Vrbo vs KAYAK
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Whole-home vacation rental OTA owned by Expedia Group; 2M+ properties in 190+ countries; focused exclusively on entire-home rentals for families and groups; B2B vacation rental distribution revenue up 24% in 2025 via cross-listing with Hotels.com and Expedia.com.
About
Vrbo (Vacation Rentals By Owner) is a whole-home vacation rental marketplace founded in 1995 and acquired by HomeAway in 2006, then by Expedia Group in 2015. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vrbo differentiates from Airbnb by focusing exclusively on entire-home rentals—no shared spaces or room rentals—making it the preferred platform for families and groups booking getaways. The platform lists over 2 million properties across 190+ countries, from beach houses to ski chalets and lakeside cabins.\n\nVrbo's subscription and per-booking fee model gives property owners flexibility in how they list. Integration with Expedia Group's demand ecosystem—including cross-listing on Hotels.com and Expedia.com—gives Vrbo properties broad distribution. Vrbo also powers B2B vacation rental distribution through Expedia's supplier API, enabling travel agents and corporate booking tools to include vacation rentals in itineraries.\n\nVrbo operates within Expedia Group, which reported near all-time-high revenue of ~$14B in FY2025. Expedia's B2B revenues surged 24% in 2025, with Vrbo's whole-home inventory playing a key role in corporate and extended-stay bookings. Vrbo has positioned itself as the family-focused alternative to Airbnb, emphasizing verified reviews, owner responsiveness metrics, and no-shared-space policies.
Leading travel metasearch engine owned by Booking Holdings; searches 100s of sites for flights, hotels, cars. Operates KAYAK, Momondo, and HotelsCombined.
About
KAYAK is a travel metasearch engine founded in 2004 by Steve Hafner and Paul English, acquired by Booking Holdings (then Priceline Group) for $1.8B in 2013. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, KAYAK aggregates flight, hotel, car rental, and vacation package results from hundreds of travel sites, enabling one-click comparison shopping. Its product suite includes KAYAK.com, the Momondo brand (acquired 2017), HotelsCombined, and a business travel management platform, KAYAK for Business.\n\nKAYAK's revenue model is primarily CPC (cost-per-click), charging airlines, OTAs, and hotels for qualified referrals rather than taking a booking commission. This metasearch model positions KAYAK as a neutral aggregator rather than a competing OTA, though it also offers direct booking through its platform in select categories. KAYAK for Business targets corporate travel managers with policy controls and expense integrations.\n\nAs a wholly owned subsidiary of Booking Holdings ($26.9B revenue FY2025), KAYAK does not report standalone financials. It remains one of the most visited travel websites globally, with over 300 million monthly searches across its brand portfolio. KAYAK's AI trip-planning features and integration with Booking.com inventory have strengthened its position as a one-stop travel research tool heading into 2026.
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