FlipKey

FlipKey is an online vacation rental marketplace. In 2015 it lists more than 300,000 properties in 179 countries worldwide. Its headquarters is in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Each rental owner on the FlipKey website is verified by FlipKey staff[1] and the site relies heavily on traveler reviews of rental properties.

FlipKey also publishes ratings for travel-related items such as food blogs[2] and in the United States it provides ratings of national historic sites.[3]

History

FlipKey was founded in 2007 and acquired by leading travel website, TripAdvisor, in 2008.[4][5] FlipKey was recognized by Travel and Leisure as a Top Travel Website[6] in 2008.

At first Flipkey sold subscriptions to homeowners.[7] After 2013, FlipKey changed its sales model, giving property owners the option of paying a percentage commission for each property rented.[8][9]

In 2014, FlipKey began creating virtual tours of cities where the properties it lists are located. The first tour was of Boston.[10]

In 2015 FlipKey updated its technology platform, resulting in complaints from some large property managers that they were being overcharged.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Consumer Watch: How to protect yourself from building contractor scams". Times Free Press, August 9, 2015. by Ellen Phillips
  2. ↑ "Business buzz: Goodwill's Telly; Designers' outstanding event; Foodies' blog; Big Cat Habitat". Herald Tribune.
  3. ↑ "Fort Smith National Historic Site Named Top Place To Visit In Arkansas". 5 News, January 22, 2016, by Chandler Rogers
  4. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2008/08/20/tripadvisor-invests-in-vacation-home-review-site-flipkey/
  5. ↑ John R. Levine; Margaret Levine Young (30 January 2015). The Internet For Dummies. Wiley. pp. 287–. ISBN 978-1-118-96775-1.
  6. ↑ http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/t-l-top-travel-websites-of-2008/7
  7. ↑ Janet Portman; Marcia Stewart; Ilona Bray (30 September 2014). First-Time Landlord: Your Guide to Renting Out a Single-Family Home. Nolo. pp. 140–. ISBN 978-1-4133-2065-7.
  8. ↑ "Apartment Rentals Are FlipKey’s Fastest Growing Category". Skift, Dennis Schaal, Jun 16, 2014
  9. ↑ "TripAdvisor’s Flipkey Raises the Fees It Charges Vacation Rental Property Managers". Skift, Dennis Schaal Nov 03, 2014
  10. ↑ "FlipKey creates awesome virtual tour of Boston as the first in a series of traveler guides". Beta Boston - The Boston Globe.
  11. ↑ "TripAdvisor In Tiff With Vacation Rental Managers Over FlipKey Changes". Dennis Schaal, Skift - Aug 28, 2015

External links

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