Skift Take
Short-term rentals could be the next frontier for sponsored listings. Hotels are difficult enough, but vacation rentals may be even more complex to get right.
Sponsored listings on Expedia.com and Hotels.com are a “significant” portion of Expedia Group’s advertising business, and the company is considering ways to launch them for the first time on its vacation rental platform Vrbo, as well.
The lack of sponsored listings on Vrbo “is one of the big things I’d like to change,” said Rob Torres, senior vice president media & affiliate solutions at Expedia Group.
Torres made clear that Vrbo isn’t at the testing stage yet for sponsored listings, but he said they are “working on that as a product and a feature.”
Torres, who worked at Expedia from 1999 to 2006, returned to the company in 2022 after 16 years with Google. He now oversees advertising on the various Expedia Group brands, including Vrbo.
Torres said individual property owners and large property management companies have expressed interest in sponsored listing for short-term rent