I made a search engine to get rid of Airbnb fees/commission

(staythere.ai)

2 points | by wthayer 4 hours ago ago

3 comments

  • wthayer 4 hours ago ago

    I built a search engine that aggregates the public direct booking websites provided by property management systems (PMSs), allowing travelers to discover and book directly with hosts. There are no booking fees or commissions.

    StayThere is only the search layer. I am not the merchant of record. When a guest chooses a property, they complete their booking on the host’s existing checkout page provided by their PMS.

    Hosts can add their listings by simply pasting the URL of their Guesty, Hospitable, Hostaway, Hostfully, Lodgify, or OwnerRez direct booking website. Within seconds, their listings become searchable on StayThere with live pricing and availability.

    • carlosjobim 4 hours ago ago

      Sirvoy and bookvisit are also very popular PMSs, used by many.

      > StayThere is only the search layer. I am not the merchant of record.

      Just make sure that people have no way of contacting you, because people will not be able to understand that, and demand that you refund them for late cancellations etc. The general public is at an all-time low in their mental levels.

      Also, a lot of property owners will be pissed off at you, because they think you are selling their rooms without authorization etc. They are also at an all-time low in their mental levels.

      That's why aggregators charge a commission for the pain of dealing with the above...

      Edit: Especially since you have your sticky header stuck above the accommodation's website.

      • wthayer 3 hours ago ago

        Thanks I’ll add support for those!

        I agree and I’m working on adding the hosts contact and socials to that sticky header to contact them.

        I have spoken to a few hundred PMs and none have cared that I listed them and actually loved the idea of getting more direct bookings with no commission or fees.

        Zillow doesn’t charge to list units annd get rented and also aggregated MLSs around the country into a unified site without individual owners or PM knowledge.

        More like Google Flights but for STR booking sites.