You have listed your apartment on Airbnb, the first bookings are coming in, and your calendar is starting to fill up. Yet, some dates remain available between stays. What if your property could appeal to travelers who search elsewhere?
Today, habits are changing. Some compare prices on Booking.com, others prefer Vrbo or Abritel for family vacations, while Cannes regulars may opt to contact a local agency directly. These Airbnb alternatives are now part of many clients' search journey.
For you, the owner, this shift opens up new perspectives. It's not about replacing Airbnb, but giving your property more opportunities to meet its clientele. In Cannes, where international conventions follow tourist seasons, this complementarity makes perfect sense.
Why do clients seek alternatives to Airbnb?
Planning holidays or a business trip is no longer just about consulting one platform. Before selecting their accommodation, travelers take the time to compare listings, conditions, and services offered.
This research is not only about the price.It also reflects an urge for transparency and trust, especially when staying for several days in an unfamiliar city.
Increasing focus on pricing
A accommodation might seem attractive at first glance, then show a different amount upon finalizing the booking. Between service fees, cleaning, and potential extras, clients are increasingly attentive to the total cost of their stay.
Depending on the platforms and their billing model, a commission may be borne by the owner or manager, while some fees are directly applied to the client.
Take the example of a professional preparing for MIPIM. They spot an apartment a few minutes from the Palais des Festivals on Airbnb, then find the same property on Booking.com or on a Cannes agency's website. Naturally, they compare the conditions before making a choice.
For you, the challenge is simple: be present where your clientele conducts their searches, while maintaining a coherent pricing strategy tailored to your property.
The need for a trustworthy contact
When planning a trip, some questions don't always find their answer in a listing. A family may want to know if the residence has parking, if the beach is within walking distance, or if the terrace allows for outdoor meals. A professional might want to check the internet connection quality or the distance to the Palais des Festivals.
These details may seem secondary, but they fully contribute to the decision-making.
A well-informed listing, photos true to reality, and quick responses help reassure future occupants. Having a local team is also appreciated: knowing a contact is familiar with the accommodation and can intervene if needed provides additional peace of mind.
For an owner, this trust isn't built solely at the time of booking.It is confirmed throughout the stay, through the quality of the welcome, property maintenance, and attention to client requests.
Why promote your property on multiple platforms?
Your property has unique assets. A balcony overlooking Suquet's rooftops, a terrace near the Croisette, several bedrooms for hosting a family, or an ideal location for walking to conventions.
But these qualities must be visible to the right audience.
By listing your property on multiple booking platforms, you multiply opportunities to reach clients with different habits, without relying exclusively on one site.
Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo: complementary clients
All platforms are not consulted in the same way. Airbnb attracts a diverse clientele looking for apartments, houses, or independent accommodations. Booking.com offers significant international visibility and is an interesting channel for both professional and tourist stays.
Meanwhile, Abritel and Vrbo can be particularly suitable for villas, large properties, and families organizing their holidays together.
Direct booking on an agency's website completes this setup. It's particularly aimed at clients already familiar with Cannes, wishing to return to a favored property, or preferring to interact with a local team.
A studio a few streets away from the Palais des Festivals may appeal to a MIPCOM attendee in October, then host a couple enjoying a weekend on the French Riviera. A villa with a pool will likely draw more families during the summer, without excluding professional groups during major events.
Each channel thus helps present your property to different clientele, depending on the period and property characteristics.
Reducing reliance on a single platform
When a listing performs well on Airbnb, it can be tempting to stick with it. However, its visibility is never entirely guaranteed. Algorithms change, commercial conditions evolve, and competition can increase from one season to another.
An apartment that regularly receives requests in spring may experience a quieter period a few months later. This doesn't necessarily mean the property has lost its appeal: its clientele may simply be on other channels.
Being present on multiple sites avoids concentrating all activity in one place. This diversification offers more opportunities to showcase your property, while limiting the consequences of visibility decline on one platform.
Of course, multiplying listings doesn't guarantee filling the calendar. The quality of their presentation, pricing positioning, and performance tracking remain essential to converting this visibility into confirmed stays.
Synchronizing calendars to avoid errors
Imagine your villa is booked for a week on Booking.com, yet the same dates still appear available on Airbnb. A second client confirms their stay, and you are faced with two requests for one property.
This is precisely what a good organization should prevent.
When a property is marketed on multiple platforms, its calendars must communicate with each other. A confirmed booking on one website should trigger availability updates on other channels, without waiting for manual intervention.
This centralization also facilitates tracking modifications, cancellations, and pricing adjustments. It becomes particularly important in Cannes, where demand can surge as a convention approaches.
Multichannel distribution is thus meaningful when it relies on reliable tools and regular monitoring. For the owner, the objective is to benefit from better visibility without having to oversee each calendar daily.
Direct booking: a complementary alternative to major platforms
Among the alternatives to Airbnb, direct booking holds a special place. It allows clients to book accommodation on an agency's website, without going through an intermediary platform.
This method doesn't replace major booking sites. It complements them, with an appealing advantage for owners: a more direct relationship with clients and better control over certain distribution costs.
Preserving margin by limiting commissions
When a stay is confirmed on a major platform, a commission may be deducted based on the applied conditions. These fees are part of how these sites operate, offering in return significant visibility to an international clientele.
On an agency's direct website, this platform commission isn't owed. This can help preserve a larger portion of the revenue generated by the stay.
However, other costs must be considered, particularly those related to management, payment, or marketing.Therefore, the interest of the direct channel should be assessed by looking at the net income actually received, not just the amount displayed at booking.
For an owner, this distinction is crucial. A well-filled calendar is good, but what's ultimately important is the property's profitability over the entire year.
Retaining returning clients
In Cannes, it's not uncommon to see the same visitors year after year. Some professionals return for each edition of MIPIM or MIPCOM. Other families habitually spend their vacations in the same neighborhood, sometimes in the same apartment.
When a stay goes well, these clients might wish to return to a familiar address. They appreciate knowing where they'll sleep, how the arrival proceeds, and whom to contact if questions arise.
Direct booking facilitates this continuity. An agency can assist a past client in their new search,offer a similar property if their needs have changed, or help organize their next visit to Cannes.
This relationship builds naturally, through stays and exchanges. For the owner, it represents an opportunity for client retention and a complementary business source, less dependent on platforms.
Why not completely abandon Airbnb?
Direct booking offers advantages, but it doesn't replace the visibility provided by Airbnb and its competitors.
Major platforms remain important gateways for travelers. discovering Cannes or unfamiliar with local agencies. They allow showcasing your property to an international audience and generating new inquiries.
The direct site acts as an additional channel, particularly appealing to loyal clients or those preferring personalized assistance.
The idea isn't to choose between Airbnb and direct booking. It's to have these channels work together, serving your property.
How to adapt your distribution to the Cannes market?
In Cannes, two periods of the year can look similar on the calendar yet attract very different clientele.
An apartment sought by professionals during the Cannes Festival may host vacationers weeks later. A family villa, in high demand in July, might also attract a company during a convention.
This diversity is a characteristic of the market in cannes. It requires a strategy flexible enough to adapt to events, seasons, and client expectations.
Considering conventions and tourist periods
MIPIM, the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Lions, the Yachting Festival, and MIPCOM greatly influence local activity. During these events, proximity to the Palais des Festivals, ease of access, and comfort of living spaces become important criteria.
A professional might favor a central apartment for easy access to meetings. A team of colleagues would look for multiple rooms and a pleasant stay to unwind in the evenings.
In summer, priorities shift. Families are more interested in beaches, terraces, air conditioning, or a pool. Parking might also make a difference for those traveling by car.
To market a property effectively, it's crucial to understand what makes it appealing at each time of the year. This allows tailoring its presentation and positioning to different clientele, rather than offering the same stay to everyone.
Adjusting prices based on performance
In Cannes, the price of a night can't be viewed the same during MIPIM, the peak of August, or a calmer week in November.
Demand changes, as do stay durations. Some periods book far in advance, while others require more flexibility to attract clients.
To adjust pricing, it's important to look beyond mere occupancy rates. Net income, average nightly rate, stay durations, and platform performances help understand what truly works.
A fully occupied property isn't necessarily the one generating the best results. Conversely, a few available nights might sometimes be preferable over marketing at too low a rate.
The goal is finding the right balance between attractiveness, occupancy, and profitability, considering the specifics of each property.
How to integrate multichannel into overall property management?
Being visible on multiple platforms is one thing. Ensuring quality experience at each stay is another.
Once booking is confirmed, the work continues. You must provide arrival information, prepare the accommodation, coordinate cleaning, check equipment, and be available if a client faces an issue.
Imagine a family arriving after several hours of driving. They simply wish to find a clean apartment, clear instructions, and everything as advertised. A professional attending a convention expects a simple arrival and functional accommodation, without disrupting their schedule.
These expectations may seem obvious, but they require true organization behind the scenes.
The quality of daily management directly influences client satisfaction, reviews left after departure, and ultimately, your property's commercial performance.
Hence, multichannel distribution should integrate into a broader management, associating pricing, calendar tracking, client relations, maintenance, and housekeeping.
To better understand this support, also discover our article on seasonal rental management in Cannes, covering the different tasks necessary for a property's smooth operation.
UPSTAYS: a multichannel strategy tailored to your property
At UPSTAYS, we understand no property is exactly like another. A studio in Suquet, an apartment with a terrace on the Croisette, or a family villa don’t market the same way, even when located a few kilometers apart.
Our work begins by thoroughly understanding the property, its location, and potential clients. We then list the property on various channels, including Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo, while also developing direct bookings on our website.
Daily, our team tracks availability, adjusts pricing according to season and Cannes events, and ensures calendar coherence. This organization allows benefiting from multiple demand sources without overburdening the owner.
But our support doesn't stop at marketing.
From Cannes, we also coordinate arrivals, cleaning, preparations, and maintenance interventions. When a client raises a question about their accommodation or an appliance needs checking, our team provides follow-up.
Take an apartment near the Palais des Festivals as an example. In May, it welcomes professionals attending the Cannes Festival. Weeks later, a family stays to enjoy the beaches. Expectations differ, but the quality of the welcome and preparation must remain consistent.
We aim to ensure this continuity, from first contact to clients' departure.
With UPSTAYS, multichannel distribution integrates into comprehensive management, designed to enhance your property's value, develop its commercial opportunities, and allow a more serene approach to seasonal renting.
Are you looking for a property management and concierge service in Cannes ? Our team is available to discuss your property and suitable commercialization options.
YOUR OWNER QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
When discovering a luxury concierge service, a few questions naturally arise. Here are some useful insights to better understand our approach.
What is the best alternative to Airbnb for an owner?
The best alternative to Airbnb for an owner depends on the property type, its location and the clientele sought.Booking.com, Abritel, Vrbo, and direct channels are complementary solutions to develop your business.
The main options include:
Booking.com, to reach an international and professional clientele.
Abritel and Vrbo, for marketing villas and family properties.
An agency's direct website, to retain clients and limit intermediation costs.
A local agency, to coordinate various channels and on-site operations.
In summary, the best alternative to Airbnb often relies on a combination of channels suited to your property's positioning.
What is the best short-term rental platform?
The best short-term rental platform depends on property type, its location, and the client base you wish to attract. Airbnb, Booking.com, and Abritel are among the most well-known solutions, each offering different advantages for owners.
To choose the most appropriate platforms for your property, consider several criteria:
Airbnb: ideal for reaching an international clientele seeking apartments and independent lodging.
Booking.com: particularly interesting for tourist and professional stays, especially during Cannes conventions.
Abritel and Vrbo: suited for houses, villas, and family vacation rentals.
Direct booking: a complementary solution for retaining travelers and limiting platform commissions.
In summary, the best strategy is to list your property on several complementary platforms, while also developing direct bookings to optimize visibility and profitability.
Why list your property on Airbnb and Booking.com?
Listing your property on Airbnb and Booking.com increases its visibility to different audiences and reduces reliance on a single sales channel.
This approach offers several advantages:
Broadened audience, thanks to two recognized platforms.
Complementary profiles, depending on the periods.
More commercial opportunities, especially during conventions.
Better risk distribution, in case of visibility decline.
Comparative performance tracking, to identify the most profitable channels.
In summary, combining Airbnb and Booking.com can strengthen a property's marketing, provided calendars are synchronized and rates are managed.
Is direct booking more profitable for an owner?
Direct booking can be more profitable for an owner when it reduces platform commissions and preserves a larger share of generated income.
Several factors must be considered:
Avoided commissions, due to the absence of an intermediary.
Services fees, according to the contract.
Marketing costs, necessary to attract clients.
Retention, which can promote recurring stays.
Net final income, to measure actual profitability.
In summary, the direct channel is an interesting additional activity source, but its performance should be evaluated considering all costs.
How to avoid double bookings on multiple platforms?
To avoid double bookings on Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo, centralizing calendars and automatically synchronizing availability is essential.
An efficient organization relies on:
A centralized calendar, aggregating confirmed stays.
Automated synchronization, between channels.
Prompt availability updates, after each confirmation.
Cancellations and modification tracking, to maintain consistent information.
Regular checks, especially during busy periods.
In summary, multichannel distribution requires reliable tools to prevent calendar conflicts and secure your property's marketing.
Why entrust your multichannel strategy to an agency like UPSTAYS?
Entrusting your multichannel strategy to UPSTAYS centralizes your property's marketing while benefiting from local management in Cannes.
Our support includes:
Listing announcements, across several suitable channels.
Managing availability, to coordinate calendars.
Adjusting rates, according to demand.
Developing the direct channel, alongside platforms.
Client relations, to assist visitors.
Operational follow-up, to ensure preparation and maintenance.
In summary, UPSTAYS combines multichannel marketing and on-site management to assist owners in their seasonal rental performance and daily tracking.
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Based in Cannes for over 10 years, we help owners make the most of their property and manage their holiday rentals.
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