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.

Booking.com introduces longer-stay rates
News / Online
Booking.com introduces longer-stay rates
By Christina Jelski - Travel Weekly | September 22, 2020
The move is largely designed to bolster Booking.com's homes and apartments business, which has accounted for a growing share of the brand's bookings mid-pandemic. Read More
Holidu raises new €5M investment, backed by a former Booking.com boss
News / Online
Holidu raises new €5M investment, backed by a former Booking.com boss
By Kevin May | September 21, 2020
Booking.com's former CEO, Kees Koolen, has put forward €4 million of his own money into the top-up round, alongside other, unnamed investors. Read More
expedia-q2-2020
News / Online
Abysmal April pulls Expedia Group down to record lows in second quarter
By Mitra Sorrells | July 30, 2020
Expedia Group saw an uptick in business in May and June and now a leveling off in July. Read More
Short-term rentals and misalignment of the marketplace
Opinion / Distribution
Short-term rentals and misalignment of the marketplace
By Jared Alster - Dune7 | July 29, 2020
The distribution landscape for short-term vacation rentals is dominated by marketplaces. However, the pandemic has revealed some weak points and misalignment of incentives within the traditional... Read More
VIDEO: New Reality With... Peter Kern of Expedia Group
News / Online
VIDEO: New Reality With... Peter Kern of Expedia Group
By PhocusWire | July 17, 2020
The next guest on the New Reality With... series is Peter Kern, CEO and vice chairman at Expedia Group, one of the world's largest online travel companies. Read More
Expedia signals private accommodation could be the recovery leader
News / Online
Expedia signals private accommodation could be the recovery leader
By Kevin May | July 7, 2020
In an unscheduled financial filing yesterday, Expedia Group says its Vrbo brand is the largest contributor to gradually improving booking behavior. Read More
VIDEO: Where the next great travel company will emerge
News / Technology
VIDEO: Where the next great travel company will emerge
By Kevin May | June 29, 2020
An individual iPhone 10 in 2020 contains more computing power than every computer in 1986 on the planet - that's a fact that is often hard to get your head around. Read More
expedia-group-homeaway-vrbo
News / Online
Expedia Group retires HomeAway, moves customers over to Vrbo
By Mitra Sorrells | June 23, 2020
Expedia Group is getting rid of the HomeAway brand in the United States as it works to simplify its global vacation rental portfolio. Read More
Unraveling COVID-19 hygiene liability issues for short-term rentals
News / Online
Unraveling COVID-19 hygiene liability issues for short-term rentals
By Mitra Sorrells | June 11, 2020
Due to COVID-19, cleanliness and hygiene are priorities for all consumer travel providers, but it is particularly complex in the fragmented short-term rental sector. Read More
expedia-partner-recovery-analysis
News / Distribution
Experts say buyer beware when it comes to Expedia partner recovery program
By Mitra Sorrells | June 4, 2020
Hospitality revenue experts weigh in on pros and cons of Expedia Group's new partner recovery program. Read More
Expedia Group pledges $275M to coronavirus recovery, gives lodging partners “free” marketing
News / Online
Expedia Group pledges $275M to coronavirus recovery, gives lodging partners “free” marketing
By Jill Menze | May 28, 2020
Expedia Group is dedicating more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help its lodging partners, destinations and the travel industry rebound from the impact of the coronavirus. Read More
airdna-booking-surge
News / Online
Global vacation rental bookings surge to more than 2M, up 127% from early April
By Mitra Sorrells | May 28, 2020
After a low of just 916,000 bookings in early April, AirDNA finds there has been a fairly steady increase in markets around the globe. Read More
Expedia Group sees "great things ahead" and vows less reliance on Google
News / Online
Expedia Group sees "great things ahead" and vows less reliance on Google
By Jill Menze | May 20, 2020
Despite the coronavirus' impact on business, Expedia Group believes it's well-positioned to bounce back and steer away from Google. Read More
Expedia Group names Peter Kern as new CEO, lands $3B financing package
News / Online
Expedia Group names Peter Kern as new CEO, lands $3B financing package
By Mitra Sorrells | April 23, 2020
The announcement today from chairman and senior executive Barry Diller also includes a new CFO and $3.2 billion in new capital - $2 billion coming as debt financing and $1.2 billion an equity investment... Read More
Barry Diller cites “dumb things” and “mistakes” as Expedia still ends 2019 on financial high
News / Online
Barry Diller cites “dumb things” and “mistakes” as Expedia still ends 2019 on financial high
By Steven Lerner | February 14, 2020
In his first earnings call since taking over day-to-day operations for Expedia Group, Chairman Barry Diller very candidly outlined his 2020 plan to “drive sustained growth.” Read More
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