Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, Vrbo is revealing major changes aimed at solving travelers’ No. 1 complaint about the entire vacation rental category: stays not meeting expectations. Vrbo has released several new features on its platform that elevate the quality and consistency of vacation rentals, giving guests the confidence they need to book their next weekend getaway or family trip.
“Vrbo has been a trusted name in vacation rentals for 30 years. Over time, we’ve seen the industry drift away from what travelers truly value—a consistent, reliable, high-quality experience,” said Larry Plawsky, general manager of Vrbo. “That’s why Vrbo has made a series of changes to our products, policies, and host programs to clean up the category, build traveler trust, and take the worry out of trip planning. We’re using AI to optimize the shopping experience and help guests find the perfect vacation rental, while expanding our industry-first traveler protection guarantee—now called VrboCare—to reassure guests that Vrbo has their back if problems arise before or during their stay.”
Nearly a decade ago, Vrbo introduced the industry-first “Book with Confidence Guarantee.” Now named VrboCare, this longstanding policy promises travelers that Vrbo will help them find another place to stay when things don’t go as planned. VrboCare provides safeguards in the event of host-initiated cancellations, check-in issues, fraud, and significant property misrepresentation. Travelers do not need to pay extra for VrboCare; every booking made through Vrbo is automatically backed by the VrboCare guarantee.
One of the top benefits of VrboCare is that Vrbo agents can help rebook guests if they experience check-in issues or host-initiated cancellations. Previously, Vrbo would help rebook guests into comparable accommodations if their reservations occurred within 30 days. Vrbo has now expanded the eligibility of VrboCare’s rebooking benefit, offering rebooking assistance for stays occurring within 90 days, where applicable.
Enhanced Standards for Properties & Hosts
Vrbo’s consumer research from July reveals 69 percent of U.S. vacation rental shoppers are concerned about listing accuracy when choosing a property. To reduce uncertainty, Vrbo has added features to the shopping experience that improve listing accuracy and make key information easier to find. These updates are breakthroughs for vacation rental guests, offering clear, data-driven quality indicators that help identify top-tier listings and the most reliable hosts.
The Vrbo “Loved by Guests” badge identifies properties previous guests have given near-perfect reviews. Properties earn the Loved by Guests designation if they have a 9.4 or above overall rating and also score 9.4 or above on cleanliness, location, listing accuracy, and ease of check-in. Travelers can find these properties using the “Loved by Guests” filter on the Vrbo site and app.
For years, Vrbo has recognized the most exceptional hosts through the Premier Host program, rewarding them with increased visibility and higher search rankings. Now, Vrbo is introducing stricter criteria for the Premier Host program, so travelers can expect an even higher level of quality from Premier Host properties. Travelers can find these properties by using the “Premier Host” filter, and will see a new Premier Host badge on corresponding listings. Starting early next year, the Premier Host designation will transition from a host-level to an individual listing-level recognition. This means hosts with multiple listings must meet the new standards for each listing to earn the Premier Host badge. New qualifications include:
- 99 percent acceptance rate
- 0 percent cancellation rate
- 9.2+ review rating
Enhanced Shopping Experience
Travelers rely on accurate property descriptions, images, and trusted, verified reviews from former guests to inform their travel plans and booking decisions. Only real guests are allowed to leave verified reviews on Vrbo, and Vrbo does not alter them in any way. Guests can also leave a rating for listing accuracy as part of the review experience. This reassures future travelers that the images and descriptions on listing pages are accurate, relevant, and current. To further improve the search and shopping experience, Vrbo has rolled out:
- AI Guest Review Summaries – GenAI instantly scans and summarizes guest reviews, making it quick and easy to see at a glance what real guests consistently call out about properties.
- AI Property Q&A – Pulling from verified reviews and listing details content, AI Property Q&A can instantly answer commonly asked questions about a vacation rental property. This helps guests find the answers they need quickly and minimizes time spent on back-and-forth communication with the host.
- Property Highlights – This feature uses AI to dynamically showcase a property’s unique qualities, leveraging verified guest reviews and listing details. Using AI, Vrbo displays the highlights that are targeted and personalized for the traveler.
- Guest Photos – Vrbo now displays photos from former guests to help future bookers make informed vacation rental decisions. Travelers can upload photos alongside their written reviews, and shoppers can see the photos in the reviews section on the property description page or in the listing’s photo gallery.
With holiday travel and busy booking season fast approaching, Vrbo’s 24/7 live customer service team is available to support guests around the clock. Travelers can find contact information for Vrbo’s support team in multiple places: the Help Center on the app, the VrboCare page, and in booking confirmation emails. Travelers can also access Vrbo’s Virtual Agent and live chat directly from the homepage.
For more information, visit www.vrbo.com.
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