Holiday rentals have become increasingly popular as tourist accommodation in recent years. Many travelers prefer the advantages of holiday rentals (better price per night, greater comfort, more amenities on-site, etc.) over traditional hotel stays.
Due to the increased demand for homes intended for tourist and vacation , vacation rental platforms have been developed to meet this growing need on the part of travelers.
From July 1, 2025, all properties intended for holiday rentals in Spain must have a Unique Registration Number (NRU) to be advertised on digital platforms. This centralized registry, managed by the College of Property Registrars, was established to guarantee transparency, combat tax fraud, and facilitate oversight by local and regional authorities
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Vacation rental platforms are websites or applications where a large number of offers for overnight stays in different types of tourist accommodations .
These platforms not only help owners make a profit from their property , but also help guests find tourist accommodations tailored to their needs (closer to the city center, larger or smaller, with a private or shared pool, more or less luxurious...).
Guests can contribute on various platforms by leaving reviews of their stay . These reviews can be very important for potential guests considering booking, as well as for the property owner, who should strive to ensure the property is in perfect condition.
Among the existing vacation rental platforms, the following stand out due to their popularity and user traffic:
It works with all types of tourist accommodation , including hostels, rural houses, hotels, guesthouses, campsites, holiday apartments (both tourist accommodation and homes for tourist purposes), chalets, cabins, and even bubble hotels. According to the platform itself, 1.5 million overnight stays are booked daily through Booking , and it has been offering tourist accommodation services for over 20 years.
Booking started by offering hotel booking services and over time, as travelers' needs changed, they have successfully pivoted and diversified their services. Currently, in addition to offering accommodation rental and booking services, they also allow you to buy plane tickets and even rent vehicles.
Booking platform allows integration with online check-in systems such as Check-in Scan .
Booking system It works by commission per booking, that is, for each booking made the platform takes between 10 and 20% of the total price.
Airbnb is one of the world's best-known platforms where vacation rental owners list their properties . Currently, the platform boasts over 100 million users and more than 7 million properties in its database. You won't find hotel accommodations on Airbnb, as it specializes in vacation rentals for travelers seeking a unique place to stay.
Airbnb has insurance to protect both guests and owners against possible accidents during their stay .
Airbnb's system also operates on a commission basis , similar to Booking , but with some variations. The commission percentage that the platform takes per booking ranges from 14% to 17% . This commission can be paid in two ways:
The vacation rental platform Expedia works very similarly to Booking , meaning you can book stays in multiple tourist accommodations. However, with Expedia, you can also book cruise packages.
With the Expedia platform, owners can list their vacation rentals, and when promoting the listing, it will be done across all of the group's platforms (Vrbo, hotels.com, etc.). Furthermore, they can also upgrade to a premium membership by meeting certain requirements, which will give their listings greater reach.
In compliance with this regulation, platforms like Airbnb, Booking , and Expedia are required to display the NRU (Non-Registered License) on all listings and remove any unregistered listings within 48 hours of official notification. Therefore, many hosts are reviewing their licenses and registrations to avoid having their listings removed and potential penalties
The commission percentage per booking that the platform takes varies between 10% and 30% .
This platform was formerly known as HomeAway . It has been operating since 1995 and is currently part of the Expedia group .
It's a platform similar to Airbnb , but it specializes in family groups , listing only entire properties or vacation homes. On Vrbo, you can communicate directly with guests from the very beginning .
Vrbo allows homeowners to rent larger homes more easily than on any other platform.
The platform offers its users an annual fee instead of working on a commission-per-booking system.
Google Vacation Rentals is a platform integrated into Google Travel that allows users to search for and compare vacation rentals directly from Google Search and Google Maps. Unlike other platforms, Google does not act as an intermediary in bookings, but instead redirects users to the owner's website or partner platforms to complete the reservation.
Users can apply filters such as check-in and check-out dates, number of guests, price, property type, and services offered to refine their search. When a property is selected, the user is redirected to the owner's website or a partner platform (such as Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking ) to complete the booking.
It belongs to the Idealista group and is another of the best-known and most widely used holiday and mid-term rental platforms in Spain . It also features properties in popular European tourist destinations such as Portugal, Croatia, and the French Riviera.
On this platform, the guest does not pay any commission or other expenses for the booking; however, the owner can start publishing with a free trial month and from then on must pay a commission percentage of 10% per booking or a fixed amount of €120 .
platform belongs to the Room Mate group and is managed by Spanish businessman Kike Sarasola. Its aim is to enhance the guest experience by offering a service very similar to that of hotels in tourist apartments.
A vacation rental platform belonging to the TripAdvisor group . With this platform, you can list your property for free , or for a fee if you want greater visibility in your listings.
Agoda is an accommodation booking platform founded in 2005 in Singapore and is currently part of the Booking Holdings , as is Booking . Although it is especially strong in the Asian market , it has expanded its global presence, offering more than 4 million accommodations worldwide, including hotels, apartments, hostels, and villas.
Agoda offers a wide variety of accommodation options worldwide, giving users plenty of choices. Owners can list their properties at no upfront cost, and booking fees are typically around 15%, depending on the location.
As part of Booking Holdings, Agoda benefits from a robust technological infrastructure and a broad user network.
Check Check-in Scan integrates with the leading vacation rental platforms in the industry .
If any vacation rental owner works directly with one of these platforms, Check Check-in Scan automatically handle all the check-in management and submission to the authorities
Automating check-in processes and communication with authorities, such as that offered Check-in Scan, facilitates regulatory compliance, reduces errors, and protects both owners and guests from potential penalties for non-compliance with legal obligations.
