Booking a holiday rental just got easier on the wallet — at least upfront. Vrbo has launched a Reserve Now, Pay Later option that lets travellers lock in eligible vacation rentals without paying anything at the time of booking. The feature went live on Vrbo's website this week, with the mobile app set to follow over the coming weeks.
It's part of a bigger Expedia Group autumn product update — more than 30 new and improved features rolling out across Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. But the pay-later option is the headline act, and it's a direct response to a move that has clearly worked for its biggest rival.
Airbnb pioneered the approach in August 2025 for US domestic stays, then expanded it worldwide by February. The company has credited the feature with helping to lift its business, which explains why Vrbo was quick to follow. On Airbnb, guests are charged the full amount before the free cancellation window closes — which can be as short as 24 hours depending on the listing's cancellation policy (flexible, moderate, limited or firm).
Vrbo's version comes with a twist aimed at a specific kind of traveller: groups. Alongside the delayed payment, Expedia is bundling in tools for group planners to confirm who is actually coming, collect money contributions from everyone, and manage the total cost of the stay. Anyone who has ever organised a shared villa or family reunion rental knows that chasing friends for their share is often harder than finding the property in the first place. Vrbo's skew toward larger homes and multi-bedroom rentals makes this a logical angle.
For travellers, the practical upshot is simple: you can secure the dates on a popular property — think peak summer weeks or holiday periods — without handing over hundreds of dollars or pounds months in advance. That frees up your cash flow and reduces the risk if plans are still shaky, as long as you cancel within the listing's free cancellation window. The catch, as with Airbnb's version, is that the payment will land before that window closes, so check the policy on any listing before you book.
Worth noting: the feature applies only to eligible listings, so not every Vrbo property will offer it. And because it's a Vrbo product under the Expedia umbrella, expect similar pay-later flexibility to appear across other Expedia Group brands as the autumn release continues to roll out.
If you're planning a group trip for next year, this could be the nudge to book that big house sooner rather than later — reserve the dates now, sort out the money (and your friends) afterwards. Full details of the launch via Skift.
