Since Expedia made Vrbo its primary alternative accommodations brand earlier this year in May of 2019, they pushed forward aggressively with advertising campaigns some with catchy tunes and musical productions.
The naming decision had been held off for years as HomeAway continued to garner traffic, over time however it became apparent through Google stats that Vrbo had more name brand recognition. The HomeAway.com site will continue to exist as will Expedia’s Arbitel.fr.
“Vrbo changed the way people in the U.S. travel and has a large, loyal community. We look forward to building on its heritage and investing in Vrbo as our primary global alternative accommodations brand,” commented Mark Okerstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer, Expedia Group back in May. “With several technology and business changes behind us, and the power of the Expedia Group platform propelling us forward, now is the time to focus on our brand strategy. Through a phased roll-out, we will gather the data we need to determine how to best introduce Vrbo to the world.”
Despite the push in branding, Expedia Group, recently reported a decline in revenue growth at its vacation rental business. Revenue growth of 14% was seen in the three months ended Sept 30th to $467 million, noticeably less than the 17% pace in the previous period. Total revenue, however, grew 8.6% to $3.56 billion.
