Search VRBO (Vrbo / Expedia Group) vacation rentals including entire homes, condos, and cabins via Patchright browser automation.

MITAuto-check passedProductivity & Automation

Install Vrbo

skills CLI
$ npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill vrbo -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install borski/travel-hacking-toolkit vrbo --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/vrbo .claude/skills/vrbo && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
vrbo
GitHub stars
688
Token cost
~1.7k tokens
SKILL.md length
657 words
Files
5 (incl. scripts)
Skills in repo
46
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Search VRBO (Vrbo / Expedia Group) vacation rentals including entire homes, condos, and cabins via Patchright browser automation.

  • Multi-bedroom rentals
  • SKILL.md covers Prerequisites, When to Use, When NOT to Use and Usage, plus 3 more sections
  • Runs Python and Shell scripts from its folder; calls python3, docker and pip; reaches vrbo.com
  • Airbnb-vs-VRBO comparisons

What it does

Vrbo is an agent skill from borski/travel-hacking-toolkit. Search VRBO (Vrbo / Expedia Group) vacation rentals including entire homes, condos, and cabins via Patchright browser automation. VRBO sits behind Akamai Bot Manager so plain HTTP and standard Playwright get a 429 bot wall. Use for whole-home or group stays, multi-bedroom rentals, and Airbnb-vs-VRBO comparisons. Trigger phrases include search VRBO, Vrbo rentals, vacation rental, cabin rental, whole house, condo for the group.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.7k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 6 other files, including scripts (for example `scripts/entrypoint.sh`, `scripts/search_vrbo.py` and `tests/test_search_vrbo.py`).

It sits in Productivity & Automation, covering Browser automation and Browser testing. It works with Playwright and Model Context Protocol. The repository describes itself as: AI-powered travel hacking and search with cash, points, miles, and award flights. Drop-in skills and MCP servers for Claude, Codex, and OpenCode. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Multi-bedroom rentals
  • Airbnb-vs-VRBO comparisons
  • Phrases include search VRBO
  • Vacation rental

Example prompts

  • “/vrbo”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • A Bash shell
  • Docker

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit db82131. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 2 files in scripts/ (Python and Shell), which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • python3
    • docker
    • pip

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

    • vrbo.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Vrbo loads about 1.7k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 109 tokens; SKILL.md has 657 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~109
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.7k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from borski/travel-hacking-toolkit at commit db82131, republished under its MIT licence (© borski). 657 words, ~1,731 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/vrbo/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 4 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
vrbo
description
Search VRBO (Vrbo / Expedia Group) vacation rentals including entire homes, condos, and cabins via Patchright browser automation. VRBO sits behind Akamai Bot Manager so plain HTTP and standard Playwright get a 429 bot wall. Use for whole-home or group stays, multi-bedroom rentals, and Airbnb-vs-VRBO comparisons. Trigger phrases include search VRBO, Vrbo rentals, vacation rental, cabin rental, whole house, condo for the group.
category
hotels
summary
VRBO whole-home, condo, and cabin search via Patchright. Complements Airbnb for group stays.
api_key
None (requires Patchright)
docker_image
ghcr.io/borski/vrbo

Search VRBO vacation rentals via Patchright and return whole-home / condo / cabin listings with pricing and booking links. VRBO is the natural complement to the Airbnb MCP for group and family stays — many mountain-town and resort property managers cross-list on both, but VRBO carries professionally-managed condos and cabins that don't always appear on Airbnb.

Requires Patchright (undetected Playwright fork). VRBO sits behind Akamai Bot Manager — plain HTTP, standard Playwright, @playwright/mcp, and agent-browser all get a 429 Too Many Requests ("Provisioned request rate has been exceeded") bot wall. Patchright passes Akamai's sensor and earns the _abck cookie. This is the same wall — and the same fix — as the chase-travel / amex-travel / southwest skills.

Must run headed (headless=False). Akamai flags headless browsers. On macOS a Chrome window briefly appears. For background / unattended runs, use Docker (Xvfb provides the virtual display).

No login required. VRBO search results are public — unlike chase-travel / amex-travel, there are no credentials. The persistent profile only caches the Akamai cookie so repeat searches re-challenge less.

Prerequisites

bash
pip install patchright && patchright install chromium

Or use Docker (no local install, headed via Xvfb):

bash
docker build -t vrbo skills/vrbo/

When to Use

  • Group / family stays where you want a whole home, condo, or cabin
  • "Compare Airbnb vs VRBO in <place>"
  • Multi-bedroom rentals with separate rooms (the multi-person trip pattern)
  • Resort / mountain towns (Canmore, Banff-area, Whistler, Muskoka) where professional property managers list condos on VRBO that aren't on Airbnb

When NOT to Use

  • Completing a booking. This skill finds rentals and returns links only. Do not attempt to complete a purchase.
  • Hotels. Use compare-hotels / serpapi / liteapi / the portal skills.
  • Single rooms / shared rooms. VRBO is whole-property only; for private rooms in a shared home use the Airbnb MCP (private_room).

Usage

bash
# Local (pops up a Chrome window on macOS)
python3 skills/vrbo/scripts/search_vrbo.py \
  --dest "Canmore, Alberta, Canada" \
  --checkin 2026-06-26 --checkout 2026-07-02 --adults 3 --json

# Whole homes with 3+ bedrooms
python3 skills/vrbo/scripts/search_vrbo.py \
  --dest "Canmore, Alberta" --checkin 2026-06-26 --checkout 2026-07-02 \
  --adults 3 --min-bedrooms 3 --json

# Docker (headless host, headed browser via Xvfb)
docker run --rm vrbo \
  --dest "Canmore, Alberta" --checkin 2026-06-26 --checkout 2026-07-02 \
  --adults 3 --json
Arguments
FlagDefaultNotes
--destrequiredDestination keyword, e.g. "Canmore, Alberta, Canada". VRBO resolves it to a regionId server-side.
--checkin / --checkoutrequiredISO YYYY-MM-DD. Must be today or later.
--adults2Traveler count.
--children0
--petsoffPet-friendly only.
--min-bedrooms0Client-side filter (VRBO's URL filter is unreliable).
--limit20Max listings returned.
--retries4Akamai retry attempts (homepage warm-up → SERP).
--jsonoffEmit JSON to stdout (use this for orchestration).
Show full SKILL.md (310 more words)Show less

Output

JSON shape (with --json):

json
{
  "source": "vrbo",
  "extractor": "__PLUS_REDUX_STORE__ | dom:lodging-card | dom:anchors",
  "searchUrl": "https://www.vrbo.com/search?...",
  "count": 12,
  "listings": [
    {
      "id": "1234567",
      "name": "Mountain-View Condo Steps from Main St",
      "bedrooms": 3, "bathrooms": 2, "sleeps": 6,
      "rating": 4.9, "reviewCount": 84,
      "priceText": "The current price is CA $312 CA $312 CA $2,184 total includes taxes & fees",
      "pricePerNight": 312, "priceTotal": 2184, "priceIncludesTaxes": true,
      "lat": 51.08, "lng": -115.35,
      "url": "https://www.vrbo.com/en-ca/cottage-rental/p1234567?..."
    }
  ]
}

extractor tells you which layer produced the data. __PLUS_REDUX_STORE__ is richest (bedrooms, coords, review counts); dom:lodging-card is reliable but thinner (the common case — names, prices, URLs); dom:anchors is a last-ditch id+url scrape — if you see that, the page shape changed and selectors need a refresh (file a P2 task).

Prices: the SERP price string is parsed into pricePerNight and priceTotal. Verified against live data: VRBO's SERP total includes taxes & fees (priceIncludesTaxes: true) — priceTotal is the all-in for the whole stay, pricePerNight is the lead nightly rate. This satisfies the hotel-comparison standard's all-in requirement directly; still open the listing URL to confirm before booking, since a damage deposit or optional add-ons may not be in the SERP figure.

Tests

The pure logic (search-URL building, Akamai block/challenge detection, SERP price parsing, skeleton filtering, listing enrichment) is covered by stdlib unittest tests — no browser, network, or Patchright needed (the patchright import is lazy):

bash
python3 -m unittest discover -s skills/vrbo/tests -v   # or: python3 -m pytest skills/vrbo/tests

17 tests, no third-party deps. The browser-driven path (Akamai bypass, DOM extraction) can't be unit-tested without a live residential connection — verify it manually with a real search (see Usage above). The repo smoke test (scripts/smoke-test.sh) separately validates this skill's frontmatter and structure.

Known fragility

  • Akamai is IP-rate-limited. Datacenter / CI / VPN IPs are frequently blocked even with Patchright. Run on a residential connection for best results. If every retry 429s, the script exits 1 with a clear message — that is an environment block, not a code bug. In practice a home/mobile/hotel-WiFi IP clears the wall, but rapid repeat searches from the same IP can start 429-ing — space searches a few minutes apart, and don't loop it in a tight batch.
  • DOM selectors drift. VRBO/Expedia revise their data-stid design system periodically. The extractor tries the embedded state blob first (most stable), then data-stid cards, then a generic anchor scrape. If extractor is dom:anchors, refresh the Layer-1/2 selectors.

© borski, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (scripts) in plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/vrbo of borski/travel-hacking-toolkit.

  • SKILL.md
  • Dockerfile
  • scripts/entrypoint.sh
  • scripts/search_vrbo.py
  • tests/test_search_vrbo.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit db82131

Compare with similar skills

Vrbo next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Vrbo compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Vrbo this skillborski/travel-hacking-toolkit688—~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Browser UseQwenLM/qwen-code-examples143—~451Automated safety check: PassNone
Browser Useaiskillstore/marketplace430—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Cdp Connectadobe/skills196—~847Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Lightpandalightpanda-io/agent-skill101—~6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Anti Detect Browserantibrow/anti-detect-browser-skills932—~9.8kAutomated safety check: WarnMIT

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Questions about Vrbo

What does Vrbo do?

Search VRBO (Vrbo / Expedia Group) vacation rentals including entire homes, condos, and cabins via Patchright browser automation. Vrbo is an agent skill from borski/travel-hacking-toolkit. Search VRBO (Vrbo / Expedia Group) vacation rentals including entire homes, condos, and cabins via Patchright browser automation.

When should I use Vrbo?

Vrbo fits situations like: multi-bedroom rentals; airbnb-vs-VRBO comparisons; phrases include search VRBO; vacation rental.

How do I install Vrbo in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill vrbo -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/vrbo in borski/travel-hacking-toolkit) into .claude/skills/vrbo in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Vrbo in Codex?

Run `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill vrbo -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/vrbo in borski/travel-hacking-toolkit) into .agents/skills/vrbo in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Vrbo in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill vrbo -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/vrbo, .gemini/skills/vrbo, .github/skills/vrbo and .opencode/skills/vrbo in your project.

What does Vrbo need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Vrbo needs Python and a shell for the scripts in its folder and the command-line tools its instructions call (python3, docker and pip). Our summary lists: Python 3; A Bash shell; Docker.

Does Vrbo access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: vrbo.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Vrbo safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Vrbo use?

Vrbo is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Vrbo use?

About 1.7k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Vrbo?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Vrbo: Browser Use (QwenLM/qwen-code-examples, 143 stars), Browser Use (aiskillstore/marketplace, 430 stars), Cdp Connect (adobe/skills, 196 stars) and Lightpanda (lightpanda-io/agent-skill, 101 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Vrbo?

borski (a GitHub user) maintains it in borski/travel-hacking-toolkit, which has 688 GitHub stars. The repository holds 46 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 5, 2026.

Source: borski/travel-hacking-toolkit on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.