Free Classified Websites Pros & Cons

Holiday Rentals - Vacation Rentals Free Classified Websites Pros & Cons

Free classified websites such as Craigslist or Kijiji have been incredibly successful in their marketing. Those general websites can do it all from looking for a job, buying a house to selling a sofa. They also have a travel section where travel professionals post ads such as sections devoted to vacation rentals ads.

Owners as well as managers of holiday rentals post ads for renters to read and possibly even respond to. Those holiday rentals ads are free to post and advertisers need to post them on a daily basis to be effective. Users (advertisers and “seekers”) of free classified websites love them because they are free and because they attract a large audience and daily visitors. Free classified vacation rentals websites have pros and cons:

Vacation Rentals Free Classified Websites Pros:
• They have thousands of vacation rentals to choose from listed everyday.

•   It is free for advertisers
•   The process is flexible since new ads are placed everyday. Owners can easily change rates on a daily basis if they wish.

Vacation Rentals Free Classified Websites Cons:
•   The classified section is easy to use but not very sophisticated. The listings are featured with a line description and without pictures. Holiday rentals seekers need to open each ad to MAYBE find a photo of the dream holiday rentals.
•   There is no quick search button that would allow you to search within a special district of a city or a type of holiday rental such as condos or villas. When people are looking for a place that accommodates 2 or 10 people, they need to browse every ad to find them.
•   Because it is free, advertisers are sometimes negligent and not detailed in their   description
•   The websites are not monitored, thus, advertisers can put whatever they want and a lot of fraudulent activity occurs on daily basis. When placing a listing, the owners or supposed owners are not verified by the website operators. Scam artists create fake properties or “borrow” them, take your money and disappear.

Caution must be exercised when using free classified websites in order to not fall victim to scam artists. Legitimate and honest owners and managers also use the websites to market their vacation rentals properties. If a suspicious ad is reported or flagged, the user that created the ad will be immediately banned.

Unsatisfied renters will be able to post reviews and share their experience for other would-be renters to read and make a decision to book or not book the holiday rentals property. When you rent from a vacation rentals agency, fraudulent activity is impossible and would-be renters will still be able to read reviews posted by previous renters.

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