Vrbo One Key devaluation is shaking up the short-term rental landscape.Effective May 22, 2025, Vrbo will stop offering OneKeyCash rewards to Blue-tier members. This entry-level tier of Expedia’s One Key loyalty program—shared across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo—will now exclude Vrbo bookings from earning points at the Blue level.
For short-term rental (STR) hosts and managers in the US, UK, and Australia, this change marks a significant platform divergence. A guest booking the same property on Expedia or Hotels.com earns rewards—while a Vrbo guest gets none, if they’re Blue-tier.
This move makes Vrbo less attractive to price-sensitive travelers who value loyalty programs.
What This Means for STR Operators
The impact on hosts and property managers could be immediate:
Lower conversion rates on Vrbo, especially among first-time or occasional guests.
Guests may favor Expedia over Vrbo when comparing identical listings, simply for the reward benefits.
More complexity in platform management, as you’ll need to monitor and respond to platform-specific performance trends.
To stay competitive, you may need to:
Adjust pricing or promotional offers specifically for Vrbo.
Shift marketing strategies to guide loyalty-focused guests to more rewarding platforms.
How Outsourcinghelpers.com Can Support You
Managing multiple platforms is time-consuming. That’s where AI-powered support from Outsourcinghelpers.com comes in.
✅ Performance Monitoring
Track booking trends and performance shifts across Vrbo, Expedia, and more—automatically.
✅ Smart Pricing Strategies
Our AI tools analyze real-time booking data and competitor rates to recommend optimized prices tailored for each platform.
✅ Guest Communication
Virtual assistants can engage guests who previously booked through Vrbo and direct them toward platforms (or your direct site) that offer better value.
Stay Profitable With Faster Adaptation
When platform perks change, your tools need to keep up. At Outsourcinghelpers.com, we help STR businesses stay agile and profitable.
👉 Book your free consultation today to learn how our AI-powered solutions can support your short-term rental business.