VRBO’s Big 2026 Shake-Up—Premier Host, Performance Milestones & AI Features

2025 was a wild year for Airbnb, with major policy updates and new (and sometimes controversial) features.

Now, in 2026, it’s VRBO’s turn.

VRBO is kicking off the year with significant changes to how hosts earn visibility, badges, and perks on the platform. The new Premier Host program changes are already live. And an all-new Performance Milestones system is rolling out soon.

This new, stricter milestone program will raise the bar for VRBO hosts while offering more upside for high-performing listings.

On top of that, VRBO is introducing new AI-powered tools and Expedia group perks.

Here’s what hosts need to know.

What Is the VRBO Premier Host Program?

At its core, the Premier Host program is VRBO’s way of recognizing hosts that consistently deliver excellent guest experiences. It rewards hosts with perks like:

• A Premier Host badge on qualifying listings
• Inclusion in the Premier Host search filter
• Priority support (24/7 expedited access)
• An automatic lift in search ranking
• Eligibility for VRBO email, social, and PR features

But the new 2026 changes could make it even harder to qualify.

How the New Premier Host Program Works

Starting January 1, 2026, VRBO moved the program away from a portfolio-wide approach to a listing-by-listing qualification model.

That means being a great host and meeting requirements for some of your listings won't give your entire VRBO portfolio a boost.

Each property must earn its own badge based on its individual performance. No more blanket Premier status.

How to Qualify for Premier Host in 2026?

To qualify for Premier Host under the new standards, a listing must meet all of the following requirements:

• 99%+ booking acceptance rate
• 0% host-initiated cancellations
• At least 5 bookings or 60 booked nights
• 5+ VRBO reviews
• Average review rating of 4.6 or higher

Checking all five boxes automatically earns you Premier Host status and counts toward your Performance Milestone progress.

Which brings us to the next big change.

Introducing VRBO’s New Performance Milestones

In 2026, VRBO plans to launch a tiered Performance Milestones system designed to reward listing performance with increased visibility, badges, and perks.

There are three milestone levels: Good, Great, and Excellent—and each one comes with its own benefits.

Milestone 1 — Good

(Not Premier Host)

Eligibility:

• 90%+ booking acceptance rate
• ≤1% cancellation rate
• 4.0+ average review rating

Rewards:

• New performance badges
• Increased search visibility

Milestone 2 — Great

This is where you qualify for Premier Host status.

Eligibility:

• 99%+ acceptance rate
• 0% cancellations
• 4.6+ review rating
• 5 or more reviews

Rewards:

• All Milestone 1 perks
• Premier Host status and badge (or the Loved By Guests badge if you qualify)
• Priority support
• Eligibility for VRBO marketing and PR opportunities

Milestone 3 — Excellent

Eligibility:

• 100% acceptance rate
• 0% cancellations
• Perfect 5.0 review rating
• 10+ reviews

Rewards:

• All Milestone 1 and 2 perks
• Top 1% badge—a new elite trust signal launching in 2026

Other Major Changes VRBO Hosts Need to Know

Beyond Premier Host and Performance Milestones, VRBO is rolling out several platform upgrades in 2026:

✅ AI-powered guest review summaries that highlight what guests consistently praised in past reviews.

✅ AI property Q&A, answering guest questions instantly by scanning listing details and past reviews

✅ AI-generated property highlights that dynamically surface key features for travelers

✅ Expanded global distribution across Expedia Group channels, helping hosts reach more travellers worldwide

✅ New tools allowing hosts to launch early-bird, last-minute, and members-only discounts directly from their PMS

What VRBO's Move Means for Short-Term Rental Hosts

VRBO has officially upped the stakes—and in some cases, the new standards are even stricter than Airbnb's Superhost program.

TL;DR:

• Each individual listing must perform on its own to earn badges and visibility
• Stricter acceptance and cancellation rules make consistency non-negotiable
• Visibility is now a performance currency, tied directly to milestones and badges
• Airbnb hosts diversifying to VRBO need to understand these rules to avoid getting buried by the algorithm

Final Takeaways

VRBO’s 2026 changes aren’t minor tweaks — they fundamentally reshape how hosts earn trust, visibility, and bookings.

Premier Host status, Performance Milestones, and the new Top 1% badge act as powerful trust signals that can directly impact search placement and booking volume.

If you’re already on VRBO, now’s the time to audit your performance metrics and start optimizing before the new milestone system fully kicks in.

👉 If you’re not yet on VRBO and are planning to diversify, check out our article to understand the differences between Airbnb and VRBO and which OTA is the right fit for you.

👉 Launching a new listing? Learn how to create an STR listing that actually gets booked (and works with the algorithm, not against it) in our free guide.

‍