They can extend their vacation rental marketing<\/a> and distribution to retail travel agencies, wholesalers, tour operators, airlines, corporations and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In turn, travel operators can respond to the needs of their clientele and offer them a large inventory of vacation rentals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To find out more about this exciting shift, we asked our friends at B2Book<\/a>, who built the pioneering solution to B2B distribution for vacation rentals, to share their wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travel agencies may sound like a thing of the past \u2013 but they are far from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many reasons why people still book their holidays through travel agencies. They want expert travel advice<\/strong>, good deals on packages<\/strong>, face-to-face conversations and tailor-made travel experiences<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may be surprised to hear that, in a 2017-2018 study<\/a>, 33% of Millennials said they were looking forward to hiring a travel agent with the next two years. Of all generations, Millennials are the ones you\u2019d least expect to book trips offline. And yet, they value the transformative travel experiences that agencies can arrange for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agencies and other travel operators are important channels that have always been available to hotels through GDSs. But why have vacation rentals been missing out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Fabio Bufalini, CCO & Co-Founder at B2Book, it\u2019s because of the historical lack of tools to connect short-term rental suppliers with B2B buyers<\/strong>. This is the problem that B2Book, a global apartments distribution system for the B2B market, is trying to solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe partner with travel agents in two main ways. Firstly, we have network agreements<\/strong> in place in Spain and Italy (we\u2019re also starting in Israel and other countries soon), where we had approximately 2,000 travel agent registrations in 5 months. Secondly, by integrating with wholesalers<\/strong> who distribute to thousands of travel agents through their channels,\u201d says Fabio. More on how large online travel agents operate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n B2Book aims to level the field and give vacation rentals the same global distribution opportunities as hotels<\/strong>. It opens up the way for property managers to access new markets and diversify their distribution with alternative channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The platform allows for direct contact with travel operators as well as the end customer. Property managers can decide what cancellations policies and commissions they want to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to see why short-term rental property managers need to be present on a variety of channels in today\u2019s competitive market. But why are travel agents and other operators interested in expanding their accommodation portfolios<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn a time when saving is one of the main selection criteria for a trip, it becomes important to offer a type of accommodation that allows families and groups of friends to be able to keep costs down<\/strong>,\u201d says Giorgio Monti from Cinecitt\u00e0 Viaggi e Vacanze<\/a>, one of B2Book\u2019s travel agent partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Giorgio, the demand for vacation rentals is steadily growing (30% of Cinecitt\u00e0 Viaggi\u2019s accommodation-only bookings are for vacation rentals), and apartments equipped with kitchens can provide truly cost-effective options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUntil now, it was difficult to work with vacation rentals because there were no B2B channels specifically for this kind of product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Giorgio Monti, Cinecitt\u00e0 Viaggi<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cUntil now, it was difficult to work with vacation rentals because there were no B2B channels<\/strong> specifically for this kind of product that would have allowed travel agencies to offer villas or apartments at the same market prices published on traditional OTAs, get good commissions and not run the risk of sharing our customers\u2019 personal data with B2C giants like Booking.com or Expedia,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way Giorgio sees it, B2Book is the ideal solution, because it provides them with a large portfolio of vacation rentals, direct relationships with property suppliers and net payment. Since it\u2019s a B2B only platform, B2Book is not a potential competitor for travel agencies and they can be trusted with customer data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2019, 22% of requests were regarding apartments. A year before \u2013 only 16,7%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tetiana Kondratenko, Vitiana<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Tetiana Kondratenko, CEO at Vitiana<\/a>, a B2B wholesaler<\/strong> that serves over 3,000 travel agents, agrees that integrating with a tool like B2Book is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2019, 22% of requests were regarding apartments. A year before \u2013 only 16,7%,\u201d Tetiana says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This goes to show just how much the demand is increasing. Vitiana serves the CIS market, offering hotels in 174 countries \u2013 and now, they\u2019re expanding their offering with short-term rentals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cApartments are very popular among families, \u2018live like a local\u2019-style travellers and business travellers. We believe that B2Book will provide agents with a comfortable booking tool, professional support and wide portfolio,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides travel agencies, there are a whole host of other opportunities for B2B distribution for vacation rentals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fabio tells us that B2Book is looking into opening up even more channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re working on API integrations with OTAs and airlines that are missing vacation rental inventory. We\u2019re also looking at corporate welfare agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fabio Bufalini, B2Book<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re working on API integrations with OTAs and airlines<\/strong> (we are starting a pilot in specific US locations with JetBlue) that are missing vacation rental inventory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re also looking at corporate welfare agreements<\/strong>, like the one we\u2019ve done with Poste Italiane. We are one of their partners and we distribute our inventory to their 130,000 employees on their intranet. We\u2019ve built a B2C platform for them, which, of course, we can use in our future corporate welfare agreements,\u201d Fabio says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opportunities are endless, and the interest of B2B buyers in vacation rentals is only going to increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To grant easy access to their services, the B2Book team is constantly working on establishing API connections with large property managers. They also work with a select number of vacation rental software providers that integrate with their platform. get listed on B2Book<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready to start getting bookings from travel agents? Find out how to connect with B2Book through the Rentals United Channel Manager!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rentalsunited.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/banner_signature-the-squiggle-mag_02-600x57-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow can property managers benefit from B2B distribution for vacation rentals?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA tool to connect travel agents and vacation rentals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nB2B distribution for vacation rentals: What\u2019s in it for travel agents and wholesalers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCorporate deals and what\u2019s next for B2Book<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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