Airbnb Calls Vrbo Billboards 'Confused' and 'Desperate'
Skift Take
Key Points
- Airbnb criticized Vrbo's billboard campaign as confused and desperate, as it sought to portray Vrbo as a cooler alternative.
- Vrbo's billboards highlighted their offerings of entire homes with privacy, contrasting with Airbnb's shared spaces.
- Despite Vrbo's campaign, Airbnb holds a significant market share lead in the global short-term rental market.
Summary
Airbnb has dismissed Vrbo's recent billboard campaign, which attempts to position Vrbo as a more appealing alternative in the vacation rental market. Vrbo's advertisements emphasize privacy and the rental of entire homes, in contrast to Airbnb's model, which includes shared spaces. Despite this marketing effort, Airbnb retains a dominant market share in the global short-term rental industry.
Airbnb has hit back after Vrbo placed billboards near Airbnb headquarters and elsewhere several weeks ago that said Vrbo's a "cooler" brand.
“Vrbo just spent millions on ads that appear to be as confused as they are desperate, even giving Airbnb more visibility than their own name," an Airbnb spokesperson told Skift. "As a platform built on supporting hosts, we’ll continue investing in our community.”
The billboard near Airbnb offices in San Francisco said: "Think of us as Airbnb's hotter, cooler, friendlier, long-lost twin that never has hosts. Make it a Vrbo."
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky initially took the stunt in stride, including an image of the billboard in an Instagram story a couple of weeks ago.
A Vrbo spokesperson said of the campaign: “Our latest work addresses common frustrations travelers associate with not only our competitor, but the entire vacation rental category. Vrbo has always believed that space and privacy — not shared common areas or awkward encounters — are what travelers want when booking a vacation rental and it's a better guest experience.”
Vrbo placed another billboard in New York near Bryant Park and it read: "Want a family-friendly villa you can't find on Airbnb? Vrbo."
Vrbo, an Expedia Group brand, paid for other billboards in Atlanta, Los Angles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Charlotte and Tampa.
Airbnb Dominates in Short-Term Rentals
Skift Research estimated that in 2024, Airbnb had 44% market share in global short-term rentals compared with 9% for Vrbo.
Vrbo has hosts, noted an online post from Rent Scale-Up, though they don't stay at the property with guests because Vrbo rents out the entire home. Airbnb has a minority of properties that are shared rooms where the host is on the property during the stay.
A Wall Street Journal story earlier Wednesday discussed brands attacking other brands in their advertising, and included Airbnb's comment about the Vrbo campaign and some of Vrbo's comments.
These billboards are part of a "Make It a Vrbo" campaign that dates to late December and ran during the NFL playoffs. The billboards were the first time that Vrbo dissed Airbnb by name, although for years Vrbo has implied Airbnb was the target of its shots.
Photo Credit: Exterior of an Expedia Group office building in Austin, Texas. Instagram / Brian Chesky
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