VRBO Questions

With VRBO, Airbnb, or any other listing sites the prices will be different for different dates - some times are more in demand than others so the prices will be higher. The prices on the initial pop-up are the average rate for the unit. You won't know the exact price until you enter your date and see the exact conditions of the rental agreement.
Premier partners are often listings that are run by professional rental agencies for individual owners. They have multiple properties they manage that have good reviews as a group. I have rented some of these without reviews and they have been fine. You have to know, though, if this is the case. I would never rent from an individual owner that has no reviews. Just my personal preference based on a couple of iffy experiences.
August is prime season for the alps...especially that part of the alps. I'm sure the prices for the limited number of apartments in that part of Switzerland are generally more expensive during the height of summer. I know that there are several recommendations for lodging in Rick's books for that part of the alps - not sure if they will work for a family of four but it's worth looking into.

Have you tried the AirBnb site? Many are listed on both but I find the site much easier to use. Generally the prices listed, at least on AirBnb, are only accurate if you have the dates of your stay input. That brings up the right prices. Also the prices are generally rounded to the next Dollar/Euro so there will be slight changes up and down once the booking is made.

I have found that if I have the dates of my stay input on AirBnb that the prices shown on the Map tags are accurate.

IF you try AirBnb site be sure you input all the relevant options as this will narrow down what is truly available on any given date that fits your needs.

I have tried VRBO which is just another platform for short term rentals like AirBnb and used by many of the same hosts, but the site and it’s quirks frustrated me, though I have checked to see if prices were lower there.

I prefer places with reviews, but I have hired a place that was newly built and therefore didn’t have any reviews and it was one of the best places that we have rented.

The VRBO website isn’t very user friendly, I agree. It was “improved” a year or so ago and now doesn’t work as well as it did. Unless you put in your travel dates, it shows average prices.

Airbnb tends to be c 25% more expensive than VRBO for the same place. Unfortunately, you want to stay in one of the most expensive countries in Europe in peak season and your trip is only 3 months away, when much of the accommodation will have been taken months ago. However, I would also look at Trip Advisor rentals and Booking.com, which I have used successfully and I would start here rather than Airbnb.

Thank you all, your input is very much appreciated.

I always try to use the local tourist board. In general, I find Germany and Austria are best for this, then France and Britain. The lake district near Wengen (Thun, Brienze) has plenty of listings on their websites, here's two for Wengen:

https://wengen.swiss/en/winter/eat-stay/#category153

http://www.wengen.com/hotapa.html

The extra fees on VRBO can be negotiated with the owner, especially for longer stays and in off season. It is always worth a try. Say I find a property I am interestedly in that is listed at €150/night, but when I get the quote for 4 nights it comes to €800, not the expected €600. I will contact the owner and ask if they will rent to for the €600, I.e., posted per night price. I have had good luck with this but we usually stay a week and travel in shoulder season.

The local tourism sites mentioned by Gunderson.are also a source of properties that do not use VRBO or Airbnb.

You may find that places listed on the local community website are weekly rentals, usually Saturday to Saturday. At least that has been my experience in Switzerland. Three of the four places I checked at random on the Wengen link proved this out. Even if the price is quoted per night, if you click through you will see that is for a full week. The fourth did not offer online booking so I could not tell.

We are going this summer and have rented two apartments in Switzerland, one for 4 nights and one for six. The four-night place was listed as a weekly rental on the community website, it I googled the name of the chalet and found it listed on Air B and B with a 4- night minimum. So we took it.

The other apartment (in Mürren) I found on Tripadvisor, , under Vacation Rentals. I have rented through this website before and like the process and the communication pathway.