High Service Fees Give Rise to ‘Showrooming’ in Vacation Rentals

Eric Goldreyer
6/11/2024

“Showrooming,” the practice where consumers use a brick-and-mortar store to physically see or try out a product before buying it online for a lower price has been the bane of traditional retailers since the dawn of e-commerce. Now, it looks like showrooming is becoming a common practice in the vacation rental industry. More than two-thirds of respondents to a recent bnbfinder traveler survey said they have identified a property on sites like Airbnb or Vrbo and then looked into booking that same place on a different site to avoid the fees those platforms charge. In addition, the survey found that 95% of vacation rental shoppers visit multiple websites before making a booking decision.

While showrooming may come with the territory of major booking platforms having a large inventory of properties, it also presents an opportunity for professionally managed properties. Let’s take a closer look at what’s behind this behavior, what else it can tell us about consumers’ vacation rental shopping habits, and how property managers can make strategic use of these insights.

Consumers Want Value, and They Don’t See Any in Fees

The impetus for showrooming among travelers boils down to cost. According to the bnbfinder survey, “best price” was the biggest factor when choosing where to stay on a trip, with 92% of respondents saying it was either very important or important. Consumers know that every dollar that goes toward fees is a dollar less that they can use to book the perfect vacation rental—regardless of their budget.

Savvy travelers also know that the major vacation rental platforms charge property owners and managers (or hosts) transaction fees to list and facilitate bookings, and they often end up paying fees twice because property owners and managers often pass on these costs to the traveler. Service fees in general don’t sit well with travelers. But this double payment really takes it to a whole new level, pushing traveler fees upwards of 20% or higher.

But if cost is so important, why don’t travelers just book their stays directly with property managers to begin with? Why go through all the hassle of shopping around? 

Success Lies at the Crossroads of Price, Selection, and Convenience

There’s one thing about the showrooming analogy that doesn’t fit: the fact that both the platform being showroomed and the site on which the vacation rental is booked are online. That tells us that, while cost may be the most important factor in a booking decision, selection is also crucial. Travelers go to Airbnb and Vrbo because they have the largest selection of vacation rental properties, but they end up booking through a different channel because they know it saves them money.

The survey also found that cost was the top priority for travelers in booking a stay, but the ability to book online came in a close second, with 90% of respondents saying it was either very important or important. When you look at these three factors—price, selection, and convenience—together, it’s not surprising that 91% of travelers would be likely or very likely to use an Airbnb- or Vrbo-type site that did not charge booking and service fees.

Showrooming Is Not Just a Trend

Common sense would suggest that the price sensitivity and focus on cost revealed by the survey are an indication of consumers tightening their purse strings. After all, pundits and economic experts have been warning that dwindling savings, higher costs for food and other everyday items, and record levels of personal debt will lead to a pullback in consumer spending in 2024. But another finding from the survey paints a different picture. While 25% of respondents said they plan to spend less on travel this year than they did in 2023, nearly three-quarters expect to spend the same or more. Almost the same number said they plan on taking more trips in 2024 than they did last year.

The fact that showrooming is not a byproduct of travelers trying to stretch shrinking budgets means that this is likely a behavior that will persist long-term, and not just a flash in the pan. And that merits attention—and action—from property managers.

Showing Up for Showroomers

While showrooming can giveth, it can also taketh away. A traveler pinpointing a professionally operated vacation rental on the major platforms as their perfect stay doesn’t do that property management company any good if that traveler can’t find where to book it directly. That’s why, if they haven’t already by now, property managers must increase their online profile outside of the Airbnb/Vrbo ecosystems.

For example, in 2020, when vacation rentals were in high demand from a public desperate for socially distanced getaways, short-term rental hosts launched their own direct-booking websites to bolster bookings and dodge the fees. Property managers can also harness the power of social media, promoting their properties and bookings on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Finally, maintaining contact with past guests is a good way to not only fill empty slots in the rental calendar but encourage word-of-mouth bookings.

While these tactics can help property managers raise the online visibility of their properties, they don’t address consumers’ preference for a no-fee “one-stop shop.” That’s why the number one thing property managers can do to take advantage of traveler booking behaviors is to ensure they’re prominently listed on booking platforms that meet the three top traveler priorities identified in the bnbfinder traveler survey: The ability to effortlessly browse a wide selection of professionally run properties and then quickly and easily book their stay online, all on one site and all without having to pony up unnecessary fees and charges.

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