We believe every guest deserves to enjoy their stay in privacy. This policy outlines the limited situations when hosts may enter a vacation rental space during a guest’s stay.   

Hosts can only enter the vacation rental space during a stay in two situations:  

• if there’s an active emergency, or  
• if they’ve requested and received advance permission from a guest in order to resolve a time-sensitive problem.  

An active emergency could include scenarios where first responders are needed immediately, such as a fire or suspected criminal activity. It is not subjective or based on a host’s opinion of what they deem urgent.  

Non-emergency situations that may require a host to enter the vacation rental space include utility maintenance or repairs that cannot wait until after the guest’s stay has finished, such as a broken water heater. In these cases, hosts may only enter the vacation rental space with the guest’s explicit consent. They must ask in advance, clearly stating their reason for coming, the time of their visit, and how long they aim to be there. Hosts must also do their best to keep the visit short. 

During a stay, hosts may access common areas or exterior spaces that aren’t part of the vacation rental space, such as a tool shed. They do not need guests’ consent to do this, but they must let them know in advance and be respectful of their privacy.  A host’s interaction with guests outside of the vacation rental space does not constitute a shared space violation (such as community pools, recreation areas, common condominium hallways leading to the vacation rental, etc.). For more information on what type of space you can expect to have access to when booking a vacation rental on Vrbo, please refer to our Shared Spaces policy.

If we are made aware of a possible violation of this policy, we will investigate and take appropriate action, including suspension or termination.