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To list on Vrbo, go to the Vrbo homepage, select List your property, enter your bedrooms, bathrooms and address, create an account, then work through the onboarding workflow: amenities, rooms, photos, headline, description, house rules, rates, fees, booking options, calendar, local laws and taxes. When nothing is flagged as missing, select Go live. Listing is free. New hosts pay per booking only, a flat 12% commission plus a 3% payment processing fee, because Vrbo no longer sells the annual subscription to new partners, whatever older guides and even Google's AI Overview still suggest.
This guide walks through each onboarding screen from Vrbo's help center, puts the real fees in one table with a worked example, lists the requirements that actually block a listing, and then covers the step most setup guides skip: the photos and the native video upload. It is part of our real estate marketing guide, and if you also host on Airbnb, our breakdown of marketing an Airbnb without a video slot explains why Vrbo's video feature is worth taking seriously.
Vrbo listing requirements: what gets you in the door
Vrbo is stricter about what it lists than most first-time hosts expect. Check these before you start onboarding.
Whole homes only. Vrbo's shared spaces policy says it "does not allow vacation rental properties with shared spaces between a host or other guests." A community pool or hallway is fine. A spare bedroom in your own home is not.
You are 18 or older and have the right to rent. Expedia Group's own listing guide says you must own the property or have the legal right to rent it out.
Local compliance. Onboarding asks for jurisdiction details such as a registration number. Get the permit first if your city requires one.
At least 6 photos, at all times. Vrbo's photo guidelines say every listing needs at least 6 unique photos, and a listing that drops below 6 for more than 30 days can be suspended indefinitely.
A headline of 20 to 40 characters and a description of 400 to 10,000 characters. These limits come from Vrbo's listing guidelines. Expedia Group's blog still says headlines can run to 80 characters. Write to 40.
How to list on Vrbo, step by step
These steps follow Vrbo's help center article on listing a property. Expedia Group says most listings go live within about 24 hours of finishing onboarding.
Step 1: Create your account
1. On the Vrbo homepage, select List your property.
2. Select the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
3. Enter the property address.
4. Check the map pin and move it if it is off.
5. Create a Vrbo account or sign in to an existing one.
Step 2: Work through the onboarding workflow
1. Amenities. Select what the property has, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
2. Rooms and spaces. Property type, then details for each room and extra sleeping areas such as a sofa bed.
3. Photos. At least 6. See the photo section below.
4. Headline. 40 characters or less, with one or two key features. Vrbo does not allow contact details, all caps, emojis, awards, property size or the word "private" in the headline.
5. Description. Cover sleeping arrangements, amenities and outdoor space. U.S. hosts get an AI writing tool. Edit its draft so it sounds like your property.
6. House rules. Pets, events, quiet hours.
7. Rates. Enter your bank location and a nightly rate. Rate automation is optional in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and several other countries.
8. Promotions. Vrbo automatically applies options such as a New Listing Discount, Last Minute and Early Bird. You can opt out, so read this screen, because every discount comes off your rate.
9. Fees. Set a cleaning fee and a pet fee if you allow pets.
10. Booking options. Check-in and check-out times, minimum and maximum stay, and how far ahead guests can book.
11. Calendar. Choose an open calendar (every date bookable) or a blocked one where you open dates manually. If you also host on Airbnb, sync calendars before going live.
12. Host information. Billing address, and the host's full name if it differs from the account holder.
13. Local laws. Registration number, and whether you are a professional or private host.
14. Taxes. Choose how lodging tax is collected.
Step 3: Go live
Vrbo flags anything missing, including photos that need replacing. Resolve it and select Go live.
Vrbo listing fees: what you actually pay
Listing is free, and Vrbo earns when you get a booking. The change most guides have missed is the subscription. Vrbo's help center states that "pay-per-subscription (PPS) is no longer available for new partners," and goes further: its subscription page says that "starting October 2026, most legacy partners still on the PPS model will be switched to the pay-per-booking (PPB) model." That migration is under way now, so the annual subscription is closing for everyone, new and existing. Every host listing today is on pay-per-booking.
These are Vrbo's rates for the U.S. and most other regions. Australia and New Zealand pay the same 12% commission plus Goods and Services Tax, which Vrbo fixes at 0.5% for Australia and 0.75% for New Zealand, and no GST is applied in Japan. Hosts using property management software are charged 12%, rising to between 12% and 15% in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. All of these figures come from Vrbo's pay-per-booking page.
The detail that makes the headline rate an underestimate is the base. Commission is charged on what you charge. Processing is charged on everything the guest pays, including lodging tax. Take a 4-night stay at $250 a night with a $150 cleaning fee, which is $1,150 in your prices, plus an illustrative 12% lodging tax of $138. The commission is $138. Processing is 3% of $1,288, or $38.64. That is $176.64 in fees, or 15.4% of the $1,150 you set. In a high-tax market the gap widens, so price with 15.5% in mind rather than a clean 15%.
Photos: the part of the listing guests actually judge
Vrbo's photo guidelines read like a rejection checklist, so it is worth knowing them before you upload.
Count. At least 6 unique photos. Expedia Group says the average property has about 25, which is a better target than the minimum.
Resolution. At least 1024 × 683 pixels, ideally 3840 × 2160 or higher.
Format and orientation. JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF or SVG. Horizontal displays best, vertical is accepted.
Rejected. Black and white or sepia, blurry images, close-ups, collages, duplicates, text overlays such as URLs or phone numbers, and watermarks, logos or borders.
Two practical notes. Vrbo uses an AI tool to reorder your photos automatically, so check the order after you go live. And the close-up rule means detail shots of a coffee machine are wasted uploads. Spend those slots on full rooms and every bedroom. If you shoot vacation rentals for owners, our real estate photography shot list works as a room-by-room checklist, with the close-ups dropped for Vrbo.
Vrbo video: the listing slot most setup guides skip
Vrbo lets you upload a video file directly into your listing, which Airbnb still does not. The path is Property, then Edit property, then Video, then Add video. Every upload goes through what Vrbo calls "a human approval process," and the help center says the feature is still rolling out, so some accounts will not see the Video option yet. Virtual tours are gone: Vrbo states they "are no longer supported on the Vrbo platform," and previously added tours no longer display. Video is now the only motion media inside the listing.
The rules are specific, and they come from Vrbo's video content guidelines.
The music and slideshow rules sink most homemade videos. Template apps add a soundtrack by default, and a template that fades between flat photos is exactly the "series of still images in a slideshow or montage" the guidelines exclude.
Building a compliant Vrbo video from your listing photos
You can build the video from the photos you already uploaded, as long as the result is real motion. Amplifiles animates each listing photo with a camera move, so each photo becomes a moving 5-second shot of the room rather than a still slide. It exports 1080p vertical 9:16 video, the format Vrbo prefers, in about 5 minutes. The price is $1.50 per image (one dollar and fifty cents), so 12 photos at 5 seconds each gives a 60-second video for $18. New accounts get 1,200 free credits, enough for about 8 photos.
The settings we recommend for a Vrbo upload:
1. Pick 12 photos in walkthrough order. Exterior, entry, living, kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom, outdoor space. At 5 seconds a clip, that is 60 seconds.
2. Vary the camera moves. A push-in, a pan, a pull-back. Varied motion is what separates this from a slideshow.
3. Leave the music off. Amplifiles only adds a soundtrack if you choose one. Export silent, or add a voiceover with captions.
4. Skip virtual staging and added people. A rental guest arrives at the real room, and Vrbo requires listings to accurately portray the rental. Furniture that is not there is a bad review waiting to happen.
5. Keep area shots to the end, and to 20%. In 60 seconds, that is two 5-second clips of the beach or view, with room to spare.
6. No logo card, phone number or website. Overlays and contact details are both excluded.
7. Export 1080p, not 4K. Vrbo compresses and crops 4K.
An honest caveat: Vrbo's reviewers make the final call, and their guidelines were written with filmed footage in mind. If one reads your video as a slideshow, vary the camera moves more and cut shots with little movement. For the full walkthrough of how photo animation works, see our guide to turning real estate photos into video with AI.
How the video options compare for a new Vrbo listing
Template tools like Canva and Animoto are quick, but their real estate templates are built on still photos, transitions and a music bed, the combination Vrbo excludes. A phone walkthrough is clearly compliant but needs a site visit and an edit. A videographer gets the best footage at a cost that is hard to repeat across a portfolio. Amplifiles fits the case in between: you already have strong photos, you want real motion without a shoot, and you need a per-property cost you can repeat. For property managers, the same vertical file doubles as an Instagram Reel, which our property management marketing guide covers in more detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it cost money to list on Vrbo?
No. Creating a listing on Vrbo is free. You pay only when you get a booking: a flat, all-in 12% commission on the rental amount and your fees, plus a 3% payment processing fee on the total guest payment in the U.S. and most regions.
What percentage does Vrbo take from your rental?
On pay-per-booking, Vrbo takes a flat, all-in 12% commission on the rent plus fees such as cleaning, and 3% payment processing on the total the guest pays, including taxes. Because processing also applies to tax, the combined cost usually lands above 15% of your own prices, about 15.4% in a market with 12% lodging tax.
Can I still get a Vrbo annual subscription?
No. Vrbo's help center states that pay-per-subscription is no longer available for new partners, and that from October 2026 most legacy partners still on that model are being switched to pay-per-booking. Everyone listing today starts on pay-per-booking, and existing subscribers are being moved onto it.
How long does it take to get listed on Vrbo?
Onboarding itself can be done in one sitting if you have photos, rates, house rules and tax details ready. After that, Expedia Group says most listings go live within about 24 hours.
Is it cheaper to list on Vrbo or Airbnb?
For the host, Vrbo's pay-per-booking cost of about 15.4% lands within a point of Airbnb's single-fee structure, which Airbnb's help center puts at 15.5% for most hosts. On headline rate the two platforms are effectively level, so fees are not the reason to pick one over the other. The structures still differ: under Airbnb's single fee the guest pays no separate service fee, while a Vrbo guest pays a service fee at checkout on top of your price, which makes your listing look more expensive to the traveler even when your own take is the same.
Can I add a video to my Vrbo listing?
Yes. Go to Property, Edit property, Video and upload an MP4 or MOV between 15 seconds and 2 minutes, ideally under 60 seconds in 9:16 at 1080 × 1920. A human reviewer approves it first, and it must have no music and cannot be a slideshow. Amplifiles turns 12 listing photos into a 60-second 1080p vertical video with camera moves for $18, at $1.50 per image.
Final Thoughts
Listing on Vrbo is free and most of it takes one sitting. What trips new hosts up is what older guides get wrong: the subscription is closed to new partners and legacy subscribers are being migrated this month, the fees run above 15% once tax is included, headlines max out at 40 characters, and the listing now has a native video slot that is worth filling before your first guest scrolls past it.
We built Amplifiles so that video stops being the step owners and photographers skip because it needs a shoot. Our platform turns listing photos into professional 1080p marketing videos in about 5 minutes, with voice-overs, captions and branding. No filming or editing required.
Browse real estate video examples to see what the camera moves look like, or read how Amplifiles works for photographers if you shoot vacation rentals and want to add a Vrbo-ready video to your package. Every new account starts with 1,200 free credits, and full pricing is $1.50 per image after that.