Vrbo is an American vacation rentalonline marketplace originally known as Vacation Rentals by Owner or VRBO. It was acquired by HomeAway in 2006.. Expedia Group acquired HomeAway on December 15, 2015. On March 27, 2019, VRBO was re-branded Vrbo, including a new logo, capitalization, and pronunciation. In July 2020 HomeAway and Vrbo websites became a single Vrbo website. Vrbo started with an annual homeowner subscription model where annual fee allows homeowners to list their condo, beach house, or cabin on the website.. Later as a part of Expedia Group it also introduced per rental fee option with no annual fee.
History
The original VRBO.com website was created by David Clouse in 1995 in Aurora, Colorado in order to rent his Breckenridge Ski Resort condo..The website later became a service for homeowners to list their properties for short term rental. At the time, vacation rental services "prior to the Internet" were classified ads, management services, and compilations of rentals based on various destinations. But the web had been on the rise and a few sites were looking to use the new vehicle to innovate industries. VRBO would slowly grow to over 65,000 rentals over the next 10 years. In 2006, VRBO was acquired by HomeAway, and on December 15, 2015, Expedia Group, Inc. acquired HomeAway. As of April 2019, the site listed more than two million properties across the world that travelers could rent.
Vacation marketplace sites were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the four major vacation marketplaces Airbnb and TripAdvisor forced property owners to offer full refunds to travelers that were affected by either national or local government declarations of national emergency. However Vrbo and Booking.com referred guests to property managers or vacation rental owners to see if they either provide a full or partial refund or issue a credit toward a future stay.. On March 12th 2020 the president of Vrbo Jeff Hurst released a newsletter asking property owners ″to review cancellation policy and consider adopting a flexible or moderate policy for the time being." The newsletter stated: "Because this is an evolving situation, travelers may reach out to cancel or delay travel plans. In the spirit of good hospitality, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund.″ Vrbo cancellation refund policy promoted Twitter hashtag #boycottvrbo and on March 18th Vrbo issued an updated press release for property managers and travelers which clarified "Refunds of payments made for vacation home rentals are based on the homeowner’s cancellation policy. If a homeowner or property manager refunds a booking due to COVID-19 concerns, Vrbo will automatically refund the traveler service fee.". Furthermore, Vrbo announced that for partners "any intimidation of travelers will result in permanent removal from Vrbo and Expedia Group".. However Buzzfeed noted this was still not a mandatory type of refund and reported that some people who had previously booked properties listed on Vrbo got little to no refunds.. Vbro representatives disputed the article referring guests to the "What can I do if my reservation is affected by the coronavirus ?" help article on the site.
