Vrbo ( ) operates an

online marketplace An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a way ...

for

vacation rental A vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment, house, or professionally managed resort-condominium complex on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term ''vacation rental'' is mainly used in the US. Oth ...

s. It was originally known as Vacation Rentals by Owner or VRBO. It is headquartered in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, and is owned by

Expedia Group Expedia Group, Inc. is an American online travel shopping company for consumer and small business travel. Its websites, which are primarily Travel website#Fare aggregators and metasearch engines, travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch eng ...

History

The VRBO website was created by David Clouse, a retired teacher, in 1995 in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...

with the goal of renting his

Breckenridge Ski Resort Breckenridge Ski Resort is an alpine ski resort in the western United States, in Breckenridge, Colorado. Just west of the Continental Divide in Summit County, it is perennially one of the most visited ski resorts in the western hemisphere. Breck ...

condo. The website soon became popular with homeowners that wanted to list their properties for short term rental. By 2006, Vrbo had over 65,000 rental listings and was adding 100 new listings per day. Vrbo originally had a

subscription business model The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, an ...

where payment of an annual fee allowed homeowners to list their property on the website. In 2006, Vrbo was acquired by

HomeAway HomeAway was a vacation rental marketplace. It operated through 50 websites in 23 languages through which it offered rentals of cabins, condos, castles, villas, barns, and farmhouses. Founded in February 2005 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, ...

. In late 2015,

acquired HomeAway, including Vrbo. In March 2019, VRBO was re-branded Vrbo, including a new logo, capitalization, and pronunciation. In May, the HomeAway and Vrbo websites were both rebranded as Vrbo.

Criticism

Strict refund policy during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( ), based in San Francisco, California, operates an online marketplace focused on short-term homestays and experiences. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. The company was founded in 2008 b ...

and Tripadvisor forced property owners to offer full refunds to travelers that were impacted by the

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

. However, Vrbo did not mandate that hosts offer refunds to guests, leaving it up to guests and hosts to work out the details of any refunds. This prompted calls on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to boycott Vrbo. Vrbo also prohibited hosts from downplaying the

in refund negotiations with guests.

Collaboration with Chrissy Teigen

In May 2021, Vrbo received backlash after publishing a three-and-a-half-minute long video featuring

Chrissy Teigen Christine Diane Teigen (born November 30, 1985) is an American model and television personality. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2010 and later appeared on the 50th anniversary co ...

and her husband

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

in which they gush over their vacation rental booked on Vrbo. Teigen had been accused by

Courtney Stodden Courtney Alexis Stodden (born August 29, 1994) is an American media personality, model, and singer. After competing in beauty pageants in their home state of Washington and releasing original music, then-16-year-old Stodden came to internation ...

and others of

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

Lack of backing of guarantee

The company has been accused of not complying with its "book with confidence" guarantee. In one case, a customer claims to have lost £6,000 after the property owner of a rental property in

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

booked on Vrbo "disappeared".

Hidden cameras in property bedrooms

The company is the subject of several lawsuits after customers renting properties using the platform have found hidden cameras in private areas of properties, including in bedrooms. Police have also found images of guests undressed on the computers of such homeowners.

Non-compliance with rental laws

In March 2022, Vrbo was sued by the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for not complying with rental laws, including allowing hosts to profit from the platform without registering under the city's short-term rental ordinance, as required. City Attorney

Mike Feuer Michael Nelson Feuer (born May 14, 1958)Nancy Hill-Holtzman, "Ambition, Altruism Drive Mike Feuer", ''Los Angeles Times'' (March 29. 1995), p. B1, B6. is an American politician and lawyer, who served as Los Angeles City Attorney from 2013 to 202 ...

claimed that 29% of bookings made in a recent 30-day period appeared to violate the city's rules.

References

External links

American companies established in 1995 American travel websites Expedia Group Hospitality companies established in 1995 Internet properties established in 1995 Online marketplaces of the United States Real estate companies established in 1995 Real estate services companies of the United States Sharing economy Vacation rental