VRBO account managers are working against you
I just wanted to warn hosts that those VRBO “account managers” who contact you are not there to help you. They are there to help VRBO. Their “recommendations” have the potential to be very detrimental to your bottom line. Here is what I’ve learned from implementing ALL of their recommendations:
They don’t work. I wanted to give VRBO every chance of succeeding, so I literally followed all of their recommendations, and none of them moved the needle.
VRBO’s price suggestions are wildly inaccurate, usually either way too low, and sometimes way too high. As bad as Airbnb Smart Pricing is, VRBO’s price suggestions are much worse.
None of their discounts brought additional views. I noticed that most people in my market aren’t offering any VRBO discounts, so offering all of their discounts should have set me apart, but it didn’t.
After a VRBO account manager contacts you, check all of your settings and discounts to make sure they didn’t make changes without your permission.
After a year of trying all of their recommendations, it’s clear to me that account managers are really just sales people trying to generate more profit for VRBO, not for the hosts. They will enthusiastically recommend things that may cause you significant financial losses.
I’ve also learned that VRBO will not take responsibility or pay for their mistakes. You are truly on your own.