Home sharing and Airbnb listings might have fared at least marginally better than the broader hotel industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some boutique hoteliers who list on Airbnb said bookings on that and other third-party distribution channels have also taken a significant hit.

Rick Verkler, general manager of The GuestHouse in Chicago, said it’s extremely difficult to do an in-depth analysis given how demand has cratered across the board, but that it was clear bookings from Airbnb have suffered to a greater degree than those from direct channels or online travel agencies.

“It was definitely hit harder,” he said, pointing to restrictions on single-night stays in Chicago and new rules put in place on the platform as reasons for that drop.

Ultimately, though, he remains bullish on the long-term potential of using Airbnb to help generate demand.

“The advantage is if you have family travel or two couples traveling together, we can accommodate that with our condo style units in that Airbnb-mold,” he said.

Tinsley Anne Dempsey, property manager for the Vandyke Bed & Beverage in Nashville, said long term it makes sense for properties like hers to list on Airbnb given that her property has a “non-traditional design and environment” and the platform “opens up visibility” for a lot of travelers not looking on traditional hotel channels.

But similar to what Verkler experienced, Dempsey said demand from the channel “fell off the face of the Earth” during the pandemic.

“We just had a first booking in months" in the beginning of February, she said. “We’ve got a few peppered in coming up over the next couple of months, but it’s not nearly the traffic we were seeing at all.”

Airbnb in the past had brought a “decent amount” of occupancy to her property, she said.

Airbnb has expanded efforts in listing hotels on its platform in recent years, after opening up to boutique properties in early 2018. Hotel bookings are expected to be an increasing part of the company’s mix as it positions itself for greater growth on the heels of a massive explosion in valuation after going public in December.

An early public filing from the company en route to its initial public offering highlighted the fact that executives internally view the platform as a competitor for established online travel platforms such as Expedia and Booking.com.

Airbnb executives did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Publicly released metrics from Airbnb seem to indicate the company fared better than the overall hotel industry throughout the pandemic as travelers sought more isolated accommodations for health and safety reasons.

The company’s website touts improvements it has made in allowing hotel listings, including better integration with central reservation systems and property management systems as well as more well-defined standards for hotels — along with similar offerings like serviced apartments and hostels — listing on the platform.

Travelers are also able to now specifically filter their search on Airbnb to hotels.

The company still does restrict branded hotels from the platform, noting “properties should have a unique, independent environment and style (for example, boutique or lifestyle hotels, not mass-market chains).”

Although Verkler and Dempsey said their properties haven’t booked the same volume on Airbnb as other channels, particularly direct during the pandemic, they still view Airbnb as comparable to the OTAs and valuable if used correctly.

Dempsey said it’s also worth utilizing the Airbnb-owned HotelTonight platform for the same reason.

She said she views Airbnb as the same as the OTAs.

Verkler agreed, although he noted his property experienced “much lighter demand" on Airbnb than Expedia or Booking.

“I wouldn’t put it in that same league,” he said. “It’s a more specialized client or stream of revenue.”

Verkler said one of the most persistent challenges of listing his property on Airbnb over the years has been reservations not automatically feeding into its systems, although he has applauded Airbnb for improving how it handles payments.

“We still have to put reservations in manually, but one positive thing I’ve noticed in the last couple of years is now Airbnb guests pay Airbnb directly when the reservation comes to us and their security measures have increased substantially,” he said.

Dempsey said her property has Airbnb bookings go through its channel management software the same as other third parties, but there are situations where it “doesn’t sync properly.” She said one issues that's arisen is Airbnb now has outsourced some of its support services, making it more difficult to resolve issues.

“We used to have a case manager" who would help fix issues, she said. "Now it’s a long process," which includes talking to a channel management software provider, she added.

Ultimately, Verkler does believe listing on Airbnb and being part of that ecosystem is useful for various reasons. It helped tie his company to all of the messaging and guidance Airbnb shared with all of its hosts and guests throughout the pandemic, and it helps reach guests it might otherwise miss out on, particularly since their length of stay is longer, he said.

“It’s an important traveling population,” he said.