Book a vacation rental through Airbnb, VRBO or Booking.com, and a slice of what you pay goes to the platform. The platforms charge the owner too, and owners often price that cost into the nightly rate. The same home booked directly with the manager can cost noticeably less. I worked through the math on one condo, booked four different ways. The numbers are from Vail, but the pattern holds for a beach house in the Carolinas or a villa in Tuscany. Read the full breakdown →