We have rented a condo through VRBO for many years and we have always had good luck. Although this year we have been switched to Airbnb for the same condos we have rented in the past. It is my understanding that many of the Owners are now switching their units to Airbnb in lieu of VRBO because VRBO has imposed some pretty stiff fees for the Owners. It is also my understanding that Airbnb does not have the same fees to the Owners.

I really noticed the it this spring when we were trying to book our condo for 2018. I told my wife that that seems to be not as many choices to pick from this year. The pickins were pretty slim. Then I remembered talking to Donna at Piazza Pascal during dinner one evening last February and she told me that she switched her condos to Airbnb from VRBO because the of the extra/new fees. So, then I checked out Airbnb and to my surprise there was a plethora of condos to pick from. We then booked our February 2018 condo through Airbnb (Donna) which has went very smoothly so far.

In short, I would guess that the rapid rise of Airbnb is due to the new/extra fees that VRBO has imposed. I guess many of the Owner have flocked to Airbnb because of the better price structure. IMHO both VRBO and Airbnb both are very similar. Both have a good cell phone app, both have a good website, and both have now worked for us.