What to know about VRBO
VRBO continues to be among the first name people come up with when looking for vacation rentals by owners across the US (if Airbnb isn’t the first name people think of, VRBO is) – and as many of the rental units on the VRBO program are conventional houses and condos, the subject of making those properties for sale to a new owner while being under contract with VRBO is constantly sought.
Here’s what VRBO’s official policy is as of October 2024:
“When you list your vacation rental property for sale, to reduce cancellations, ensure to block your calendar and notify travelers with upcoming reservations.
If you must cancel a booking due to the listing or sale of the property, fully refund travelers for any upcoming bookings or unused nights of an ongoing stay, without undue or unreasonable delays.
If you’ve already listed your property for sale, you cannot accept new bookings, unless the following exceptions apply:
* The property will continue to be listed on Vrbo and you are in compliance with the Listing Authority Policy.
* To minimize risk of disruption: you have notified all future travelers that the property is for sale, and you have blocked the calendar for all future dates close to or after the closing date.
* You have contractually required the new owner to honor all reservations after the closing date. In such cases, new owners must follow these guidelines:
* They can relax the reservation terms, but they cannot increase the traveler burden.
* Travelers must be notified of changes in ownership and offer the possibility to cancel. If the traveler wishes to cancel, a full refund must be provided regardless of the partner’s cancellation policy.
* Remaining traveler payments must be paid through Vrbo, any transfer of funds to be negotiated and handled between owners.
* Payments for current reservations to be negotiated and handled between owners.
If your property is no longer listed for sale, you can remove calendar blocks. Any reservations that were modified won’t be reverted. Property sold does not qualify for a cancellation waiver.”
The short version is VRBO lets you cancel your contract with them and sell your property with little further obligation to them, but you are responsible for alerting current reservations, canceling them and refunding money. If the new owner plans to continue the property with VRBO, you will need to have the new owner sign a contract that continues. If the sale does not go through, you can continue with the VRBO contract you’re on with some stipulations.
Related to that, VRBO provides a linked article to their policy on canceling your listing with VRBO, either by yourself or through an ownership partner. Their policy is as follows:
“Partner-initiated Cancellation Policy
To maintain traveler trust in our marketplace, it is essential partners uphold all confirmed bookings. If a partner cancels an accepted booking, or is responsible for the cancellation, we will charge a tiered partner fee. Additional actions, such as a temporary listing suspension, may also be imposed.
Exceptions to the policy can be made for cancellations outside of the partner’s control.
Cancellation Fee
Effective: October 14, 2023 (U.S. Only)
Fees will offset the anticipated costs and negative impact of cancellations that would otherwise burden our travelers, Vrbo, and partners who do not cancel without proper justification.
A partner may be found responsible for a cancellation if:
* The partner outright initiates a cancellation.
* The partner double booked a listing that led to a cancellation.
* The partner misled a traveler by substituting one property for another.
* Partners circumvent this policy, including requesting travelers initiate the cancellation.
Cancellation Fee Structure
We will impose a fee starting at $50 USD for a partner-initiated cancellation. We will factor booking value and timing of cancellation when determining the fee amount:
* If the reservation is canceled within 48 hours of check-in, or after check-in, the fee is 50% of the reservation amount for the nights not stayed.
* If the reservation is canceled more than 48 hours, but within 30 days of check-in, the fee is 25% of the reservation amount.
* If the reservation is canceled more than 30 days before check-in, the fee is 10% of the reservation amount.
Reservation amount includes base rate plus all your defined fees (such as cleaning or pet). If the calculated fee is less than $50 USD, it will be adjusted to $50 USD. There is no limit or maximum fee amount. Cancellation fees will be invoiced to the partner or withheld from their next payout.