Vrbo to Move to a Flat 12% Host Commission From October 29

Vrbo's fee overhaul changes the economics for every property manager and host on the platform, and moves Expedia Group's vacation-rental brand closer to the host-fee model Airbnb and Booking.com already use.

Effective October 29, 2026, Vrbo will apply a flat 12% commission to all hosts and property managers. Until now, property managers connected through a PMS paid 5% and unconnected hosts paid 8%. Roughly 6% of global listings (about 12% in the U.S.) that are still on the legacy annual subscription model will also move to the 12% rate.

Guest fees

Guest fees currently run between 11% and 14%. Vrbo plans to "drastically reduce" them, although travelers will still see a service fee at the time of booking in most cases.

Market context

• Airbnb introduced a host-only fee of about 15.5% this year.
• Booking.com charges hosts around 15% with no guest fees.
• About 55% of listings globally connect through a PMS (51% in the U.S.).

Analysts quoted in the report describe the change as a conversion play rather than a revenue grab, mirroring Airbnb's approach of showing consumers lower headline prices.

New terms

The updated terms also introduce rate parity requirements and allow Vrbo to distribute host rates through AI agents and metasearch platforms.

Reported by Dennis Schaal for Skift, September 29, 2026.