Vrbo fees for hosts and the 12% commission

Vrbo fees for hosts are now one number: a 12% commission on each booking, for bookings made on or after October 29, 2026. The commission applies to the rental amount plus the fees you charge the traveler. Travelers pay a separate service fee on top.

The figures here come from Vrbo’s help page on the pay-per-booking model and Expedia Group’s FAQ on the change, both checked on November 10, 2026.

Vrbo fees for hosts at a glance

Question	Answer
Host commission	12% under the pay-per-booking model
Applies to bookings made	On or after October 29, 2026
Charged on	Rental amount plus fees charged to the traveler, such as cleaning, pet and boat fees
Not charged on	Taxes, refundable deposits, insurance products, the traveler service fee
Payment processing	Included when Vrbo is the merchant of record
Listing fee	None. Listing is free
Regional rates	12% to 15% depending on region and brand

How much does Vrbo charge hosts?

How much does Vrbo charge hosts on a real booking? Take 3 nights at $250 with a $120 cleaning fee.

Line	Amount
Rental amount	$750.00
Cleaning fee	$120.00
Subtotal	$870.00
Commission at 12%	$104.40
Payout	$765.60

The cleaning fee is inside the base. Vrbo’s help page says the commission applies to the rental amount and any additional fees you charge the traveler. That means $14.40 of a $120 cleaning fee goes to Vrbo.

Across a year the Vrbo fee adds up. A property booked 150 nights in 3-night stays has 50 bookings. At $104.40 each, the commission is $5,220. The Host Fee Calculator works it out for your own rate and nights.

Is payment processing included?

It depends on who collects the money.

If Vrbo collects the payment as merchant of record, the 12% is the whole host-side cost. Vrbo’s help page says there is no separate payment processing fee.

If you use your own payment processor, you pay the 12% commission plus that processor’s fees. Many hosts who connect through property management software are set up this way. Check which applies to you before you compare Vrbo with another channel.

What changed on October 29, 2026

Before the change, Vrbo fees for hosts came in more than one form. Hosts on pay-per-booking paid a commission plus a payment processing fee. Hosts on the older annual subscription paid a flat yearly amount.

Expedia Group, which owns Vrbo, published an FAQ on October 1, 2026 that sets out the new model.

• Hosts on pay-per-booking pay a flat 12% commission that includes payment processing fees.
• Separate processing fees go away where Vrbo is the merchant of record, with some regional exceptions.
• The annual subscription is being retired. Subscribers move to pay-per-booking when their term ends.
• The rate follows the booking date. Bookings made before the change keep the previous commission.

Vrbo’s help page used to list the older pay-per-booking rate as a 5% commission plus a 3% payment processing fee. That page now shows only the 12% figure, so I cannot point you to the old numbers at the source.

The Vrbo service fee that travelers pay

The Vrbo service fee is a different charge from your commission. The traveler pays it at checkout, on top of your price.

Expedia Group’s FAQ says travelers will usually still see a service fee. It says the fee will typically be lower than before and will be priced dynamically based on market conditions. No range is published.

This matters when you compare platforms. On Airbnb, a listing on the single fee shows guests no separate service fee. On Vrbo, the guest pays your price plus a fee you cannot see in advance. A lower host commission does not always mean a lower total for the guest.

Regional rates

The 12% rate is not universal. Expedia Group says commission ranges from 12% to 15% depending on region and on which Vrbo brand a property is listed with.

Vrbo’s help page names a Professional Plan in parts of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where commission can be up to 15% and includes payment processing. It also notes that VAT or GST can be charged on top of the commission where those taxes apply.

In the United States, 12% is the figure to plan around when you budget for Vrbo fees for hosts. Your owner dashboard shows the rate on your listings.

Vrbo compared with other channels

Vrbo fees for hosts make more sense next to the alternatives. Here is the same $870 booking on three channels.

Where the booking happens	Rate	Fee	You keep
Airbnb, single fee	15.5%	$134.85	$735.15
Vrbo, pay-per-booking	12%	$104.40	$765.60
Your own site, card processing	2.9% plus 30 cents	$25.53	$844.47

The Airbnb rate is from its help page on service fees. The card rate is Stripe’s published standard rate for US online card payments.

The page on Vrbo vs Airbnb for hosts compares the two platforms beyond the fee.

A booking on your own site is not free. You pay for the site, the booking software and the marketing that brings guests to it. The guide to Airbnb host fees walks through the full comparison.

What Vrbo does not let hosts do about the fee

You cannot take a Vrbo enquiry and finish the booking somewhere cheaper. Vrbo’s help page on offline booking says reservations must be made through Vrbo and payments must follow its checkout.

Vrbo automatically blocks messages that include contact details before a booking, offer another way to book such as a personal website, or suggest another payment method. Repeated violations can lead to a suspended listing.

I never advise working around that. Airbnb has similar rules, which the guide to the off-platform policy explains.

If you want bookings that do not pay a commission, they have to start somewhere else: a Google search, an ad, or a guest who has booked direct with you before. The guide on how to get more direct bookings covers how.

Final Thought

Vrbo fees for hosts are easy to state and easy to underestimate. Twelve percent of every booking, cleaning fee included, is thousands of dollars a year on a busy property. It is also lower than Airbnb’s rate, so Vrbo may deserve a larger share of your calendar than it has. Run both through the Host Fee Calculator with your own rate and nights before you decide where to put your effort.