Expedia Group wrapped up 2024 with a strong fourth quarter, reporting double-digit growth in room nights, gross bookings, and revenue. At the heart of this success was Vrbo, Expedia’s vacation rental brand, which saw accelerated growth and continued recovery from the challenges it faced in recent years. For property managers, understanding Vrbo’s performance and strategic direction is key to staying competitive in the short-term rental market. Let’s break down what happened in Q4 2024 and what it means for your business.
Key Highlights: Vrbo’s Q4 2024 Performance
Vrbo’s Q4 2024 results were impressive, with bookings growth accelerating sequentially (growing faster each quarter throughout the year). This growth was driven by improved traffic and higher conversion rates, signaling that travelers are not only visiting Vrbo more often but also completing bookings at a higher rate.
For property managers, this is good news: more traffic and better conversion rates mean more potential guests for your listings. But to fully understand Vrbo’s performance, it’s important to look at the context behind this growth—what Expedia refers to as Vrbo’s “recovery.”
Recovery from What? Vrbo’s Journey Back to Growth
Vrbo’s recovery stems from the challenges it faced after its migration to Expedia’s unified platform. The transition disrupted the user experience, leading to a loss of travelers and a decline in bookings. In 2024, Vrbo focused on addressing these issues by reinstating key features that had been lost during the migration, such as dateless search and property comparisons.
- Dateless Search: This feature allows travelers to browse properties without specifying exact dates, making it easier for them to explore options and plan trips flexibly.
- Property Comparisons: Travelers can now compare multiple listings side by side, helping them make more informed decisions.
These seemingly small features had a big impact on Vrbo’s recovery. According to Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin, the combination of reinstating these features, improving supply quality, and refining marketing efforts drove Vrbo’s growth in Q4. For property managers, the lesson is clear: user-friendly features matter. Ensuring your listings are optimized for tools like dateless search and property comparisons can help you attract more bookings.
The Role of Supply Quality in Vrbo’s Growth
Another key driver of Vrbo’s Q4 performance was its focus on supply quality. In 2024, Vrbo expanded its inventory with 1 million new properties, primarily in urban areas. However, these weren’t entirely new listings—they were properties that had previously been available exclusively on Expedia and were transitioned to Vrbo to expand its offering.
This move illustrates Expedia Group’s broader strategy of leveraging its multi-brand inventory. By integrating these urban listings into Vrbo, the platform is expanding its reach beyond its traditional vacation rental markets (suburban, coastal, or rural areas) and increasing its relevance in urban settings, where demand for short-term rentals has been growing.
It’s worth noting that Vrbo has maintained its commitment to being a short-term rental pure play. While the new inventory includes urban apartments, it aligns with Vrbo’s whole-home, host-free model. This means the listings aren’t shared accommodations—they’re private spaces that fit Vrbo’s brand identity. For property managers, this integration opens up new opportunities, especially if you have city-based properties. Urban inventory can now perform well on Vrbo, giving you an additional channel to gain visibility and bookings.
Flexibility as a Competitive Edge
As Vrbo works to boost its supply quality, it’s also emphasizing flexibility—flexible rates, cancellation policies, and promotions tailored to the evolving needs of travelers. This focus on flexibility isn’t just about improving the traveler experience; it’s also about staying competitive with rivals like Airbnb and Booking.com.
- Airbnb’s Shift: Just a few weeks ago, Airbnb began rolling out a modified cancellation policy in 11 countries, reducing the use of its once-popular strict cancellation option in favor of more guest-friendly terms.
- Booking.com’s Approach: Booking.com highlighted flexible cancellations in its Super Bowl LIX ad, featuring the Muppets, signaling that flexibility is a key selling point for travelers.
Vrbo’s push for flexibility is part of a broader industry trend. As Gorin noted, the platform is testing flexible rate types and promotional offers to meet traveler expectations. For property managers, this means offering competitive cancellation policies and promotions can help you stand out on Vrbo and attract more bookings.
Vrbo’s International Push: What’s Next in 2025?
Looking ahead, Vrbo is set to boost its presence in international markets as part of its 2025 strategy. Expedia Group has provided several clues about how it plans to achieve this expansion and which markets it’s focusing on.
- Europe: Expedia highlighted Europe as one of the regions where international bookings outpaced the U.S. in growth, with low double-digit growth in Q4 2024. Southern Europe, in particular, is a key focus area, with cities like London, Paris, Rome, and Barcelona becoming growth hubs for Vrbo.
- APAC (Asia-Pacific): Vrbo is also tapping into the strong demand in APAC, where Expedia’s B2B business is growing significantly due to partnerships and market expansion. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and emerging Southeast Asian destinations are likely key targets.
To drive this international growth, Vrbo is focusing on localized supply and targeted marketing. For example, the platform is sourcing listings in regions where family or group travel is popular, ensuring its inventory reflects regional travel preferences. Additionally, Expedia’s B2B business, which powers travel for airlines, OTAs, and other partners, is playing a major role in helping Vrbo scale internationally.
For property managers, this international push presents an opportunity. If you have listings in these regions, now is the time to optimize them for Vrbo’s platform and take advantage of the increased visibility and demand.
Key Takeaways for Property Managers
For Property Managers Already Using Vrbo:
- Optimize Listings: Ensure your listings leverage features like dateless search and property comparisons to increase visibility and conversions.
- Prioritize Flexibility: Offer competitive rates, flexible cancellation policies, and appealing promotions. These are increasingly important as travelers prioritize flexibility.
- Capitalize on Urban Opportunities: With urban inventory performing well on Vrbo, managers of city-based properties should take advantage of this channel.
- Go Global: If you manage properties in Europe or APAC, optimize them for Vrbo’s platform to benefit from its international expansion and cross-brand traffic boosts.
For Property Managers Not Using Vrbo:
- Evaluate Vrbo’s Brand Fit: Vrbo’s focus on whole-home, private, non-hosted accommodations makes it ideal for property managers with relevant inventory.
- Consider Urban Expansion: If you have urban properties or are looking to enter the urban market, Vrbo’s recent expansion signals strong demand.
- Test Flexibility: Study how flexible cancellation policies and promotions affect booking performance on competing platforms, and be ready to implement similar strategies on Vrbo if you join.
- Monitor International Growth: If you have plans to expand internationally, especially in Europe or APAC, keeping Vrbo in your channel mix could help tap into growing demand.
