Surprise-Free Vacation Rentals

Vrbo, the trusted global vacation brand owned by Expedia Group, is launching a new brand campaign and platform titled “Surprise-Free Vacation Rentals.”

Vrbo pioneered the online vacation rental category more than 30 years ago, and families have trusted Vrbo with their vacations for decades. As the vacation rental category has matured, trust has diminished, and most consumers know someone who has had a less-than-great experience at a vacation rental.

The new work positions Vrbo as a brand that turns uncertainty about the vacation rental category into confidence, eliminating doubts about a property not appearing as it does in listing photos or anxieties about check-in. Created in partnership with creative agency GSD&M, the new 360 campaign leans into observational humour, reminding guests that the people you travel with may be full of surprises, but fortunately, Vrbo is not.

Rolling out first with a :30 spot titled ‘Teen,’ the campaign targets everyday group trip planners who want confidence, peace of mind, quality, and consistency in their next vacation rental. In the spot, a family’s dreamy Vrbo getaway hits a snag: the hot tub is broken, and so is their teenage daughter’s mood. As the parents calmly grill on a picture-perfect deck, their daughter rages inside, slamming doors and spiralling over the tub and life.

The twist? Thanks to VrboCare, Vrbo’s longstanding guest policy, the family is quickly relocated to a better home with a working hot tub. The ad closes with the teen pointedly excluding her dad from the new hot tub, landing on the line: “Teenagers are full of surprises. A vacation rental from Vrbo is not.” The spot ends with the brand tagline, “If you know, you Vrbo.”

Strategically, the campaign champions what Vrbo calls the “brilliant basics,” turning insecurity into security and highlighting the policies, products, and tools that make Vrbo stays predictable and reliable, which is what travellers actually want from a vacation rental experience. Through smart, relatable humour, the brand reinforces that it is the people who bring the surprises on vacation, not the house.

This new chapter represents an evolution for the brand, moving beyond its long-running “No Host” campaign starring Nick Saban that has run in recent years. Now that it is well established that Vrbo only offers private, host-free vacation rentals, its creative direction highlights other differentiating features that reinforce quality and trust, like VrboCare, verified guest reviews, and the Loved by Guests badge.

This marks the first work since GSD&M and Vrbo began working together in June. More creative across digital, social, and broadcast is set to launch early this year.

REPRESENTATIVE QUOTES

“This campaign hits on the profiles of people that we all vacation with. We all know ‘that’ person. We love them, but they make for interesting travel roomies,” said Jay Russell, Chief Creative Officer, EVP at GSD&M. “It’s just a fun and truthful way of reinforcing the promise from Vrbo: consistency, quality, and support travellers can count on.”

“We’ve done extensive research with vacation rental travellers and found that low trust in the category often comes from uncertainty about what you’ll actually get. ‘Surprise-Free Vacation Rentals’ uses humour to tackle those worries, but at its heart it is about giving people peace of mind and confidence that when they book with Vrbo, their stay will live up to expectations,” said Helen Melluish, Vice President of Marketing at Vrbo.