Vrbo charges a small fee for its services, like most listing sites. Some hosts get to decide whether they pay a percentage of every booking or a lump sum for the entire year.
Understanding how Vrbo’s fee structure works and compares to other platforms is important. These small fees can add up and have a big impact on your profits as your short-term rental business grows.
The big challenge is that existing Vrbo hosts must make a commitment. Once you’ve decided whether to renew or cancel your annual subscription, there’s no going back.
Our guide breaks down Vrbo host fees to help you decide before you commit. We explain the fee structures and explore which one is best for different business models. As an added bonus, we look at strategies to reduce your ratio of fees to bookings and maximize your short-term rental income.
What are Vrbo host fees?
Vrbo charges all hosts for access to its booking tools, secure transactions, and customer support. In other words, these fees cover the basic costs of running the listing platform.
Until recently, Vrbo offered all hosts a choice of two fee structures. You could either pay a small percentage of every booking or an upfront sum for the entire year.
Now, there are signs that Vrbo is phasing out the annual plan. The official help page says that only hosts with an existing subscription can renew the service and continue paying the fixed amount. Everyone else must use the pay-per-booking system.
This leaves existing Vrbo hosts with a dilemma: Keep paying the annual subscription or switch to the commission-based model.
Current Vrbo host fee structure
Let’s look at Vrbo’s commission rates and subscription-based model in more detail to understand how they work.
Pay-per-booking model (commission model)
In this model, you pay a 5% commission on the total booking cost. This includes your nightly rate and additional charges like cleaning fees and service charges, but not anything you expect to get back like the security deposit.
There’s also a 3% payment processing fee for any transactions made through the platform. If you use Property Management Software (PMS) like Hostfully, you pay their fees instead. This gives you a little more control over the costs as you can choose which payment processors you integrate with.
Subscription model (yearly flat fee)
The second option is paying an annual subscription. Vrbo reportedly charges $699 per property listing in 2025 and generally increases the price every year.
Once you’ve paid the annual subscription, Vrbo lets you keep 100% of anything you charge guests. The platform won’t start charging you if you hit a certain threshold or apply a fee to certain services.
Robert Batholemew, General Manager of Mountain Management, says this subscription can significantly impact the ratio of your income that goes to fees. He adds, “In premium destinations like Vail and Beaver Creek, the flat subscription fee can effectively reduce to as little as 1–2% commission per booking when spread across multiple reservations throughout the year.”
The tradeoff is that Vrbo requires a long-term commitment. After you’ve renewed, the platform only gives you 14 days to withdraw from the plan and request a full refund.
How to choose between Vrbo host fee structures
Both Vrbo fee structures have strong pros and cons. The best option for you depends on unique factors about your business, such as your location, earning potential, and long-term plans.
Let’s look at the key factors you should consider when choosing between Vrbo’s host fee structures:
Type of vacation rental business
Some Vrbo properties are all-year-round while others are seasonal. If you receive consistent bookings throughout the year, your overall income is likely to be higher and the commission will take a larger chunk of your profits. In that case, it’s best to stick with Vrbo’s subscription model for as long as you can.
Whereas the pay-per-booking is often the best model for seasonal or occasional hosts. Even if your property is fully booked for the summer, pay-per-booking fees are still unlikely to exceed the cost of a subscription.
Average nightly rate
High nightly rates make the subscription model a more cost-effective option. You don’t necessarily need to manage a luxury rental property to reach the break-even point. As the annual plan is currently $699, you only need to make around $9,000 in a year for it to start saving you money.
Level of risk
Some Vrbo hosts may be unsure how much income to expect in the coming year. This makes the annual subscription a riskier option as you have to pay it no matter what. Theoretically, you could fail to make a single booking, but you’d still be on the hook.
On the other hand, the annual subscription makes it easier to predict your expenses over the year. If you can guarantee you’ll make a certain amount, this option is actually the safest for your business.
Location and demand
Understanding how many visitors you can expect can help you choose the right fee structure. While you might have experienced high or low levels in recent years, this can change suddenly due to regulatory updates, new tourist attractions, and changes to public transport.
For example, Vrbo hosts in regions with prohibitive vacation rental laws may want to consider switching to the commission fee structure. You may find you can only accept bookings for a shorter period during the year, making the annual subscription fee less cost-effective.
Tip: Want to see how many bookings you get and your average nightly rate? You can track these metrics and more using the Hostfully data analytics feature.
Use of a property management system (PMS)
Some PMS default to Vrbo’s pay-per-booking model as they don’t all support the subscription. Only a few allow the subscription model. For example, Hostfully’s Vrbo integration enables this, provided you already have an active annual plan.
But it’s worth switching PMS if they’re not providing all the functionality you need, rather than just accepting the pay-per-booking model.
Your long-term plans
If you’re looking for ways to grow your business, sticking to Vrbo’s annual subscription is the best plan. You may find this strategy isn’t cost-effective now, but keep the future in mind. As you take more bookings and your profits increase, the subscription will take a smaller ratio of your overall income.
Vrbo vs Airbnb: Which is cheaper for hosts?
At first glance, Airbnb’s 3% host fee may look more attractive than Vrbo’s 5% base rate. But the situation is actually far more complex.
Airbnb offers a choice between a split-fee model, where you share the charges with guests, or a host-only where you assume all responsibility for costs. The second option pushes the rates up to around 14-16% per booking.
Airbnb hosts may be tempted to opt for the split-fee model to save costs, but Batholemew says this can backfire. “The added 20% to the guest often deters bookings. In practice, attempting to save on commission by choosing this structure can result in significantly lower conversion rates — effectively trading a small cost savings for a large drop in revenue.”
Owner of Catchin’ Paradise, Phillip Foxall, agrees that Airbnb isn’t necessarily cheaper: “In our experience, Vrbo has been the more cost-effective option when it comes to platform fees. Vrbo charges hosts a flat 8% per booking, which provides more predictability and allows us to better maintain our margins.”
But nothing actually says you need to choose between listing sites, though. Airbnb hosts listing on Vrbo can maximize exposure and reach the greatest number of potential guests.
Tips for minimizing Vrbo host fees & maximizing rental income
Simply choosing the best Vrbo fee model isn’t enough to keep on top of finances. As Bartholomew says, “In an industry that’s both highly competitive and operates on slim profit margins, continuously testing new strategies and adapting to market trends is essential. This is the only way to keep business costs under control and attract new guests.”
With that in mind, let’s look at some strategies for ensuring Vrbo listing fees don’t cut into your profits:
Use dynamic pricing tools
Sticking to the same pricing all year round can significantly limit your income. If your rates are too high for the season, you’re likely to have fewer overall bookings. And if your rates are lower than nearby competitors, you’re leaving money on the table.
The problem is that continuously conducting market research and adjusting rates is time-consuming. By the time you’ve figured out a good pricing strategy, the market will have already moved on.
Foxall says his vacation rental company gets around this issue with automation: “We use dynamic pricing tools to factor in platform fees when setting nightly rates, helping us stay competitive without sacrificing profitability.” These tools integrate with Vrbo and PMS like Hostfully and automatically adjust rates based on demand, competitor rates, and local events.
But he adds that businesses should tread carefully when it comes to investing in new tools. “We’re selective about using third-party tools or integrations — only adopting those that clearly add value without piling on extra costs.”
Encourage longer stays
Longer stays don’t decrease your overall Vrbo fees, but they’re more profitable in practice. These reduce cleaning and turnover costs, require less guest communication, and leave fewer gaps in your calendar.
To encourage longer stays, consider offering guests a discount for booking a week or a month. While it may seem counterintuitive to reduce rates to decrease fees, the amount you save over time should work out. Cleaning and turnover are likely to be one of your most significant expenses, so saving costs here can generate much greater returns.
Decrease dependency on Vrbo
Limiting the amount you use listing sites like Vrbo and Airbnb can drastically reduce the amount you spend on fees.
Foxall says one of his most effective strategies has been encouraging direct bookings through the Catchin’ Paradise website. This basically means no fees whatsoever. While you must invest time and money into maintaining the site, the costs are generally much lower than any listing platform’s commission fees.
But Vrbo hosts are strictly prohibited from advertising their direct booking site on their listing page. Foxall says to encourage repeat bookings instead. “Build strong relationships with repeat guests,” he says, “Once a guest books at Catchin’ Parase, our focus shifts from just delivering a great stay to creating a brand-loyal customer.”
Creating a website is easy with the right no-code builder. For example, Hostfully’s direct booking site feature offers dozens of templates and customization options so you can create pages that match your unique brand. This tool integrates with our PMS and channel manager so you can easily sync booking, listing, and property data too.
Caption: Creating a no-code direct booking website through Hostfully can help you significantly reduce overall listing fees.
Keep more of your income with smart tools like Hostfully PMS
With all the work that goes into managing a short-term rental, it’s easy to overlook how Vrbo costs affect your bottom line. But these small additional fees come to hundreds, if not thousands over time.
While you can’t avoid Vrbo service fees entirely, you can limit their impact on your business. The key is to use listing sites strategically. Use platforms like Vrbo and Airbnb to increase your exposure and attract guests, but create a direct booking site through Hostfully for return visits.
Making your vacation rental business more efficient can also help you absorb listing costs. A PMS like Hostfully can automate key processes like guest communications, turnover, and booking management to save time and money. Where you can’t reduce Vrbo fees any further, you can lower other expenses and maximize your profits.
FAQs about Vrbo Host Fees
How much does Vrbo charge hosts per booking?
Vrbo charges hosts a 5% commission on each booking, plus a 3% payment processing fee. These fees are deducted automatically from guests’ payments.
What’s the difference between Vrbo’s commission model and flat-rate model?
The commission model charges a percentage of each booking, while the flat-rate model charges a fixed annual fee. The flat-rate model benefits high-volume or high-earning hosts by reducing overall fees.
Can I reduce Vrbo fees by using a property management software?
Yes, using property management software (PMS) can eliminate Vrbo’s 3% payment processing fee. However, the software may apply its own charges. Be sure to choose a PMS like Hostfully that only applies payment processing fees and gives you a choice of partners like Stripe and PayPal.
