Skift Take
TripAdvisor/FlipKey's challenges with the vacation rental industry aren't only technical ones. They also reflect increased supply available from individual homeowners and apartment renters. TripAdvisor, Booking.com and Airbnb are going after this sector and professionally managed properties are feeling the lumps.
In recent months TripAdvisor has transitioned its FlipKey unit's vacation rentals onto a single technology platform and the ensuing problems have left many professional managers of vacation rental properties angry, and they are reducing their listings and looking for alternatives.
At the same time, in a move that seems to be reflected industrywide among some competitors, including Booking.com, FlipKey has given new emphasis to individual homeowners, which make up the majority of potential listings, and tweaked its business model, as well.
More than 100 property managers representing more than 14,000 properties have written an open letter to TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer lamenting the problems and protesting the fact that they deliver high volumes of listings to FlipKey yet must pay 10 percent commissions while individual owners only pay 3 percent.
TripAdvisor/FlipKey acknowledges some of the problems that came with its platform migration, characterized as one of its biggest changes ever, and states that it is increasing staffing to meet the challenges
