Marketplace Standards
Hosting on Vrbo
Our Marketplace Standards outline what we expect and require from hosts.
Breaching our marketplace standards (which incorporate our policies and any policies referenced in Vrbo help articles) is a violation of our Vrbo Host Terms of Service. Any breach of these Marketplace Standards may result in a listing having reduced visibility to guests, and/or suspending hosts’ ability to receive inquiries, demotion or removal from search results, or removal from the platform without any refund, or a financial fee.
Bookings & charges
- Hosts must honor the booking terms presented to the guest at the time of booking, and maintain fair relocation, cancellation, and refund practices.
- Hosts must not cancel a material number of confirmed reservations and try to avoid cancellations whenever possible.
- All bookings must be processed through the Vrbo marketplace. Content on the listing that attempts to direct guests to book outside of our platform is not permitted. This includes URLs, phone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses. See our Off-Platform Booking Policy for more information.
- Hosts’ fees, prices, and any other costs associated with a booking must be transparent and reasonable. For more details, see the Host-Collected Fees & Taxes Policy.
Cancellations
To maintain guest trust in our marketplace, hosts are expected to honor all confirmed bookings. If a host cancels a confirmed booking, or is otherwise responsible for the cancellation, we may charge a tiered cancellation fee. Additional consequences may also be imposed, such as a temporary listing suspension.
For more info about cancellation fees and penalties, read our Host Cancelations Policy.
Extenuating Circumstances
In the case of large-scale travel disruptions that prevent or prohibit Vrbo guests from completing their stay, we may activate our Extenuating Circumstances Policy. When this policy is active, hosts must honor refund requests from guests with impacted bookings. Hosts who need to cancel reservations under this policy may also be eligible for a waiver, meaning hosts will not be incur cancellation fees or other adverse consequences.
Accommodations
- Hosts must provide safe, clean, and accessible environments.
- Hosts must accommodate guests with service animals in accordance with local laws. For more information, see our Service Animals Policy.
- Hosts must ensure their property meets all relevant building codes and safety requirements.
Listings
- Listings should accurately and transparently represent a property, so that guests can make informed decisions. For more information, see our Host-provided Content Policy.
- The property description should be for the advertised unit only; it should not be used to describe additional listings.
- Any key amenities included in the listing must be in good working order, and available for use by the guest. These may include (but are not limited to) a swimming pool, hot tub, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and essential kitchen appliances such as a fridge or stove.
Communications
- Hosts should communicate with guests promptly, and with clarity and respect.
- Calendars must always be accurate. This prevents potential guests from requesting unavailable dates, and saves you from having to respond to availability requests.
- Hosts must provide property access/check-in instructions, and respond to critical questions from guests, in accordance with our Host Communication Policy.
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