Vrbo Over the Years - 25 Years of Homepage Changes

As Vrbo celebrates their 25th anniversary, we wanted to take a look back at their long history.  Vrbo started the first online vacation rental service back in 1995 and were really the first ones to define what the “vacation rental industry” was.  Until Airbnb came along, Vrbo completely dominated the vacation rental industry and set the tone for everyone.  Even as competitors started to spring up, Vrbo continued to grow and now provides access to 2 million whole-home vacation rentals in 190 countries across the world.

OwnerRez is proud to be one of Vrbo’s few Preferred Partners. We fought hard for channels to work with us directly, and we fought hard for our smaller homeowners users to get access as well.  We meet with Vrbo monthly to ensure OwnerRez is up to date with their latest features and to look for improvements on both sides. Our partnership with Vrbo is strong and we look forward to working with them for many years to come!

We thought it would be fun to take a look back at Vrbo’s humble beginnings and remind our older users about the Good Ole Days.  If you’re new to the vacation rental industry, these old images should make you smile as well.

The following images are courtesy of Archive.org. Click on the below thumbnails to see a larger version.

1997

Here is the very first homepage for Vrbo all the way back in February 1997. No logo, just text. This is the original home page that would ultimately pave the way for the world of vacation rentals for decades to come.

1998

Next we jump forward a year to 1998. They now have some graphics and more text, outlining the benefits of renting from owners for your next vacation. The business benefits are pushed as a new industry emerges.

2000

Two years later, in the year 2000, Vrbo has a more fleshed-out site. They have links to every location you can rent from, statistics and a search bar. They begin to mention that they have thousands of rentals worldwide.

2002

In 2002, Vrbo puts out their first logo, a logo that would stick around for 12 years. The site now has a map of the United States which visitors can use to select destinations visually. They claim to have 9,000 rentals worldwide.

2012

Jumping 10 years into the future, Vrbo is displaying the search bar with other filter options at the top. The map shows multiple versions. They claim 42 million visits per year.  HomeAway is now the parent company.

2014

In 2014, the logo is updated and the site is streamlined. They are still rocking the green colors but the map area has been cleaned up. Vrbo state that they have has no booking fees... how times have changed!

2017

Fast forward to 2017 and the site is starting to look like modern times. Prominent hero unit with search bar in the middle of the page and they've started to shift to a blue color scheme. They begin to tout the 2 million mark.

2020

Finally, we arrive at present day. Their site is clean, they're rocking the new logo, with HomeAway removed, and the new color scheme is adopted site wide. They are promoting their 25th anniversary with free vacations.

We haven’t always agreed with every decision Vrbo has made over the years.  In fact, we’ve held our breath and grimaced along with the rest of you at times.  But it’s undeniable that Vrbo did a huge amount of work decades before many of us got started, and we respect the long path they forged.  We respect and admire that, and we wish them luck as they celebrate this 25th anniversary.