r/vrbohosts

I had a guest book back in April for 3 nights in mid June. Awesome! Then she sent me a very polite and pleasant message early this month about a change of plans, would have to cancel, hoped to see me in the nearby village sometime in the future, etc. Okay, thanks, no problem.

This week I was double checking my ABB and VRBO calendars because I had a mid June appointment. VRBO lady is still on the calendar. I messaged her there to remind her to actually cancel. No reply. Not the first time a VRBO guest has gone radio silent on me--I had the loveliest couple stay last winter who seemed to have no concept of online or even text communication.

I just texted her on the number from the website. The text has been on read all morning...

These older VRBO people... I end up wondering if they've been kidnaped, trapped in an overturned car, fallen and can't get up...

Okay so I just heard back and she is going to take care of it. I think it's really a generational thing!

With STR occupancy compressing nationally and RevPAR growth at roughly 0.5% in 2026, the operators holding rate are the ones who found a segment and owned it rather than competing on price in an oversupplied market.

One gap that keeps coming up in market analysis: large dog owners.

78% of dog owners travel with their animals annually. Average pet household spending exceeds $2,000 a year. The dog-friendly hospitality market is projected to grow at 12.2% CAGR. Meanwhile most STR properties and hotels cap at 25 to 50 pounds, leaving a high-spending segment with almost no good options.

Properties allowing pets are commanding 20% higher ADR than comparable non-pet listings in 2026 according to current STR industry data. That premium exists because demand outstrips supply — which is the definition of a market opportunity.

The inelastic pricing argument is real: if you are one of the only properties in your market that will take an 85-pound Labrador, you are not competing on nightly rate. You are the only answer to a specific question.

Has anyone built a deliberate program around this and tracked the revenue impact? Looking for operators who have actually run this, not just opinions on whether dogs are a good idea.

I have my listing the exact same on both sides, it stays booked almost entirely with Airbnb. In fact I've only had one vRBO booking since I became active. My old listing used to be more 50/50.

I just got a prospective guest that sent me a message with multiple questions that are answered in the listing and stating that they're going to be bringing their pet. I do not have a pet friendly home. The furniture is almost entirely unfriendly and there is nowhere nearby for the pets to relieve themselves. No yard, no nearby park, etc.

I can't decline the person apparently. My options are to either edit my quote or to accept it. And I've just been reading that apparently you get punished for not selecting one of those too. So what do I do? Out of the quote to be $5,000 extra for the dog? Obviously I don't want to do that. I also want to decline because I've been in the business long enough to know the people that message you with 10 questions off the bat that are all answered are going to be a royal pain in the ass especially when some of their questions involve violating the rules you've clearly stated already.

I think I might just take down my entire VRBO listing. One less thing to worry about I guess.

Currently on our final night in Rome, Italy and pretty shaken up. Looking for advice on how to handle Vrbo support tomorrow.

We are staying in a 3-level villa. Today, our host wanted to swing by while we were out shopping to collect the tourist tax in cash. We explicitly told him to wait until tomorrow's check-out. He messaged back and agreed.

Well, came back from shopping and realized someone had been inside. The cash was gone, the lights were turned off, and a random laundry bag of blankets and towels was dropped on the lower floor. Worst of all, we found out the top floor door had been left unlocked. He went through all 3 private levels of our place.

The Creepy Part: As we were walking up the stairwell to our door, we crossed paths with a man sprinting down who looked exactly like our host. We are 99% sure he heard us coming, panicked, and snuck out of a lower-level door to avoid getting caught red-handed.

Is this a normal thing in Italy, or as massive of a violation as it feels? What is the best way to get Vrbo’s Trust & Safety team to take this seriously when I call them at check-out tomorrow?

I’m a new VRBO host (6 months) and could use some honest advice from other hosts/travelers on how you would handle this situation.

I had a 7-night booking for about $9k during college graduation weekend in a college town, so probably our busiest weekend. Unfortunately my cleaner/property manager dropped the ball badly before check-in. The guests arrived and found:

tools/power washer left outside

landscaping not fully cleaned up for the season

food left in the fridge/freezer

hot tub dirty and low on water

The guests called me upset shortly after arrival. I immediately responded and had someone at the property within about 1 hour to start correcting everything. I also offered:

immediate remediation

Full dinner reimbursement to the most expensive restaurant in town, so we could fix these issues while they're at dinner. I initially said I could offer a $1k refund and they asked for a 50% refund ($4.5k). I said I thought it would be best for us to show up, access the property and fix the issues before offering a refund that large.

When we showed up the guest was very upset and decided to leave the property before remediation was completed and opened a formal VRBO complaint requesting a full refund for the unused stay. We even gave them a $100 bottle of champagne, which they took, as they left.

A few additional details:

The listing photos accurately reflect the property/grounds (it’s more rustic/natural landscaping, not manicured). They said the biggest issue was the landscaping. However, It's on a lake and the woods are protected lands, they complained about leaves and not being able to safely walk through the woods that face the lake.

The house itself was usable and not unsafe in any way. They even said it looked nicer than the photos.

This happened last night and they did not spend the night, I am now writing this in the morning.

I fully acknowledge the turnover issues were unacceptable especially for an expensive stay and I’m not trying to avoid responsibility for that. I’m just trying to understand realistically:

Does this sound like a full refund situation?

Was offering 50% already too much?

How would VRBO likely handle this?

Would you try to settle further or hold firm at this point?

Looking for honest opinions from hosts or experienced travelers as I already have about $50k of bookings through VRBO this summer and I am afraid a bad review might jeopardize that.

I was looking at the recent hospitality data and one stat jumped out: **Superhosts earn about 29% more revenue.**
The general assumption is that they have better furniture or offer premium amenities (wine/chocolate). But I have a theory: I think they are just operating "smarter."
We are currently treating digital guests with analog solutions. A guest arrives tired and encounters friction—a smart lock that is not easy to operate, a tricky AC remote, vague parking instructions.
A 10-page welcome manual isn’t hospitality; it’s cognitive labor, it certainly has its place however is not much good to the guest before they enter the property. A “ how do I “ text to the host is almost guaranteed.
If a guest can click a single link and instantly watch a 50-second video of the host's hand entering the smart lock code, the friction is gone. The guests don't have to text you, and they feel empowered.
Are we overlooking "operational simplicity" as the highest form of hospitality that actually drives that Superhost revenue premium?

Hello,

My properties are exclusively on VRBO. We also have a facebook page we advertise on, give area tips and suggestions on, and refer our VRBO listings.

Does any hosts know if it is OK to refer to their facebook page on the message to their guest or anywhere else on VRBO?

If you do this, what is a sample of how you bring it up?

Thanks hosts!

EU Regulation 2024/1028 come into effect May 20
If you haven't looked into what it actually requires, here's the short version

Platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com are now required to collect host registration numbers, display them on listings, conduct random compliance checks, and transmit standardized monthly activity data to national government registries. The information gap that made quiet non-compliance possible is now closed

The strictest markets right now: Amsterdam has a 30-night annual cap with proposals to reduce it to 15. Barcelona is phasing out all 10,101 tourist apartment licenses by November 2028. Paris has a 120-night cap with fines up to 50,000 euros. Spain already fined Airbnb 64 million euros for advertising unlicensed rentals

Tourist taxes are also moving fast. Lisbon doubled its overnight tax to 4 euros in January 2025. Porto followed, and nine municipalities in the Azores and Madeira have introduced similar levies

Enforcement has already reduced STR supply by 18 to 30 percent in major EU cities

Worth noting for US operators watching this: California's SB 346 is essentially the same model, monthly platform data sharing with local governments. Europe is just further along in implementation

I’m wondering if anyone else has had this experience. A while ago Virbo kept calling saying they could maximize my bookings. They wanted me to lower my cleaning fee from $100 to $50 so that there wasn’t such a shock when guests see the total cost. I told them that it often took 2 hrs to clean my 2 bdrm apartment which is $80. They suggested I lower my cleaning fee but raise my night rate. I finally agreed and said I would lower it to $75 and only raised my Saturday night price by $25. Later I realized that I’m being taxed on that money, but not on cleaning fees. Anyway I decided to leave it be. Until today when reading a breakdown of a payout and realizing they are charging $50 for the cleaning fee, for both my units. I should have been paying better attention but I hadn’t noticed that until a year later. Virbo is trying to put the fault at my feet for not noticing that they changed the fee to $50 despite my refusing to do this. I want a refund from them as I have been losing money on cleanings this whole year. Has anyone else had something similar happen with Virbo?

I had a ROKU device and remote taken. My housekeeper didn't notice so I'm unsure which guest swiped it. Went to Walmart and they were sold old. Anyone else experience this? Is this a thing? Got a google replacement for the upcoming tenants, so it's all good for now.

We use Hostaway and I’m wondering how to handle this with a VRBO guest. She needed to modify the dates and I guess couldn’t do that in VRBO so she canceled and rebooked. Then a few hours later wanted to cancel the new reservation. I received a cancellation request in hostaway for both but there was nowhere to approve this. Through hostaway I canceled the reservation and chose the renter as a reason why. Now VRBO is coming to us asking about the refund. Wouldn’t they process this? I’m sorta new to managing properties (I just do all the behind the scenes stuff with hostaway and Airbnb) and am so confused on what to do here. Thanks for the help!

New VRBO host here and looking for advice. I currently have all 5-star reviews, but today a guest checked in and immediately complained to VRBO (not directly to me) that the house is dirty and has bugs.

The thing is, I personally stayed at the property right before their check-in and the house was spotless when I left. I’m honestly shocked by the complaint.

I haven’t even had a chance to address the concerns with them directly because they went straight to VRBO. Is there anything I should be doing right now to protect myself as a host? Has anyone dealt with guests making complaints that you strongly believe are exaggerated or inaccurate?

I’m worried about refunds, bad reviews, and how VRBO handles these situations. Any advice would be appreciated.