Vrbo damage protection vs. a damage program
The $59–$119 tiers, the deposit option, and what a program you run adds
Vrbo gives hosts two ways to handle guest damage: a protection plan the guest buys, or a deposit you set. Both are better than nothing and both stop at the Vrbo booking. Here is how they compare with a damage program you control.
By Andrew Bate, Co-founderReviewed by Stuart BateUpdated
In short
Vrbo damage protection is a guest-purchased plan — $59 for $1,500 of coverage, $89 for $3,000, $119 for $5,000 — that reimburses accidental damage on that Vrbo stay if you report it within 14 days of checkout. The alternative inside Vrbo is a refundable deposit held as a card on file. A damage program replaces both with a fee you set and keep, applied to every channel, with insurance above your retention instead of a per-stay cap.
What Vrbo damage protection covers
Vrbo calls it Property Damage Protection. The guest picks a tier when booking; the tier is the most the plan will reimburse for accidental damage during that stay. Figures are Vrbo's published tiers as of 2026-09-09.
Guest pays
for up to $1,500 of accidental damage
Guest pays
for up to $3,000 of accidental damage
Guest pays
for up to $5,000 of accidental damage
- Covers accidental damage to the home during the covered Vrbo stay, up to the tier
- You must document and report the damage within 14 days of checkout
- Applies only to the stay where the guest chose the plan — never to Airbnb or direct bookings
- The alternative is a refundable damage deposit; Vrbo holds a card on file for deposits up to $5,000 and charges larger ones at booking
- Liability is separate: Vrbo's liability program covers eligible third-party claims on Vrbo stays up to $1M at no cost
Protection plan vs. deposit vs. damage program
Three ways to handle the same broken lamp — and the same $20,000 flood.
| Feature | Vrbo damage protection | Vrbo damage deposit | Velaris damage program |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays | The guest, at booking | The guest — held, then refunded | The guest pays a fee you set ($69–$199); you keep it |
| Amount available for damage | $1,500, $3,000 or $5,000 depending on the tier the guest chose | Whatever you set; Vrbo holds a card on file up to $5,000 | Your retention, then insurance above it — not a per-stay cap |
| Applies to | That Vrbo stay only | That Vrbo stay only | Every reservation synced from your PMS: Vrbo, Airbnb, Booking.com, direct |
| Time to report damage | 14 days after checkout | 14 days after checkout | Documented at turnover, on your process |
| Who decides | Vrbo | You claim; guest can dispute | Velaris, from your dashboard, typically within 2 business days |
| Effect on conversion | An extra $59–$119 line the guest chooses | A hold that price-sensitive guests abandon over | One modest, non-refundable line on every channel |
| Revenue to the operator | None | None — the money goes back | Fee revenue minus expected damage and $9 per reservation |
| Liability, guest injury, company coverage, COIs | Separate: Vrbo's $1M liability program covers third-party claims on Vrbo stays | No | Included in the same program |
Is Vrbo damage protection worth it?
The guest already pays about $89 for the middle tier. The question is where that money goes. Here is the same $89 charge on 500 reservations a year, under each option. Everyday damage is set at the calculator’s default of $17.50 per reservation, roughly $4.40 a night on a four-night stay.
| Line | Vrbo protection, $89 tier | Vrbo damage deposit | Velaris program, $89 fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the guest pays at booking | $89 to Vrbo's protection provider | Nothing — a $500 hold that is refunded | $89 to your program |
| Guest payments over 500 reservations | $44,500, none of it yours | $0 | $44,500, collected by you |
| Reservations it applies to | Vrbo bookings only | Vrbo bookings only | All 500 — Vrbo, Airbnb, Booking.com, direct |
| Everyday damage, $17.50 per reservation | Paid by the plan on Vrbo stays, up to $3,000; yours everywhere else | Claimed from the hold, if the guest does not dispute it | $8,750 paid from program funds |
| The $20,000 flood | $3,000 from the plan; $17,000 yours | $500 from the hold; $19,500 yours | Your retention, then the insurer |
| Program administration | None | None | $4,500 ($9 × 500) |
| What you keep at year end | $0 | $0 | $31,250 |
So: worth it for a single-channel owner who would otherwise have nothing, because it costs the owner nothing. Not a strategy for a manager, because the same guest charge run as a program covers every channel and leaves the fee revenue in the business. Figures are illustrative and exclude premium for insurance above your retention; below the retention, damage costs are yours.
What the other “is it worth it” guides leave out
Most guides to Vrbo damage protection are written for a host with one listing and end by recommending the author’s own product. Three things change when the reader manages a portfolio.
For the vendor-policy side of that comparison, see Velaris vs. Truvi; for the Airbnb side, see AirCover vs. host insurance.
What a program adds for a property manager
Vrbo's protection stops at the Vrbo booking. The Airbnb guest and the direct-booking guest arrive with nothing unless you run your own program.
Under Vrbo's tiers the guest pays Vrbo's provider. Under a program the guest pays you; expected damage comes out of program funds and the rest is margin.
A $5,000 tier is a ceiling. A program pays everyday damage from fee revenue and hands a $20,000 flood to the insurer above your retention.
Turnover teams document damage the day the guest leaves. There is no race to file before a deadline or before the next check-in.
The mechanics of the fee, the retention and the insured layer are on the damage waiver program page; the economics for a 1,000-reservation year are worked through on the security deposit alternatives page.
Vrbo damage protection questions
How does Vrbo damage protection work?
At booking, the guest chooses a Property Damage Protection tier: $59 for $1,500 of accidental-damage coverage, $89 for $3,000, or $119 for $5,000. If the guest damages the home, you document and report it within 14 days of checkout and the program reimburses you up to the tier. It covers that Vrbo stay only. Alternatively you can set a refundable damage deposit, which Vrbo holds as a card on file for amounts up to $5,000.
Should a property manager rely on Vrbo damage protection?
For an owner with one home listed only on Vrbo, yes — it costs you nothing and removes the deposit hold. For a property manager it is a backstop, not a strategy: it covers one channel, caps at the tier, gives you 14 days, and sends the fee to Vrbo's provider rather than to you. A damage waiver program does the same job on every channel with the fee staying in your business.
Vrbo damage protection or a damage deposit — which should I choose?
If you are staying inside Vrbo's options, protection converts better than a deposit: a $59 line reads as normal, a $500 hold reads as risk. Deposits also invite disputes and chargebacks. If you run a PMS, the third option is to charge a program fee through the PMS and leave both Vrbo products as secondary — the fee applies uniformly and is disclosed at checkout.
Does Vrbo damage protection cover liability?
No. Liability is separate: Vrbo's liability insurance program provides up to $1M for eligible third-party injury or property-damage claims on stays booked through Vrbo, at no cost to the host. It does not cover damage to your own home, stays booked elsewhere, or your management company, and it cannot produce a certificate of insurance in your name. See Vrbo insurance for the full picture.
Is Vrbo damage protection enough?
For an owner with one home who only takes Vrbo bookings and never sees damage above the tier a guest chose, it can be. For everyone else it is not: the cap is the guest's tier ($1,500, $3,000 or $5,000), damage has to be reported within 14 days, stays booked on Airbnb, Booking.com or your own site are not covered at all, nothing pays for lost booking income while a home is repaired, and the fee goes to Vrbo's provider rather than into your program. A property manager needs one protection layer on every reservation regardless of channel, plus liability and company coverage; Vrbo's product cannot be that layer.
Can I use Vrbo damage protection and a Velaris program together?
Yes. Many operators leave Vrbo's products available and run the Velaris program as the primary layer. In practice the program handles the claim — it is faster, it isn't capped at a tier, and the fee is yours — while Vrbo's protection remains a secondary option on Vrbo stays.
Does Vrbo cover property damage for hosts?
Only through the damage deposit or the damage protection plan attached to a specific Vrbo booking. Vrbo's separate liability program covers third-party injury and property damage claims, not damage to the host's own property.
Can I require my own damage waiver on Vrbo?
Yes. Managers add the waiver as a mandatory fee through their PMS so it applies to Vrbo reservations the same way it does everywhere else, and the Vrbo plan becomes an optional guest add-on rather than the plan of record.
Running Vrbo homes on a deposit or the guest-paid tiers?
Bring your Vrbo share, your damage history and your channels. We'll show you what a program fee does to the numbers — and whether it beats what you have.
Model My Program