For many second homeowners, sharing their vacation property seems like a natural next step. You want to make the most of your space, cover some expenses, or simply let others enjoy the home when you're not using it.
But deciding how to share it is just as important as deciding if you should.
Public rental platforms have long promised ease, exposure, and extra income. But they also come with trade-offs: pressure to rent frequently, fees that chip away at your earnings, and a revolving door of unfamiliar guests.
That’s why a growing number of homeowners are choosing a different path: private sharing.
Private sharing platforms like Twimo are gaining traction with people who want a more personal, secure, and flexible way to manage their vacation homes.
Whether it’s offering the space to family, friends, or trusted guests, or swapping with other like-minded homeowners, Twimo makes it easy to stay in control, avoid unnecessary fees, and share your home the way it was meant to be shared.
Here’s why the private model is winning over second homeowners—and why it might be right for you.
1. You Choose Who Stays
When you share your home privately, you're not opening your doors to strangers browsing a public marketplace. You’re choosing exactly who gets access—be it friends, relatives, neighbors, or people in your trusted network.
With Twimo, you can:
- Send private, password-protected booking links
- Keep your listing off public directories entirely
- Approve or decline every request personally, or allow certain guests to book freely
This means no awkward requests from unknown travelers, no pressure to say yes, and no stress about whether a guest will treat your home with respect.
It's your space, and you stay in charge of who enters it.
2. You Keep More of What You Earn
Service fees are often the hidden cost of listing your home on public rental platforms. Hosts may lose a percentage of their earnings on every booking, while guests pay their own set of fees. Over time, that adds up.
Private sharing eliminates those middlemen.
With Twimo:
- There are no service or booking fees for you or your guests
- You receive 100% of what you charge
- Payments can be handled securely through Stripe or Venmo
Whether you’re asking for a cleaning fee, charging a friend-of-a-friend for a holiday weekend, or just swapping stays with another homeowner, you’re not losing money to a third-party platform.
When you’re sharing with intention, you shouldn’t be charged like a full-time business.
3. It’s Easier to Stay Flexible
One of the biggest frustrations with public rental platforms is the pressure to keep your calendar open and respond quickly to booking requests, even when your lifestyle doesn’t allow it.
With Twimo, you’re not trying to optimize for search rankings or availability metrics. You’re simply sharing when it works for you.
Use Twimo to:
- Block off time for personal or family use
- Open up your calendar only for specific guests
- Share your home occasionally, not constantly
Whether you want to offer a weekend here or a few summer weeks there, Twimo works on your timeline, not someone else’s.
4. It Keeps the Experience Personal
When you invite someone into your vacation home, it’s more than just a transaction. You’re offering them a piece of your life—your memories, your favorite views, your go-to coffee mugs.
Private sharing platforms honor that by helping you keep things personal. You're not hosting strangers with expectations based on polished photos or comparison shopping. You’re welcoming people who already understand the value of your space.
With Twimo, your guests:
- Know who they’re booking from
- Receive tailored instructions and guidance
- Are invited into a trusted, respectful experience
Private sharing feels more like welcoming guests, less like managing customers.
5. You Don’t Need to Be a Property Manager
Many public rental platforms are geared toward professional hosts or commercial property owners. They offer dynamic pricing tools, marketing dashboards, and complex guest management systems—all useful for people running full-time rental businesses.
But what if that’s not you?
Most second homeowners:
- Use their property for personal stays throughout the year
- Share it occasionally with people they know
- Want things to stay simple
Twimo is built for that. You don’t need to be a rental expert or manage guest ratings. You just need a home you love and a few trusted people to share it with.
The platform takes care of the rest, with easy-to-use tools for booking, calendar syncing, vendor coordination, and secure payment.
6. Travel Without the Tradeoffs
If you’re not renting your vacation home full-time, it might not feel worth it to list it publicly. But that doesn’t mean your home has to sit empty—or that you need to lose out on travel opportunities.
With Twimo’s home swapping feature, you can:
- Trade homes with other second homeowners in the Twimo network
- Set your own terms for swaps—no points, rules, or pressure
- Travel affordably while keeping your own home in use
It’s a smarter way to turn your home into a travel opportunity—without commercializing it or renting to the general public.
7. It’s About People, Not Just Property
One of the biggest shifts we’re seeing in the vacation home space is a return to relationship-driven sharing.
For years, the market has prioritized volume, visibility, and optimization, but many homeowners are craving something quieter, more intentional.
Twimo users often:
- Share with extended family during holidays
- Offer stays to friends during off-season
- Donate weekends to nonprofits or local causes
- Host in a way that feels authentic, not transactional
- Private sharing makes space for this kind of connection. And that’s what sets it apart.
You didn’t buy your second home to be a hotel. Why manage it like one?
Final Thoughts: A Platform That Matches Your Values
The rise of private sharing is more than a trend—it’s a reflection of what many second homeowners want: simplicity, trust, flexibility, and control.
Whether you're looking to occasionally rent, gift your space to loved ones, or explore home swaps on your terms, Twimo offers a modern solution without the noise of public rental platforms.
It’s not about exposure. It’s about ownership. It’s not about listings. It’s about relationships.
And it’s not about turning your home into a side hustle—it’s about making it a place that continues to bring value, meaning, and joy.
Ready to Make the Shift?
Join the growing number of homeowners choosing private sharing over public platforms.
With Twimo, sharing your home can finally feel the way it should: personal, secure, and stress-free.
