Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > United States
Reload this Page >

VRBO is now charging renters a service fee--What's up?

Search

VRBO is now charging renters a service fee--What's up?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Aug 18th, 2016, 04:28 PM
  #121  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 16,907
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Really, Christina, you seem to be ignorant of vrbo and how it works/worked. Owners pay to be listed, pay extra to be listed higher (first) in the listing. Now vrbo is taking $$ from both the owner and the renter for no extra service provided by them. It is sickening greed.
sylvia3 is offline  
Old Aug 19th, 2016, 05:55 PM
  #122  
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have used VRBO as an owner in Lake Havasu City, Az & just found out what the additional "Travelers Fee", that VRBO is charging to travelers that is a ripoff. VRBO raised their annual subscription fee to $399-up to $499.00. Expedia has bought VRBO.
I will not renew my subscription with VRBO. I think owners a d travelers should reply to their experience as well. Does anyone know of other sites that do not charge these fees to our clients? Anyone thinking of setting up new websites for owners & travelers. Thank you.
Palmer2275 is offline  
Old Aug 20th, 2016, 10:39 AM
  #123  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am a frequent renter using VRBO. I am disappointed with the new fees and will try to rent direct.Years ago Expedia was a very good site but I find myself using it less each year.
I will try TripAdvisor and compare their rates.
I will not say that I will never use VRBO again but I will search a lot more in the future. I found this discussion because I wanted to know what the fee was on a rental property in Rome. After adding in the rent, the cleaning fees and this new fee it was the same price as three B&B rooms that come with breakfast and cleaning the rooms for the three couples that are traveling together. We will use the common rooms in the B&B and have a little more privacy.
Harry973 is offline  
Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 05:40 AM
  #124  
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am a VRBO owner and completely annoyed with the service fee now that Expedia bought the site. I pay $350 each year to be on the site and see no added value to either owner or tenant for the tenant to pay an additional service fee.

We thought we could go off platform to collect rent and that's what we did this season (and glad we did because I don't think we would be fully booked otherwise ). Yesterday we got an email fromVRBO saying "Explicit requests to travelers to take bookings off platform and avoid the service fee are not allowed for online bookable listings." So rediculous on so many levels. 1) I pay you $350 each year (unlike eBay!) 2) your service fee brings no added value directly to owner or tenant 3) maybe you are using it to pay for all the new advertising I'm seeing but 4) your customers are telling you they are not as booked up as years past (coincidence? No.). Just my two cents.
jev399 is offline  
Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 06:33 AM
  #125  
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 25,194
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
What's the annual fee for Airbnb?

Are any owners in popular areas going back to rental agencies? IIRC they took something like 10%.
mlgb is offline  
Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 07:39 AM
  #126  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 12,365
Received 26 Likes on 4 Posts

There is no annual fee to have a listing on Airbnb. It's free to list. The host fee for bookings is 3%. Guests pay a service as follows.

From the Airbnb website: "Guest service fees are typically 6-12% but can be higher or lower depending on the specifics of the reservation. The higher the subtotal, the lower the percentage..."
MmePerdu is offline  
Old Aug 29th, 2016, 02:28 PM
  #127  
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have been an owner with VRBO now for 2 years. I paid the gold membership which in AZ was $1200. When I decided on this site to advertise my rental one of the first concerns was if the renters would be charged and chose them based on this. I noticed I wasn't getting the same volume and then had a previous renter call and ask me to discount the VRBO fee. When I called and asked what the fee was I was told 3-9% no one could tell me what my renters would be charged or how the 3-9% would be decided. I requested to change my annual fee to lower fee as now without bookings I couldn't justify paying what amounted to $100/month.I was told that wasn't being offered. I told them they were breaking my contract 1/2 way thru and was told if I had read all of my contract I would find that they had a clause saying they could change terms at anytime. It took me 2 months of research and redoing a website to get my bookings back up. I am now with flip/key, Trip Adviser and AirBNB. My renters tell me the booking fee is lower with Trip Adviser then VRBO. In doing discounts with VRBO previous clients I took off the deposit fee and realized they are charging the fee on the full amount my base rent/deposit and cleaning. I called at that and was told I was correct in my observation. That in my opinion why we are being told 3-9% so we wouldn't notice what they were doing. I will stay with VRBO until I feel comfortable with my bookings thru the other sites as I have a lot of repeat renters that will be looking for me on VRBO. Airbnb has a complicated site for owners and renters, their verification process is very difficult,I have had only 1 booking thru them. I am now getting about 80% of my bookings thru Trip Adviser. I am an annual subscriber thru them now as I prefer to do credit cards. Have had a lot of fraud with checks and taking my unit off the market and waiting for money when renter arrives is not reliable. For all you renters that c/o your unit/home was not what was posted. The owner doesn't get their money from Trip Adviser until renter arrives and is happy. With VRBO I get the money when you book and I have control of returning your deposit. With Trip Adviser they get the money when you book, I never see the deposit it goes back to renter unless I can file proof of damage within 7 days.AirBNB is the same as Trip Adviser for payment. For all the horror stories regarding rentals I want renters to know the majority of the rentals aren't like this. Our renters say the home was much more then they expected. If there are other owners out there using other sites I would love to hear about them. If there is a class action suit against VRBO I would like to join it. If a large majority of owners quit listing with them they won't have enough volume to market. Their greed will be their end.
dockter is offline  
Old Aug 29th, 2016, 05:42 PM
  #128  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,224
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
If you have an email or phone number on your vrbo listing, guests will contact you directly and you can send them a contract and they can pay you via paypal or check.

I thought AirBNB was very easy to set up and the majority of my guests are now over 55 years old and first time users (a few have trouble with verification but I walk them through it). For hosts, it's quite good since the 3% they charge offers some protections and covers the credit card processing fee that we would have to cover anyway.
fishee is offline  
Old Sep 7th, 2016, 06:01 AM
  #129  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It is quite bothersome, to say the least. I was recently looking at a short weekend booking. The "daily rate" was $250, but with fees and costs, my quote for two days came to $789. Yes, that is nearly $300 in fees on a $500 rental. Will never understand why companies have to ruin a good thing and why people tolerate it.
JasB is offline  
Old Sep 11th, 2016, 02:23 PM
  #130  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hello All,

As vacation home rental oweners and as guests that rent excuslively through VRBO are absolutely outraged about this new communist approach VRBO has taken.. We have a 5 star review for several years... however, as posted by a secret 'launch attack' another vrbo owner mentioned, our guests are being charged an additional 9% fee. The did not notify any of the VRBO owners/ subscribers/paying already almost a thousand a year just to list. They just started hitting our guests with a fee. In the total fee quote amount, it does not at all mention to our guests we aren't charging the fee- that VRBO gets the money. Pretty low level and unprofessional and in my mind, pretty much should be considered illegal. That could mean from anywhere to $35- $500 or even more extra going to VRBO. Imagine- they have billions of properties world wide. We are offering our guests other options of payment for them to avoid this fee.- However, any property owner was recently threatened if we do so they will no longer list for us- no refund intended. This has become a more and more corrupt company for both home owners and guests alike. I see pages and pages of complaints about this online. The very comonoties they are suggesting warrant the extra money is what they were already doing. They are a multi-billion dollar company and now wanting more more- from you- our guests. Please, when you opt to pay through vrbo- if you don't want that service fee- please privately ask for a differnt measure. They are a greedy corporate institution and we cannot wait until they are put out of business by a better, honest company, and honest people .. Thank you.
vrbounhappyowners is offline  
Old Sep 11th, 2016, 02:57 PM
  #131  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 16,907
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well put.
sylvia3 is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 09:49 AM
  #132  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 34,995
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
not really well put .. communist? seems pretty capitalist to me. Very funny, a "greedy corporate institution", as if they are supposed to be a charity to benefit people who own multiple homes.
Christina is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 10:14 AM
  #133  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,224
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have to agree that VRBO simply followed the highly capitalist logic of looking at the massive success of AirBNB and thought, "why didn't we think of that"? Of course, AirBNB doesn't charge owners a subscription fee. VRBO should have done away with their subscription fee or significantly reduced it if they wanted to institute a service fee for each transaction. I think it's the "double charging" and lack of transparency that are making people so upset.
fishee is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 10:23 AM
  #134  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 12,365
Received 26 Likes on 4 Posts
I agree with fishee, we who rent rooms & homes and the agencies that help us do it, are all in it together and that's how it should feel to us and how I've always felt about listing on Airbnb.

VRBO's big mistake was thinking they could keep the old model, the whopping owner listing fee, and add another layer with the big guest fee, too. Dumb corporate institution, it seems to me, to think no one would notice. Or maybe that because owners use their site, they're too lazy to do anything about it. A miscalculation at very least, if you who have listings with them really do something about it. Otherwise, maybe not so dumb.
MmePerdu is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 10:25 AM
  #135  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 16,907
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
"a charity to benefit people who own multiple homes"

What ridiculous ignorance of the situation.
sylvia3 is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 02:04 PM
  #136  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 14,944
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
This s the second time Christina has put a post showing she has no idea how VRBO really works.
They are double charging. They didn't let the people who PAY VRBO to have their places listed that they were adding the fee. This is just pure and simple greed.
schmerl is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 02:07 PM
  #137  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,176
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have been leary of posting this, but an owner told me how it is much worse. With vrbo guarantee, guests are scamming the system by demanding a refund because the rental was misrepresented. The credit card stops payment, the guest stays for free, and the vrbo fines the owner on top of that. It just gets uglier and uglier.
Inakauaidavidababy is online now  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 03:29 PM
  #138  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 555
Received 6 Likes on 2 Posts
hmmm ... I've never used VRBO but was considering using it ... now I'm convinced, NO VRBO for me
elbegewa is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 04:24 PM
  #139  
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 555
Received 6 Likes on 2 Posts
out of curiosity I just tried a booking on VRBO ... even though I was specifically looking for information that they would charge a fee in addition to the rental costs, I could not find such info.

That comes pretty close to either or both fraud or intentional deception.

I did not finalize my booking ... I suspect that's where the hidden charge may have shown up.
elbegewa is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2016, 05:23 PM
  #140  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
For the first few years of our marriage (married 9/6/02) my wife and I stayed in B&B's when we wanted to take mini-vacations here in the Pacific Northwest where we live. Then around 2007 we started renting vacation homes because they provided a good value: similar or lower pricing than B&B's but with the additional benefits of more locations to choose from, more privacy, and not having to eat breakfast (or any meal) on a set schedule.

I have exclusively used VRBO for renting vacation homes on the Oregon coast and other areas of the Pacific Northwest. We took a two year break from renting due to some life changes, and today I started looking for a rental on the Oregon coast for next April.

I immediately noticed that, unlike in the past when I rented from VRBO, the taxes and fees are now a much larger portion of the price quote--in some cases it's about DOUBLE the base cost of the property for the stay. That's just ridiculous!

We are not wealthy. We are a blue-collar, lower middle-class household and we shop carefully for reasonable deals. I realize property owners need to make a profit, otherwise why bother renting the property? Until now, booking a vacation rental through VRBO has always been a good deal for us. It's not looking so good anymore. From the posts in this thread, it looks like a lot of other potential renters are thinking twice before renting properties through VRBO, which is hurting business for the property owners. And here's something I just thought of: VRBO/Expedia can better absorb any decline in revenues due to fewer bookings than the individual property owners can. So this fee issue is definitely going to hurt a lot of property owners. Granted, it probably won't hurt as much for owners who have prime real estate that is typically booked by more affluent renters,as those renters will be better able to absorb the new fees.

My wife and I rarely share a vacation rental with others, as she has social anxiety issues. So the benefit of going in together with other people on a property rental doesn't apply to us. It may well be that the vacation rental business is going to cater more to folks who are more affluent and leave behind those of us for whom the cost of a vacation is a major financial decision.

We do have one small advantage. Because we have booked several vacation rental homes over the past several years via VRBO, we have been able to get personal contact info from those property owners and managers. I'm going to try contacting directly those from whom we've rented in the past to see if we can work something out.
RadioHiker is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Your Privacy Choices -