Vrbo News

Vrbo has emerged as a major player in the short-term rental space, serving families and group travelers with a platform focused on whole-home accommodations. At PhocusWire, we bring you the latest Vrbo news, examining the company’s strategy, platform innovations, and its impact on the evolving home-sharing economy.

Vrbo vacation rental updates and home sharing market trends

Our reporting explores Vrbo’s product enhancements, marketing shifts, and partnerships within the broader Expedia Group ecosystem. From traveler experience upgrades and host tools to policy changes and regulatory challenges, we follow how Vrbo is positioning itself in a highly competitive vacation rental landscape.

Expedia Group and Booking Holdings slashed marketing by $6B in 2020 (but Airbnb now makes an entrance)
News / Online
Expedia Group and Booking Holdings slashed marketing by $6B in 2020 (but Airbnb now makes an entrance)
By Kevin May | March 2, 2021
The body check on marketing spend by the two giants of online travel in 2020 ends a run of gradually slowing increases in prior years. Read More
Collaboration: the key word for responsible recovery in vacation rentals
Opinion / Online
Collaboration: the key word for responsible recovery in vacation rentals
By Kevin Locraft - Expedia Group | February 25, 2021
To spur and sustain widespread economic recovery in the vacation rental sector, cities, platforms and vacation rental owners and managers must collaborate on effective public... Read More
expedia-q4-2020-earnings
News / Online
Expedia Group pulls Vrbo from Google’s vacation rental metasearch product
By Mitra Sorrells | February 11, 2021
Expedia Group's revenue and gross bookings were both down 67% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Read More
your-rentals-refund-data
News / Distribution
Fully refundable vacation rentals get 4.2X more bookings, higher revenue
By Mitra Sorrells | February 5, 2021
Data from Your.rentals shows January bookings were 92% of pre-COVID levels for properties with fully refundable cancellation policies, but only 23% of the norm for those with partial or non-refundable... Read More
How travel app usage paints another picture of travel's fate in 2020
News / Online
How travel app usage paints another picture of travel's fate in 2020
By Linda Fox | January 28, 2021
Travel apps went quiet as the pandemic hit but there were some notable exceptions such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Read More
As short-term rental demand slumps, destination markets prove bright spot
News / Online
As short-term rental demand slumps, destination markets prove bright spot
By Jill Menze | January 28, 2021
While overall, short-term rental demand dropped by 15.3% in December 2020, demand trends vary considerably by location type. Read More
VIDEO: Peter Kern on how COVID gave Expedia Group “courage”
News / Online
VIDEO: Peter Kern on how COVID gave Expedia Group “courage”
By Jill Menze | December 29, 2020
Speaking at his first Phocuswright Conference since assuming leadership of Expedia Group, Peter Kern discussed the company's multi-brand strategy, Google and more. Read More
Tech challenges (and coronavirus) were the focus for rental managers in 2020
News / Technology
Tech challenges (and coronavirus) were the focus for rental managers in 2020
By Linda Fox | December 22, 2020
Short-term rental managers wouldn't wave away the pandemic with a magic wand, according to a Hostfully report. Read More
Expedia Group CEO wants to be "the best travel tech platform in the world"
News / Online
Expedia Group CEO wants to be "the best travel tech platform in the world"
By Jill Menze | December 10, 2020
At Expedia Group’s virtual Explore event, CEO Peter Kern outlined how playing to Expedia Group’s strengths will help the company and its partners recover from the impact of the coronavirus crisis. Read More
airbnb-vrbo-booking-grow-inventory
News / Online
How will Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and others grow their rental inventory?
By Mitra Sorrells | December 9, 2020
Vacation home sales are on the rise, but owners now have considerations beyond just bringing in revenue. Read More
Key questions facing Airbnb ahead of its IPO
Opinion / Online
Key questions facing Airbnb ahead of its IPO
By Pierre Becerril - Transparent | December 3, 2020
By redefining traveler expectations and establishing a new type of lodging, Airbnb built the second-most valuable travel company in the world in just a decade. Now, as public market investors consider... Read More
Booking Holdings boss talks pressure on hotels and the private accommodation trend
News / Distribution
Booking Holdings boss talks pressure on hotels and the private accommodation trend
By Linda Fox | November 20, 2020
Glenn Fogel discusses how changes in the lodging market could be beneficial to large distributors - meaning hotels could face an uphill battle ahead. Read More
Airbnb's IPO registration shows it's ready to join the big leagues
News / Online
Airbnb's IPO registration shows it's ready to join the big leagues
By Kevin May | November 17, 2020
On the eve of its debut on the public markets, documents filed this week indicate that it is ready move in comfortably alongside the likes of Expedia Group and Booking Holdings. Read More
expedia-group-q3-2020
News / Online
Expedia Group Q3 “better than expected,” Vrbo up YoY
By Mitra Sorrells | November 4, 2020
Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern says the company intends to be "more bold" on pushing the Vrbo brand while it also pursues a broad cost-cutting strategy. Read More
How Airbnb has resisted the pandemic, adapted to new demands
News / Online
How Airbnb has resisted the pandemic, adapted to new demands
By Kevin May | November 4, 2020
Data shows where Airbnb sits in the wider accommodation ecosystem, as brands attempt to form some basis of recovery. Read More
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