Step aside Airbnb, home owners are apparently turning to another online site to rent out their properties to holidaymakers.
Gumtree – the website made popular in the early 2000s for adopting eBay’s peer-to-peer selling concept but taking it one step further by allowing users to use it for pretty much anything (even job ads) – is picking up steam in the ‘short term real estate’ department.
Similarly to Airbnb, account holders are uploading their properties to the website and offering travellers the chance to rent out entire houses for a relatively cheap price.
The postings feature photos of the property up for grabs, a nightly cost, accommodation details as well as reviews from former renters.
For example, pictured above is a property in Darwin available for $250 a night. It offers a pool, three bedrooms, one bathroom and is pet friendly. A former guest said they were “really impressed with the house and enjoyed using it”.
A Gumtree spokesperson told KarryOn that the real estate vertical on the website is long established, however, the holiday rentals section has become increasingly popular amongst Australians.
As a result, the company has increased its marketing efforts in promoting the section.
More recently, Gumtree highlighted the section for Australia Day long weekend, urging last minute holidaymakers to scoop up a night or two at “cozy cottages, beachside bungalows, and spacious rambling homes”.
Among the top five picks is a Sydney Harbour waterfront apartment at Mcmahons Point going for $200 a night [pictured above].
Or there’s the Leafy beach house from $125 a night in the South Golden Beach in NSW located just 20 minutes from Byron Bay.
Plus there’s a spacious holiday home from $90 a night at Bruny Island in Tasmania, which is “the perfect base to explore the Tasmanian wilderness”.
