Listing Your St. Lucia Vacation Rental on Multiple Platforms- What You Need to Know

While Airbnb is the go-to name in vacation rentals, there are a number of avenues you can use to list your St. Lucia vacation property in order to maximize exposure and ensure more bookings. 

If you are considering listing your rentals on multiple channels, there are a number of things you must take into consideration. 

​While there are benefits to listing on more than one site, it is imperative that you understand the challenges as well as how to mitigate them.

e.g. Here, maximizing Serrana Villa rental Occupancy means looking beyond just Airbnb. Learn why listing with multiple platforms may be the boost you need.

Which Channels Are Best for Your St. Lucia Rental Home?

​While there are countless sites and platforms that allow you to list your St. Lucia rental, it is important to find the ones best suited to your needs. 

​Things to consider include popularity, rating, exposure, pricing models, and the ability for top notch hosts to see their properties rise to the top of the listings.

Here are the three listing platforms that prove the most lucrative and beneficial for St. Lucia rental property owners.

Airbnb

Without a doubt, Airbnb is the top vacation rental website in the world right now.  As a household name around the globe, failure to list your property on Airbnb can present you with a massive missed opportunity. 

With over 7 million listings and a relatively low commission charge, Airbnb offers the perfect combination of exposure for St. Lucia rental properties and trustworthiness for potential renters. 

​In short, if you want to maximize your St. Lucia vacation property, Airbnb should be at the top of your list.

HomeAway by VRBO

While HomeAway might not have the traction that Airbnb has gained in the rental market, it still caters to over 70 million global travelers every month, making it worth your consideration. 

While HomeAway doesn’t allow shared rooms or private rooms within larger properties, it is ideal for owners looking to rent out an entire apartment or vacation home. 

​The commission for hosts using HomeAway is double what is paid via Airbnb, but an annual subscription plan can help reduce per-booking charges.

Booking.com

Last up, we have Booking.com.  While this avenue is geared more towards the hotel crowd, vacation rentals make up almost half of searches. 

​Catering to more than 430 million travelers every month, Booking.com is a great way to boost exposure, though it is worth noting that per-booking commissions range from 10% to 25%.

Why List Your St. Lucia Vacation Home on More Than One Site?

With such a variance in commissions and rules, you may be wondering why you should list your property on more than one site. 

The answer is pretty straightforward- more exposure equals more bookings.  While you don’t want the headache of listing on every rental website in the market (more on that in the next section), listing through the most popular avenues is a great way to make sure that your property gets the exposure you need. 

More marketing means more bookings, which in turn means a much greater cash flow. 

​Couple this with properties that offer great amenities and features, affordable prices, and proximity to the things travelers want to see (Sulphur Springs, the Pitons, Anse Chastanet, Hummingbird Soufriere Beach Park, Botanical Gardens, Airport, Marigot Bay, etc), and multiple listings can propel your vacation rental to the top in no time.

The Challenge of Managing Multi-Channel Listings

While listing your St. Lucia rental villa on multiple platforms is a great way to achieve more bookings, it isn’t as simple as setting up multiple profiles and watching the money roll in. 

Acclimating to each platform, managing communications on all platforms, and managing prices along with setting up each profile can be very time consuming.  There is also a significant risk of double bookings, which can harm your reputation. 

Thankfully, vacation rental software can help you automate much of this process, synchronizing all of your listings in one easy to understand interface. 

​There are programs on the market that offer benefits like a single inbox for all platforms, channel managers, and seamless integration with all of the channels listed in this article.

St. Lucia Rentals Are Highly Sought After- Are You Maximizing Yours?

In short, while setting up multiple listings across platforms can be time consuming and a bit of work, when properly implemented it can also be quite lucrative. 

Every top-rated platform is a potential income stream, and your property can benefit greatly by utilizing the best options. 

​Whether you own a quaint apartment near the Castries Market or a luxury villa near Sugar Beach, taking the time to get your St. Lucia vacation rental the most possible exposure benefits you while also bringing more travel money to businesses across the island.