Short Term Rental Direct vs Vrbo
Vrbo brings real traffic, and we're not telling you to drop it. The question here is narrower: when a guest already knows you, what does Vrbo's fee cost you on that booking?
What Vrbo actually charges
Vrbo's standard model is a 5 percent host commission plus a 3 percent payment processing fee, roughly 8 percent combined. The 5 percent applies to the rental amount and to any mandatory fees the host charges, such as cleaning and pet fees. Taxes and security deposits get the 3 percent processing fee but not the 5 percent commission. Vrbo's older annual subscription, which let a host pay a flat fee instead of the 5 percent, closed to new listings in August 2025. If you're already on it, the gap is smaller for you than for a new host.
| Booking model | Fee | Kept per $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Vrbo, commission plus processing | ~8% | $920 |
| Booked direct, our Stripe fee only | 2.9% | $971 |
Vrbo's own fee structure and the August 2025 subscription closure, checked 25 August 2026 against multiple independent host guides.
The gap here is smaller than Airbnb's: about 5 percentage points, not 12 to 13. If Vrbo is your main channel and most of your bookings need its search to happen at all, this arithmetic matters less to you than the Airbnb page's does.
What Vrbo still does that we do not
- Its search, and its place inside the wider Expedia network, bring you travelers who have never heard of you.
- Reviews, verified guest profiles, and Vrbo's booking protections give a stranger a reason to trust a host they don't know.
- It takes the payment itself. Our product routes payment into your own Stripe account instead. That's different, not automatically better, and you need a Stripe account or have to set one up.
What we do that Vrbo does not
- Our top tier is a flat $349 a month, whatever your booking volume. A busy operator moving real revenue direct pays what a quiet one pays, while Vrbo's 5 percent grows with every dollar you make.
- The booking happens under your business name, in your own space in the app, not on Vrbo's listing page and in its messaging system.
- Vrbo closed its flat-fee option to new hosts in 2025. Our founding rate stays locked for as long as you're subscribed, and the deposit terms say so in writing.
Who this page is not fair to
If most of your bookings start on Vrbo and you have little repeat or referral traffic, a 5 point gap may not be worth changing anything for. If something above is wrong, or Vrbo's fees change, email hello@shorttermrentaldirect.com and we'll fix it.
Run the numbers on your own statement
Full comparison, sourcing, and the founding rate: shorttermrentaldirect.com/en/vs-vrbo