Founded in 1995, Vrbo is one of the most popular vacation rental websites, with over 48 million active monthly users and over 2 million listings worldwide. Vrbo is a great OTA platform to list your vacation rental home and reach a wider audience, but it doesn’t allow any accommodations in shared spaces.
So if you’re looking to rent a separate room in your home, you may try creating a listing on Airbnb instead. And if Vrbo feels like a good fit for you, keep reading to learn about Vrbo payment options for hosts to understand better how and when you will receive payments for your bookings.
You may also want to check out our starter’s guide to learn more about Vrbo rules for owners.
What Are Vrbo Payment Options for Reservations?
Vrbo has its own payment system for payments and allows owners of vacation rental homes to list their property, receive online bookings, and send payment requests to guests. Vacation rental property owners are charged service fees for using the platform. They can opt to pay a 5% fee on every confirmed booking or choose an annual subscription of $499.
The Vrbo payment platform is fast and safe for travelers to pay for their bookings and for property owners to get paid. Travelers can pay with major credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. Vrbo uses encryption and advanced patented tokenization services to protect all transactions. Travelers that book and pay through the platform’s payment system are also eligible for the Book with Confidence Guarantee.
Vrbo allows hosts to set up their payment terms. You can specify how much a traveler must pay to confirm a booking. Requesting 100% of the payment amount when booking or setting up multiple payments that can be scheduled for future dates before check-in is possible.
If you allow your guests to make several payments, you need to specify the percentage a traveler must pay under each payment schedule. You also need to select the desired number of days the payment is due before check-in. When a guest books your property, they will see in your quote if you require one, two, or three payments for the booking.
Both methods have advantages, and it’s up to you to decide which suits you best and can help you maximize your bookings. But you also need to ensure that you provide your guests with the best experience, which requires careful management. You can achieve better results using vacation rental software like Hospitable.com. With Hospitable, you can automate your day-to-day routine and have more time to focus on growing your business.
Your entire STR business in one convenient platform
Start today with a 14-day free trial.
Vrbo Payment to Owner: How Does It Work?
Short-term rental property owners can set up their payments account when they create their listing or renew their subscription. You must log in to your Vrbo account and select Payments to complete the setup. To start getting Vrbo payments to the owner from your bookings, you are required to provide information about
The country you conduct your banking in
Whether you are an individual STR property owner or a property manager acting on your client’s behalf
Your contact information
Your banking account information (routing number, account number, and currency)
Setting up your account will take only a few minutes, and then you can accept payments safely and securely since the Vrbo payment platform uses advanced systems to indicate and prevent fraud.
When Does Vrbo Pay Out?
Payouts are typically sent to Vrbo hosts approximately one business day after the guest checks in. Depending on your bank’s policies, you can expect the money to be available in your account 5 to 7 business days later. If you are new to Vrbo and your first booking is less than 30 days away, the payout is typically sent to your bank account 30 days after the guest’s payment.
Vrbo hosts can keep an eye on the income they’ve made across all their properties listed on this platform. You’ll be able to find payout dates in the payments section of the reservation in your Vrbo account. You’ll also be able to access the payout summary report that provides an overview of the received funds after the commission and fees are deducted.
Many people who own a vacation home use Vrbo to earn passive income, but some choose the path of an STR host to build a successful business. You’ll increase your chances for success if you also list your vacation rental property on such Vrbo alternatives as Airbnb and Booking.com. This way, you’ll reach more guests and get more bookings.
Managing listings on multiple platforms is rather time-consuming because you must constantly update your calendars and availability and ensure your pricing is correct on all channels. Vacation rental tools like Hospitable.com with a channel manager feature make this process much easier. With Hospitable, you can keep your calendars and pricing updated from one convenient location and be protected from double bookings.
All you need from a channel manager is here
Vrbo Payment FAQ
Curious about some specifics? Here you’ll find answers to other Vrbo payment FAQs.
How do payouts work on Vrbo?
When guests make reservations, they pay the Vrbo hosts upfront. Payments are managed through Vrbo’s secure payment system, and the host gets the money from Vrbo after the guest has checked in.
How can hosts find the disbursement date for payment?
You can find the disbursement date for payment if you log into your account and select Reservation Manager in the left navigation menu. Then you need to select Financial Reporting and then choose Bank Deposits. Finally, click the arrow to the right of the deposit you want to examine. You’ll see the disbursement date and other details, such as property ID, reservation ID, guest name, and deposit amount.
What information is available in the payout summary report?
You can download the payout summary report to get information about your income across all your Vrbo properties. This document provides an overview of your received funds after commission and fees are deducted from the rental amount.
Have more questions about hosting on Vrbo? Check out this list of Vrbo FAQs to understand what it takes to become a Vrbo host.
