The popularity of online booking through the streamlined website has encouraged a number of property owners to open their doors, delivering cheaper accommodation for those heading to the notoriously pricey snowfields.

Martin Dempsey and his wife, of Curtin, began offering their apartment at Crackenback to the public 18 months ago and haven't looked back, bringing in more than $20,000 since.

"We would never rent it out through a real estate agent, so without this platform we wouldn't be renting it out at all," he said.

At $700 per night during winter, the apartment can bring in $10,000 in a fortnight during the peak school holidays period, the keen skiier and hiker said.

"Our aim was to make the apartment cost-neutral, which it seems to be doing."

Geoff Kirk, 76, is a relative veteran of the short-stay scene, with he and his partner providing a cooked breakfast and dinner for visitors for the last decade staying in one of five bedrooms at his impressive winter home at Crackenback.

As live-in hosts, Mr Kirk said Stayz, owned by Fairfax Media, was better suited to he and his partner's situation as it allowed easier phone conversation and pre-booking compatibility checks with guests than Airbnb, which he had also used for the last two years.

"We struck on a formula – it's a mixture of Fawlty Towers and Jamie Oliver, and we enjoy families and we like to see kids grow over the years and learn to use the snow," he said.

"People like to talk about dietary needs – it's a painful process finding out about all that by emails."

The retired forensic accountant said about 20 per cent of his bookings were now through Airbnb, largely internationals, but Stayz remained popular for the alpine region where there were more live-in hosts than elsewhere.

There were 11 Airbnb listings at Thredbo this week, ranging from $155-$625 per night (the latter for eight guests), and 30 listings at Jindabyne.

Snowy River Shire Council mayor John Cahill said the Jindabyne area alone had more than 1000 holiday homes, although the council wanted changes to allow it to charge business rates for short-term rentals to help it fund infrastructure.

"I think it's a fantastic thing, more power to them, the more diverse accommodation opportunities the better the service to the public," he said.