Misc VRBO now charging Service Fee ( surprised?)

[William McCracken]

I have just signed up for a listing site that is a VRBO alternative....VacationHomeRentals.com. They are owned by TripAdvisor but unlike FlipKey, are only a subscription site. The nice thing is that if you sign up for VHR, you will also be listed on FK....two for the price of one! They are now running a 60 day free trial offer....so what is there to lose? Sign up and try it....you may get enough new inquiries that you will be able to fire VRBO.

 

[steel1man]

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[BeachMac]

We frequently rent from VRBO (on vacation and locally when family visits as we do not currently have enough guest rooms for everyone) and the idea of an extra "fee" does give me pause - that was our main motivation in the beginning to go to VRBO instead of rental companies (to avoid unnecessary fees). But in time the rental companies started cross posting on VRBO and those experiences were not as positive, so I have gotten to where we filter out the third-party management companies - our experience is so much better when dealing directly with the owner, mostly in regard to cleanliness and in the few times something has come up repair-wise, owners seem more motivated to fix it in a timely manner. I thought I read somewhere (sowal? instagram?) of a local url alternative to VRBO - it looked like the host was trying to become a "South Walton" by owner alternative due to the new VRBO fees. I can't find it now on Google, so if anyone finds it - please post as we may use it next time the extended family visits.

 

[Dawn]

We frequently rent from VRBO (on vacation and locally when family visits as we do not currently have enough guest rooms for everyone) and the idea of an extra "fee" does give me pause - that was our main motivation in the beginning to go to VRBO instead of rental companies (to avoid unnecessary fees). But in time the rental companies started cross posting on VRBO and those experiences were not as positive, so I have gotten to where we filter out the third-party management companies - our experience is so much better when dealing directly with the owner, mostly in regard to cleanliness and in the few times something has come up repair-wise, owners seem more motivated to fix it in a timely manner. I thought I read somewhere (sowal? instagram?) of a local url alternative to VRBO - it looked like the host was trying to become a "South Walton" by owner alternative due to the new VRBO fees. I can't find it now on Google, so if anyone finds it - please post as we may use it next time the extended family visits.

There have been a few local ones over the years. None gain traction because VRBO is the gorilla. That's not likely to change.

 

[Paula]

I use VRBO for two rental cottages and was concerned about their new policy (and still am). I'm waiting and seeing how it affects our renters and me but so far I haven't had a problem (but time will tell). I only use VRBO to advertise our cottages, but I don't take any rentals through VRBO. People who see my ad on VRBO can't book directly through VRBO. They email me through VRBO and then I email them back with additional information, including pricing information, and tell them to contact the rental management company that we use and give them the phone number and then they work through the rental management company. This works for me because I use the management company anyway because I like having someone nearby take care of the cottages and guests. If someone manages their own rentals and takes $ through VRBO, then their new policy would be a problem. I pay a yearly fee $499 to VRBO for each cottage for their bronze service (which means the gold and silver and listed higher). I used to have gold or silver and there has been no difference in the number of requests or rentals I had last year or am having this year. I just got a renewal yesterday, so so far there has been no change that I'm aware of in how I use or am charged for VRBO. This may change...

 

[Teresa]

Good info Paula. Thanks. Looks like you have it figured out.

 

[Lake View Too]

I am in a similar situation as Paula, but William McCracken, in an earlier post, said VRBO would, most likely, put non-complying owners further down on the search rankings. Since I haven't really monitored how far down we were before, I don't know how to gauge how far down we are now. Since they only started to implement this "pressure" to conform to their payment plan last month, it is far too early to feel any effects.

 

[steel1man]

Just email guest ask them to pay by check or PayPal ( very easy) and secure a security deposit. I just find out that the insurance security policy at $59.00 for $1500.00 worth of coverage. Has a CATCH !!! the policy is in the renters name,and if there is a claim the renter must enter the claim for you the owner if they wish..

 

[Paula]

I just checked my listings on VRBO and out of 17 listings, I'm #11 and 13. Whether that's because I paid for only bronze listing (rather than silver or gold) or because I'm not using their payment system, I don't know. I used to pay for the gold (which is several hundred dollars more per listing) but tried bronze last year and it didn't make any difference in the number of rentals I got. I just took a look at the calendars of the other cottages in our community, and we have as many bookings as the others for spring and summer, so being lower in the listings doesn't seem to be a problem. I think renters do a pretty thorough search when they're looking for a place and many don't stop at the first few listings. Many renters may also look for particular communities that they want to rent in (e.g., repeat guests) so they'll look at multiple listings in one or two communities rather than a general search of SoWal. We'll see how these changes in VRBO play out with our rentals over time.

 

[indianapolice]

I have 2 homes under platinum level which cost me about $1500 EACH house per year. To have VRBO now charge a fee on top of the money I have already paid them for the year makes me very unhappy with VRBO. I am looking for alternatives and will be making big changes going forward. When I heard that EXPEDIA took VRBO/HOMEAWAY over it was my expectation they would pull some kind of shady business deals. EXPEDIA in my opinion has a pattern of unethical practices. In the end they will lose, but it takes scaring everyone off first.