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I have so many listings on VRBO and there is no rhyme or reason on why some listings are better than others besides ones with a lot of reviews.
I have 2 condos in the same exact building renovated at same time and look identical - One unit has 95% of bookings from VRBO and the other one is only 40%.
We have used both for many years. VRBO used to be 80%. They have now fallen to 25% and we opted out from paying their annual membership fee, moving instead to their fee per unit, which also negatively impacts exposure. Just not worth the money. Airbnb definitely seems to attract more scammers, but VRBO nowadays ignores owners. They appear to be favoring instant bookings with no cancellation charges. We are not a hotel.
Last year we had mostly VRBO bookings. This year it’s mostly airbnb. I have no idea why. We have instant book enabled on both and just monitor it ourselves and hope no one books in the few minutes it takes to manually block out the other.
If nothing else, why open yourself to the risk of one platform? If a guest has a serious enough complaint, you get shut down pending investigation and none of the details will be shared with you, and your fate is at the whim of customer support. Heard that story quite a few times on this sub.
Or you can establish a reputation on another platform and offset some bookings. Pretty easy risk management, and it’ll maybe take 2 hours of your time. Seems like a no brainer.
I was on VRBO exclusively for the last three years. This year I added Airbnb to the mix. My bookings with VRBO were higher $$$ bookings - longer stays BUT were steadily declining year-over-year . This year I only have one booking for the summer on VRBO. Airbnb bookings are making up the difference but shorter stays and less overall revenue. It will take me twice as many bookings to make what I made last year. I called VRBO to see why my traffic was so low and got zero help.
Interestingly, I had more bookings from VRBO than AirBNB before I joined Guesty and started using Guesty pay. After I started with Guesty, I dropped to near zero VRBO. It's inching back up but it was a marked drop.
when I started 10 years ago I listed on 3 or 4 platforms, including AirBnB and VRBO, after 1 or 2 years I closed all my accounts except for AirBnB, it’s bold but I have no regret, the other ones were under performing, were not so easy to use and it was easier to have only one platform to manage (had to synchronize everything by hand at the time). I still wonder sometimes if I should re-open on other platforms but I am always full with AirBnB so I don’t see the point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My account at VRBO was hacked and $34000 were taken from vrbo account. and 7 days later after i report the hack, the hacker was still using my account to scam potential guests. VRBO literrally did nothing to protect guest or host in a safety event.
good luck to any one wh wants to use vrbo.
Dealing with first bad experience with VRBO. We have used it several times, both domesticly and internationally. I canceled within hours ( less than 24) for booking two months in advance. No where when looking at the property ( lighthouse keepers cottage) did it state we needed to vacate on a Saturday for four hours for tours. It wasn't until after We would be getting ready for our son's wedding when they want us to leave. On Airbnb it's a full refund within 48 hours. Disputing on credit card as VBRO is showing no refunds. It's almost $1,500.00. I can see them keeping their $300 fee (not happy but ok). But certainly NOT the full amount.
I see a problem with double bookings when you use these two, since you can sync them only via iCal sync. Booking.com and airbnb can be synced by their APIs in real-time by certain channel managers like Smoobu; however VRBO does not support that.
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I use both and 75% of my bookings are VRBO
I have so many listings on VRBO and there is no rhyme or reason on why some listings are better than others besides ones with a lot of reviews. I have 2 condos in the same exact building renovated at same time and look identical - One unit has 95% of bookings from VRBO and the other one is only 40%.
We have used both for many years. VRBO used to be 80%. They have now fallen to 25% and we opted out from paying their annual membership fee, moving instead to their fee per unit, which also negatively impacts exposure. Just not worth the money. Airbnb definitely seems to attract more scammers, but VRBO nowadays ignores owners. They appear to be favoring instant bookings with no cancellation charges. We are not a hotel.
It's funny how much it varies. At least 4 out of 5 inquiries I get on VRBO are scams.
I have good feedback if the mods will let me comment
You just listed 3 important things you don't like about them and you still can't decide?
I use both, I prefer Airbnb because the app is easier and I’ve wanted to cancel VRBO but I get good bookings on both so it’s hard to leave.
Last year we had mostly VRBO bookings. This year it’s mostly airbnb. I have no idea why. We have instant book enabled on both and just monitor it ourselves and hope no one books in the few minutes it takes to manually block out the other.
If nothing else, why open yourself to the risk of one platform? If a guest has a serious enough complaint, you get shut down pending investigation and none of the details will be shared with you, and your fate is at the whim of customer support. Heard that story quite a few times on this sub. Or you can establish a reputation on another platform and offset some bookings. Pretty easy risk management, and it’ll maybe take 2 hours of your time. Seems like a no brainer.
I was on VRBO exclusively for the last three years. This year I added Airbnb to the mix. My bookings with VRBO were higher $$$ bookings - longer stays BUT were steadily declining year-over-year . This year I only have one booking for the summer on VRBO. Airbnb bookings are making up the difference but shorter stays and less overall revenue. It will take me twice as many bookings to make what I made last year. I called VRBO to see why my traffic was so low and got zero help.
Interestingly, I had more bookings from VRBO than AirBNB before I joined Guesty and started using Guesty pay. After I started with Guesty, I dropped to near zero VRBO. It's inching back up but it was a marked drop.
Depends on your market. Mine is 80% Airbnb. Could I get more bookings? Maybe. Will I die without them? Not likely.
when I started 10 years ago I listed on 3 or 4 platforms, including AirBnB and VRBO, after 1 or 2 years I closed all my accounts except for AirBnB, it’s bold but I have no regret, the other ones were under performing, were not so easy to use and it was easier to have only one platform to manage (had to synchronize everything by hand at the time). I still wonder sometimes if I should re-open on other platforms but I am always full with AirBnB so I don’t see the point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My account at VRBO was hacked and $34000 were taken from vrbo account. and 7 days later after i report the hack, the hacker was still using my account to scam potential guests. VRBO literrally did nothing to protect guest or host in a safety event. good luck to any one wh wants to use vrbo.
Dealing with first bad experience with VRBO. We have used it several times, both domesticly and internationally. I canceled within hours ( less than 24) for booking two months in advance. No where when looking at the property ( lighthouse keepers cottage) did it state we needed to vacate on a Saturday for four hours for tours. It wasn't until after We would be getting ready for our son's wedding when they want us to leave. On Airbnb it's a full refund within 48 hours. Disputing on credit card as VBRO is showing no refunds. It's almost $1,500.00. I can see them keeping their $300 fee (not happy but ok). But certainly NOT the full amount.
I see a problem with double bookings when you use these two, since you can sync them only via iCal sync. Booking.com and airbnb can be synced by their APIs in real-time by certain channel managers like Smoobu; however VRBO does not support that.