Skift Take
Vrbo was leaving cash on the proverbial table by sticking to entire houses. That seems to be altering, but it stays to be seen how far Vrbo will meander into hotels and other inventory types.
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Vrbo, which has actually largely supported its whole-home trip rental objective as a differentiator previously, is filling in the spaces where travel need is intense by adding hotels, Skift has actually learned.
For example, a look for stays in Rapid City, South Dakota, over the next few weeks, produced listings for InterContinental Hotel Group’s Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites Rapid City; Wyndham’s La Quinta Inn & Suites, Americinn, and Super 8; in addition to the Magnuson Grand.
Over in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Vrbo showed a listing for the Edgar Hotel Martha’s Vineyard, which becomes part of Option Hotels’ Ascend Hotel Collection.
In Miramar Beach, Florida, Vrbo produced listings for Extended Stay America Suites, Quality Inn & Suites, Candlewood Suites, Embassy Suites Hotel, Finest Western Sugar Sands Inn & Suites, and Days Inn by Wyndham Locations, for example.
Tom Botts, a very long time hotel marketing and circulation executive, who is now chief business officer at buy now and pay later company Uplift, said “hotels that have long branded the trip rental platforms such as VRBO and Airbnb the opponent may have reservations about their inventory appearing in these channels, even more broadening their third-party circulation, particularly in already high-demand markets like these. I’m waiting to see the Grand Hyatt New York City on VRBO– then we’ll know the world is completely spinning in reverse.”
“This has been the best ever begin to a year for Vrbo, and holiday leasings in popular beach locations have remained in high need all summer,” stated a spokesperson on Thursday for Expedia Group, which owns Vrbo. “In addition to getaway rentals, guests might also see hotel space or resort stock in their Vrbo search when trying to find a location to stay.”
How Does Vrbo Get the Hotel Inventory?
Is Vrbo sourcing the hotel stock from hotel chains’ headquarters or specific properties when the hotels are associated with chains?
The answer is both.
“There are a range of contract options offered for partners, both at the corporate and hotel level, to best fit their needs,” an Expedia Group spokesperson said.
In contrast to many of Vrbo’s vacation leasing listings that offer hosts the alternative of vetting guests, the hotel inventory on Vrbo all have “book now” buttons although, similar to on sibling website Expedia.com, the hotels have the choice of letting Vrbo collect the payment right away or permitting the guest to pay at the residential or commercial property during the stay.
At Skift’s Short-Term Rental and Outside Summit in May, Vrbo boss Jeff Hurst choreographed the approaching growth into hotels, stating “You can’t resolve for there’s inadequate houses in the Outer Banks [of North Carolina] for all the people who wish to go to the Outer Banks this summer season,” he stated. “Some people are going to need to not go to the Outer Banks this summer season.”
He stated a growth into including hotels and resorts in beach locations, for example, would not always take place at one time but would be tactical for now to meet surging demand.
In the past, Vrbo has actually noted 2-star hotels and other stock that wasn’t strictly whole homes, but these were fringe sorts of listings when whole-home getaway leasings were unavailable. And now Vrbo, an Expedia Group brand name, appears to be making a more concerted effort to broaden its hotel stock in the face of a rising travel demand in resort or other popular areas where holiday leasings get offered out.
Over the years, Vrbo has actually looked for to distinguish itself from Airbnb, which uses homes, space shares, and hotels as part of its mix, by sticking with entire house holiday leasings. There’s no indicator that Vrbo would mess around with apartment or condo rentals, however hotels are definitely part of the formula for now.
Nevertheless, in contrast to Vrbo, which was using hotels and homes in Miramar Beach, Florida over the next couple of weeks, Airbnb was revealing apartment or condos, condominiums, personal rooms, campers, and rental properties– practically every type of residential or commercial property except hotels.
Airbnb has actually mentioned that it is still purchasing its hotel service after obtaining HotelTonight in 2019, but hotels do not seem a concern in the meantime.
Note: This story was updated to include info about how Vrbo sources hotel inventory.