I appreciate your thoughts, Bubba.
From an owner perspective, the agreement was that the home owner paid to list on the site, some paid as much as $2000 annually per property. Expedia bought VRBO in December 2015, since that time there has been a cash grab with owner's still paying to list, but renters being charged a random amount between 5-12% on each booking. The charges and fees change frequently & with no notice, though there are no additional services being offered to merit the charge, many owners are quite frustrated as the OTA blocks contact info between guest and owner such that it may be difficult to make sure you are finding the best match for your needs. Essentially, it was not broken, things were great the way they were, but Expedia spent, literally, billions on the acquisition. They then changed the terms in the middle of the contract year.
Expedia is attempting to emulate AirBnB in many ways, yet AirBnB does not charge a listing fee. Each OTA has their pros & cons and I have no trouble accepting bookings from people who feel most comfortable with a 3rd party in the middle, if that is better for them. Since many WW people are repeat visitors, they have the opportunity to forge relationships directly with homeowners and not fear getting scammed as could be a concern with a long distance rental set up.