Vrbo moves hosts to a flat 12% commission on October 29

Vrbo's new Host Terms of Service take effect on October 29, 2026, and with them a single commission for pay-per-booking listings. Vrbo's help center describes it as "a flat, all-in 12% commission fee," charged "on the rental amount and any additional fees you charge to the traveler (such as cleaning, pet, and boat fees)" (Vrbo Help). Hosts who use property management software are "charged a 12% commission fee for bookings made through our family of sites," the same page says, or 12% to 15% in some regions outside the US.

What changes for US hosts

Until now, hosts not connected to software paid Vrbo 8% and property managers connected through a PMS paid 5%, according to Skift. On a $1,000 booking (rent plus cleaning), Vrbo's share goes from $80, or $50 with software, to $120.

• To keep the same payout, a host who paid 8% would need rates about 4.5% higher (0.92 divided by 0.88), and a host who paid 5% about 8% higher (0.95 divided by 0.88). That counts the commission only.
• Connecting software no longer lowers your Vrbo rate. Airbnb's single 15.5% fee already applies to connected hosts, so a channel manager now has to pay for itself through calendar sync and saved time. Lower platform fees are off the table.

Subscription listings move too

Hosts can no longer opt in to Vrbo's annual subscription, and its help center says: "Starting October 2026, most legacy partners still on the PPS model will be switched to the pay-per-booking (PPB) model" (Vrbo Help). The new terms add: "Conversion of a Listing from a Subscription Listing to a Pay-Per-Booking Listing is only possible at the end of the subscription term for each Subscription Listing." So a subscription listing's switch may follow its renewal date, not October 29. Skift, citing AirDNA, put subscription listings at about 12% of US Vrbo listings.

What Vrbo hasn't settled

• Payment processing. The help page calls the 12% "all-in," but it still lists a "3% payment processing fee" charged "on the total payment amount you receive from your guest, including taxes and refundable damage deposits." The new terms also name "a payment processing fee related to online payment" as a separate charge.
• The guest fee. The terms keep it ("A service fee is charged to Guests"). Skift reported that Vrbo plans to cut it, but Vrbo hasn't published new rates.

Before October 29, open the rate statement in your Vrbo Owner Dashboard, confirm the rate for each listing and whether processing is added on top, then reprice from there.