Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals for Hosts

Tripadvisor is a widely known travel website that works as an online marketplace for experiences, accommodations, restaurants, and other travel categories. Millions of travelers rely on this site when planning their trips to discover the best travel destinations, compare prices, and make bookings.

A subset of Tripadvisor is Tripavisor vacation rentals, where travelers can search for short-term rental properties in specific locations and check their prices and reviews. So, how does Tripadvisor work for vacation rental owners, and what are the criteria for STR properties to be listed there?

Listing your family home or romantic Airbnb on multiple channels is an effective strategy that can help you diversify your revenue streams and get more bookings. And if you streamline your daily operations using vacation rental software like Hospitable, you can manage all your listings hassle-free, even remotely. Our STR Super App offers comprehensive features and caters to every type of host and property manager, helping you put your business on autopilot.

Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals: How Does the Platform Work?

Until September 2024, property owners could create their Tripadvisors accounts and take advantage of all the platform offered. They could list their vacation rentals (everything from private rooms to castles, boats to villas) for free to increase their exposure to potential guests.

Travelers could book vacation rental properties on the Tripadvisor website, and Tripadvisor collected guests’ payments. The platform released money to hosts 24 hours after their guests checked in, deducting a 3% service fee from the booking subtotal.

However, in September 2024, Tripadvisor informed vacation rental hosts and guests that it had made a strategic decision to transition its vacation rental strategy to a new business model that leverages third-party providers. It’s much like how the platform handles hotel listings.

Tripadvisor discontinued the direct booking and management of vacation rentals on the Tripadvisor and Holidays Lettings platforms. Vacation rental bookings with check-in dates on or after November 1, 2024, were canceled and refunded. Tripadvisor also informed users that it decided to close its FlipKey and Niumba websites.

So Tripadvisor didn’t shut down its rental offering, but it no longer directly contracts with homeowners or enables bookings on the platform. Instead, they use the existing hotel model and display rental properties brought to them by their booking partners.

Travelers can browse vacation rental listings by choosing a specific destination. By default, Tripadvisor ranks vacation rental listings in the search results based on several criteria (in order of importance from least to most), such as

• The number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Location
• Amenities
• Minimum stay requirements
• Number of photos
• Length of time the property has been advertised by Vrbo on Tripadvisor’s website
• Number of times the listing has been viewed
• Number of bookings
• Cancellation rates
• Advertising revenue made by Tripadvisor when the property is booked.

Travelers can also filter their search results by the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, specific amenities (WiFi, fireplace, washer/drier, game room, hot tub, garden or yard, etc.), suitability (kid-friendly, pet-friendly, elder access, etc.), property type, and distinctive features (in-home theater, concierge, housekeeping included, private beach, etc.)

Travelers can view each listing that attracted their attention to learn more about the property and check prices, availability, reviews, and other details. If travelers decide to make a reservation, they are redirected to third-party sites where they can complete their bookings and communicate with hosts.

Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals: How Can Your Property Get Listed?

According to Tripadvisor, no specific listing criteria exist for vacation rental properties to be listed on the platform. However, they have temporarily suspended the onboarding of new vacation rental owners.

Bookable vacation rental properties are listed on the platform only if the listing is displayed as a part of a commercial licensing arrangement with a third-party business. Currently, they display listings from Vrbo, Expedia’s vacation rental brand.

So, if you list your property on Vrbo, it may be shown to Tripadvisor users who want to find a suitable vacation rental in your area. And if they decide to book a stay at your rental, Tripadvisor will redirect them to your Vrbo listing to finalize the reservation.

While you can expect that you’ll get most of your booking from your listings on major OTAs, such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and Agoda, and your direct booking website, it’s always a good idea to list your property on niche sites like Tripadvisor or Hopper App. This approach allows you to expand your reach, attract diverse demographics, 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 with iCal imports and prevent double bookings. Watch the short video to learn how this Hospitable’ functionality works, and check out our help article for more detailed guidance.

Final Thought

In September 2024, Tripadvisor pivoted to a third-party provider model for vacation rentals and disabled booking capabilities on its platform and through its sub-brands, such as FlipKey, Holiday Lettings, and Niumba. They suspended the onboarding of new property owners and display bookable vacation rental properties listed on Vrbo as part of a commercial licensing arrangement with a third-party business.