Vrbo has rolled out its largest-ever product launch, with 12 new products and features spanning advertising, pricing, promotions, payments, guest operations, and property management. Expedia Group executives discussed sponsored listings, One Key member deals, AI-powered search, and addressed host concerns about paying for search placement.
Airbnb is quietly piloting "direct booking links" that offer participating hosts a reduced service fee—reported at 6% to 10% versus the standard 15.5%—when guests book through host-shared links distributed via social media, email, or message boards. Despite the "direct booking" label, the reservation still runs entirely on Airbnb's platform, checkout, and payments, retaining benefits like AirCover; the only change is pricing based on whether the host or the marketplace originated the demand. The move comes as Airbnb transitions all hosts to a single host-paid 15.5% fee model by year-end, and as many operators push to drive bookings to their own websites to reduce platform reliance. While cu…