What: WeNeedaVacation advertises your Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket rental for a $319 annual listing fee.
Expected pay: NA
Husl $core: $$$$
Commissions & Fees: $319 annual listing fee ($89 for a 90-day trial)
Where: Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket
Requirements: A rental home in the right geography
Review:
Most home rental sites charge a percentage of your rental amount. WeNeedAVacation simply charges homeowners to advertise. While it can seem risky to pay a fee with no promise of return, WeNeedaVacation offers a relatively inexpensive 90-day trial. And it says you’ll get free extended membership, if you get no rentals during the first term.
The site’s model also works well for the high-end rentals located in this part of the country, particularly if they’re booked for more than a few days. That’s because other sites charge booking fees that are set as a percentage of the rental amount. These booking fees range from a low of 3% (Airbnb) to a high of 20% (the many sites run by RedAwning). Thus, if you rent out your home for $5000 a week, you would pay $150 to Airbnb (but Airbnb would also hit your renter with extra charges); and a whopping $1,000 with one of the RedAwning sites.
Perhaps because they’re not charging a percentage of the gate, WeNeedaVacation also doesn’t get in the way of direct communication between homeowners and renters. That can preclude many of the problems homeowners complain about with other sites, such as getting hit with steep cancellation fees when someone wants to make a minor change to the booking. Or renting to unsuitable clients — people planning to use your house for a frat party rather than a family vacation, for instance.
Notably, you can have a representative from the site take professional photographs of your residence for an additional fee.
What their homeowners say: (from Yelp)
“My gf and I own a house on the cape in Eastham. The first year we used a rental company, and they charged us 17 percent of every rental. Thankfully I found WeNeedaVacation and we have been with them for 4 years. They charge a one-time reasonable fee to post your house with 14 pictures.
They are extremely helpful if you need assistance. They post a blog with helpful hints, and provide a sign for your yard so people driving past can get the info. Most importantly they just give you a rental inquiry. After that, I am in charge of communicating with the prospective tenant, answering any questions they have. I feel like I have a relationship with the person that is renting my house, instead of other sites that just take the booking without me having any control. They know the cape area very well, I can’t recommend them highly enough.”
We’ve been listing our West Tisbury home on We Need A Vacation for over 10yrs and love it. The staff is always helpful and responsive – and I’m very techno-challenged. We are listed on several other sites but most of our renters come through this site…and it seems that we get fewer “tire kickers” from WeNeed than VRBO or Home Away.