Vrbo is a vacation rental marketplace founded in 1995 as Vacation Rentals by Owner, now operating as part of Expedia Group. The company rebranded from the all-caps “VRBO” to “Vrbo” in March 2019, introducing a new logo, capitalization and pronunciation of “ver-boh.”
Design and History
The 2019 rebrand was announced on March 26, 2019, alongside new tools for planning trips with families and friends. The new logo was described as “a fluidly intertwined series of stripes that form the brand’s name,” with the stripes representing “bringing people together on vacation and the variety of trips people take.” The colors were “inspired by common hues seen when traveling” and were designed to be adaptable, allowing the logo to represent different people, countries and causes.[1]
The logo was designed by Austin-based boutique design studio FÖDA. The studio described the previous mark as “a traditional, sans-serif wordmark” and the new design as “a bold, colorful and vibrant logo in a Prismatic typeface,” inspired by what reminds travelers of Vrbo in the first place: vacations.[2]
According to Lish Kennedy, Vrbo’s vice president of global brand marketing, the company noticed that many customers were already pronouncing the name “ver-boh” instead of “V-R-B-O.” Research showed that “ver-boh” was easier to remember and easier to pronounce in other languages, so the company officially changed the pronunciation. The rebrand also reflected that Vrbo had become “both a household name in travel and a modern technology company.”[3]
In an interview with Forbes, a Vrbo representative explained that “everything about the new logo and visual identity is inspired by travel: the stripes in the new logo represent paths that bring people together, and the striped pattern was inspired by recurring sights seen during travel like the stripes on a beach umbrella or the curving routes of a road trip.”[4]
The rebrand also incorporated HomeAway into Vrbo. HomeAway had acquired VRBO in 2006, and Expedia Group acquired HomeAway in 2015. By focusing on Vrbo as the primary vacation rental brand, the company could “make a much greater impact and reach more customers on a global scale.”[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The intertwined stripes in the Vrbo logo carry two documented meanings: they represent bringing people together on vacation, and they represent the variety of trips people take.[1] The striped pattern was inspired by recurring travel sights such as beach umbrellas and the curving routes of road trips.[4]
The logo was designed to be “responsive,” adapting to different formats and mobile devices, and is “full color.”[5] The colors were inspired by common hues seen when traveling and were intentionally made adaptable so the logo could represent different people, countries and causes.[1]
Typography and Design
The 2019 logo uses a typeface called Prismatic, as identified by design studio FÖDA, which created the mark.[2] The letterforms are constructed from fluidly intertwined stripes that form the brand name.[1]
Expedia Group’s brand guidelines note that the name “should never be pronounced as individual letters and should always be written as Vrbo, never in all caps.”[6]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
