VRBO
Reviews and Complaints

This property is NOT as pictured! Rented this "cabin" largly because of the outdoor spaces that were available for use. The entire property appears run down, not well maintained, trashy/junky. We walked down to what was supposed to be a lush green courtyard and found mostly dirt and a giant pile of dog poop that had been there for awhile. The water feature was mostly dried up with its pump running and sucking air. The inside of the cabin appeared clean and reasonably appointed. We had invited some friends to visit as I thought from website pictures that it would be a charming, fun place to entertain but instead I was embarrased.
I feel quite foolish and ripped off that I spent $334 dollars. We could have stayed in a very nice hotel for that amount of money.
Because Vrbo does take a portion of the money for representing this property I will not be using your services in the future.

Susan Starr Morrison
[protected]@gmail.com

On 7/5 we rented a house from Vrbo. When initiating the search, we specifically asked for "entire house" availability/ access. This particular house we rented "described" the best options for us, as we were 8 people—including children aged 13 & under.
Shortly after we arrived, we realized the home's description was grossly exaggerated and misleading. While the outdoor area was as described (i.e. pool, basketball half-court), the rest of the space allocated for Vrbo use was 100% misrepresented. We had about 40O square feet of indoor use—solely consisting of a sleeping area. One of the 3 bathrooms described was an outdoor pool shower. In order to access this particular "bathroom" we'd have to go outdoors—in pouring rain, if such was the circumstance—to use it. One of the bedrooms was inside a closet, with a rod still hanging atop an air mattress, with zero ventilation and only a floor fan at the foot of the air mattress. This obviously presented many safety hazards for the children that would have had to sleep there. We had zero indoor dining area, zero indoor kitchen or refrigerator, zero indoor common areas. These options were on a third level, completely outdoors and only accessible through various outdoor staircases. There was no handicap accessibility for this property. Not only was this experience inhumane; it was discriminatory. None of the discrepancies we encountered, once having arrived at this property, were ever depicted on the original description for this property at the time we rented it.
On Vrbo the property described rentor would be "in & out". What this actually meant was that the rentors are living on the top half of the house, which, according to our search & results of Vrbo's description of "entire house", we were supposed to have full access to. These owners have full and complete access to the area set aside for renters at any time. There is no lock from the guest's side on the limited bottom floor allocated for Vrbo use, There is nothing preventing these complete strangers from coming into this "rented" area—at any time. This is a safety hazard being that children were going to be sleeping there. The largest bedroom didn't even have a door. None of this is explained on the property description.
Twenty minutes after we arrived at this property, we realized it was inhabitable for us and completely misrepresented on Vrbo. The renter agreed on site to a full refund and asked us to "initiate the process". This renter has been 100% unresponsive. We have contacted Vrbo numerous times. Vrbo has basically dumped us and refused to intervene and help us acquire the refund we rightfully deserve. It cannot be possible that there is nothing protecting a rentee from cases such as these. Regardless of the "60 day cancelation time" requirement, there must be a caveat that also protects a rentee when, as in our case, the renter has been so unequivocally unresponsive.
Keeping our money is nothing short of theft, by the rentor and by Vrbo. Vrbo does not offer any protection to the rentee clients. Vrbo is fully responsible for the safety of all its renters--specifically when children and/ or handicap persons are involved. This property was completely misrepresented and we fully expect to be compensated accordingly for this disaster. Whatever Vrbo needs to restructure and/ or revise as a company, as far as the free-will and self-governance of rentors, is the full responsibility of Vrbo as a business that advertises these properties and allows this practice to take place at will.
We will not accept anything less than a full and complete refund for having been duped by Vrbo and these rentors, whom have purposely misrepresent their property and stolen our money.
We expect your immediate attention. This is a very serious matter. This is a matter of principal and we expect Vrbo to do the right thing for a renter. Our vacation was completely ruined in 20 minutes thanks to all the discrepancies on the description of this property. Our children were crying the entire way back to another city. This cost us additional money in last minute accommodations.
We have had various email exchanges with Vrbo without a resolution. We have been left on hold for over 45 minutes; then subsequently disconnected. The costumer service tactics of Vrbo are shameful. We have tried to contact the property owner, whom is completely unresponsive.
To add further insult to injury, this rentor has gone as far as to give us a low rating--even though we were there for 20 minutes and departed this property on very cordial terms. All for the simple fact that we have been trying to obtain our refund and he has been completely unresponsive. This should serve as further proof of the type of rentor/ property owner we are dealing with here. We have attached the only pictures we were allowed to take, as we were being followed by the rentor's wife the entire time we were there.
The property in question is: Carr 2 m 93.7, Camuy, PR 00627. The rentor's name is: Jay Roberson. Reservation I.D.: HA-DQWQ2C, Property I.D.: 1289764

We rented a condo from Celeste Baily through VRBO. Celeste Baily. Bless her heart she is trying to make some coin and must be unaware what has happened to her property. Upon our arrival we were unable to gain entry, as the lockbox (according to the housekeeper) jams all the time. When we finally gained entry it was clear that the cleaning crew had not visited. There were remnants of food and stickiness on the table, thick dust on the curtains, wooden floor and the upstairs bathroom is caked in gunk around the tub and tiles. The master bedroom mattress pad through to the mattress had urine and blood on it. A crunchy sticky substance had dried on the carpet just next to the bed. We can only assume it was a certain body fluid from the appearance and how it felt when I stepped in it in my stocking feet. Miss Baily was out of town in Belize. Repeated texting between her, the housekeeper and her friends and neighbors went on into the night and next day. To her credit she offered us the opportunity to leave the premises and go to the $400 a night Marina down the street. As we had been driving all day and due at a funeral the next, in pj's and suffering the hell of chronic illness we packed our exhausted bodies onto the couch and the second bed. We cleaned up the best we could, grit our teeth and sucked it up. I documented all of the broken, scarred dirty gross goings on for Ms Bailey and texted them to her. Our priority was a gathering of loved ones, friends and family to lay a young woman to rest, not apartment hopping in the pursuit of comfort. We were told by Miss Bailey's friends that a mattress cover and mattress would be arranged for the following day. It was so gracious of them to interrupt their relaxing glasses of wine to pop over. Unfortunately the following day upon speaking with JoAnne the housekeeper we discovered that a new mattress pad to hid the blood and urine was what was in fact being offered. We departed o dark thirty to begin the journey home to mourn and decompress. After mulling it over I called Vrbo for guidance. Much to my dismay I realized I had handled this poorly and should have contacted Vrbo immediately. I wish Ms Bailey well and hope she is able to return her property to the glory it must have had back in the day. This has never happened to me when traveling and utilizing Vrbo. I think this was an isolated incident. Time to move on, lesson learned. UPDATED 7/11/19 My deposit has yet to be refunded. emails to Ms Bailey and calls to VRBO have resulted in "check is in the mail" type of response.
Date of arrival - June 28, 2019 Checkout June 30th.

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I signed up. Didn't like it and tried to delete my account. You get treated terribly. They tell you that you need to wait 6 months after a stay to delete.
No where in their Terms and Conditions do they state this policy. The customer service person says that they can change any terms of their policy anytime they like. Apparently they think that they can do this "on the fly" with no documentation of their supposedly new policies.

I will never use Vrbo again.

On December 28, 2018 I received a confirmation, reservation ID RES-70375, Property ID 1163066. I was charged a service fee by VRBO and paid directly to VRBO $443.00 for this rental. Since I paid for a rental in Newport, Or. that I didn't get, and could not be delivered, I am requesting a refund of that amount. The condo that we ended up with was thru Meredith Properties in a different town, Lincoln City.

Gary Thomas

I actually have no anticipation of resolution, my complaint already rejected by the owner, which is the only option VRBO offers. Our experience was in Kihei, HI 12/24/18-1/7/19. We arrived on Christmas Eve to a shabby, ground floor unit with a view of construction staging equipment due to major property renovation - not revealed at booking - and the parking lot a car's length away. Not the beautiful upper floor unit with an unobstructed view of the ocean steps from the property that was offered. VRBO did nothing to stand behind us when the owner refused any kind of compensation. I closed my account, which only means it's "hidden, " not deleted; and advise anyone considering booking through VRBO to reconsider, or at the very least only opt for a property owned by someone with many positive reviews.

I am still in the midst of a VRBO nightmare. I made a reservation for a 100% fully refundable property (as long as it was canceled within 30 days of arrival.) I canceled it the same day, three months prior to arrival. It's now been two and a half months, and I still have not received my refund in full. VRBO is saying that they can't give me the refund in full until they speak to the property owner live. The property owner is saying that she refunded all that they gave her. I've called four times - each call results in over 40 minutes with no resolution. I am at my wit's end. One of the VRBO reps talked to me like I am trash at the bottom of the garbage pile. No apology for the hassle, no offer to help. Just a total fear of standing behind their own policy and a refusal to honor the 100% refund.

I have been well treated by customer service but am unhappy generally with inadaquate disclosure of credit card transaction fee. Intiial communication on 4/20/19 indicated I'd be paid $1308. But the disbursement accounting on 5/28 then springs the debit for credit card tranaction fee of $39.24. VRBO knew this fee would be charged on 4/20 but failed to disclose it. listing 343554 For your 10% fee, the credit card transaction fee should be included since you're often making 3-6 months interest on funds paid you

April 13, 2019 I arrived at condo rental contracted through VRBO. The unit was described as high quality but turned out to be the opposite: dirty, rundown and in disrepair, and I could not stay there. Problems included mold on the shower curtain, pet hair on the couch, cracked and broken floor tiles, deeply stained carpet etc. When I complained to VRBO I was told that VRBO could do nothing but note the complaint, and encourage the owner to address the issue. Meanwhile the unit owner denied there was a problem and made no effort to address my concerns. VRBO/Homeaway has no policy in place to deal with cases where an owner gets the renter's money but doesn't provide the service promised. That is a real failing of VRBO's model: it takes fees from owners and renters but is not responsible for the ensuring a good rental result. In terms of the condo I rented, other potential renters might face a similar problem should they rent the unit described. The VRBO Property ID# for the unit is 374799 and the address is 4705 Wild Iris Dr Apt 201 Myrtle Beach SC 29577-8725

I offered to rent unit #1452756 / unit_2011339 in pinetop arizona, for the memorial day weekend. This unit is either owned or managed by terri meyer and jamie larson.

I used the normal vrbo web site to book my vacation, and when I started the cc process to pay for this booking, they insisted I pay an additional $ 99.00 above the agreed nightly rate to cover damages. I agreed to this.

Then when I sent it for their approval, they came back 1 hour later and stated, sorry your request is denied, because we forgot to raise our on - line rates for the holiday season.

This was unacepptable and ludicruios.
I have since found a better place, and less expensive, and will never book with them ever again.
Gary l. Stevens

Dear Sir/Madam,

VRBO Property ID : 909560 Property Name : Studio 19

Subject : Payment Issue for Booking of Guest Name Julie Burdon Booking no: HA-M5SHJW Sat, 15 Dec - Wed, 19 Dec, 2018·4 nights 2 adults Total: $207.00

Reservation Details
Quote 4 nights $168.00
Service Fee - $24.00 Including VAT of 20% Subtotal $192.00 Refundable damage deposit $15.00 Total payment $207.00 Total Fees ($34.92)
Payable to us $172.08

With reference to the above the Total Booking is for $ 207.00. .

We have just received $ 73.08 in in Our Bank account. There is a short Payment for $ 99.00, this Balance payment of $99.00 still not received.

We request you to look into the matter immediately and Arrange for the payment of $ 99.00 into our bank account .

Please do the needful at the earliest

Thanking you

Regards

Rajesh Rawal

I left a negative review about this property. We even left 1 day earlier because of horrible night sleep due to bad and noisy beds, bad and cheap supplies and lack of real and truthful information. The review was delited same day. I am deleting the app and newer will rent from this site again because I can't trust the reviews. I think, the owner can pay for reviews to be delited . Disgusting.

I booked with VRBO thinking that I would be protected by this company and the rental company was barefoot rentals on rosemerry 30 a. The house is Flying Dutchman. Upon arriving we realized there was soo much mold all over the house, bathrooms kitchen and even utensils. It was filthy beyond speak. We were concerned and we contacted the owner and he denied. By the end of the night he has canceled the reservation and VRBO confirmed that the charge woul be only $604. 00 and the rest is refunded. So we moved to another location that was cleaner. Little did we know that this Jared pool was a scammer and has charged the card for $5700.00 and the American Express confirmed that he has withdrawn the money and that I should contact him. Well little did I know he was a scammer and VRBO was clueless about it all. I would not trust VRBO nor this barefoot rentals. u book thru VRBO but your credit card number number is given to 3 rd parties So u sure are not protected. They could care less what happens to u.

Do not fall for purchasing VRBO's insurance. I did and it turned out to be worthless. We were given a mandatory evacuation from the State of South Carolina during Hurricane Florence. By state law any renters must evacuate. The owner we dealt with had no leniency and refused to give us any money. We lost 5 out of 7 days. I contacted VRBO they told me that the insurance they recommended on their site covered Mandatory evacuations. They do not even know what they are selling and pushing on their own website. The insurance is issued from CSA Travel Protection. VRBO said I should file a complaint against the owner of the property. I did through a reply to their email. They came back and told me that I could not file a complaint. Lesson learned: VRBO will not back you or help you when you are dissatisfied.

Lesson Learned and We Were Burned - Sept 2018

I had reserved lodging before leaving on my vacation. But, within the first several days of my vacation, one of my lodging confirmations cancelled. I had to quickly locate new lodging within two days. I requested a property on VRBO and felt relieved to have found something on such short notice. My wife and I go to dinner and on our return, VRBO sent a splash screen to our phone telling us the property was not available on the dates requested. Back to the drawing board!

We locate another less desirable property, but feel we have no choice. We again request a reservation. We go to bed thinking we have dodged a disaster.
On waking the next day, we have two messages from VRBO both of which say they are confirming lodging in our destination city on the same dates at two different properties. Our credit card has been charged for both properties! Imagine our confusion.

When we contact VRBO, they essentially tell us:
1) Yes, they know about the splash screen and can see how that might be confusing but we should not have hit enter more than once (do not remember doing this) as that is what caused the splash screen to appear and
2) Yes, this splash screen message even goes to the person requesting the reservation, and
3) Yes, VRBO will reserve two different properties on the same dates for the same person - there is NOTHING in place to prevent such an error and
4) No, even though the property was requested less than 24 hours ago, VRBO will not acknowledge a mistake and cancel. Take it up with the owner.
5) Thank you for using VRBO.

We contacted the property owner and his cancellation policy allows him to refund 50% of the total since we were cancelling less than 7 days prior to arrival (we made the request within 2 days of arrival and tried to cancel as soon as we were made aware of the error - not really harming this property owners listing as it was less than 10 hours off market). The property owner was not willing to take on the monetary loss of VRBO's inadequate software. The property owner did agree to return all of our money IF his property were to lease during those exact same dates or if VRBO would agree they were the cause of this problem.

In the end, VRBO did not agree they caused this problem. The owner did not lease his property for those exact dates (or at least he would not reply to our inquiry) and therefore, we are having to pay for VRBO's technical deficiencies. I suspect our money will go to the property owner and not toward fixing the problem. Beware of these circumstances and the end cost to you. Lesson learned and we were burned.

But most importantly, know that VRBO makes contacting them difficult, long periods of being on "hold", and long pauses between answering questions when you do finally get them on the phone. It's as if when you ask a question they put you on hold (without saying so) to ask someone for the answer and then they come back to the phone. We were constantly asking "are you there?", because there would be no response to the conversation.

If you have a dispute, VRBO will send canned text responses through their system platform, letting you know how much they care, but the reality is that they take no responsibility and leave disputes to be resolved between you and the property owner… "you can reach out to the property owner" is the best they can do.

In my case this was unsatisfactory. We will no longer use VRBO and we will tell all who are willing to listen our story.

Rented a property in Bradenton, FL for Aug 26-Aug 31. Bought the recommended trip interruption insurance from their check-out page. Worst case of red tide in 20 years forced cancellation due to health issues. FL Dept. of Health warned anyone with respiratory issues to avoid red tide inflicted areas. I cancelled the trip thinking certainly I would receive a refund under these circumstances. Think again. Owner Maggie only cares about money, and the recommended insurance from VRBO denied my claim and was basically a scam. Read the reviews for CSA Travel Insurance. Of course, VRBO takes no responsibility for this insurance, even though they recommend you buy it in case something happens that you have to cancel. VRBO/Home Away and CSA Travel Insurance are a total rip-off. Stay very far away.

This is my 4th rental w/VRBO. The first 3 were more than satisfactory. I wish I could say the same for #133515-5 Coffins Lane, W. Bath, Me.
The first night- there was no electricity in the downstairs bathroom. The owner was notified and an electrician was sent to repair it. Meanwhile, one of our party descended the poorly lit and narrow basement stairway (no hand rails) in search of the circuit breaker box. She encountered dirt and mess and a mouse carcass on her way to the box.
The master bedroom had a broken bed-dirt and clutter were behind the bed as was a fan clogged with dirt and gunk and the door handle on the sliding glass door was repaired with duct tape.
We found 3 clothes hangers in the entire house. Also one wash cloth, hand towel and bath towel (all old and some raggedy) per person. The linen closet had everything piled on the floor.
Upon our request, the owners did provide a card table (new) .
In the great room, there was one couch that seated 3 people. We found 2 folding beach chairs to provide seating for us.
In the kitchen, we found mouse droppings on the counter and in drawers. One drawer had a mouse nest made of shredded paper napkins. We also saw the mouse. We bought mouse traps and hangers and wash clothes and left them for the owners. We caught the mouse.
The carpet on the stairway was stained and dirty and smelly.
There were no towel bars in the upstairs bath and the water was so hot from the showerhead you were in danger of scalding.
The downstairs toilet was running almost constantly and using up the water in the pressure tank. We were gone for a few days and noticed it upon our return. Then, we would shut the valve at the wall so we would have enough water to use in the kitchen.
We did get a plumber for the downstairs toilet but, by then we had "had It" and left a week early to seek refuge in a motel in Portland.
One of the downstairs windows would not open. The electric
can opener left for us would not work.
Some attempts had been made to better the house-some new curtains and waste baskets had been added.
All told, it was an unsatisfactory rental. I would strongly urge others to seek other lodging.
Sincerely,
Barbara Jordan

This is a criticism of VRBO and a particular landlord. The VRBO complaint is this: There is no provision for refund when the property turns out not to be as promised. You're just screwed, that's all. They require you to cancel 2 weeks in advance to get a full refund and one week for 50% refund. In my case, I found the property to be totally unsuitable and not what was promised, so the owner walked away with a week's worth of rent ($600) and I had to drive 75 miles further to obtain lodging, for which I was compensated $0.

Here's the story. My girlfriend and I rented a cabin in the mountains, outside of Las Vegas NM. Denmin Cabin, owner Lacey Loe, property number 1352896. The owner listed all the amenities including WIFI and kitchen. We were given an access code for the door. Before arriving we received an email that we shouldn't use the stove (!), so I suppose we were supposed to eat sandwiches all week, as the property is way out of town, 30-45 minutes down a narrow mountain road with a shear drop and no guard rails for much of the way.

When we arrived, no one was there, so we tried the access code on the door, about 20-30 times, with breaks in between. No way to get into the cabin. We tried contacting the owner via phone (no service) and email (no WIFI). Then the guys 30 yards away, across the road, came back from break and fired up their chain saws and heavy equipment for the log cabin they were building. Ever heard a chainsaw in a narrow mountain valley? Since the cabin was about half built, it was evident that the noise had been going on for a few weeks and would continue throughout our stay. We'd had no warning.

We rented the cabin in part because of the promised WIFI. My girlfriend was on a working vacation and absolutely needed reliable WIFI in order to finish work with deadlines this week. So, we left the cabin after half an hour or so and drove 40 minutes until we could get bars on the phone. The owner was initially cooperative on the phone and offered a 1-night refund since we were not going to be able to stay the first night. We lost the phone connection while driving in the mountains to find other accommodations.

Later, my girlfriend sent an email offering to pay for 2 nights (the minimum stay) and suggesting that, due to the unsuitability, we should receive a refund for the other 5 nights. The email we received back was frankly legalistic, accusatory and bullying. He said he was a paralegal and knew about contracts and I wasn't entitled to anything. Then he said he believed we had some hidden agenda and tried to make himself out as the victim. (Remember, he already had $600 of our money and we had to find and pay for other accommodations, gas, and lose our vacation time.) We responded to his email and he arbitrarily canceled our reservation (meaning, he stole our money and gave us nothing but grief in return).

Now, with the reservation canceled, it is possible that VRBO won't even let me write a review. There was no other reason for him to cancel, other than maybe now he could double dip by keeping our money and renting the cabin again this week to some other unsuspecting folks. I notice that he now has added an ALL CAPS sentence on the cabin listing about "MINIMAL HOME REBUILDING SOUNDS" (chainsaw noise is minimal?) to cover himself in future. Well, if I am allowed to write a review on VRBO, I will mention that, in addition to the room payment, Mr. Loe also kept the cleaning fee (we never set foot in the cabin, so how could it need cleaning?) and the taxes, which I'm sure he won't pay, since we didn't actually stay there. Then of course, there is the money that VRBO gets that we'll never see again. And, the promised refund for our first night? We didn't get that, either.

Needless to say, I'm deleting the VRBO app and will never do business with them again. It's always the case in this country that the businesses get protection and the consumer gets none, and VRBO is a prime example.

Months after receiving my $340 deposit, Property #1020260 was canceled by owner. Beware that your reservation can be canceled at any time! After spending 68 minutes on the phone with VRBO, I was disconnected a second time! VRBO explained that they could be of no help in searching for other properties in the area and their reasoning was because the reservation was over one month out.