Road to Challenger Brands: How Vrbo Plans to Bounce Back From the Pandemic

Short-term rentals saw a rebound this past year once it became clear consumers were comfortable with the idea of staying in private vacation homes rather than hotels. Expedia-owned Vrbo is hoping to keep that momentum going into 2021 by drawing in first-time customers as travel begins to open back up again. With two and a half decades of experience in the space and a platform focused exclusively on non-shared spaces, the brand is positioning itself as the safe choice. Ahead of her appearance at Adweek’s upcoming Challenger Brands event, Vrbo vp of global brand Lish Kennedy discussed what sets Vrbo apart from its competitors right now, the brand's goals for the year and the future of the hospitality space as a whole. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What are some steps the brand took to weather the pandemic? Kennedy: Like many travel companies, Vrbo and Expedia Group had to deal with canceled travel and a lot of questions from disappointed customers. In the beginning of the pandemic, our priority was getting clear, helpful information to travelers and hosts as quickly as possible. We introduced an emergency policy on how to handle canceled bookings and released enhanced cleanliness guidelines with information on how to properly clean and disinfect vacation homes in the age of Covid. But after the initial downturn, our category was able to recover earlier than the rest of the travel industry. Taking a road trip and staying in a private vacation home with your immediate family is an ideal way to get away together and recharge while still social distancing and avoiding crowds. We have been hyper-focused on helping families connect and spend quality time together, whether they’re taking a weekend road trip to a vacation home now or planning their next reunion whenever they’re ready to travel again. What sets the brand apart from competitors? We have 25 years of heritage and love that Vrbo can be part of families’ most precious moments together. Whether it’s a ski chalet in Colorado or a beach house in Florida, Vrbo hosts around the world are true hospitality experts who take pride and great joy in welcoming guests to their vacation rentals and delighting them during their stay. Vrbo also does not allow shared spaces on our platform, so people who book on Vrbo will never have to share the rental with the host or another guest. We believe in giving families the space and privacy whole vacation homes have to offer, so they can all stay under one roof, connect, recharge,and spend quality time together. What advice do you have for anyone who has an idea for a product that challenges an entrenched incumbent? Focus. Focus on what you do well, and focus on the audience you’re best equipped to serve. If you try to be everything to everyone, you’ll lose your brand identity, purpose and customer loyalty in the process. It’s just as important to understand what you can’t do or don’t do well to be a successful challenger brand. What does the future of hospitality look like? I hope to see more travel and hospitality brands focus on the customer and their use case instead of the product offering. Years ago, hotels and vacation rentals were pitted against each other as competitors. It’s not either/or in my opinion; there’s room in the world for both. When I’m traveling for business or traveling by myself, a hotel makes perfect sense for me. But when I’m planning a week-long vacation with family, booking a Vrbo where we can all be together is the perfect solution for that use case. Both travel experiences can be frictionless and delightful for the same customer. There are so many different reasons and motivations for why people travel. Travel brands should focus less on the “what” and more on the “why” to cut through the noise. I also hope the industry becomes more inclusive and diverse. Travel is an industry that’s all about going new places, experiencing new things and learning about different cultures. We should embrace and celebrate that. It’s a priority for Vrbo and all of Expedia Group to ensure that the people we're hiring, products we're building and marketing campaigns we’re implementing reflect our commitment to creating amazing travel experiences for everyone. What is the brand’s most important goal this year? For Vrbo, my goal is sustaining the momentum we’ve established in 2020 and continuing to build on that. There were so many families who tried a vacation rental for the first time, and we hope they continue to value quality together time and consider booking Vrbos for their family vacations even when flights, hotels, resorts and attractions return. In 2021, we want families to know when they are ready to travel again, Vrbo is going to be there for them for their reunion, beach trip, mountain trip … however, they want to spend quality time with the people they love who they’ve been apart from all this time.