Vrbo

Vrbo, pronounced 'ver-boh', is an American vacation rental online marketplace originally known as Vacation Rentals by Owner or VRBO.[1] It was acquired by HomeAway in 2006.[2] Expedia Group acquired HomeAway on December 15, 2015. On March 27, 2019, VRBO was re-branded Vrbo, including a new logo, capitalization, and pronunciation.[3] In July 2020 HomeAway and Vrbo websites became a single Vrbo website.[4][5]

Vrbo - Vacation Rentals
Type of site
Vacation rental
Available inEnglish
OwnerExpedia Group
URLvbro.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional, but is required for certain tasks such as booking and listing
Launched1995 (1995) (as VRBO)

Vrbo started with an annual homeowner subscription model[6] where an annual fee allows homeowners to list their condo, beach house, or cabin on the website.[7] Later as a part of Expedia Group, it also introduced a 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.[8] The website later became a service for homeowners to list their properties for short term rental. Prior to the Internet, vacation rental services were offered via classified ads, management services, and compilations of rentals based on various destinations.[9] But, the web was 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,[10] and on December 15, 2015, Expedia Group, Inc. acquired HomeAway.[11] As of April 2019, the site listed more than two million properties across the world that travelers could rent.[12]

COVID-19 pandemic

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.[13] 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.[14]

On March 12th 2020, the president of Vrbo Jeff Hurst released a newsletter asking property owners ″to review [their] cancellation policy and consider adopting a flexible policy for the time being." The newsletter read, "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[15] 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 (coronavirus) concerns, Vrbo will automatically refund the traveler service fee."[16]

Furthermore, Vrbo announced that for partners (property owners) "any intimidation of travelers (such as suggesting that travel is safer for them than staying home or dismissing the severity of the crisis) will result in permanent removal from Vrbo and Expedia Group".[17] 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.[18] Vbro representatives disputed the article referring guests to the "What can I do if my reservation is affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19)?" help article on the site.[19]

References
  1. "The story behind the new Vrbo brand" (Press release). www.homeaway.com. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  2. "HomeAway Secures Record $160 Million in Financing Vacation Rental Leader Announces Acquisition of VRBO.com" (Press release). AUSTIN, Texas: Homeaway, Inc. Business Wire. 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  3. "The story behind the new Vrbo brand" (Press release). www.homeaway.com. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  4. Hawkins, Lori (May 3, 2019). "HomeAway, the world's largest vacation rental site, is rebranding itself as Vrbo". Austin American-Statesman.
  5. "Expedia Acquires Airbnb Rival HomeAway For $3.9B". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  6. Swor, Richard (2018). "Long Term Solutions to the Short-Term Problem: An Analysis of the Current Legal Issues Related to Airbnb and Similar Short-Term Rental Companies with a Proposed Model Ordinance" (PDF). Belmont Law Review. 6 (1): 278–316. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  7. Green, Peter S. (3 July 2004). "Renting out the weekend house? A few caveats". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  8. Minor, Nathaniel (2016-05-16). "Short-Term Vacation Rentals, A Colorado Invention, Are Under The Gun In Denver". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  9. Trivett, Vincent. "What the Sharing Economy Means to the Future of Travel" (PDF). Skift Research. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  10. "HomeAway Secures Record $160 Million in Financing Vacation Rental Leader Announces Acquisition of VRBO.com" (Press release). AUSTIN, Texas: Homeaway, Inc. BUSINESSWIRE. 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  11. "HomeAway: The Best Acquisition Of The Last Year". Seeking Alpha. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  12. Sullivan, Laurie (3 April 2019). "Vrbo Ad Campaign Reflects New Pronunciation, Ver-Bow". www.mediapost.com. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  13. "Short-Term Rental Firms Face Backlash Over Sharply Different Coronavirus Cancellation Policies". www.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  14. ""Short-Term Rental Firms Face Backlash Over Sharply Different Coronavirus Cancellation Policies"". Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  15. https://twitter.com/hashtag/boycottvrbo
  16. "Coronavirus concerns disrupt Florida beach vacation rentals for renters, owners". Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  17. ""Vrbo plans to ban rental owners who dismiss severity of coronavirus threat to travelers"". Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  18. "Airbnb Said It Would Give Full Refunds For Coronavirus Cancellations. Vrbo Told Renters To Take A Hike". www.buzzfeednews.com. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  19. help.vrbo.com/articles/What-can-I-do-if-my-reservation-is-affected-by-the-Coronavirus
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