HomeAway

Answer: Homeaway is charging a fee for paying through them. They said it was to improve marketing and because renters like to pay through them. As some one who is listed through Homeaway I find this practice destructive both to the owners and renters. I encourage all potential renters to contact the owners directly and pay us directly. Owners already pay a fee. If the owners want to be listed in higher tier you have to pay more. To me they are just trying to find ways to make more money at both the owners and renters expense without improved service for either.

Answer: Go elsewhere. Sadly what started as a very good site many years ago has evolved into an unethical monopoly that has a sole interest. Profit. They do not care about owners or travelers. They exist to remove you from your money, and will say one thing and do another. They have lost the faith and trust of both, and it is well-deserved. Anyone coming on board with any of HomeAway's companies as a traveler or host would be foolish considering their underhandedness.

Answer: HomeEscape.com is relatively new but with the new Expedia Service charges on HomeAway/VRBO, the homeowners are moving over to HomeEscape in droves. Over the next year as the HomeAway subscriptions expire many of the homeowners will not renew with HomeAway if HomeEscape turns into a good alternative. In general we (homeowners) are pretty upset that Expedia is going to make over 4Billion in added income from our customers just in the first year of the fee, if folks continue to book through them. Many of us will feel pressure to lower our rental income but if you only knew our expenses you would know this is not really a big money maker for us - personally, these fees will actually put us well into the red. So, for our guests and ourselves, HomeAway will no longer be a site we do business with once our subscription expires. And, though we used to rent through them at least once a year, we're done with that as of now.