privately owned land in a secluded spot where travelers can pitch a tent and truly disconnect.

You can list your property on Hipcamp for free, and the platform only takes a commission when you get bookings. The commission rate varies depending on several factors, including the type of host—whether it is private landowners or PMS-integrated parks.

Even if you have successful listings on major OTAs, you can consider adding Hipcamp as another distribution channel if your vacation rental in Australia has direct access to nature. This way, you’ll be able to reach outdoor enthusiasts and potentially increase your occupancy rate.

And if you opt for Hospitable, our STR Super App can help you sync calendars across various niche channels, including Hipcamp and Expedia, with iCal imports and avoid double bookings. Just copy and paste an iCal link from your booking platform, and Hospitable will pull bookings from it once an hour, and you’ll be able to manage all your reservations in one place.

Watch the video to learn how this functionality works, and refer to our support article for more details.

Listing your property on multiple websites can help you reach a wider audience and increase your bookings. But can you do anything else to take your vacation rental property to the next level? Create your own direct booking website and have more control over your STR business.

The good news is that you don’t need to hire a developer. If you opt for Hospitable, you can easily build a direct booking website using our professional, easy-to-customize website templates. Moreover, with Hospitable Direct, you can list your property on Google Vacation Rentals and increase its visibility.

By allowing guests to book directly with you, you’ll be able to save on hefty OTA commission fees, which means more money will stay in your pocket. It’s also a great way to build relationships with your guests. This way, you can make them feel special and encourage them to return or even recommend your property to their friends.

Final Thought

As the short-term rental market is booming, platforms like Airbnb and its alternatives have become increasingly popular in many countries, including Australia. It’s important to remember that different travelers use different booking websites, so when you market your rental property only on Airbnb, you limit your pool of potential guests to users of this platform.

This means you should also consider listing your rental space on Airbnb alternatives in Australia and building your direct booking website. Then, you’ll have a better chance to reach more people who can be your ideal guests, get more bookings, and maximize your revenue.