Vrbo Adds Pay-Later Booking, A Year Behind Airbnb
Vrbo now lets guests reserve a rental without paying upfront, matching a feature Airbnb rolled out last year to cut booking abandonment.
OTAs Updates
Airbnb Masks Phone Numbers, Cutting Off a Host Rebooking Tool
Airbnb will route calls and texts between large hosts and guests through temporary numbers, closing a channel property managers have used to move renters off the platform.
Airbnb Bans Long Chore Lists and Fees Added After Booking
Airbnb has tightened its Host Standards to cap checkout tasks and stop hosts from tacking on charges guests never saw before they booked.
Airbnb's Amex Exclusive Shuts a Door Vrbo Was Opening
Airbnb's exclusive short-term rental tie-up with American Express Travel also locks Expedia's Vrbo out of a wholesale booking channel it had only just started supplying.
Amex Premium Cardholders Can Now Spend Hotel Credits on Airbnb Luxe
American Express has folded Airbnb's search engine into Amex Travel, letting Platinum and Centurion cardholders redeem their annual lodging credits on Airbnb Luxe properties for the first time.
Airbnb's Dynamic Pricing Push Edges Toward Franchise Model
Airbnb's new built-in pricing tool, paired with talk of design and financing services for hosts, points toward a tighter relationship for operators who list nowhere else.
Airbnb Moves to Rework Luxe, Its High-End Listings Arm
Airbnb is said to be redesigning Luxe, its invite-only tier for its priciest homes, though the company has not confirmed what will change or when.
Vrbo to Double Host Commissions, Closing Gap With Airbnb
Vrbo plans to roughly double what it charges hosts in commission, moving its take rate closer to Airbnb's while leaving the guest-facing fee structure untouched for now.
Vrbo Doubles Host Commission, Won't Fix Guest Fees
Vrbo is roughly doubling the commission it charges hosts to move its pricing closer to Airbnb and Booking.com, but it will keep charging guests a separate fee at a rate it has not pinned down.
Airbnb Rolls Out AI Tools Years After Its Rivals
Airbnb is adding AI-powered search and trip-planning features already running at Booking.com and Expedia, shifting the competition from timing to execution.
Airbnb Confirms Q3 2026 Earnings Date, Numbers Still Sealed
Airbnb has set the date for its third-quarter 2026 results call, giving operators a fixed point to watch for the next read on booking demand and pricing power.
Airbnb's Fall Update Reworks Pricing, Search and Add-On Fees
Airbnb's fall product rollout changes how listings get priced, surfaced in search and upsold, and hosts have new settings to check before the rollout reaches their accounts.
Airbnb Adds AI Pricing Tool for Hosts With Multiple Listings
Airbnb says new AI-driven rate suggestions and a portfolio dashboard will let hosts manage pricing and calendars across several listings from one screen.
Airbnb's New Toolkit Automates Pricing for Portfolio Hosts
Airbnb says its 2026 Autumn Update gives hosts AI-generated nightly rates, a unified dashboard for multiple listings and earnings forecasts, with no fixed rollout date yet confirmed.
Airbnb Adds Friend-Powered Map to Steer Guest Discovery
Airbnb has introduced a map-based browsing tool and social features that let guests see where friends have booked or saved listings, shifting some discovery away from search filters.
Vrbo to Overhaul Fee Structure Starting October 2026
Expedia Group says it will change how Vrbo compensates hosts and partners on October 29, 2026, though it has not yet published the new rates.
New Airbnb Hosts in Canada Must Register Before They Deduct Expenses
Canada: Anyone launching a short-term rental faces a federal rule that voids tax deductions for hosts who skip local licensing, on top of separate registration systems in Toronto, Vancouver and Quebec.
Airbnb and Vrbo Still Split Host Costs Very Differently
Commissions, cancellation overrides and guest-vetting tools still work differently on the two platforms, and hosts running both are absorbing the gap heading into 2026.
Booking.com's Ranking Rewards Genius Discounts, Not Just Reviews
A refreshed look at Booking.com's host mechanics for 2026 confirms that commission is negotiated per contract and that search placement leans heavily on Genius participation and cancellation flexibility.