Travelers understand that fees are part of booking a vacation rental. However, high fees could push travelers toward a different listing. Based on our research, we’ve compiled this list of fee guidelines for you to review.
Your guide to setting vacation rental fees
We know you want the autonomy and flexibility to manage your properties to suit your business needs – and that includes how you choose to set your fees. However, we ask you to follow our fee-setting guidelines to help you manage your business, grow your bookings, and rank higher in traveler search results.
We’re providing you with the following guidelines taken from our most recent traveler research.
Avoid excessive fees
Our latest research shows that excessive fees can push guests towards the next listing they find. When it comes to searching for a vacation rental, we found that two-thirds of travelers won’t book a property with three additional fees, and travelers prefer one-time fees over per-night fees.
Most travelers agree that things like basic utilities should be included in the nightly rate — but they don’t want to pay extra for things like bed linens, pets, or damage insurance. We advise having no more than three fees in total and charging on a one-time basis.
Offer competitive rates
To drive bookings, a good strategy is to charge minimal fees and keep them lower than your nightly rate. Not only will this help you to increase reservations, but competitive fees and rates can help you stand out in search results, too.
From great reviews to quality photos, your listing’s search ranking is also informed by how competitive your rates and fees are in your market. We ask that rates on our marketplace be competitive with other vacation rental marketplaces.
Be honest and transparent
Travelers tell us they often struggle to find a vacation rental listing price they can trust because of the various fees and extra costs that are applied during or after a booking is made. To help travelers feel certain they are making the right choice in accommodations, we recommend being as transparent as possible with your rates and fees.
Any mandatory fees, or fees a traveler can’t opt out of (such as cleaning fees), should be labeled clearly and explained in detail on your listing. This will help to avoid any “sticker shock” for travelers when they see the final quote.
All stay-collected fees, collected on-site or during the stay (such as usage-based or optional fees), can only be collected by a host if they are listed in your description on Vrbo so the traveler is informed of them before booking. For example, hosts cannot collect fees that are only listed in a rental agreement or off the Vrbo platform.
If you manage your properties directly in the dashboard, outline your stay-collected fees in your listing description. If you manage your properties via software, be sure to include these fees in the price breakdown before travelers book.
Put your best price forward
Travelers accept that fees are a part of booking a vacation rental, and they value the care you put into your property.
Key takeaways:
- Set rates that are competitive with other vacation rental marketplaces.
- Charge minimal fees, no more than three fees in total.
- Keep fees lower than your nightly rate, which will be evaluated on a per-booking basis, and include them in your price breakdown.
- We do understand cleaning fees are essential to running your business, so we recommend addressing other fees first to ensure your fees do not impact traveler bookings.
- Request one-time fees instead of per-night fees.
- For transparency, label mandatory and stay-collected fees clearly and explain them in detail on your listing.
Follow these guidelines to charge fees that feel fair to you and your guests, so that you can protect your business while connecting with travelers who will love your property most!
*Fee Research May 2021, Vrbo Travelers
