Articles tagged “vrbo”

In Skift’s top stories this week, a legal battle between Southwest and Skiplagged continues, U.S. airlines are a mess this summer, and hotels see first growth since the pandemic.

Vrbo was leaving money on the proverbial table by sticking with whole homes. That seems to be changing, but it remains to be seen how far Vrbo will meander into hotels and other inventory types.

Six years after uniting the Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia brands within Expedia Group, the company is now undertaking the grand experiment to differentiate their value propositions and target markets. If it doesn't work, brand consultants never get tired of offering their advice.

Expedia's Vrbo isn't a global Airbnb killer, nor does it have to be. Vrbo will pick its spots, but that will be a disappointment to those hosts, frustrated and angry with Airbnb, who are looking for some company to take Airbnb down a peg.

Some sectors will feel the labor shortfall versus surging travel demand more acutely than others. Solutions will be complex — and protracted.

Google eventually will monetize its vacation rental listings, but paid advertisements in its Things To Do vertical will happen sooner. Conscientious objectors Airbnb, Expedia/Vrbo and Booking, which aren't participating with Google in vacation rentals for now, will likely have something to say about the shape of that money grab.

Both Airbnb and Expedia.com are leaning into U.S. TV advertising in their biggest campaigns in years. Many millennials may not watch traditional TV these days, but the medium is still an important part of brands' advertising mix.

Watch a full session from our recent online event devoted to the short-term rental and outdoor industries.

Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are increasingly reliant on professional property managers to provide quality inventory. This considerably closes the gaps of service standards and reliability between the rental and hotel industries, which brings key opportunities for rental operators.

New U.S. spending data suggests that some brands, such as Enterprise, Vrbo, and JetBlue, had a better first half of 2021 than their rivals. The travel industry as a whole should be grateful for the U.S. federal stimulus checks to consumers.