VRBO vs Airbnb: Which Is Better for Property Owners?

How to Choose the Best Short-Term Rental Platform: VRBO vs Airbnb

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What Is VRBO?

VRBO or Vacation Rentals by Owner is a short-term rental marketplace headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1995, the platform allows property owners to rent out stand-alone vacation homes. To date, VRBO operates in 190 countries with around 2 million listings.

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What Is Airbnb?

Airbnb is a rental marketplace headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2007, the platform offers both short-term and long-term property rentals. Although the company started out as a home-sharing platform, it has now evolved to offer various types of property listings, ranging anywhere from shared spaces to hotel rooms. Today, Airbnb operates in 220 countries with 7+million active listings.

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Which Is Better: VRBO vs Airbnb?

In this digital age, the easiest way to get guests to book your property is to list them on online booking platforms that specialize in short-term rentals. But with VRBO vs Airbnb, how do you choose as a property host? Below, we break down the different considerations of a property owner when it comes to deciding on the better platform for their short-term rental business.

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Exposure

The market share of VRBO in the reservation-and-online-booking market is 0.92% while Airbnb’s is 29.62%. VRBO also has less online advertisements compared to Airbnb. Still, going by data alone, it appears that Airbnb is a clear winner if you’re looking to get more eyeballs on your property listing.

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User Base

VRBO is available in 190 countries while Airbnb is available in 220 countries. Moreover, Airbnb has over three times the number of listings on VRBO. These tell us that Airbnb has a larger user base.
Granted, the two platforms have slightly different business models, with VRBO focusing on whole-home listings that tend to start at a higher price range, whereas Airbnb has higher concentration in big cities, with shared properties starting at much lower rates. These differences are reflected in the size of the audience the platforms are targeting, with VRBO targeted at a smaller, more selective audience, while Airbnb is geared towards a more general audience.
If your target is to appeal to a wider audience, then Airbnb seems to be the better choice. However, if you want to target a higher-end audience, then VRBO, as a platform, is more niche and can be more appropriate.

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Types of Property

One of the key differences when discussing VRBO vs Airbnb is that VRBO only lists stand-alone listings, that tend to be in the outskirts, whereas Airbnb lists pretty much any type of property and is mostly condensed in the city.
Both VRBO and Airbnb allow hosts to list entire houses, condominiums, apartments, cabins and cottages, as well as townhomes, villas, lofts, guest houses, and even barns, boats, and bed & breakfast types of properties. However, only Airbnb allows listings of shared spaces, private rooms, and unique accommodations such as treehouses, igloos, camping tents, and the like.
Ultimately, the choice of platform depends on the type of property you plan to rent out. But we give plus points to Airbnb because it accommodates more types of properties.

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Commission Fees

Host commission fees for VRBO are 5% + 3% processing fee; however, it also offers an annual subscription to hosts, charging a one-time flat fee of $499, letting hosts list their properties on the platform without incurring additional costs for a year.
Meanwhile, Airbnb hosts are typically charged a 3% service fee or more, depending on the type of property or location. Properties in Italy, or those with super strict cancellation policies have higher commission rates. Hotels and some hosts can be charged 10-16% in commissions.
The decision on which platform incurs lower commission fees varies quite a bit in terms of the type of property you’re listing. If you’re new to short-term rental, choosing VRBO’s annual subscription in the beginning may be a better option.
But if you’re ready to rake in more bookings and are willing to pay commission fees, then we suggest choosing Airbnb if your property falls within the 3-5%commission fee range. Otherwise, if the rate exceeds 8%, then go with VRBO.

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Cancellation Policies

Both VRBO and Airbnb allow property managers to set terms for cancellations, so the policies vary from property to property. However, Airbnb has several preset cancellation policies, ranging from flexible (free cancellation until 24 hours before check-in) to strict (free cancellation until 48 hours before check-in). This system is pretty straightforward and makes it simpler for hosts to set cancellation policies.
On the other hand, VRBO cancellation policies give property managers more flexibility in that they can customize their cancellation policies, such as not giving refunds at all, offering only a 50% refund, or offering a full refund if a cancellation was initiated 14 days before the check-in date.
From a property management perspective, there’s no clear winner as on the one hand, Airbnb’s system makes it easier for guests to understand cancellation policies, which can impact their decision to book your property.
However, VRBO allows customization, which gives you more control and requires guests to look at your cancellation policies more thoroughly, potentially discouraging them from booking your property.

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Review System

Guest reviews are critical to short-term rental properties because they establish trust and credibility, which heavily influence the booking decision of potential renters. That’s why the review-window guests get is better longer than shorter. This means that they have more time to write reviews.
In this respect, VRBO wins by a mile as it allows guests to post reviews up to one year after their stay while Airbnb only gives guests a window period of 14 days after check-out to give reviews.

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Long-Stay Discounts

With the rise of the gig economy and the growing popularity of remote work, more and more digital nomads are traveling while working. This makes it appealing to book properties that offer discounts for longer stays. For this, both VRBO and Airbnb give discounts to guests staying long (over one week), making it a tie.

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Airbnb Over VRBO

By comparing VRBO and Airbnb in terms of exposure, user base, property type, commission fees, cancellation policies, review systems, and long-stay discounts, Airbnb wins over VRBO. It provides more exposure, has a wider user base, accommodates more types of properties, tends to have lower commission fees, and has fixed cancellation policies that are more attractive to guests.
At the end of the day, choosing between listing your property on VRBO vs Airbnb is just the beginning of a short-term rental business. There’s the rental property management part, which requires more time and care, and plays a bigger role in the success of your short-term rental business.‍

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VRBO vs Airbnb – regardless of your choice, hosting can be challenging, with the routine tasks of property management and the pressure to improve guest experience. That’s why at HostKudo, we make it a mission to provide hassle-free Airbnb and VRBO property management. By offering end-to-end virtual concierge services to Airbnb hosts, they can be more relaxed and focus on growing or scaling their Airbnb business.

Level up your Airbnb hosting with Hostkudo. Visit our website to learn more!

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