Airbnb vs Vrbo: Which One is Better in 2022

Travelling and vacations are enjoyable when everything is in its place, ranging from your vacation accommodations to your trips and many more. So traveling is a mixture of varying activities, and every move needs proper planning to save time. So travelers are always looking for affordable vacation rental platforms to take care of their plans ahead of their arrival. The two most successful ones are Vrbo and Airbnb. This article will dive into a comparison of these vacation accommodation services.

Accommodation:

The winner is Airbnb because they provide non-typical locations like campsites and hotel rooms, and shared houses when it comes to accommodation. In this case, Vrbo provides only shared spaces.

Suppose you are concerned about the quality of services you will get upon arrival and have some doubts about online information. In that case, you can always try the Airbnb Plus option because vetted properties are displayed there for better quality.

Vrbo can be a good option for a family get-together as they do not specialize in providing private spaces. Rentals available on Airbnb are more affordable and cheaper comparatively.

 Vacation Discounts:

Airbnb is a platform for temporary visitors and digital nomads who are traveling for the sake of their social media community. Airbnb understands its audience and provides discounts for a long-term stay. So travelers looking to establish temporary roots will avail great benefits from their platform. Vrbo does not have these discounts for its users.

Search Functionality:

Travelers looking for more intuitive filters for their vacation rentals should go for Vrbo. Airbnb has those filters but not more prominent on their site. Visual elements on the Airbnb website and app are more descriptive. For example, Airbnb provides the cost of rentals on their map so that users can guess the average rate of stay in an area. Vrbo provides the filter for ‘Pets Allowed’ or ‘User Reviews.’

Property Listings:

Airbnb has more users in a month than Vrbo. With the revival of traveling activities after the pandemic, more people are interested in visiting far-flung areas, and for these tours, they want temporary stays. Airbnb has become their go-to platform for traveling to these areas to look for hotel rooms and visit tourist sites in these countries. Airbnb lists more properties in a given search area and dominates Vrbo with many margins. A search result on Airbnb gives these results:

The similar results on Vrbo gives only a single rental property:

Booking Rentals:

Airbnb dominates this sector as well. These platforms provide bookings through their platform in which you have to send a booking request to your host, and the host has the option to accept or decline your request. But if you are looking for quick booking options without the host’s mediation, you can use the ‘instant booking’ option on Airbnb.

Pricing:

When searching on Airbnb, the nightly rate that is displayed on the map or results list also includes the cleaning and service fees. This makes it easier to find accommodation that fits your specific budget.

VRBO’s nightly rate excludes cleaning and service fees, and these are only displayed after you click Book Now. This can make budgeting tricky as you cannot filter by service or cleaning fee amounts.

Conclusion:

Airbnb provides a sound environment for hosts; that is why more properties are available on their website than on Vrbo.

Vrbo offers more control for their hosts in which they can decide the booking dates check-in time and set a timeline for refunds if something unplanned happens. All in all, Vrbo is a clear winner in modern traveling.