The Vrbo Markup is a fee bundled into the rent. This fee allows the property management company to recoup the Vrbo Commission by passing the cost to the guest. This article explains how to set it up and use it properly.

• Reason for a Vrbo Markup
• Set Up the Vrbo Markup
• How the Vrbo Markup Works
• Breaking Down the Vrbo Charges

Recoup the Commission

Vrbo charges the host company a 5% service fee on the booking subtotal for every reservation booked through their platform (when using the pay-per-booking model). Vrbo’s website states, “If you use property management software to manage your listings, you’re charged a 5% booking fee for bookings made through our family of sites.”

So, if you’re charging $100 USD a night for a 3-night stay, plus $60 USD for a cleaning fee, your booking subtotal is $360 USD. The host commission is generally 5% of your booking subtotal ($18.00 USD). Vrbo charges your commissions each month to the credit card you have on file.

BrightSide offers a way for hosts to recoup the 5% fee by passing it on to the guests through the Vrbo Markup.

Create the Fee

The Vrbo Markup is a regular fee, set up in Reservation Fees and Charges. When you finish adding this fee, it should look just like the screenshot below. The only difference you might possibly have is the percentage.

Navigate to: Reservations > Fees and Charges > +Add

1. Name: Vrbo Markup
2. Description: Not needed. It will not show up anywhere.
3. Type: Select “Percentage” from the dropdown menu. The other options do not work properly for the purposes of the Vrbo Markup.
4. Include in Rent: Tick the box. This bundles the fee in the rent instead of listing it as a separate fee on Vrbo.
5. Percentage: Enter the amount you want to want to increase the Vrbo rental rate. NOTE: This raises the rental rate ONLY, and does not affect your fees.  However, the 5% service fee Vrbo charges you is based on the subtotal of your charges, i.e.: the rental fee, cleaning fee, admin fee, and most other fees you may charge. They do not charge the commission on refundable damage deposits or taxes.* In order to have enough of an increase in the rent to cover 5% of “everything,” you need to increase the rent by at least 10%. Do what you are comfortable doing. Be forewarned, if you do not increase it enough, your reservation may show a balance due.
6. Varies by Unit: If you want to charge a different percentage markup for each unit, tick this box. The amount you entered in the percentage field becomes the default markup, but may be changed on a unit by unit basis. This is helpful if you have a property where you don’t want to charge a markup, or if you  just want a higher percentage. After ticking this box, you must go to each unit and enter the desired percentage on the “Rates” tab (for units where you want the percentage to be more or less than the default).
7. Auto Add: DO NOT select this. It will add this fee to every reservation.
8. Refundable: DO NOT select this.
9. Credit to Owner: DO NOT select this unless you want any “leftover” funds from the markup to pass to the owner.
10. Reference Number: Not needed.
11. Taxes: Tick “Use Unit Taxes.”
12. Save

*See Vrbo’s website for exact details for what they charge, or don’t charge, commissions.

Activate the Markup

After you create the Vrbo Markup fee, you need to activate it in Integration Partners. You must follow these steps so the markup can be added to your Vrbo reservations.

Navigate to: Setup > Settings > Integration Partners > Vrbo (tab)

After you navigate to the Vrbo Integration area of BrightSide, scroll down to Online Booking. Just above Blackout Dates you see the Channel Markup Fee. In the dropdown, select Vrbo Markup.

1. Channel Markup Fee: Select “Vrbo Markup”
2. Save

The Vrbo Markup is now active and the specified percentage is added to the rental rates BrightSide sends out to Vrbo.

The Details

The Vrbo Markup is a way to raise the rental rates on Vrbo to pay for the Vrbo Commission, without passing on the increased revenue to the owner. The idea is not to hide rental revenue from the owner, but to recoup the Vrbo Commission by including it in a higher rental rate. Here is how it works.

1. Fees & Charges with the setting “Include in Rent” are bundled into the basic rental rates. The Xplorie fee is a good example of this.
2. The Vrbo Markup is applied and increases the bundled rate by the percentage set there. If your Vrbo Markup is 10%, the bundled rental rate is increased by that amount.
3. BrightSide feeds the bundled rental rate to Vrbo, along with any additional separate fees you charge, i.e.: cleaning fee, admin fee, etc.
4. At the end of the month, Vrbo charges your credit card a 5% commission based on the subtotal. The subtotal includes the rent, cleaning fee, admin fee, and nearly any other fees you charge.
5. BrightSide breaks down the Vrbo Payout to account for all the “bundled rental fees” and other charges in the reservation. These are listed separately in the reservation charges.
6. The Vrbo Markup is retained by the property management company to cover the cost of the Vrbo commissions.

Example

The following is an example of how the Vrbo Markup is applied, creating a new bundled rate for Vrbo reservations. In this example, the property management company offers Xplorie benefits and the cost is included in the rent rather than listing it as a separate fee. If you do not offer Xplorie, or bundle any fees in the rent, the Vrbo Markup applies only to your rental rate.

$100.00 – Rental Rate
+ $15.00 – Xplorie Fee (only added if “Included in Rent”) This fee varies depending on which tickets you offer your guests.
= $115.00 – Rental Rate ($100.00) + Xplorie Fee ($15.00)
+ $11.50 – Vrbo Markup (10%) The Vrbo Markup is the last fee to be added to a bundled rate.
= $126.50 – Rental Rate ($100.00) + Xplorie Fee ($15.00) + Vrbo Markup ($11.50) = Vrbo Bundled Rental Rate

The Details

Unlike Airbnb, you process the payments for Vrbo guests directly, so there is no Vrbo Payout like there is for Airbnb. Any deposit, and other payments made, are recorded in the reservation as they are paid.

While BrightSide bundles some of the fees when sending them to Vrbo (see above), we break down the charges and fees into the following categories in the reservation. The property management company keeps the Vrbo Markup to pay the commissions.

$1,991.13 – Rental Charges
$130.00 – Cleaning Fee
$159.29 – Vrbo Markup
$274.18 – Taxes
$2,554.60 – Total Charges

In this example, the Vrbo commission is $114.02, or 5% of 2,280.42 (subtotal before taxes). The $159.29 Vrbo Markup is enough to pay the commission and have $45.27 left over. You can choose to keep this or pass it on to the owner.

The Airbnb Markup is a fee bundled into the rent. This fee allows the property management company to recoup the Airbnb Service Fee by passing the cost to the guest. This article explains how to set it up and use it properly.

• Reason for an Airbnb Markup
• Set Up the Airbnb Markup
• How the Airbnb Markup Works
• Breaking Down the Airbnb Payout

Recoup the Service Fee

Airbnb generally charges the host company a 3% service fee on the booking subtotal for every reservation booked through their website. In this article from Airbnb’s website, they explain:

Most Hosts pay a flat service fee of 3% of the booking subtotal. The subtotal is your nightly price plus any optional fees you charge guests, like a cleaning fee, and doesn’t include Airbnb fees and taxes. Guests typically pay a service fee of around 14% of the booking subtotal.

So, if you’re charging $100 USD a night for a 3-night stay, plus $60 USD for a cleaning fee, your booking subtotal is $360 USD. The Host service fee, which is generally 3% of your booking subtotal ($10.80 USD), is deducted from your earnings, and a service fee of 14% ($50.40 USD) is charged to guests and included in the total price they pay.

BrightSide offers a way for hosts to recoup the 3% fee by passing it on to the guests through the Airbnb Markup.

Create the Fee

The Airbnb Markup is a regular fee, set up in Reservation Fees and Charges. When you finish adding this fee, it should look just like the screenshot below. The only difference you might possibly have is the percentage.

Navigate to: Reservations > Fees and Charges > +Add

1. Name: Airbnb Markup
2. Description: Not needed. It will not show up anywhere.
3. Type: Select “Percentage” from the dropdown menu. The other options do not work properly for the purposes of the Airbnb Markup.
4. Include in Rent: Tick the box. This bundles the fee in the rent instead of listing it as a separate fee on Airbnb.
5. Percentage: Enter the amount you want to want to increase the Airbnb rental rate. NOTE: This raises the rental rate ONLY, and does not affect your fees.  However, the 3% service fee Airbnb charges you is based on all of your charges; the rental fee, cleaning fee, admin fee, and any other fees you may charge. In order to have enough of an increase in the rent to cover 3% of “everything,” you need to increase the rent by at least 5-10%. Do what you are comfortable doing. Be forewarned, if you do not increase it enough, your reservation may have a balance due after you receive the Airbnb payout.
6. Varies by Unit: If you want to charge a different percentage markup for each unit, tick this box. The amount you entered in the percentage field becomes the default markup, but may be changed on a unit by unit basis. This is helpful if you have a property where you don’t want to charge a markup, or if you  just want a higher percentage. After ticking this box, you must go to each unit and enter the desired percentage on the “Rates” tab (for units where you want the percentage to be more or less than the default).
7. Auto Add: DO NOT select this. It will add this fee to every reservation.
8. Refundable: DO NOT select this.
9. Credit to Owner: DO NOT select this unless you want any “leftover” funds from the markup to pass to the owner.
10. Reference Number: Not needed.
11. Taxes: Tick “Use Unit Taxes.”
12. Save

Activate the Markup

After you create the Airbnb Markup fee, you need to activate it in Integration Partners. You must follow these steps so the markup can be added to your Airbnb reservations.

Navigate to: Setup > Settings > Integration Partners > Airbnb (tab)

After you navigate to the Airbnb Integration area of BrightSide, scroll down to Online Booking. Just above Blackout Dates you see the Channel Markup Fee. In the dropdown, select Airbnb Markup.

1. Channel Markup Fee: Select “Airbnb Markup”
2. Save

The Airbnb Markup is now active and the specified percentage is added to the rental rates BrightSide sends out to Airbnb.

The Details

The Airbnb Markup is a way to raise the rental rates on Airbnb to pay for the Airbnb Service Fee, without passing on the increased revenue to the owner. The idea is not to hide rental revenue from the owner, but to recoup the Airbnb Service Fee by including it in a higher rental rate. Here is how it works.

1. Fees & Charges with the setting “Include in Rent” are bundled into the basic rental rates. The Xplorie fee is a good example of this.
2. The Airbnb Markup is applied and increases the bundled rate by the percentage set there. If your Airbnb Markup is 10%, the bundled rental rate is increased by that amount.
3. BrightSide feeds the bundled rental rate to Airbnb, along with any additional separate fees you charge, i.e.: cleaning fee, admin fee, etc.
4. When Airbnb pays you, they keep 3% of the reservation subtotal, their “Service Fee.” The subtotal includes the rent, cleaning fee, admin fee, and any other fees you charge.
5. BrightSide breaks down the Airbnb Payout to account for all the “bundled rental fees” and other charges in the reservation.
6. The 3% Airbnb Service Fee is deducted from the 10% Airbnb Markup. This 10% of the bundled rent recoups the 3% of the subtotal Airbnb keeps and leaves a small amount for the management company to keep.

Example

The following is an example of how the Airbnb Markup is applied, creating a new bundled rate for Airbnb reservations. In this example, the property management company offers Xplorie benefits and the cost is included in the rent rather than listing it as a separate fee. If you do not offer Xplorie, or bundle any fees in the rent, the Airbnb Markup applies only to your rental rate.

$100.00 – Rental Rate
+ $15.00 – Xplorie Fee (only added if “Included in Rent”) This fee varies depending on which tickets you offer your guests.
= $115.00 – Rental Rate ($100.00) + Xplorie Fee ($15.00)
+ $11.50 – Airbnb Markup (10%) The Airbnb Markup is the last fee to be added to a bundled rate.
= $126.50 – Rental Rate ($100.00) + Xplorie Fee ($15.00) + Airbnb Markup ($11.50) = Airbnb Bundled Rental Rate

The Details

Hosts may expect the Airbnb Payout to arrive in BrightSide within 24-48 hours of the guest checking into your property. Of course, this is totally dependent on when Airbnb sends the payment. After BrightSide receives the payment notification, we break it down into the original fees and charges, as they were before they were bundled. All of it is separated out and listed in the reservation’s “Charges” tab.

In the following reservation, Airbnb deducted their service fees and paid the host a lump sum of $2,101.02. BrightSide then broke it down and divided it into the following categories. The 3% service fee paid to Airbnb was deducted from the Airbnb Markup, and had $18.83 left over. The property management company can keep this or pay it to the owner.

$1,596.19 – Rental Charges
$80.00 – Xplorie Fee (listed as “Amenity Fee”)
$230.00 – Cleaning Fee
$18.83 – Airbnb Markup (leftover amount after paying the 3% service fee to Airbnb)
$176.00 – Processing Fee
$2,101.02 – Airbnb Payout

Specials (discounts) are easy to set up in BrightSide, but it is extremely helpful if you know how they work. Specials can be set to apply on every channel: internally, on your website, and on the online travel agencies (OTAs). Or, you may set them to apply to a limited number of these channels. This article explains how specials work and how to set them up.

• Channels
• Setting Up a Special
• How Specials Work with OTAs
• Common Mistakes

NOTE: Specials are designed to provide a discount on the nightly rate only. Specials DO NOT apply to fees and charges like the cleaning or pet fees. A special only impacts a fee if the fee is based on the rent.

Channels

BrightSide makes it easy to offer guests discounts utilizing our Specials tool. When you create a special, you must determine on which channel(s) you want to use it. Keep in mind, you may create a special that applies to only one of the following channels, or all three. Make sure you understand how each channel applies specials before assigning a special to it.

1. Internal: Internal specials do not show up on your website and are not fed out to the OTAs. These specials are available internally for reservationists to offer guests when needed. They are not automatically added to reservations, instead, they require a reservationist to manually apply them (for the exception, see Websites below).
2. OTAs: This option makes the special available on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and other integrated online travel agency channels. OTAs offer very little control over who receives a discount, so make sure you understand how they work before selecting this option. IMPORTANT: How Specials Work with OTAs.
3. Websites: Offer specials on your company’s website, either automatically or by using discount codes. When you select “Websites” AND “Internal” on the same special, BrightSide automatically adds the special to internal reservations when the conditions are met. The logic is that if you want to automatically provide the special to online guests, you will want to automatically provide it to internal bookings also.

Setting Up a Special

These instructions are for setting up a “Special” that can apply to one or more channels; internally, on your website, or at online travel agencies. We do recommend creating separate specials for each channel since they are applied differently on each channel.

Navigate to: Properties > Specials > Add Special

1. Name: Use wording that makes sense to the guest and describes the discount well.
2. Applicable Pricing: Under normal circumstances this will be nightly.
   • Nightly
   • Weekly
   • Monthly
3. Discount: Do you want to offer a dollar amount or a percentage off the stay? Enter the numerical amount and then choose from the following options:
   • % Off the Cheapest Night – Provides a percentage off the cheapest night of the stay.
   • % Off the Last Night – Provides a percentage off the last night of the reservation. This may or may not be the cheapest night of the stay.
   • % Off the Entire Stay – Provides a percentage off the entire stay.
   • $ Off the Entire Stay – Provides a flat dollar amount off the entire stay rather than a percentage.
   • $ Off Each Night – Provides a flat dollar amount off every night of the stay rather than a percentage.
4. Active Channels: Select the channel(s) where you want this Special to be offered.
   • Internal – Allows your staff to offer this discount to guests when making a reservation in BrightSide. Internal specials are not automatically added to reservations, they must be added manually (for the exception, see Websites > Additional Channels below).
   • OTAs – Automatically applies the special to qualifying reservations booked through online travel agencies. PLEASE READ: How Specials Work with OTAs
   • Websites – Offers discounts to qualifying reservations on your website automatically or via promo codes.
     • Automatically Apply: By default, specials active on this channel are automatically added to reservations booked on the website, unless a discount code is required.
     • Discount Codes: When you select “Websites” as an active channel, BrightSide opens additional fields so you may add a discount code, sometimes referred to as a promo code. If you assign a discount code to the special, guests are required to enter the code on the website in order to receive this discount. Keep in mind, if this special is also active on the OTAs channel, the discount code will be ignored there.
     • Website Description: If you have a Specials page on your website, you may enter a description of this special so guests can see the current specials. Please check with support to see if your website is coded to show the description.
     • Exclude from Specials Page: Choose to exclude a particular special from your website’s Specials page.
     • Additional Channels: When you select “Websites” AND “Internal” on the same special, BrightSide automatically adds the special to internal reservations when the conditions are met. The logic is that if you want to automatically provide the special to online guests, you will want to automatically provide it to internal bookings also.
5. Allow combination with other specials?: If you want to allow guests to combine this offer with another one, tick this box. NOTE: By ticking this box, it will combine with any other special when the conditions are met, even if the other special does not have this ticked. This special combines with only one other special, by choosing the one that provides the best discount to the guests.
6. Conditions: Provide specific conditions under which a guest may receive this discount. Do not select too many conditions and/or make it too complex; the fewer conditions there are, the better.
   • Required Nights: Enter the minimum number of nights the guest must stay to receive this discount.
   • Maximum Nights: Enter the maximum number of nights the guest can stay to receive this discount.
   • Number of Days Booked in Advance: Enter the number of days before arrival guests must book in order to receive this discount. Use this to encourage guests not to wait to make their reservation.
   • Stay Dates: If guests must stay during certain dates to receive this discount, enter the dates here. For example, June 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024.
     • When electing to use stay dates, an optional condition can be applied, “Maximum Occupancy %.” This prevents the special from applying to units with more than the specified percentage occupancy.
     • If the reservation includes one day outside of the required Stay Dates, the special will not apply. Every day of the reservation must fall within the required Stay Dates to receive the discount.
   • Select Rate Seasons: If any day of the reservation falls outside of the selected rate season, the special will not apply.
   • Exclude Days of the Week: If any excluded day is included in the reservation, the special will not apply to the entire reservation.
   • Exclude Arrival Days of the Week: Select any arrival day(s) of the week that will exclude this discount.
   • Reservation Taken Date: Enter the dates when the reservation must be booked in order to receive this discount.
   • Exclude Specific Units: Tick the box next to any unit(s) where this discount does not apply.
   • Include Specific Units: Tick the box next to any unit(s) where this discount does apply.
   • Include Bedroom Sizes: To limit this discount to units with a particular bedroom count, apply it here.
7. Save

NOTE: To track the performance of a specific Special over time, do not make changes to it. In other words, don’t just change the name and the conditions when you want to offer something new. Adding a new special is best. Deactivate the current special, then create a new one with a different name, conditions, etc. This makes it possible to compare Specials to see which one performed best.

How Specials Work with OTAs

Specials do not work the same on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com as they do on your own website or internally. If you list your properties on any of these channels, BrightSide makes it easy to offer discounts. However, since OTAs apply specials differently than your website, or in BrightSide, we recommend creating specials that only apply to OTAs.

Although we recommend that you create unique specials for OTA channels, it is not a hard and fast rule. You may create a special that feeds to both your website and OTAs, and is used internally as well. Having said that, keep in mind the following when creating specials for Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com.

1. OTAs consider the conditions you set for a special and automatically apply the discount to every reservation when the conditions are met. In other words, if you have a “10% OFF June Stays” special, with the following two conditions, 1) a three night minimum, and, 2) a June stay date, OTAs automatically apply it to the reservation when those conditions are met.
2. If you have a separate special of “15% OFF Summer Stays,” with the condition of a June or July stay date, OTAs will apply this discount instead of the “10% OFF June Stays,” because it provides a larger discount. They always offer the largest discount available and automatically apply it.
3. BrightSide also allows you to combine offers. When you set two separate specials to “Allow combination with other specials,” OTAs will apply BOTH discounts, if the reservation meets both sets of conditions. In the examples given above, the guest would receive a 25% discount if they stay at least three nights in June.
4. OTAs do not require a promo or discount code, even if you set it up with one. If the conditions are met for a special, they will always offer the largest discount available, automatically. They disregard your promo code and give the guest the discount.

NOTE: One of the reasons we recommend creating unique specials for OTAs, is that OTAs do not filter who gets the discount. For example, if you want to offer a “10% Military Discount,” OTAs have no way of offering it to military personnel only. They give it to anyone, if it is the best discount available at the time the reservation is made. Since this is the case, reserve the military discount, or one like it, for direct bookings on your website or over the phone, utilizing a promo code.

Common Mistakes

Every now and then, someone has a question about how their specials are applying. Here are common mistakes people make when creating specials.

1. Every reservation from Airbnb has the military discount applied. Why?
   • Likely Reason: Promo Codes. Many property management companies want to say “thank you for your service” to military personnel. Generally, they create an open ended “Military Discount,” utilizing a promo code with no set conditions. The problem with this scenario is that Airbnb does not require promo codes. They only look at the conditions you set. Lacking conditions, they apply this discount to every reservation where a greater discount has not been applied.
   • The Fix: Remove the “OTA” channel from any special that requires a promo code. Instead, reserve those type discounts for guests booking directly through your website or on the phone.
2. Why is my “Internal” special applying automatically to reservations made by my reservationists?
   • Likely Reason: In addition to the “Internal” channel, you have the “Websites” channel selected for this special. While “Internal” specials do not automatically apply, the “Websites” channel does, when there is no promo code and the conditions are met. When both of these channels are selected, “Internal” specials will be automatically applied.
   • The Fix: Remove the “Websites” channel from any specials you do not want to be automatically applied to reservations. Create a separate special for each channel, even when they offer the same discount.
3. A special is set up to automatically apply to all reservations, but it is not applying to every unit. Why?
   • Likely Reason: The special is attempting to take the nightly rate below the Minimum Nightly Rate (MNR) set in a particular unit’s policies. If the MNR is $200.00 and the special would lower the nightly rate to $199.99 or less, the special will not be applied. The MNR is a safeguard to keep the rate from going lower than an owner thinks is acceptable.
   • The Fix: In the unit where the special is not applying, lower the MNR enough so the special will apply.