I work in this space (Smart Host - market intelligence for vacation rentals) and this is a common practice. Owners and managers keep their calendars open because they treat a channel like HomeAway/VRBO as a lead source.
So if you inquire on a property that's booked, they will attempt to place you in a similar place within their inventory.
Only ~30% of bookings that happen on HomeAway are actually processed through their payment system. Airbnb handles the payments, so the calendar availability is typically more accurate on Airbnb.
So if you inquire on a property that's booked, they will attempt to place you in a similar place within their inventory.
Only ~30% of bookings that happen on HomeAway are actually processed through their payment system. Airbnb handles the payments, so the calendar availability is typically more accurate on Airbnb.