Like a lot of other people we’re looking to get back out in the world, curious if anyone here has experience comparing the services of these two travel outfits? Is one better than the other?; one to avoid?; or just go with either.
Any opinions appreciated.
We used Air BNB for the first time in Mexico for Spring Break. I’ve used VRBO several times. Not sure I could say there was a difference. I think they both have service charges but not sure one is more than the other. I think the AirBNB person I rented from was more than willing to rent 1 day through AirBNB and the rest of the week directly through them. I just booked the week through AirBNB and it still worked fine. Probably paid a bit more that way but felt more comfortable doing it legit.
I use both, no worries on either.
Lot of bad press for AirBNB and VRBO lately. Their prices have skyrocketed to the point a lot of people are going back to motels/hotels. Add to that a lot of owners are charging for hidden fees, making the renters clean, etc. Go online, you can find all sorts of horror stories.
We used VRBO for our wedding 8 years ago. 5 bedroom in Antigua, with a pool, 10 minute walk from the beach, we paid like 1600 for the week! Recently looked at the same rentals trying to plan for our 10 year, we’d like to take our boys back, and the price was now above $3000.
We used VRBO a lot in the past with great success, but it just seems like prices are getting out of hand…as is with everything I suppose.
Supply and demand…
Both are virtually the same…
Both are the same unless you have a problem. I’ve rented from both more than 10 times. We got to our rental in Clearwater Beach Florida and the owner told me we weren’t supposed to be there until the next day. He was wrong and my dates were right. VRBO corporate didn’t really help us at all. Not even trying to find a hotel. No sure if and hoe Air-bnb would have helped.
The ought to call them Air Fee and Fee and FeeRBO. I’ve deleted both of them. Freaking fees they tack on crazy. 30-50% when fees and taxes are added in? #### off.
Honestly, compare the prices WITH fees and you can stay in a better resort or hotel for less
We have used VRBO quite a bit. Florida, Gulf Shores, Door County etc. If it’s a long stay, talk to owners and get a feel for them. We rent as much as 2 months at a time. We have been lucky but would be a long time tied to a a hole. Our Florida rental house just sold for $490,000, Zillow estimate was $130,000 3 years ago. Rent has been going up with that. The new house we found the rent is double what we were paying the last 3 years. Good news our yellow lab has a 5-star rating.
I disagree with some of the above. Good luck getting lodging for larger groups via a resort, for less.
Not to mention the extra space and full kitchen- we like to purchase our own local food and not pay x4 for every meal we eat.
We use VRBO exclusively and do quite a bit of traveling. I will say if you are bent on saving a few bucks you can usually bypass VRBO and rent from the owner directly.
We use both for northern MN lake cabins and have never had a complaint
Both are definitely still cheaper than booking larger places at resorts for groups. That’s not saying they’re “cheap” by any means, but if you’re looking at the right places there’s still a decent value. The last 3 places we’ve done through VRBO the owners have made it known privately after the fact that they’d rent us the place outside of VRBO for less if we came back.
As far as fees and stuff go, I’m sure they pile them on in calculating the final numbers. However, whatever the app says you can rent them for when you go to check out is the exact amount we’ve always paid to the penny. There’s no real surprise to the cost.
The ought to call them Air Fee and Fee and FeeRBO. I’ve deleted both of them. Freaking fees they tack on crazy. 30-50% when fees and taxes are added in? #### off.
Honestly, compare the prices WITH fees and you can stay in a better resort or hotel for less
Probably but I have never wanted to stay in a hotel motel room, always take the private cabin with dock on the lake. No thanks to resorts, we like at home privacy when away. Again never had a issue. If the price is to steep then message the owner and we get a longer stay knocked down .
I’ve used both VRBO & Airbnb and had good luck with both of them. Even with fees they’re probably cheaper than a hotel if you’re staying with a group or staying for a longer period. I use them going to Hawaii. They’re much cheaper than a hotel, you have a kitchen and you can see exactly what you’re getting. I’ve also used them ice fishing where there are limited motels that make it hard to accommodate a group. They both have great websites to search for places. Their website won’t tell you exactly where the house is, but you can get a pretty good idea. The reviews help a lot to narrow down your choices. I’m lining up places to stay in Italy now and Airbnb has many more there than VRBO, so I suppose which one is better might depend on where you’re going. My experience has been that if you find the same place on both Airbnb and VRBO that it will be more expensive on Airbnb. It’ll definitely be cheaper if you can get in touch with the owner directly. Sometimes owners will have their own website that you can find with a little sleuthing based on the name of the condo or name used in the description.
Welcome back to exploring the world and good luck with your search!
Until last year. We rented a VRBO house in Florida on a canal with a private dock, just off the gulf. Fenced in yard for the dog. 3 bedrooms 2 baths. For less than $100 a day including all fees. For less than $200 a day. My brother rents a house, on an island with attached 2 car garage and enclosed swimming pool. But the last 2 years are running everything off the rails. Vacation rental property is gold. A lot is being bought up for private occupancy.
We have used both, tho VRBO much more often. We just used it for our trip to Gatlinburg TN and the Smoky Mtn’s for Memorial Day week.
A 2 bedroom, full kitchen, log cabin in the hills (hollar, down there) with 5 person hot tub was $1270 total for 6 nights. We could have easily split that with another couple if we chose to, the second bedroom was a full loft with King bed and full bathroom (and pool table). Any of the nicer hotels in town were all close to $200/night for the same stay, and we had bears walking down our street!!
We also have a 1 bedroom ocean view villa rented on Curacao for our anniversary in November, for 9 nights, for $1415. So there are deals to be found out there.
No problems so far with either, but yes, you need to check fees closely. I was looking at properties in the Banff area recently for a future trip, and the fees were all over the place there. Buyer beware always.
Check the fees. There is a fee if you don’t clean up well enough or flip the mattress. Not at all of them. One place had a 2 full page cleaning check list. We did it all, took over 2 hours, and they still charged us for some reason. 
All we had to do was run the dishwasher, take out the garbage, make sure the hot tub cover was on, and throw the dirty towels in the washer. Of course we kept the place clean, but didnt even have to make the bed when we left. Cleaning fee was $75.
I wish they just built the “cleaning fee” (and all the other miscellaneous fees they hit you with) into the price they charge. I hate when you are advertised a price and then when you checkout and they add on all the taxes and random fees and all of a sudden the final price went up 25%.
I like them both, but they are kinda like flying Spirit or Sun Country. There’s ticky-tack fees above the nightly rate when you book. But honestly it’s no different than most hotel or rental car bookings. Everyone gets a cut. The advantage if you go with these services is that for a prices less than a nice hotel, you can get a place with a little more room with a kitchen and you can save on not having to eat-out for EVERY meal.
I wish they just built the “cleaning fee” (and all the other miscellaneous fees they hit you with) into the price they charge. I hate when you are advertised a price and then when you checkout and they add on all the taxes and random fees and all of a sudden the final price went up 25%.
I think everyone we have ever rented has the cleaning fee up front. Usually more with pets, but last one in Gulf Shores not. Most contracts have provisions for charging for damage or excessive wear. Remember these folks rent to spring breakers. With emphasis on “breakers”, kids learning to drink. We have never had an unexpected fee. We always have written a check for the amount we were quoted with taxes as fees included. Like a I mentioned before, you can get a vibe from property owner talking to them. But some of them find a big mess and things missing when people leave. Like with most things, most people are good. But one bad one can cost you what you made in a year. I was a landlord for 25 years.
Don’t get the complaint on the fees part. You ever look at a room rate and what you actually pay on a hotel receipt.
I’ve had good luck with Airbnb. My dad uses VRBO with similar success. There’s a time and a place for AirBNB vs a hotel. Sort of like roto molded vs regular coolers or an electric filled knife vs standard. I’ll generally use a hotel for a night or 2 stay for convenience, price, and location. Any longer or with a group, AirBNB is the way to go. If the question is more about AirBNB vs VRBO the web pages are so similar I feel they are practically the same company with similar prices. The fees are generally set by the rental owner and half the time they have the same listing on both sites. Try to buy discounted gift cards or find X% off each site and use them interchangeably. Usually each site gives you 20% off or something for your first booking so I’d take advantage of that.
You should get a feel for how reasonable property owners are by reviews and ratings. Keep in mind there will be bad reviews from the guy that got charged for not cleaning up after his dog of leaving the place trashed.
I’ve never used either one but not sure i will unless i’m desperate.
I was looking at renting last fall in northern WI on vrbo and saw a 3 bdr cabin at a resort i stay at was available that week.I saw the weekly price was double what there direct booking price was,before taxes.950+tax vs 2100+tax.No thanks
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