Last Updated: July 28, 2023
Best VRBO Alternatives (Similar Websites With Differences)
There are a lot of websites similar to VRBO. But many of them have different options, advantages and prices.
VRBO has been in this game since 1995, and they’re known for great vacation rentals. But they’ve gotten quite expensive over the years – so much so that private apartments have now become more expensive than hotel rooms in many cases. And that’s why we’ve put together this list of the most popular VRBO alternatives, to help you find the best vacation rental platform for you!
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Airbnb
Airbnb is probably the closest Vrbo competitors. It used to be one of the best platforms for vacation rentals, especially for people who prefer to stay in apartments and houses, as opposed to hotels.
However, the popularity of Airbnb has been steadily declining over the years. They’ve become notorious for their high fees, which raise the price of vacation rental properties significantly, especially during short stays.
Another big main issue is that Airbnb lists the homes with their nightly rate, and while you might like the nightly price, it’s not uncommon for the total cost of the booking to be much more expensive when all the fees are added. The CEO of Airbnb has said this will improve in the future, but I have not noticed it yet.
The upside of Airbnb is that they are one of the biggest vacation rental platforms, so guests can choose between a myriad of properties. The platform is used by people from all over the world, so you can find homes anywhere. And you can read the reviews of other travelers who have stayed at the rentals, and see what they liked and didn’t like.
The fees are the main downside. Airbnb charges a service fee that’s usually 14-16%, they charge hosts a 3% fee, and there’s usually a pretty high cleaning fee on top of that. Also, you can’t always see the fees until you try to reserve the rental property.
RELATED POST: IS AIRBNB LEGIT?
FlipKey
Flipkey homepage
FlipKey is a reputable website like VRBO. They are also in the vacation rental industry and a subsidiary of TripAdvisor. Whether you’re looking to list or rent the perfect vacation rental property, this is a website worth checking out if you’re still comparing all your options.
Guests are charged a fee of 8-16% of the total price, while renters are charged a 3% commission. The fees are comparable to Airbnb, especially because FlipKey renters often charge their guests an additional cleaning fee. It’s worth noting that you will get all your money back only if you cancel the booking within 24 hours of making it; if you do it later, FlipKey keeps the service fee.
When browsing rentals on FlipKey, you can see the nightly rate for your chosen period, but you won’t see the extra fees until you click on the property. Only then can you get an itemized list of the additional fees, which includes both the website’s service fee and the owner’s extra fees.
TripAdvisor
Tripadvisor hotel search
TripAdvisor is one of the most famous websites in the vacation rental marketplace. They’re an important authority for anything travel-related, and they’re always a good option because of the extensive and detailed user reviews.
When you search for vacation rentals on TripAdvisor, you can see a detailed map of all popular attractions near the property, as well as restaurants and their ratings. And this is in addition to countless reviews of travelers who have already stayed at that property.
However, you can’t book a property directly through TripAdvisor. They will redirect you to one of their partnering vacation rental websites, depending on which of their partners of subsidies offers the best price. Their bookings often go through
- Agoda
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Trip
and many other sites.
The upside is that you’re almost guaranteed to get a good deal since TripAdvisor does all the work to compare offers on different websites. The downside is that you can’t see the additional fees until you go on the partner websites.
Booking.com
- Features Apartments & Hotels
- Transparent fee system
- No guest fees
Booking.com is a great platform for booking vacation rentals. The site includes both private apartments and hotels, so you can find whatever type of accommodation you are looking for. It’s also an extremely popular platform that allows its users to review the properties, so you can learn about the experiences of others and see detailed ratings of properties.
This website also charges the hosts booking fees, but they’re transparent about it. Whether you’re browsing through the different listings or looking at properties on a map, you will always see the amount you need to pay in taxes and fees right next to the nightly rate, so you can immediately decide whether the property is good for you.
Also, Booking.com doesn’t charge the guests a service fee, so when you see high fees on this website, that’s coming from the property owner. Service fees are charged to property owners, but they’re commission-based and quite low.
Sonder
- Features their own properties
- Unique & High-quality offers
- Questionable service
Sonder is a vacation rental platform that operates differently from Airbnb and Booking. They have their own properties in 10 worldwide countries, which are somewhere between hotels and private apartments. You can rent apartments from them, but at the same time there is a check-in desk, and you can request fresh towels and linens during longer stays.
Their vacation rentals are unique and beautifully decorated, but there is very little choice. Most of their rentals are in the US, with very few properties in Europe. Also, the Sonder properties are not very affordable, and they’re usually aimed at travelers who are more interested in high-end and luxurious accommodations.
One important thing to note about this rental platform is it has a very low rating on Trustpilot. Their total rating is 1.3 stars, with more than 90% 1-star reviews. Travelers are complaining about lousy customer service, canceled bookings, properties that look nothing like the photos on the websites, and many other things. Out of all the vacation rental sites featured in this review, Sonder is one you should stay away from.
9Flats
9Flats is pretty much the same thing as TripAdvisor, but worse. You can use this website to browse available vacation rentals, but when you try booking something you’re immediately redirected to one of their partner websites. I clicked for a few minutes on this website, and every time I was redirected to Booking.com.
This platform is worse than TripAdvisor because you can’t see any user reviews on the site – just a map of available rental properties, the data for which is collected from other, similar websites.
One thing to note is that 9Flats used to operate differently, but they didn’t have the best track record, which is obvious from the reviews on Trustpilot. Most of the reviews for this site are from 2015, and since then the website has entirely changed the way in which it operates.
Vacasa
- Operates in North American & Central America
- Charges 25-35% fees
- Not cheaper than VRBO
Vacasa is a vacation rental website like VRBO that operates in North and Central America. Most of the properties bookable through this website are in the United States, but they also operate in Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica. It’s worth noting that Vacasa doesn’t own any of the properties they rent – they’re a rental management company, that charges a 25-35% management fee to vacation rental owners.
If you’re wondering whether Vacasa is cheaper than Vrbo, it’s not. It’s not even cheaper than Airbnb because it has some of the highest fees for guests I’ve ever seen. The first thing to note is that you can’t actually see the nightly rate of the property when you’re browsing the map or the listings. You must click on the property, and then you’re presented with the total cost of the rental for the selected period.
But when you click to see the itemization of these costs, you’ll usually find that the nightly rate is only about 50% of the total price point. In all the properties I checked, Vacasa’s booking fee was around 20%, there was a $100 damage waiver fee, a cleaning fee that makes Airbnb look super cheap, and additional taxes. This website is great for property owners, but not for travelers.
Wimdu
- Deals scanning website (best deals)
- Collects offers from various platforms
Wimdu is a website like VRBO that I’m honestly struggling to describe. You can’t book a rental property directly on this website, because Windu scans most vacation rental platforms and presents you with the best deal. That’s fine in and of itself, but I checked out a couple of dozen properties on this site, and 9/10 times I was redirected to HomeToGo (the 1/10 was Booking.com).
HomeToGo is also a website that scans other platforms and presents you with deals from Vrbo, Booking, etc., but you can book with them. The downside is that you’re presented with a “nightly rate” based on the total cost – if the total price is $700, you’re shown a nightly rate of $100 for a week’s stay. This means that you have no idea how much you’re paying for fees and taxes.
I honestly think you’ll get a better deal if you go directly to Vrbo, Booking, or even Airbnb. I wouldn’t book a vacation property through this website because I prefer to know exactly how much I’m paying for service fees, cleaning fees, and other taxes, and that’s my two cents.
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About the Author Roger Timbrook
Roger is a little obsessed with travel. He has been to over 40 countries, broken 3 suitcases and owned over 10 backpacks in 12 months. What he doesn't know about travel, ain't worth knowing!
