2023 Best Marketing Campaign Award: Vrbo, part of Expedia Group

7/1/2024

The VRMA Excellence Awards celebrate and recognize the incredible work, contributions, and impact that vacation rental professionals have made in the past year. We are highlighting each of the 12 award recipients in 2023, continuing today with the Best Marketing Campaign Award (Supplier): Vrbo, part of Expedia Group.

Vrbo received the award for its 2023 Vacation Homes of the Year campaign. Launched globally in May 2023, the campaign aimed to highlight exceptional vacation rental inventory, inspire travel, and recognize outstanding Premier Hosts. It covered multiple countries, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, and Australia.

The campaign selected homes based on criteria like high star ratings, excellent reviews, Premier Host status, sought-after amenities, and quality photography. Vrbo’s intention was to showcase a variety of vacation homes across regions, property types, and price points, emphasizing that excellent vacation rentals are accessible to all.

From a PR perspective, the campaign generated significant national, local, travel, and lifestyle press coverage. Vrbo secured live broadcast segments with prominent morning shows in the U.S., Canada, and Australia to kick off the campaign. The social and influencer teams used video content to increase impressions and reach.

Email content featuring Vacation Homes of the Year performed exceptionally well, and the editorial teams planned a content series on these properties. The campaign also focused on providing marketing support to recognized hosts.

In 2023, the campaign achieved record-breaking results, securing positive feature stories and headlines in top-tier publications, exceeding social media benchmarks, and engaging influencers. The PR team implemented press trips to enhance media relations, resulting in media experiencing firsthand what makes these homes exceptional.

The campaign generated 600+ stories with a reach of 1.65B+, a 40 percent year-over-year increase, and garnered positive coverage in top-tier outlets. It launched with live broadcasts in multiple countries, and social media engagement exceeded benchmarks. Influencer content achieved remarkable reach and engagement.

Email marketing featuring Vacation Homes of the Year outperformed, and hosts were enthusiastic about the recognition, promoting it on their Vrbo listings and social media. The new PR tactic of hosting media press trips strengthened relationships and increased feature coverage.

Vrbo’s campaign successfully showcased outstanding vacation rentals and recognized Premier Hosts, achieving impressive results across multiple channels.