Airbnb, Vrbo Go to Great — Sometimes Annoying Lengths — to Woo Hosts
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The phone at the Buckhorn Inn in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has been ringing off the hook since the start of summer. Owner Lee Mellor tries to avoid answering it because her 10 rooms, seven cottages and three guest houses at the foot of the Smoky Mountains have been booked almost solid since April.
But that hasn’t stopped Airbnb Inc., Expedia Group Inc.’s Vrbo and other online travel agents from trying to woo her into listing the 30-acre property – with its sweeping views of the mountains, pet swans and private hiking trails – onto their sites.