What Hosts Need to Know About Vrbo Payment Options – Host Tools

As a host, it’s important to have a firm understanding of the different payment options your guests have. Each specific platform has its own unique things to keep in mind. In this blog post, we’ll explore the different Vrbo payment options your guests have and what you should be aware of as their host.

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How do Vrbo payments work?

Vrbo offers a few different options for guests when it comes to paying. However, these exact options may vary depending on how each individual host has their payment settings set up. Typically, Vrbo allows guests to pay for their stay directly through the Vrbo website with a credit card or even PayPal. This makes processing payments easier for hosts, protects both parties from fraud, and makes refunds and cancellations relatively easy to deal with.

“Pay Later” options

Similar to Airbnb, Vrbo has its own “pay later” option. for guests. However, the availability of this feature will rely on where the property is located, how far out the guest is making the booking, and the host’s chosen payment settings. That said, there are typically opportunities to split payments. For example, let’s consider a $3,000 booking. If booked 90 days out, the guest may have the opportunity to pay $1,500 at the time of booking and the rest 30 days before check-in. Alternatively, Vrbo often offers a three-party payment option that follows a pattern of 30% at booking, 40% halfway to your booking, and 30% before arrival.

What about “book now, pay later?”

Some areas allow guests to choose the “Book now, pay later” option. This is done through partnerships with third-party companies like Affirm. With this option, guests can book their property and pay it back through a personalized plan to Affirm.

Tips for hosts

It’s best to keep payments directly through the Vrbo platform. However, we also encourage you to set up a direct booking website so you can avoid these third-party platforms altogether and not lose out on service fees and commissions.

Final thoughts on Vrbo payment options

As you can see, there are a few solid options for both hosts and guests when it comes to booking through Vrbo. Guests can pay immediately or utilize one of the payment plan options when offered. As a host, consider what works best for your business and go from there.

Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!