Articles tagged “flipkey”

While hosts have to shell out the permit fee, it's sites like Airbnb who stand to lose more, at least for now, from hosts' unwillingness to comply as these sites face fines unless they force hosts to obey local laws.

Always read the fine print.

Property managers using Flipkey have three business models to choose from: pay per lead, pay an annual subscription fee for an unlimited quantity of leads, or pay a commission per confirmed booking. Lots of choice, depending on each owner's situation.

TripAdvisor isn't exactly a wild-eyed daredevil, but the fastest growing category on its Flipkey accommodation site is apartment rentals, a category that flirts with illegality in large, urban markets like New York.

The "little guys," in this case owners of a vacation rental property or two, feel powerless and at the mercy of the giant vacation rental sites. The sites have to balance the needs of the professional property managers and the individual owners and guess who is coming out on top.

This list is only slightly more diverse than last year's suggesting that families within the U.S. remain the vacation rental market's top customer.

Convergence is coming to the vacation and urban rental sector with more direct bookings happening online and sites cross-contaminating inventory. Expect a merger of markets and payment methods on all rental sites.

Businessweek magazine argued this week that the sharing and peer-to-peer economies need to stop whining about competition and start lobbying. But if they're going to win over legislators like Krueger, the new upstarts are going to need to learn that sharing goes both ways.

PCVST may have a ton of potential customers, but the complex's management is the 800-pound gorilla of New York City rentals and an enemy that's better avoided than attacked head on.

This class action lawsuit may not result in any action, but at least could help the vacation rental sites assume more responsibilities and add more checks and balances.