Vrbo Reviews

Upon arriving at the property late in the evening, we discovered that it was an old, foul-smelling unit with lint-covered bedsheets. The bathroom and shower were also outdated and unclean. We immediately contacted both the host and Vrbo, explained the situation, and provided supporting photographs. They agreed that we would only be charged for one night and that the remaining amount would be refunded if we vacated the property the following morning. We spent the entire night sitting on chairs while desperately searching for alternative accommodation. Around midnight, we finally managed to secure a hotel reservation and left the property early the next morning. Due to the unacceptable condition of the unit, we could not sleep, shower, cook, eat, or even unpack our luggage.

Based on our original booking, the cost of one night should have been CAD $1,979.26 ÷ 9 = CAD $219.92. We reasonably expected this nightly rate to include all applicable charges, including cleaning and Vrbo service fees. However, in addition to the nightly rate, the host imposed an extra cleaning fee for a unit we had barely used and were forced to leave because of its unacceptable condition. Vrbo also charged us a couple of hundred dollars in service fees, despite providing no meaningful assistance in resolving the situation.

We spent several months going back and forth with the host and Vrbo, wasting considerable time and effort without receiving any meaningful support or satisfactory resolution. In the end, we were charged CAD $611 for a single night in an old, dirty, foul-smelling, and unlivable property where we could not even sleep or use the facilities. This experience was extremely disappointing, particularly because of Vrbo’s lack of accountability, poor customer service, and failure to protect its customers from unreasonable charges. I strongly discourage others from using Vrbo based on our experience.

This was not what we expected when booking the condo, and it significantly impacted our trip. I would strongly encourage the owner to address the pest problem and ensure the property is properly cleaned and treated before hosting future guests. Based on our experience, I would not recommend staying here until these issues are resolved.

When we first arrived, we saw a baby roach in the kitchen. I immediately asked for another Hilton room rather than the condos, but due to it being Labor Day they were full to capacity. Then that night my mother saw a roach in her room and she couldn't sleep thinking there would be others while she slept. When we contacted the owner, they said that they would spray. We didn't accept that option for that would possibly bring more pest to surface. What made the situation even more concerning was that pest repellent plug-ins were already placed throughout the condo. This raised serious concerns that the owner was aware of the pest problem before our arrival but failed to properly address it.

To make matters worse, the third-party booking company only offered $200 in compensation for the inconvenience, which was completely inadequate given the amount we paid and the conditions we experienced. The situation was so unpleasant that when we returned home, we were hesitant to even bring our luggage inside because we did not want to risk bringing roaches into our own home. Having to worry about pests following us home is not something anyone should have to deal with after a vacation.

Instead of relaxing and enjoying our stay, we were left feeling uncomfortable, frustrated, and disappointed. For $1,600, we expected a clean, pest-free environment and a much better experience. I would strongly encourage the owner to address the roach problem with professional pest control and ensure the condo is properly cleaned before allowing future guests to stay. The $200 offer did not come close to making up for the experience. The owners later came back and stated that they would give us $271 for one night stay. This was not acceptable due to the amount we paid for a three night stay. Based on our stay, I would not recommend anyone booking through VRBO.

I have lost the rental and perhaps my vacation. And of course I am out the down payment. In the middle of all this, vrbo sent an email telling me to pay the whole bill to secure the property. Ridiculous. Vrbo who claims great customer service is failing big time, and stressing my wife and myself out. They must escalate this and do right by us. Please refund my payment. It is not my fault you cannot locate it in your system. The bank also noted to us, that after the automatic system failed, that vrbo manually entered in my card information. Not sure if this was the right thing to do? Mike & Betsy D.

Despite my efforts to address every concern, the situation continued to escalate. I felt that VRBO did not adequately support me as the property owner or clearly explain how its refund policy applied to the situation. After repeated back-and-forth communication and increasingly difficult interactions with the guests, I ultimately agreed to let them leave early and refunded approximately $1,000 for the unused portion of their stay although they tried very hard to get a full refund.

What concerns me most is that I felt I did everything reasonably expected of a responsible host: I responded to the complaint, sent people to the property, arranged additional cleaning and pest treatment, and tried to resolve the situation. Yet I still ended up absorbing a substantial financial loss. Based on my experience, I believe short-term rental owners should be extremely careful when using VRBO and should thoroughly document the condition of their property, guest complaints, photographs, communications, pest-control visits, and every action taken to resolve a complaint. I walked away from this experience feeling that the system provided inadequate protection for me as a host and that the refund process could be exploited by a guest seeking to leave a reservation early. I would not use VRBO again for my short-term rental property based on this experience.

They are an absolute embarrassment of a company and their customer service is a disaster. It was a horrendous experience and a terrible way to start what was supposed to be a great family weekend. I will never use VRBO again and I would absolutely recommend that people stay away from this unethical and disgustingly inept and incredibly poorly run company.

We contacted the property management company and VRBO, but we never received a response or meaningful resolution. We were ultimately forced to make other arrangements and incur additional expenses. Overall, this was a very disappointing experience, and I would not recommend this property based on our experience.

I asked Vrbo to put her site on pause until she contacted them and refunded fair compensation. I was told they can't do that. And because Vrbo pays the host upfront, I am screwed in ever getting a refund. The only thing Vrbo could do, is refund me my Vrbo fee of $44 (Gee, thanks). I guess I am lucky to be out only $423 for not. Can you imagine if this was a longer stay??? Property # I rented in Indy is **/UNIT ID#**.

Despite clear photos and listing description, the host still selected my property and mentioned an excellent experience (excellent cleanliness, excellent location, magnificent service from hosts). The guest never communicated any concern during the stay, or desire of additional (non-advertised) amenities, despite multiple reminders that I as host was available to assist (our house guide indicates it, all my messages through VRBO platform indicated it, etc).

When I contacted VRBO support, I was essentially told that because the traveler was expressing a personal opinion, the review and score would stand. While I understand that guest opinions are important (I'm also occasionally a traveller myself and could not agree more to the principle), I do not believe it is fair to penalize hosts when the guest's disappointment stems from expectations that were never part of the advertised offering and that were never expressed by the traveller. VRBO told me: ''the traveller expressed their personal opinion, therefore the score and review they gave is accepted. The only thing you can do is to respond to the traveller on VRBO platform.''

This approach creates an uneven playing field. Hosts who happen to avoid highly subjective travelers and maintain a 5 star score, receive better visibility and ranking, while hosts who encounter a single traveler with unrealistic or uncommunicated expectations can see their ratings negatively affected despite providing exactly what was promised.

I was also disappointed by the quality of support provided. Rather than assessing whether the review was consistent with the facts of the listing, VRBO's position was simply that the guest's opinion is valid and that the only available remedy is to publicly respond to the review. From a technology perspective, VRBO also feels behind competing platforms. Airbnb provides a more intuitive and integrated experience. VRBO relies on separate applications (for hosts and travellers) and a user experience that feels less streamlined and less efficient for hosts managing their properties.

To be clear, VRBO does generate some bookings and most guests are excellent. However, until they provide a more balanced review system, stronger protection against ratings that are disconnected from reality or from the actual listing, and a greater commitment to fairness when disputes arise, I would not score more than 1 star. A review system should help travelers identify misleading listings, not penalize hosts for not providing features that were never advertised in the first place. Until those areas improve, I believe VRBO remains a useful platform, but one that falls way short of offering hosts the level of fairness, support, and technology available elsewhere.

Then we had to reach out to vrbo, who were as useless as the host. We could not spend another night there, the dust caused me an allergic reaction, the place was uncomfortable and dirty with bon functioning shower and mildew so we left. Only after a claim with BBB did they issue a refund (which is not a compensation, just a refund for services we did not receive). But vrbo issued the refund under someone else's name, entirely. Not a misspelling of my name. A completely different person. So we couldn't claim the refund. And the email they sent contained a broken link, so it was not possible to actually proceed with the claim. I find it very hard to believe these are all hones mistakes and not intentional. I had to spend hours trying to my refund. I might as well had filed a chargeback. I will not book with them again.

The owner, Simarron took 200.00 of my 500.00 deposit and returned the rest, she insisted I use Venmo, well as you are already aware Venmo takes a cut, so I ended up with a little less than 50% of what I paid; there was no written agreement that this would happen, nothing in writing to warn me, she never stated when we initially talked that this is something she would do, I am not a Vrbo customer just a hard working teacher, that gets paid next to nothing.... I will also report this to the BBB, Better Business Bureau. I would highly recommend a contract, even if it is only for a vacation.... in writing and not text....

I had no way of knowing this was going to be the process for a cancelation when booking. I asked VRBO customer service if there is a way to identify these hosts when booking (so I could avoid this in the future), there is NOT. BE WARNED. BE AWARE. It's been a complete nightmare. And you would think VRBO would issue the refund and go after reimbursement from their host/business partner- NOT the case and the customer service team will not escalate or do anything to assist in resolving.

I tried to use the ‘host chat’ to get a response about the alarm system, but no one has ever responded. I tried to contact someone, using the ’VRBO chat,’ to explain that the house could not be stayed in due to the overwhelming stink of the house, not to mention the alarm system continuously alarming. This chat resulted in absolutely no help whatsoever. I requested a refund to allow a stay in a different location. The ‘VRBO chat’ representative first stated they would process the refund and then sent me an email asking for photographic evidence of my claim of the intolerable odor I described. They then stated the decision to refund any monies is left up to the host, who is obviously biased and only willing to make money without regard for customer safety, comfort, and satisfaction.

The house was to be inspected by the host. I am not sure when this ‘inspection’ occurred since I never stayed in the house, but I received an email the next day relaying the host had inspected the property and this person thought the home was in excellent shape. Must be someone with defective olfactory receptors. Ultimately, the request for a refund was denied. The stay was not enjoyable since it did not happen because of the condition of the property. The VRBOCare guarantee is a bogus waste of time. I am not happy and everyone, including savvy review readers, will be warned not to use this company.

Fast-forward to ONE WEEK before our vacation, when family members are preparing to fly in from across the country, and I suddenly receive notice that our reservation has been CANCELLED. No warning from VRBO. No phone call. No meaningful email explaining there was a problem with our reservation. Nothing. When I contacted VRBO, I was given a vague response saying the property was being handled by a different management franchise and that I needed to contact them myself. After numerous attempts, I finally got through to the management company.

This is where the situation becomes even more unbelievable. Our original deposit had been processed through a company called Vacasa as part of our VRBO reservation. Apparently, management of the property later changed. The new company claims they sent me a text requesting the second payment. The company sending that text was called First Chair. Think about that for a moment. I booked through VRBO. My original payment was associated with Vacasa. Then, months later, I receive a generic text from a completely different company called First Chair telling me to send money for my vacation.

In an era when consumers are CONSTANTLY warned not to click links or send thousands of dollars in response to unsolicited texts from companies they don't recognize, I reasonably believed it could be a scam. At NO POINT did VRBO contact me through the VRBO app, email, or any other trusted communication channel to say: “The management company for your reservation has changed. First Chair is now managing your property, and future payments will come through them.”

Had VRBO done something that simple, this entire situation could have been avoided. Instead, our reservation was cancelled. VRBO’s response? Essentially: "Here’s your refund. Sorry. Nothing else we can do." A refund does NOT put us back in the position we were in. We now have 8 people and a baby, with family flying in from across the country, trying to salvage a vacation ONE WEEK before departure. This wasn't a spontaneous weekend trip. It was a family vacation planned nearly a YEAR in advance so our family could be together and make memories as our children get older and start families of their own.

Thankfully, we were able to find another property through Airbnb, whose assistance was night-and-day compared with what we experienced with VRBO. But because we're booking at the last minute, we are now paying MORE money for a property that is NOT beachfront. So after doing everything we could to plan ahead, we are essentially downgrading our vacation while paying more for it because of a communication failure that was entirely avoidable. And VRBO—the company that happily collected an $853.47 service fee from us—apparently believes returning our money absolves them of any responsibility for the mess their platform and lack of communication helped create.

What exactly was that $853.47 service fee supposed to pay for? Because it certainly wasn't customer service. It wasn't communication. It wasn't protection when something went wrong. And it wasn't assistance finding comparable accommodations when our reservation disappeared a week before our trip. What is perhaps most disappointing is the complete lack of urgency, accountability, or meaningful attempt by VRBO to make this right. We weren't asking for something unreasonable. We simply expected the vacation we booked almost a year ago—or meaningful assistance obtaining something comparable. Instead, we were basically told, “Sorry, here's your money back. Good luck.”

For anyone considering booking an important family vacation through VRBO, especially one that requires flights, coordinating multiple families, and thousands of dollars: think very carefully about how much protection you actually have if something goes wrong. Based on our experience, a confirmed reservation and thousands of dollars paid nearly a year in advance apparently mean very little when you're one week away from your vacation. We will not trust VRBO with another family vacation. I am attaching my communications with VRBO so others can see for themselves the level of “customer service” we received when we needed their help the most.

NEVER EVER use this company. Only rent from the owner directly! Skip VRBO! I have had good experiences with TripAdvisor and Booking.com with hotels. I really think VRBO tell the owners not to respond to the renter if an issue arises. It is impossible to get any compensation from VRBO even though the owner lied to you. They only represent the owner’s rights, not the renter’s rights!

VRBO support is non-existent and they really can't/won't do anything at all to help the duped guest except disconnect calls instead of helping and then lie to the guest on the phone. They continue to support hosts who do this and give them more opportunity to screw the paying guests over, with no support for the guest. DO NOT BOOK TRAVEL WITH VRBO IF YOU REALLY WANT A PLACE TO STAY ON YOUR VACAY. YOU WILL BE UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF OUT OF A PLACE TO STAY WITH NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT. They only support their lying, double-booking hosts - NOT THEIR PAYING GUESTS.

The message I received in the inbox stated the door was off the rail and they had to put it on the rail.. The picture they showed clearly showed that the door was on the rail. The door was very dirty underneath which was the main reason the door wasn't opening easily. The host just decided to repair the sliding door at my expense. When I contacted VRBO for resolution of this issue, they didn't even do anything. The conversations were always with some Indians who actually worked in India, not even in the USA. I think VRBO is just a big scam. The only support the host side, not the guest side. I switched to AirBnB. I do not recommend using VRBO.

When I arrived, I had to wait an hour past check in gain access to the property. They didn’t put our names on the list at the gate. Arrived at the house only to receive a message that only one door was accessible to the pool. The door that I was told to use had a 5-inch gap and would not open or close. Then today I received an access code from VRBO. I signed on to change my password while I’m on my email and phone number is changed. I called customer service to tell them I have been hacked. They tell me I requested it!!! I just deleted my account with $60 in one key cash on there. I will never use them again. I will tell everyone to stay away!

Mind you, this was now around 6pm & the event we had traveled from Ohio for was starting at 7pm. Everything decent was fully booked & the recommendations from the VRBO agents in Egypt were not god options & were almost 30 to 40 miles away meaning we'd miss the event. We eventually checked AirBnB found 2 available places booked & got checked in within 30-40 minutes, but had to end up paying double what I had paid VRBO on the canceled reservation. This experience & how it was handled, left me & my kids very disappointed on top of all the inconveniences, STRESS & extra money that I had to spend. I have used AirBnB multiple times here & abroad with zero issues. This was my first & last time trying to use VRBO & it will take a miracle at this point to ever consider using it or recommending it to anyone. PLEASE do better VRBO!