Take Skift
While Vrbo’s new ad campaign to recruit hosts doesn’t mention rival Airbnb by name, Expedia, with its smaller short-term rental platform, continues to try to figure out what sets it apart from the larger competition in the industry.
James Farrell
Expedia’s short-term rental platform Vrbo is trying to attract hosts with a new line of ads that offer the same promise it makes to renters: a hassle-free alternative to competitors like Airbnb.
The short-term rental platform has expanded its “Relax, you’ve booked a Vrbo hotel” brand campaign with a new ad line aimed at hosts, centered on the slogan: “Relax, you’re a Vrbo host.”
And while none of the new spots explicitly mention industry giant Airbnb, Vrbo continues to take covert shots at its biggest competitor, poking fun at key differences between the two platforms – such as Vrbo’s stated tendency to attract longer-stay guests and its fledgling OneKey rewards program.
In one ad, a man and boy relax in a fishing boat on a lake, encouraging hosts to “sit back and attract repeat guests to their properties” thanks to Vrbo’s traveler rewards program called OneKey, “a rewards program you won’t find on any other platform.”
The program allows users to earn OneKey Cash by booking through Expedia and its subsidiaries Hotels.com and Vrbo. This money can be used toward future bookings on all three platforms.
Expedia actually sees its OneKey program as a potential growth boost for Vrbo. In a conference call earlier this month, Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin said Vrbo saw growth increases in the second quarter and cited OneKey as one of the reasons why. She noted that 30% of Expedia or Hotels.com travelers who earned money with OneKey were trying Vrbo for the first time.
Expedia did not respond to emailed questions from Skift about whether OneKey has been proven to attract more repeat guests, as the new ad claims.
Airbnb has long been considered an outsider in the hotel industry because it didn’t have a loyalty program, but the company has shown little rush to launch one. CEO Brian Chesky told Skift earlier this year that the company could “probably” launch some sort of rewards program in the future, but ruled out using a traditional points or subsidy system. Chesky said building a more personal platform was more effective at building customer loyalty than a rewards program.
Another new ad builds on Vrbo’s attempts to define itself as a platform for longer-term stays – appealing to hosts looking for more regular guests who require less effort.
The ad’s script points out that “other vacation platforms have a hectic coming and going of guests” as the camera pans over spilled popcorn and orange peels on the grass. But the narrator promises that Vrbo guests stay in properties “significantly longer” so hosts can “switch off and relax.”
The camera zooms out to reveal that the trash is not around a trashed and heavily used vacation rental property, but is scattered around a picnic blanket where a lounging woman receives a message from a guest thanking her for a two-week stay at her Vrbo property.
Vrbo’s focus on listing entire homes with high-quality amenities has helped the company carve out a niche as a vacation rental platform that emphasizes the “vacation” aspect and appeals to families and larger groups looking to get away. The company has been reporting on longer stays in recent years, and is trying to differentiate itself from platforms like Airbnb, whose broader offerings could attract a wider range of guests – including more transient travelers looking for a quick, inexpensive place to stay.
For Vrbo, filling that niche could be key to building a brand that can compete with Airbnb – still the Goliath in this David versus Goliath story. A May report from AirDNA found that Airbnb had about 1.4 million listings in 2024, compared to 630,000 for Vrbo, due to Airbnb’s brand recognition and global reach. Vrbo operates primarily in the U.S.
Vrbo has tried to expand its advertising on Airbnb in recent years. Former Expedia CEO Peter Kern praised the company’s recent advertising campaign at a conference earlier this year as “aimed at getting one over on our main competitor.” These ads are no exception.
In two other new ads aimed at guests, Vrbo doubles down on its previous attacks against Airbnb by reiterating its commitment to host-free stays, which can’t always be guaranteed on Airbnb.
For example, one of these ads is based on the theme “Relax, you’ve booked a Vrbo deal” and shows two videos side by side: one half of the screen shows a man shyly walking around a vacation rental where a host is staying, and the other half shows a man dancing in his underwear around a vacation rental without a host.
Airbnb did not respond to Skift’s emailed request for comment.
