Introduction

Everyone knows the name Airbnb these days, as it has become the world's largest accommodation rental portal. However, there are alternatives, such as Abritel (Vrbo), TripAdvisor, Gîtes de France or Papvacances. In this article you will find essential information about 6 alternative booking portals. 📖

These will allow you to have more possibilities to publish your accommodation online. In fact, if you publish your accommodation on several portals, you will have more visibility, which means more chances to rent it out.

Gîtes de France

Gîtes de France is one of the best Airbnb alternatives. 42,000 hosts who advertise more than 70,000 holiday rentals here, mostly cottages. There are also guesthouses, campsites, and glampings. 📖

It has the advantage of having a large number of accommodations in natural areas, thematically arranged and offered. Here, the owners share their hobbies with the guests, be it any kind of sports, or hiking, or gastronomy, or wine tasting, etc.

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This platform is all about ruralism, hospitality, sustainability - with a focus on planet-friendly rural accommodation. It emphasises landlords' commitment to the environment, and its main characteristics are quality and reliability.

In contrast to Airbnb, which offers accommodation in big cities to international guests, Gîtes de France offers nature-based, rural holiday homes that are also favoured by domestic travellers. ☝️

Airbnb charges commissions per booking as a landlord, while Gîtes de France charges an annual membership fee.

TripAdvisor

Among the alternative sites to Airbnb is also Tripadvisor. The world's largest travel community: you can find hotels, restaurants, flights here, but also a section dedicated to vacation rentals. 📖

Its advantages include global visibility and reliability. The recommendations and reviews here are highly sought after. All types of accommodation can be advertised: private rooms, castles, houseboats, mansions - it's similar to Airbnb in this way.

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It also has a number of holiday rental portals, so the commercials have a high international exposure. Its guests are mainly North American, and it stands out by charging low rates for hosts and higher rates for travellers. ☝️

Booking.com

In addition to a wide range of accommodation, you can also find hotels, flights, holiday packages and rent a car from this platform. It has more than 28 million accommodation places in 226 countries and is available in 43 languages. 📖

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The majority of its listings are hotels. It also provides great visibility, and attracts a wide range of travellers.

Abritel (Vrbo)

Airbnb's main competitor, Abritel posts more than 265,000 accommodations a year and more than two million vacation rentals in 190 countries. 📖

Abritel focuses mainly on houses and complete properties, and does not offer unique experiences or unusual accommodations. Airbnb, on the other hand, allows you to rent rooms and offer accommodations that is out of the ordinary.

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Both portals have an international audience. Commercials made on Abritel are also available on other platforms, such as Hotels.com and Trivago. It offers 24/7 customer support in a number of languages, including French.

It is an excellent alternative to Airbnb if you want to rent out an entire house or apartment and increase your visibility among foreign travellers. ☝️

Pros:

✅ specialization in houses and complete properties

✅ extended visibility

✅ 24/7 customer support in multiple languages

✅ strong international presence

Cons:

❌ limited accommodation types

❌ lack of unique experiences

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Leboncoin

Leboncoin is an advertising platform for individuals, professionals and hotels with over 300,000 ads. This Airbnb alternative offers protection for travellers through online payment and insurance. 📖

Hosts do not have to pay on this platform, as posting ads is free. Travellers pay 10% of the total rental fee as a service charge. However, if you want more visibility as a host, you need to subscribe to the site's premium package to have your ad displayed on the first pages.

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This website is aimed more at a national clientele, while Airbnb is more international and you can also contact accommodations directly. Unfortunately, fraud is common on Leboncoin, which is trying to put measures in place to combat it. ☝️

Papvacances

Reserved exclusively for private persons, i.e. you can rent rooms, apartments or houses from private people. It has around 30,000 accommodatios. 📖

Travellers don't pay a rental commission, there are no intermediaries - all of which give you more visibility. You can only rent from hosts who are not professionals, so their fees are low. In other words, you should use this Airbnb alternative  if you want to serve domestic travellers who want to travel on a budget. ☝️

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Their services are reliable and they have a customer service with French-speaking consultants. You can contact one of these advisors directly on the platform, not via chatbots like on Airbnb.

Conclusion

In France, there are many alternative sites to Airbnb, such as Booking.com , Abritel, Gîtes de Frace or Tripadvisor - but Airbnb remains the benchmark. Whichever advertising platform you use, it's important to maintain visibility. If you only use Airbnb, it's worth advertising on other sites, as there are benefits to diversity: if you advertise on alternative sites, your bookings can quickly increase.

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Frequently Asked Questions

❓ What are some alternatives to Airbnb for advertising my accommodation?

You can list your property on platforms like Abritel (Vrbo), TripAdvisor, Gîtes de France, and Papvacances. These offer various accommodation types and reach different audiences.

❓ How can I increase the visibility of my vacation rental?

List your rental on multiple sites such as Abritel and TripAdvisor. Using a Channel Manager helps manage your listings on these sites, increasing exposure without double booking.

❓ What are the benefits of using Gîtes de France for my rental property?

Gîtes de France focuses on rural and eco-friendly properties. It's ideal for hosts interested in nature and offers quality services, targeting domestic travelers with an annual fee rather than per-booking charges.

❓ What makes Abritel a strong competitor to Airbnb?

Abritel offers a wide range of whole properties, has extensive visibility through partnerships with sites like Hotels.com, provides 24/7 multilingual support, and caters to an international audience, making it a great alternative for whole house rentals.

❓ How can I ensure my rental does not get double booked when listing on multiple platforms?

For such problems, the use of a Channel Manager is highly recommended. The Visitor Channel Manager can help you to avoid these problems.

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