VRBO Premier Host - Requirements and Is It Worth It?

VRBO Premier Host is the ultimate hosting achievement on the sales channel. Are you not being recognized for the extra mile you have invested in giving the best stay to your guest? Well, becoming a VRBO Premier Host is an invite-only program recognizing property owners and managers for going above and beyond; helping properties and hosts to stand out to prospective guests, with the promise of more visibility in search results, hence more bookings.

Before going further ahead, here are summary topics that will be discussed:

• Who qualifies and is eligible?
• How do VRBO Premier Host programs previously work for property managers?
• What are the benefits of being a VRBO Premier?
• Tracking your performance

VRBO Premier Host Qualifications and Eligibility

Not everyone is entitled to become a Premier Host. When you meet the requirements through all your listings, you are automatically nominated. Quarterly, VRBO reviews your premier host performance over the past 365 days, confirming that you meet the conditions.

To be qualified as a Premier Host:

• 90% or higher acceptance rate
• 5% or low host-initiated cancellation rate
• 4.3+ average rating or more
• Minimum of three reviews or more
• Five bookings or 60+ booked nights

How do VRBO Premier Host programs previously work for property managers?

Previously, property owners and managers who have one or more listings are required to follow a 2-step process in becoming a Premier Host.

1st Step

Listed properties had to meet the criteria within over 365 days with at least 10% of their listing and are assessed every quarterly

• Bookings - 5 or more complete bookings
• Reviews – at least 3 or more reviews
• Booking and Payment Methods – permitted online payments and online bookings

2nd Step

Relates to guests’ experience that a property owner/manager offers. Once you have met the previous requirements, you must have more than 50% of eligible properties over the same 365 day period

• Acceptance rate – 90% or higher booking acceptance rate
• Average review score – 4.3 or higher average review score
• Cancelation rate - less than 5% owner-initiated cancellation rate

Benefits of being a VBRO Premier Host

Because of the pandemic, vacation rentals are in demand, and traveler’s habits are constantly growing. With VBRO Premier Host programs, it adjusts to its up-to-date current market demands and guests’ expectations benefiting both parties. Moreover, being a premier host gains exclusive access to new tools and unreleased features as well as unique opportunities in marketing your property.

Once you have accepted becoming a VBRO premier, you are eligible for several benefits. Among them are:

1. Premier Host Badge

The badge is tied in your profile and across all your listings; that can be a text or an icon. Having a badge helps the property to visually stand out and recognize partners who deliver quality guest experiences, resulting in more attraction. Ideally, the badge is on a host level and not on the property level. Hence, even if your listing is new and has no reviews, you still benefit from that visibility and trust by the Premier Host status.

2. Increased VRBO Visibility (Improves Search Position)

This benefits by earning more exposure with the ability to improve applicable searches for select dates. At the same time you can:

• Earn power-ups (rewards for the hard work you put in to create a great traveler experience) by accepting bookings and when a guest completes their stay
• Earn power-ups across all listings though can be used by the listing that earned them

3. Premier Host Filter

When sorting out hundreds of options, ideally guests use search filters on travel sites. Property Host Filter helps properties to stand out to guests whereas properties that are not Premier hosts are technically hidden from the search results. Host Filters such as quality, rating, and host status are known to guests as a way of avoiding risks when picking a property. If the host is experienced, the guest will likely think their stay will be better or a less chance of having a negative experience. This platform is very useful and important to first-timers.

4. Premier Host Support

VBRO rental owners normally use online chat to get in touch with a support representative. However, being a Premier Host, you can communicate directly with VBRO’s priority customer support line. This allows you to have access to dedicated 24/7 customer support, to keep delivering the best guest experience. In other words, you have access to better support that helps solve issues faster.

5. Premier Host Status

Having status is great for potential guests if they know about it, for example on social media platforms. Though, at this point, VBRO aims at improving hosts to influence their premier status by allowing them to share through their messages to guests. Hosts who have reached this status will be entitled to be ‘Premier Host’ and display them as a badge to all their listings and communication platforms.

Tracking your Performance

By using the premier host scorecard located at your dashboard, tracks your overall progress in accomplishing Premier Host status. VBRO host tracks:

• Overall rating
• High acceptance rate
• Low partner-initiated cancellation rate
• Consistent bookings and guest reviews

This allows you to learn more about your overall performance as well as identify what areas need improvement. Keep in mind, VBRO reviews performance for the past 365 day period and removes listings that are no longer eligible; however, if you meet the requirements again, you will automatically be added again to the program.