Vrbo More Than Doubled Some Hosts' Commissions and They're Not Happy

0:22Welcome back to the Skiff Daily Briefing. It's Thursday, October 8th. I'm Bailey Schulz, Skip's Global Tourism Reporter. Let's get into it. First up, Alaska Airlines wants to grow beyond Seattle. Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison told Skip the airline's biggest lever is sending more connecting passengers through Portland and saving Seattle for the Seattle locals. San Diego is also set to become a major hub. Seattle-Tacoma, Alaska's biggest hub, is expected to hit capacity by 2032. That could mean flight restrictions and higher fares. Portland is already Alaska's second-largest base. Since buying Hawaiian Airlines in 2024, Alaska has been trying to compete with American, Delta, and United.

1:03It's adding business class seats, launching its first premium economy cabin, and it's raised its 2030 target from 12 international destinations to 15. The push comes as Alaska grapples with some of the highest fuel prices in the airline industry, which wiped out the company's profit for the first half of 2026, and prompted the carrier to suspend 2026 guidance. Next up, Vrbo is facing a backlash from hosts. On October 29th, the Expedia-owned rental platform is set to transition to a flat 12 % host commission. That's more than double what some hosts pay now. Vrbo told property managers that the company raised commissions to be more competitive and remove friction from guest fees.

1:44Booking.com hasn't charged guest fees on rentals for years, and Airbnb dropped them late last year. Verbo says its traveler fee, now 11 % to 14%, will usually be lower, but it will move up and down with market conditions. There are other sore spots. Hosts who let Verbo handle payments won't get paid until the guest checks in, and hosts got just one month's notice. But a source says Verbo is backing off one roll, and hosts will still be able to offer cheaper rates on their own websites. And finally, Disney's annual price hikes are out. Disneyland's cheapest one-day ticket stays at$104, where it's been since 2019.

2:22Middle-tier tickets are up$5. And for the first time since tiered pricing launched in 2016, the top one-day ticket isn't going up. That stays at$224. Increases are largely concentrated on the extras. Park Hopper add-ons go up$5. Disney World's peak tickets are up$10. And the top price for the Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which lets guests skip the line without booking return time, is up$50. CFO Hugh Johnston says Disney wants an on-ramp for young families who will spend more as their wealth grows. So far, attendance and spending continues to climb. Attendance at U.S. parks was up 3 % last quarter, and spending per guest was up 4%.

3:02That's it for your Skift Daily Briefing. For more travel industry news, visit skift.com and sign for our newsletter at skift.com backslash daily.