Ok. Channels. Airbnb is a channel. It is a website that brings plenty of potential guests who are looking for a place to stay. There are quite a few channels out there. Airbnb is one of the industry leaders, but there are other “monsters” out of there such as Booking.com, Homeway/VRBO, TripAdvisor (and other sites that they own), Expedia, etc.
Some guests like Airbnb and some are using Booking.com. In order to get as many bookings as possible we want to be on all major and also niche (if applicable to our market segment) channels as well.
More channels for your listings means more potential bookings -> more income.
In the same time, more channels translates to more problems, which needs to be addressed or/and resolved: synchronizations of the calendars, booking tracking and follow up, different pricing entry points (each channel has their own fees and other trickery). Don’t fret, this is our job, as well as getting your properties to all major channels to bring you more wonderful guests and additional revenue.