VRBO

I host 3 properties on Vrbo, I will take them all off this company and only use airbnb, who are far superior, they have a real customer service team and actually care about their hosts and guests, Vrbo do not care about anything but the dollar

We booked a place in Homosassa for the end of October. Due to the pending hurricane, we cancelled. Now, I had changed my bank account during the time of deposit for rental and cancellation, so VRBO now says they refunded my money to an account that's no longer active. The bank says they couldn't receive funds on a closed account. After several phone calls, I was dismissed, put on hold, told to call back in 48-72 hours. They have no intention of reimbursing the $282.62. The property owner sent an e-mail acknowledging the refund we did not receive. I guess VRBO is keeping that for themselves. The last person I spoke with was dismissive, kept saying "have a nice day" and hung up. I will never use VRBO again and would strongly suggest you steer clear of this company. I will give a one rating only because I can't give a 0. Poor customer service.

Although I have cancelled my booking well before my trip (9 months until the trip) I have still not been refunded the 100% as promised. Only refunded the 286.00 service fee, but now still waiting for the other 1500.00. I used to use this service as an owner and they are trying to tell me that the owner needs to refund the money, but I know from experience that they have the funds, not the owner. I will never use this service again.

Worst customer service ever, and their renter vetting is non-existent. VRBO still has not paid me for a rental of my lake house from TWO MONTHS AGO, and they simply keep passing the buck to the next lackey who does NOTHING. You can only talk with customer service in India, they can't and won't do anything, and no one from US support or billing or chat will ever respond to pay what they owe me. On top of this royal PITA, every month there's another "guest" scammer wanting to rent my place for 3 weeks, but needs to pay with a "company check"--there's no picture, and no history, yet when I notify "support" that its a scammer they do NOTHING. Travellers AND Hosts beware

Vrbo was marginal at best, but now with their lesbian commercials, I'm not interested in supporting them at all. Time to put my money into a positive company.

As usual we always stay at Brett Robinson for the Shrimp Festival. This year we had to book through VRBO. The initial price of unit was around 2100 for 4 days. By the time I saw what my credit card was charged was 2965. This was outrageous. I have never before paid a price this outstanding for a condo or would. The communication with the host was kind of touch and go. Granted I thought she communicated that the room was ready and gave us the code to the room and gate. I was wrong. When we got into the room there were flies both dead and alive. Literally there were flyswatters in the pantry. Makes sense. Also, in the kitchen was an excessive number of gnats. We thought maybe there was food in the disposal etc. Once we went to the store, I purchased bug killer and gnat catcher. Notified the VRBO rep. Who stated she was not aware of this and will let housekeeping know when they clean next time. Also wanted pictures. Next, we wanted to be able to use our phones. Meaning we needed the Wi-Fi code. Usually there is a paper with the code on it etc. So, I called the 1-800 number for Brett Robinson who was so helpful and got us the Wi-Fi code. Being from the south we are huge football fans and were going to watch the games while getting ready. We needed an access code. Texted the Lacie again and she was not aware of an access code. I explained to her the TV is asking for a code for us to be able to access ROKU etc. By this time, I was done. We had no dishwashing soap, dishwasher detergent, wash cloths, or scrubber. Thankfully this isn't my first rodeo so I always bring extras. Lastly, our friends were in Unit 310, same building. Come to find out their condo was $1700. I
Am hoping somehow the owner of the property sees any of the complaints mentioned and realize that VRBO is a travesty. Any comments on a course of action would greatly be appreciated. I do have pictures, but I am unable to upload them.

Rachel

We were told that our rented space in Edmonton, Alberta had a combination lock on the door but would have its combination changed with each new tenant. However, that was not true and it was double booked. Upon arrival, I opened the door to be confronted by an old man in his underwear standing in the living room We called the owner and he blamed Airbnb, which means he was using both booking agency to rent one space. We had a hard time getting our money back, as the VRBO representative was just as useless as the owner. Suggest that you buy a lock of your own and replace the door knob while you are renting or you too may find yourself having uninvited house guests. This service is nothing but a venue for slum lords. If a no star review was possible, that would be my selection. What I will never again select is this site. If I don't have a place to stay the next time I am in Edmonton, at least I can go to that space. The door combination lock is 9696 for anyone else with a similar issue.

We rented a house. We got in at 5:15pm. The house stunk like years of cigarette smoke covered by cheap air freshners. It was dirty to include poop still on the toilet bowl. We got out of there after about 20 minutes and immediately called VRBO customer service and lodged our complaint. We had to find alternative accommodations. We are still fighting with them for a refund! We will never use their service again.

VRBO is a crooked monopolistic outfit. They recently changed their terms without owner's agreement so that any requested reservation is automatically accepted, and if you cancel the reservation they insist that you pay around 12%. When I explained that I never agreed to these changes, they still insisted on payment and canceled my account which is fine because I will never use them again
In the past they also changed the rte on my rental unit without permission, sent incorrect 1099 tax forms, and would never correct any of it...

Rented a house for five nights and paid hundreds of dollars. While the temperature outside was over 100 degrees the inside as we entered was 88 degrees. Thermostat didn't work and we tried to contact the host. He wanted pictures of thermostat which we sent him during waiting for 5 hours for him to send someone to fix the air conditioning. By 8:00pm we contacted VRBO and provided them with the pictures of thermostat and screenshots of our conversation with the host. They just wasted our time till 10:00pm by transferring us from place to place and none of them did anything. We had to shower 3 times all night to keep cool and didn't sleep. In the morning the host was not responding to my request of refunding us so we could rent another property. He insisted on sending someone. From 9:00 am to 5:00pm we were in the mall and different stores to keep cool. The host said it's fixed and we got to the house and still is 82 degrees! My husband is 70 years old with Parkinson's disease and I am 64 with fibromyalgia and arthritis. Both the host and VRBO are not responding to our request of refunding weus. We don't know what to do as we are sitting in our car. Never again we will rent from VRBO or the property at Sundance Canopy in Buckeye, AZ

The dont help you if you have an inconvinient. They will always defend the host not the guest! They dont guarantee your reservation or your money. Do not use them!

VRBO is a real scam booking platform. They have a one star rating on every rating or review platform only because it's not possible to give zero stars!
Avoid them at all costs.
They host many non-existent accommodation places... you get there and it's just not there or abandoned.
They don't respond to email enquiries and if you try to call them you will find the line disconnected or switched off.
Even if the accomm IS there, it's often filthy or completely different to the description.
They don't remove or pause offending accommodation providers even after shocking reviews.
Go to someone else. Don't be part of the VRBO scam like me!

VRBO DELIBERATELY LIED to keep our multi-family group renting through them.
Property owner canceled day we were to check in. We contacted VRBO, but there were no comparable properties. VRBO collects heavy penalty from owner, tell us we'll get financial support if we stay with VRBO. We get new reservation through VRBO and provide receipts for reimbursement. The next Escalation Team case review team denies us any reimbursement, claims first group can't make that offer. So VRBO imposes, collects and keeps the fines, but we as renters get NO HELP AT ALL. And we're the ones scrambling for alternatives. We have to pay upfront the 2nd time to reserve while trying to get refund from owner on 1st reservation. All the inconvenience falls on renter, while VRBO collects fees.

Vrbo reservation ID: HA-86M0H4
This house was dirty. Bathroom basin was hanging off the wall. Grime in the tile grout around shower. Grime around the kitchen sink. Air conditioner blows hot air. Bed was new apparently, but so hard the floor would have been more comfortable.
Owner was nice enough man. He honestly believes the house was presentable to charge good money for a rental. He will not refund me at all. I have video of all my claims. I would not ever recommend this company.

We went to Italy and rented an apartment through Vrbo. Vrbo advertises that you always have the rental property all to yourself. The message is just you and your people. Well our rental was not private. Anything but private Wedged between 2 other apartments and the owners all living on site. In the same house very noisy no privacy. And Vrbo customer service were very very rude to me and did NOTHING to help. Worst rental experience ever STAY AWAY FROM VRBO

Our Spanish villa was rented via Vrbo and they paid the £4,000 rental income to a fraudulent bank account and refused to reimburse us for their error. Their office is based in Dublin so they can avoid being taken to court for this in the UK. Disgraceful and dangerous agency!

From planning through departure at the end of our stay this has been an easy, pleasant experience.
The Overton Cottage and host could not have been any nicer. The views, quiet setting, privacy and sophisticated casual accommodations were worth every penny. The guest bedroom is separate from the master bedroom. Each had very nice bathrooms and plenty of towels. If you're looking for a quiet place with amazing views and no ambient lights, you just found it. The screened in back porch made for great relaxation watching the birds and the water. The Wi-Fi was not an issue. The Eastern Neck National Wildlife Reserve is just 1/2 mile south and Rock Hall is only about out 10 minutes north with shopping and restaurants. Our sailboat tour added to the experience and was very affordable with Captain Mark of Blue Crab Charters. We like to leave a place nicer than we found it. There was no way to do that. It was immaculate and very welcoming. Bravo to the owners.

In the post visit email for a review I wrote

" Place was great and everything was as promised. Very expensive though for a short stay, lots of fees racked up the cost. Also the trash rules were weird. Not sure why there is a $250 fee for cleaning if we have to clean up ourselves"

The review was rejected because I quoted prices and I was not allowed to edit even though they asked me too. It was beyond 14 days of arrival. They still send me emails to review.

I spent hours reviewing properties and finally selected one. It gave specific instructions for scoring the deal advertised, so I messaged the "host" to double-check the instructions. He responded, telling me that he had sold the property, so I would have to contact the new owner if I wanted to rent it. But VRBO would not allow him to give me the number. VRBO also refused to take down or correct the listing, saying that they would instead just wait until it eventually expired.

I was inquiring about property #******* on VRBO. Com I was suspicious when owner wanted money wired directly into a bank account. This home no longer appears on site. Please beware. Not all are bad but just follow your gut!

I have been using this site for many years and have never felt that the vacation i am planning would encounter any difficulties till now. Like said by others the guarantee really offers no real coverage. My main concerns now is that when you plan on renting a place it could be changed even at the last minute by either VRBO or the many management companies that now run the rentals. Conversations with owners directly are nearly impossible. So you are putting out over a thousand dollars that you may not get back and end up in a vacation far from what you had planned on with no recourse. VRBO What happened, you are losing your trust from both renters and homeowners, time to rethink your business practices.

After booking a great accommodation with VRBO, we then booked another place which was totally unsatisfactory for my 23 yr old son and myself (mother) whilst visiting Vancouver. We were expected to share a small room (after the house had been advertised as a five bedroomed and also share space with owners young children. Needless to stay we did not stay there and informed VRBO immediately. They have been totally unhelpful in returning our money despite having a 'book with confidence guarantee', each time we have made contact they have given us the run around, passing us onto different people each call. This has been a very upsetting end to a terrific holiday in Canada

I left a one-star review two years ago about VRBO. Since that time, things have changed dramatically and I'm very impressed with the changes. I still can't go with five stars, but I'm now able to get a real person on the phone quickly. My only complaint is that they keep pushing their payment plan, which I'm not on and don't care to be. It gives them too much control of my business. Other than that, I've been very please with service and hope it continues.