Vrbo Tries to Fix a Hole in OneKey Where Travelers Earn But Can't Burn Rewards

It hasn't attracted a ton of publicity but Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and Vrbo customers can't redeem their OneKey cash on Vrbo properties hosted by most property managers.

That's because Vrbo requires that property management companies – unlike individual hosts – be the merchant of record and handle their own payments.

Now Vrbo is trying to fix that issue.

Appearing earlier this week on the Alex & Annie podcast, Tim Rosolio, vice president of vacation rental partnerships at Expedia, said the company will introduce an optional program for property managers this year that would enable Vrbo to be the merchant of record for their bookings.

Customers would be able to use their OneKey cash on those listings. That not only boosts the OneKey program is an important way for Vrbo to take market share from hotels and other rivals.

"We know that some property managers value maintaining merchant of record status, and at the same time, travelers are increasingly looking for a less-fragmented booking and payments experience," Rosolio told Skift in a statement