Vrbo Reviews

I made a reservation through VRBO online months ago. Due to the pandemic, I had to cancel them. I received a confirmation from them they were going to issue me a refund on March 19, 2020. Today is April 8 and still no refund. I called them and waited for 3 hours on the phone, and also waited over 2 hours online chat to be told there is nothing they can do and I should call my bank and dispute the charges. Highly illegal activity.

I can’t believe VRBO is not following AirBnBs lead and refunding renters their money. Our flights are cancelled. Vigilantes are blocking tourists from entering Sayulita. However we cannot get a refund for our rental next week. VRBO is suggesting we contact the homeowner who will not give a full refund. VRBO, you should be ashamed.

VRBO is full of nothing but excuses and lies. I canceled my reservation due to Covid-19 8 days ago and was told by one of their agents the refund would take up to 7 business days. I called on the 5th day and was on hold for 20 minutes because a full refund wasn't issued and was AGAIN told it will take 7 business days so to wait 2 more days and call back if I haven't been refunded. I then had to contact the home owner who VRBO also gave issues on giving me the full refund.

We rented a cottage in Beaufort, SC. We cancelled due to COVID 19 about a month ago. The owner gave us a full refund. VRBO did not do its part and refund the money. They are Shysters!!! Stay away!!! Terrible people! Booking status Cancelled. Property ID 748401. Reservation ID **. Guests 2 adults. Total $481.68.

We rented a condo in PR for June with a 60 day cancellation policy. Since the curfew and quarantines in PR right now and not sure when they would lift we asked the owner to shorten their 60 day to a 30 day cancellation for the full %100 and the answer was a flat out no. They would give us a future credit but because this is a family vacation not sure when we all would be able to do it within the next year. So we did cancel before the 60 days and should be getting a full refund (according to them within a few weeks). I went on Airbnb today and the condo is up for rent with a 14 day %100 refund policy. I don't understand why the owner could not extend that same cancellation policy to us even though we originally reserved it thru VRBO. The owners and VRBO need to reconsider their policies during a time like this.

We have used VRBO many times, and generally speaking, we have been satisfied with our experiences with the properties where we have stayed. Back in February, we booked two houses in Utah for early June. These houses had a 100% refund policy for cancellations up until May. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we cancelled these reservations on March 31. VRBO shows the cancellations and indicates that the refunds are in process, but for some reason, they indicate that refunds can take 3-4 weeks. This makes no sense unless they are holding the refunds for financial reasons. AirBNB refunded money to our credit cards in one day. I tried to contact VRBO via chat, but their chat line is apparently using an artificial intelligence program to provide responses. VRBO should be able to do better than this.

Buyer Beware... If you are considering booking a rental with this property owner. Michel ** Rental Vacation Homes Property ID - **. My family booked this house for a trip to Disney World and had paid in full. When Disney closed their doors due the CV pandemic, I contacted HomeAway regarding my options in cancelling due to these unforeseen conditions. The property owners have a no refund policy, however, due to the circumstances, I was hoping they would relax the policy. Shortly after I contacted HA, they contacted the property owners and told them that I wanted to cancel my reservation... This was not the case at all as I was only inquiring what my options were. I could have cancelled myself if I wanted to.

I could not fly to my VRBO in Mexico last month. Contacted home owner directly and was told she would authorize FULL REFUND due to unusual situation. Was emailed refund was on its way. (Yay). Then emailed to say 131 bucks was being refunded, from 1200. Called in. Told owner said YES to refund. Money was on its way. Then 131 offered again. Called in. Can’t get through. Virtual chat tells me refund is not happening. Waiting for real human about an hr. Cut off twice. Finally get a human on chat maybe? Says they will contact owner (already been done) and I’m still not refunded. This company has no clue. Homeowner told me she saw ZERO dollars of this, I have been out of pocket now for months and NO refund even offered. Wow. Total crooks. Horrible customer service and horrible policy. Hope you don’t make it through the Covid times, you obviously don’t deserve it.

Reserved accommodations for the Boston Marathon. There was a double booking so they cancelled us without warning. No help at all. Then we rebooked; due to COVID-19 all travel plans were cancelled and they were supposed to refund 1/2 of our original booking plus the booking fees. More than 20 WORKING days later they have not despite 5 phone calls. They simply will not. Have now instigated a dispute through our credit card company. We travel a lot; will never use Home Away or VRBO again.

Another Client Screwed over Covid-19. WE have also been screwed by VRBO on our reservations to go to Sedona, AZ April 26, 27, 28, 2020. By order of the state we are unable to travel due to the Covid 19 lock down/Stay at home. We are currently under lock down until 05-03-2020. I called and spoke with the owner’s representative and was told point blank that there was no refund, no credit, no adjustment, simply you're screwed. I feel cheated and knocked down because I don’t have a job any longer and VRBO and their property owners, don’t care. We are not allowed to travel, and you don’t give a damn. Obviously, I will never book with VRBO again and will book through Airbnb which is working with the cancelled reservations. After talking to the representatives, I choose not to cancel my reservations as it won’t benefit me in any way. Owner's representatives who told me screw you: Kyla **, Sedona.org, 435-571-0024, Reservations: 888-265-3009.

I am Canadian and the border is closed so I could not travel in March to Savannah. VRBO and owner refused any compensation beyond travel fee and damage/ housekeeping cost. Nor did owner allow me to book alternative date next year. I have phoned emailed and tried to compromise. Nothing!

My family has used VRBO several times over the last ten years and never had any issues. I even recommended them to others. However, that is no longer the case. They are only great when everything goes according to plan. We placed a deposit on a property in Florida for a family vacation in May. When our home state made it mandatory that all residents Stay Home, all our vacation plans came to a screeching halt. My daughter could no longer graduate from college in May, and my husband is unemployed. I immediately contacted the owner and was told that I was SIX days late for the cancellation period, so I could not get a refund. SIX DAYS! When I asked for them to consider the COVID-19 circumstances, I was told that everyone is having a hardship. They offered to allow me to either gamble that the WHO would extend the travel advisory through May (so then I could possibly get a refund), or I could pick a different week.

I purchased a condominium on VRBO in Naples FL for a week stay starting March 31. Due to the pandemic I was not allowed to travel. Even though I purchased cancellation insurance through VRBO for 150.00 VRBO not only didn’t allow me a refund but didn’t honor the cancellation insurance. I e mailed them showing my policy and 10 days later they responded sorry no refund. Everyone I know that used AirBnB was refunded. VRBO are not only unscrupulous they are not good people. In a trying time for the world they could have done the right thing instead they lost a customer for life. Delete the app and save yourself money and a headache.

I recently used VRBO/HomeAway (same company) to make a reservation for a penthouse suite in Las Vegas for a special occasion for 7 of my friends. VRBO collected the large sum. When I got to Vegas, the property manager "ghosted" us and we were left with no options. VRBO's "guarantee" was to put 7 of us in a hotel for one night (regular rooms) and then put 7 of us for the second night into 2 rooms. Remember we booked a penthouse, and their guarantee is anything from Motel 6 to whatever is available, not what is comparable to what you booked.

VRBO has been stalling our refund for 2 months. It seems a new reason for delay is because of COVID19. While I am sympathetic to the virus I feel VRBO is using it as a crutch to cover their lack of processing and customer service. It has been owed to us (a full refund) for 2 months!

I recently read a review from a homeowner who states that the coronavirus is outside their control and they too have a mortgage and expenses to cover and therefore the cancellation policy as originally written on VRBO should be honored. Even if it means not refunding money to a renter during a time of crisis. I too own a home that I rent by the month. Like this homeowner I too have been affected by the virus. However every homeowner who rents knows full well that there are things outside our control that can and will affect our ability to rent.

We rented a property in Siesta Key. Due to the Corona Virus we are banned from traveling. We were told by VRBO that the property owners are being “encouraged” to give full credit or half of the actual money back to the renters. However my property owner will not even respond to my calls or messages! She kept 90% of our money as well without offering a credit first. VRBO plays dumb and acts like there is nothing they can do but punish the owner after the fact. What does that mean?! Now that I officially cancelled the owner's number has disappeared from the site and I don’t think I can even rate her. This is truly criminal. I used to use VRBO a lot for vacations but I will take My Business to airBnb as I am reading good things about how they handled Covid19 issues. Here is her info-Debbie-Property ID-1676858 in Siesta Key, Florida.

During the COVID-19 crisis. VRBO decided to side with homeowners while AirBnB decided to side with renters. I had to cancel my booking because I was not legally allowed to travel or congregate but was not offered a refund from my homeowner. Just use AirBnB in the future, they protected their customers while VRBO protected their clients. Simple as that.

After buying cancelation insurance for our 40th anniversary trip to northern California, we canceled in plenty of time (before any shelter in place orders or any other restrictions) before the trip because of underlying physical conditions during the height of COVID19. We submitted all required documents to the cancellation insurance fully expecting a refund of 1048.00. They rejected our claim in their words because we should have "foreseen" that we could not travel during COVID19. How absurd, unjust, cruel, and despicable! No one can fight this, and it is absolutely horrendous treatment. I just wanted to warn people that cancellation insurance does not work, and in this case, it is a shame and a scam.

My story is told in a group I created. It was a huge lesson for my husband and I and I hope nobody has to go through something like that again! We will never use Vrbo again because of what happened to us. I only wish I could do more to stop people from ever renting from this particular host again as well. **

Given the current state of affairs of COVID-19, I'm dumbfounded that VRBO hasn't modified their cancelation policy similar to the likes of AirBnB and countless of other hotel chains. We were told by the VRBO owner that since our initial cancelation policy wasn't within the 60 day timeframe (submitted this March 16th right as all travel restrictions took place) that we would not be receiving a full refund. We were also told that we should have purchased travel insurance! Not a single hint of empathy or awareness which I cannot accept at this point. Making matters worse, not a single response back from VRBO support. My advice - don't use VRBO. Look elsewhere. They'll feel it from their consumer base once this clears up...

We have booked our vacation homes through VRBO for years and have recommended them to many of our friends and family. We booked a vacation home for May 3, 2020 in Florida. We are Canadians, and like many others, are not able to travel outside of our country due to COVID-19. We initially asked the reservation desk for advice on what can be done (credit or refund) since travel is currently banned. Since booking our trip the cancellation policy window closed and the situation has been deemed a pandemic.

It’s now 4/1/20, and Florida is on lockdown and mandating anyone from NY to quarantine. I contacted my host Bjorn ** and they said they’d help me out, and just cancel. Once cancelled, they advised me they will refund no money. I’ve been emailing in an effort to at least get some money back, but the final response is “We don’t offer a refund”. It’s really unbelievable. I guess you see the true nature of people and businesses during a crisis.

Lyon ** (Austin, Tx) continues to NOT follow the COVID-19 Emergency policy of the President of Vrbo. Which clearly states, "We have notified partners to abide by our COVID-19 emergency standards, which set a 50% refund minimum if different stay dates cannot be found, in order to avoid penalties in our marketplace. This is applicable for all canceled stays with a night that falls between March 13 and April 30, 2020, even on trips that are outside the set cancellation policy." I don't think it gets any clearer than that statement, but let's break it down:

Cancellation due to COVID 19: We have spent countless hours being strung along with same useless responses from VRBO/owner. The same promises are made each time we establish contact with VRBO/owner - no resulted action. Fair - what are your monthly expenses (mortgage, insurance, HOA, etc) divide that among the individuals that have booked and refund the rest. I'm sure worldwide pandemic was not considered when the fine print was established. A lot of us have similar situations where the tables are turned and ARE doing the right thing. This is a black eye on your establishment - both VRBO and owner. Do the right thing.

We rented a property via VRBO site and paid the rental fees and $250 security deposit. After the rental, the host released the deposit but after 18 days VRBO have not remitted the payment to me. They are holding all payments and refunds irrespective of the type of payment. They will not answer calls or emails about this subject and seem intent on holding payments. It’s not a good sign for business continuity so beware before making any bookings with VRBO.

We had an upcoming rental 2 weeks away in the Destin area, and we were already vacationing in Florida at the time, so we could have easily made it to our destination without much difficulty. We contacted the owner, Shawn Freyaldenhoven, and explained our kids and grandkids were not going to make the trip during this difficult time. Shawn readily offered to give us a full refund, which happened within a day, or so. I was so pleased with his accommodation that I immediately rebooked his place for next year at the same time.

Property ID 491474. Singer Island Rentals, Manager. We have stayed at the Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa for over 10 years and decided to book via VRBO because it was cheaper and we wanted to support small business. When we first canceled, the property manager would not consider giving us any refund. Then VRBO came up with give 1/2 the money back and they will refund their fee. I have not received the refund from VRBO but I did receive the refund from the property manager.

This owner will not refund or credit because of the covid 19. Even though VRBO says they expect them to refund at least 50%. Very rude and unwilling to work with us. Property id is 1794972 in Naples Florida. Is located at Flamingo Golf Course Lily Resort. Beware.

I had two great experiences renting from an owner in prior years. The pictures and descriptions were extremely accurate. I have rented through VRBO/Home Away because they act as an intermediary between the owner and renter. As an experienced world traveler and mother of three who many times travels without my husband I find this safer and more of a business transaction. In addition, there is a renter's guarantee clearly stated on their website. The property listing can not be grossly misrepresented on their website through pictures and descriptions. In addition, the property can’t be unsafe. I paid for two weeks for Sea Dream House in the Bahamas for my children and older parents to relax during spring break. I was horrified upon arrival by the location and condition of the property.

I recently used VRBO to rent two flats in England for an upcoming family vacation. Then the COVID-19 crisis froze everything. I got all my airfare, and prepaid hotel rentals back, no questions asked. One of the VRBO flats agreed to refund 50% of my rent, mostly because I had not yet paid it. The other landlord just stopped communication. VRBO offered to refund their $79 fee, but could or would not do a thing for me in my negotiations with the landlord.

We have a vacation rental scheduled in Rome during the Coronavirus pandemic. AirBNB has offered full refunds but VRBO still stating that they are encouraging hosts to refund but that’s it. No refunds available. So even though you can’t travel to Rome, the host continues to not allow a refund. Short term profits will be the end of VRBO.

I am a property owner. I'm reading recent bad reviews in Consumer Affairs about VRBO.com and would like to present a point of view that I haven't yet seen in the reviews. Property owners set their refund policy and it is clearly indicated on the listing and the booking. These times of COVID-19 are not usual and customary so vrbo.com has REQUESTED owners break their normal refund policy and give refund if the cancellation is past the set refund period. Vrbo.com has also promised to refund the vrbo fees attached to the booking.

According to the VRBO website, they have notified partners to abide by their COVID-19 emergency standards, which set a 50% refund minimum. Our total bill was $4464.08. If I’m doing the math correctly, 50% would be $2,232.04. To be honest, I was hoping given the situation, you would be willing to offer a full refund as most at VRBO and AirBnB are doing this. If you’re not willing to do a full refund, then I hope you are willing to follow VRBO’s suggestion for a 50% refund. If that’s not the case and $1700 is the best you can do, please confirm.

We booked a property (** Prospect Ave) in Clearwater, FL in January 2020, paid final payment, Feb 26, 2020 and March 18 was forced to cancel due to the Family wedding we were attending being canceled By the Sand Pearl Resort due to the Coronavirus. The property manager, Bruce will not respond to any phone calls or emails concerning cancelling the property. VRBO is doing nothing to get our refund issued. I have made a total of 11 attempts by phone and email to plead this cancellation with the property manager, (as well as to reach to VRBO customer service, be placed on hold for 45 minutes only to be told to call the customer service number which was the number had I been on hold for 45 minutes), but he has not made any attempt to reach out to me. DO NOT EVER BOOK WITH VRBO Because if they are not willing to work with us as AIRNBNB has done with their clients and our family members. In this state of emergency why would they work with you when things are business as usual. JUST STAY AWAY FROM VRBO Properties!

VRBO is asking property owners and managers to offer a full credit for the amount we already paid if you are outside of your cancellation window. They are only “asking” NOT helping or requiring owners to refund money! We have asked our property manager to refund our money and she will NOT because she said she doesn’t have to through VRBO. She told me if I would have booked it through Airbnb she would have had to. This group cannot all reschedule another time to go. This is a group of high school seniors and a few chaperones! VRBO told us to “Contact the owner or property manager to discuss cancellation and refund options. Although they are not obligated to provide a refund outside of the cancellation window...“

AWFUL!!!! We booked a house at 4003 Brownstone Ct, Dallas Texas, Drew ** from 3/20 - 3/22. We had to cancel due to the virus.. we did so on 3/16.. he and VRBO will NOT get us a refund!!!! This is a terrible company and a worse human being!!!!

I cant believe some of these HOMEOWNERS are so INSENSITIVE. They think it is ok to KEEP people's money when the government is BANNING going out! and VRBO thinks its A-OK to support their HOMEOWNERS (who will probably double dip with the stimulus). Whats worse - VRBO says "THE HOMEOWNERS HAVE MORTGAGES AND SALARIES TO PAY" - WELL GUESS WHAT? That's a risk you rich people take when buying more than one house for investments - there are people who are now out of work and cant afford their rent, but VRBO thinks it's ok...Unbelievable....

Poor Experience at best; avoid all VRBO affiliated companies. Used VRBO in the past and never had an issue. Due to COVID-19, the owner mentioned that we should not come. She authorized the refund. VRBO continues to keep the money after 9 days (their term, 5-7).

Beware of VRBO. They will not refund your money or even help you get a refund if you have to cancel. We booked a stay at a home in Del Ray Beach (Property No. 7283978ha) the week of 3/31/20. Sadly we had to cancel because we cannot leave Illinois due to “Shelter In Place” plus beaches and restaurants are closed so no food and nowhere to go would be terrible. I cannot even begin to express my total disappointment with VRBO.

I rented a vacation condo in Belleair Beach Florida and paid for it in full last June. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic I had to cancel it mid-March this year. I am Canadian and border crossings for recreation are not allowed under either country's policy. VRBO amended their cancellation policy to refund the taxes and service charge portion of the costs but is refusing to return the 31 nights worth of lodging and a cleaning fee. They say this is up to the property owner, not them. All they will do is urge the owner to step up.

On the surface, VRBO appears to be a place that a traveller would go to find a rental property to stay for their vacation purposes. They do not have the travelers' best interest in mind. They are essentially only the middle-man who takes no responsibility for reservations made through their platform. Despite a global pandemic and VRBO's plead from their president "in the spirit of good hospitality, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund during this COVID-19 virus," the property management company who handles the property, chose not to abide by VRBOs policy and had chosen not to refund my accommodation. (The President has mandated a non-essential travel ban, the local mayor of the community we were going to visit has issued a shelter in place on the city, and all non-essential businesses in the city have shut-down).

I recently used VRBO to book a rental home in March 2020 and after the pandemic of COVD 19, I had to cancel my reservation. I had an absolute nightmare of an experience with VRBO and Southern Belle (don't book with them ever!). While AirBnb was graciously offering refunds on behalf of property owners, VRBO was only 'encouraging' homeowners to offer a refund. And if homeowners do not, VRBO did absolutely nothing about it. I happen to book a home under a smaller corporation named Southern Belle, whose properties were listed in VRBO. They were horrible- honestly when the entire country was being kind and understanding regarding cancellations because of COVD 19, Southern Belle was only interested in making money, it was ridiculous.

I was not able to travel to London and the Owner would not refund any part of my money. He said, if I come later, he would give me a discount? Not free stay; a "discount ". Will never book VRBO again.

Poor response to Corona Virus shelter in place/subsequent refund. Vrbo has left decision about refund policy in the hands of individual property owners, resulting in vacation renters being penalized thru no fault of their own (Calif. Governor shelter in place proclamation). This is weak, unfair property manager guidance by Vrbo. This international pandemic situation is not the time for poor leadership affecting innocent renters.

**Warning DO NOT BOOK WITH VRBO**. I am writing this post to expose the pure SCAM that is VRBO during a nationwide pandemic. My family and I booked a vacation rental in Siesta Key, Florida for our spring break vacation in April. We paid a large amount of money, being $3,500, as she has 5 children & we needed a large rental. The rental is also on the beach. The beaches have since been shut down as the state of Florida continues to be one of the epicenters for the Coronavirus outbreak. The owner is refusing to refund our money and IS NOT being accommodating to change our dates when VRBO “suggested” to give renters a year to change.

I generally have had good experiences with VRBO over the years, but everyone should be aware that they wash their hands of any assistance if you rent property through them using a third party manager. I literally cannot get to my Paris rental because of cancelled flights, and the local property manager will not refund any of the almost $4000 accommodations or give me a credit. VRBO will not step in to help at all - very disappointing.

Do not book HomeAway/VRBO.

This corona pandemic has been declared a national emergency and is quickly becoming a national disaster. IL is where we live and has declared a shelter at home until 4/7. Florida is where we had a condo booked for over 18 days, has declared a state of emergency. I am 13 weeks pregnant now and I can’t risk getting stuck in FL with hospitals overrun with elderly sick patients. My doctor does not want me traveling and I have a doctors note I can send.

My particular owner in Destin, FL (who I will not publicly shame) intentionally misled me in an email saying "The condo has a private beach and it is open as well as the pool. I'm told that restaurants are serving at half capacity." Then he forwarded me an email from the property, timestamped the day prior, saying that the private beach and pool are closed. There's been no offer or attempt to find another date to reschedule. All of this is just dishonest. USA Today reported that "VRBO plans to ban rental owners who dismiss the severity of coronavirus threat to travelers."

Due to Covid-19 we were forced to cancel beach house. We canceled the same day of booking and were guaranteed a 100% refund from owner due to Beach, Harbor and Bay closure at rental location. VRBO/Home Away wants to keep our $2,060.50 and Only Refund Deposit of $400. Complete Scam and Fraud by this horrible Company!!

Tried to cancel our trip to New Orleans on March 16. Was told by the owner she doesn't have the money to give back. This is not right or ethical due to Covid 19. I will never return to VRBO or 3900 Esplande Ave you may have screwed over the people who did the right thing.

I've had such a run-around trying to get a refund from a reservation I had to cancel because of coronavirus travel restrictions. While VRBO states that their policy is to encourage property owners to provide at least a 50% refund, the owners of the property I rented from have said that they will not abide by that policy. They have chosen not to provide any refund. These are times when it is important to be consistent and communicate a clear message. I understand VRBO's message to be focused on providing cover for property owners, rather than supporting the clients who visit their properties. I plan not to use their services again, and will gladly turn to their competitors who have implemented far more client-friendly policies at this time.

Updated on 03/29/2020: This property owner for listing #1677188 located in Charleston, SC felt no remorse about keeping my $2,100 after a trip scheduled for April 16-19, 2020 had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Although VRBO "strongly encourages" their property owners to make at least partial refunds in the event future dates cannot be accommodated (which they could not due to out of state trip that wouldn't be rescheduled), she felt no obligation to return a dime of my money. VRBO returned my booking fee of $221. We were ONE day past the 50% refund policy that is their standard policy. We held out simply because we desperately wanted this trip to come to fruition but COVID-19 had other plans. She has had my money since August 2019. What a shameful property owner and company (VRBO) backing her.

I book a beautiful place in Florida, the host was very responsive and easy to work with during our booking process. The event we were going to was canceled but my husband and son were still planning to go to Florida. However, my son is an ER physician and was told to stay home and my husband has a compromised immune system because of the treatment he is receiving and was told not to travel.

We rented a VRBO for later this month. We were going to ski & take our adult kids out to celebrate Birthdays. 2 1/2 weeks before we were to go, COVID 19 happened. Ski hill closed, all restaurants closed & we are quarantined. Owner Fletcher ** refused to give us back our 1/2 of paid rental. VRBO is not requesting Hosts to refund your money due to this outbreak! Do not book with VRBO. Airbnb is requiring their host to give refunds back. I will never rent with VRBO again.

So excited for our upcoming spring break!!!! Of course then came COVID. With first Michigan being placed in shut down, then we received notices that all of Galveston was as well. Of course all travel is highly discouraged. Following the recommendations from the CDC and government we contacted the owners to change the dates. Of course we still wanted to go on our vacation. Just move out a few months. They refused!!!! Said that they already used the money to pay their mortgage and we were out of luck!! What in the world???? Still waiting to hear from a representative from VRBO corporation but not keeping my hopes up. I guess we are out $3000.00.

The VRBO policy around COVID-19 refunds is a joke. We had a California trip planned for mid April, and are being told by the host that we will only get 50% back. Take some responsibility for your business VRBO, don't just state that "it's up to the hosts". Your competitors are dealing with this terrible situation better than you are. We have used VRBO probably 20 times in the last 3 years, we will not be using them again.

We had to cancel our trip due to the corona virus pandemic. We were told to limit travel. Friends from Canada were to join us. We have closed borders with Canada now and they no longer can travel and they also have underlying health problems which would be compromised with being exposed to the corona virus. Naturally we had to cancel our much anticipated trip. We are disappointed we can not see our friends. VRBO unlike Airbnb is not offering a full refund. So disappointed in this company and will not use them for help in my travel destinations ever again. How can they profit off this catastrophic disaster that is happening worldwide? This was out of our power and we are being penalized for the very fact the world is suffering in this pandemic.

California is on lockdown and our flights from MN are cancelled. VRBO says “suck it”. Not only being charged for rental, but the GD $175 cleaning fee! $800 in fees for a pandemic cancellation. I’ll never rent from here again. Hosts have gone mute.

I booked a room at Sonoran Spa in Rocky Point through VRBO and I paid in full. When, I got there, the deposit required was $200 and I had cash, but I had only like $185 on my credit card (the eve of a payday) so I ended up paying a $200 cash deposit. Long story short? I had an argument with the man I was with at the resort and I decided I needed to leave for my safety. I was the resort guest and I had paid for the reservation and paid the deposit in cash. So when I left the room that night, I returned both his and my keys to the front desk and explained I was checking out early. I left the resort.

I canceled my VRBO reservation 30 days before and was supposed to a receive 50% refund. I was hoping for 100% because the reservation is in mid-April and my event had been canceled due to the Coronavirus, but VRBO is not doing this apparently. On the VRBO website it states "For example: A traveler cancels a reservation totaling $500.00, but has only paid $200.00 towards the cost of the reservation. If your cancellation policy allows for a 50% refund at this time, the traveler would receive $100.00 back."

I was looking for a rental in kentucky for august and found one I liked. I asked the property owner a question and they responded quickly. I decided not to book that night but the next morning I had an email from VRBO saying I was preapproved by the property owner (NOT SURE WHAT THAT EVEN MEANS). I decided to go ahead and booked it. During the process it somehow reserved and charged me for a date that had already passed. I called vrbo right away and because of COVID-19 the wait time to talk to someone is about 30-40min. When I did talk to someone they said it's up to the property owner to refund me and there's nothing they can do. I've now spoke to 3 different people all talking me the same. Conveniently, the property owner will not respond.This is FRAUD. DO NOT USE VRBO. THEY ARE SCAMMING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.

And you were the recent virus and the travel restrictions and the shelter in place that we are all experiencing my conference was canceled. I am unable to go to Atlanta as much as I would like to but I can’t even contact anybody from VRBO or the property manager to even discuss any options of a possible partial refund or a change of the venue or a change of time so I can travel at least later date. They won’t even talk to me to even give me any of that information. Even to say no way. At least deserve a response. I can’t believe that they would take peoples money and not give any kind of compensation in view of this pandemic. It is affecting the entire world.

VRBO has been completely unhelpful in this time of national emergency. They put all responsibility for getting a refund on me to deal with the property management company. I have had multiple conversations with the property managers and they refuse a refund. VRBO basically says “Oh well, it’s up to them.” This is the most un-American company I have ever seen. The management co. rents the same condo through AirBNB and those customers got a refund. Property management said if I had used AirBNB I would have gotten the refund but they are not required to give one through VRBO. Unbelievable! I’m sure VRBO will hold their hand out when the federal government offers money for their “losses.”

Based on current states of emergency, we are unable to enjoy our rental in Fort Lauderdale this weekend (booked on 1/23). The only response we have been able to get from the host, Jaime, claims that "public beaches are still accessible including piles of humans enjoying spring break," so she is unwilling to refund hundreds of dollars. After 4 phone calls to VRBO with a 60 minute wait time each time, VRBO claims they will help after first looking into the case. Each time ends with a disconnected call. At this point, we have no choice but to surrender this money and hope that other people do not fall victim to such scams in the future.

I have used VRBO many times, but I never will again! In light of COVID-19 virus pandemic, and my age (well over 60), I contacted the VRBO vacation rental property owner -- 5 days before our reservation was to occur right after the Federal Govt recommended cancelling all non-essential travel. The property owner readily agreed to a cancellation, but he was unable to make the change through the VRBO system (he said he'd tried for many customers). He said to call VRBO, which I did; after 100 min on hold, I got an agent who said the owner must initiate refund! I called the owner back and he said he tried again and could not. I called VRBO again and they sent me to another phone number, which turned out to be a travel insurance company, which does NOT cover Covid-19 unless you are actually infected! VRBO, apparently since it was bought by Expedia, has changed for the worse. It must step up to the plate and do the right thing NOW!

VRBO you are NOT doing the right thing for your customers. I have a trip planned on March 28th and paid a LOT of $$ and only given the option for a credit and NOT re-reimbursement. Every time I call or email, I received a templated take it or leave it response and no response back at all from the property owner. Please make this right for your customers!

DON'T book with VRBO!!! If you have to cancel, even if it is prior to the 100% full refund time frame, you have to FIGHT to get all your money back. They only issued me partial refund, short by over $1,000. I had to make several phone calls back and forth as homeowner and VRBO pointed the finger at each other. 1st phone call was 58 minutes long....on hold now with this one for 46 minutes with still no answer. YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO FIGHT THIS HARD TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK!!!! STAY AWAY!!!! As a customer, if you cancel prior to the 100% full refund, I should receive my money immediately, not have to figure out who owes me what portion of the refund. That is the job of VRBO to have in place. Will never book with them again.

I have never booked through VRBO, however had a friend tell me about it and decided to use it for my upcoming vacation. When this Pandemic broke out, they are REFUSING to refund payment. This is not something ANYONE expected to happen and I’m sure would rather not cancel their vacation plans but due to the shutdown we are having to. I plan on rebooking my trip once this is all over but WILL NEVER use VRBO or recommend them to anyone.

Hello, I am writing regarding the same topic many others have posted over the past few days. In light of the Northern California mandated shelter-in-place related to the COVID-19 virus scare, I contacted the VRBO vacation rental property owner to inform her of the mandate as soon as I received word (which was 5 days before our reservation was to occur). We requested to reschedule, not cancel the reservation. The property owner agreed to the change, but has been unable to make the change. Neither of us are able to reach the VRBO Customer service team by phone or chat, which are the only options given to reach customer service. The automated phone attendant requests the caller to call back, then hangs up. There is no option to sit on hold. VRBO's chat option is also not operating properly. This has been going on for the 3 days I've been attempting to reach them.

My first cancellation of 4-night stay that guest booked thru VRBO in my FL homestay due to Corona Virus. Shocked that of guest's $110 upfront booking payment, VRBO claims it refunded guest $58, but then pocketed $32 in "fees" and sent me only $20 as homeowner. I'd sooner guests get a full refund than VRBO + as Airbnb is doing) than for VRBO to make more than homeowners in this emergency. I depend on this guest income during high season to pay property taxes, utilities and house upkeep for a nice listing. When I called VRBO about its keeping fees despite guest cancellation, the service rep Moses based in Costa Rica actually had nerve to laugh and then sound impatient w my complaint. His supervisor Valerie refused to get on the phone. Travelers, I am only listing w Airbnb going forward, and please never book thru VRBO again.

VRBO is one of the few companies still making money in this crisis. The difference is, they’re doing it by providing no service whatsoever, in charging people for vacations they cannot use. I’ll enjoy watching VRBO/Home away for out of business when this comes to light.

AirBnb has much better protection for their travelers than VRBO. The difference is very notable with how they handled Coronavirus: AirBnb let travelers cancel with NO penalty, while VRBO basically said you're on your own--go figure it out with the property managers. I've had a problem with a property manager (They tried to charge me more than the agreed upon price.) and even though VRBO admitted I was right and the property manager was wrong they said that all they would do was e-mail the property manager and note their file. That means nothing and did nothing to help the problem. Meanwhile AirBnb clearly has rules that said if the property manager did what they did, that property manager would be prevented from booking another rental for the same dates. Never doing business with VRBO again.

Had to cancel after travel advisories came out about coronavirus. VRBO letting suggested owners should honor and do refunds. Hasn’t happened. Unable to contact owners. They don’t answer phone. Area is now under a shelter in place advisory. I am over 65 and would expect that they would at least refund something since this is really out of my control.

I have used VRBO almost exclusively to rent vacation homes for years. We rented a home in a current Covid19 hotspot in November. At that time, of course, we didn't know there would be a world wide pandemic. Currently even airlines and cruises are offering refunds, but not VRBO. While they say the right words on their website, "we care about customer safety" they are showing by their actions (sticking to their rigid cancellation policy) that they do not care. I will not rent with them again in the future.

Very disappointed in reaction to COVID-19 cancellations. I have had pretty good experiences with VRBO the past few years. However, I had booked a house with VRBO for a conference in Palm Springs that was set for March 18-21. By the time we were informed that our conference was cancelled it was past the cancellation date. Under normal circumstances I'd just suck it up and move on, but under circumstances I was hoping for some accommodation or creative thinking to assist travelers with this issue.

While we have used VRBO for travel in the past, this time it has not be satisfactory. Virtually all other travel providers are refunding due to the pandemic, including their main competitor Airbnb, hotels, and airlines. VRBO has chosen to simply reiterate their inflexible refund policy. It is absolutely astonishing. We booked several months ago to celebrate a major milestone birthday of the matriarch of our family. 18 of us need to travel from all parts of the country to Myrtle Beach. There is absolutely no way we would subject her to travel during the pandemic, let alone the rest of us. VRBO's response, "you should have canceled within the first 5 days after you booked." The virus wasn't even on the horizon at that time. Do not! Repeat, do not rent from VRBO.

To start off with let me be clear that I have used VRBO for years without any issues. Unfortunately, this time I was a victim of a scam that is apparently well known to VRBO, but new to me. I found a great looking property in Costa Rica and inquired about its availability. I was told that it was available and was sent a contract to fill out and return along with instructions on how to pay. I followed all of the instructions to a T. I received notice that they had received my payment including a HomeAway guarantee that my money was protected. Well come to find out, someone had infiltrated VRBO's website and when I inquired about the property I was sent to a phony site. From there it went downhill fast.

I have a pending trip to Maui that I have waited 2 years to take. Clearly, no one plans on a pandemic to interrupt their travel. Upon reaching out 2 weeks ago about what options I might have to re-book the trip in a year, I was met with curt, cold and unhelpful replies from Sunbeach Rentals. You cannot reach the owner of the unit directly- you only get short answers from this property manager. They told me to buy trip insurance, which I did... only to find out it does nothing to cover our unprecedented, global health crisis.

My family and I have only ever used VRBO when renting a place to stay for vacation. I will definitely be using Airbnb from now on. Vrbo has provided no support in the wake of the pandemic. We have a travel advisory for my area at the moment saying we can only go out for essentials. No non-essential travel. The owner of the cabin we are renting from refuses to give us any kind of a refund. We have never cancelled a reservation with Vrbo and we wouldn’t be cancelling this one if there wasn’t a pandemic happening. It is absolutely ridiculous that Vrbo can’t help people out during a time like this when Airbnb is refunding reservations. They have no compassion during this difficult time and I will be using Airbnb from now on.

The customer service at @vrbo is unbelievable. As a property manager, we have been waiting on funds to be disbursed for over a month from a guest that checked out over a month ago. No one is willing to help. This has been an ongoing situation for the last 6 months. The customer service will not let you speak with anyone to help resolve this issue. I have been hung up on, called a liar, yelled at, etc. I will be looking at other avenues to promote my rental property. If you own vacation rental property, I would advise you to stay away from VRBO and HomeAway.

VRBO does not provide any assistance during the Corona Virus outbreak to people or families that need to cancel their travel due to health concerns. You can often book the same property on AirBnB at the same price and have the ability to cancel within a certain window. DO NOT BOOK THRU VRBO!!

We have used VRBO on many occasions in the past and I have loved the experience; however, I am extremely disappointed in their reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic! We booked a condo in Hawaii well before the COVID-19 crisis but the owner has a 30 cancellation policy. Now that there are no trans-border flights between Canada and the US we have absolutely no possibility to do this trip - not to mention that it would be completely socially irresponsible if we did. We have paid about $2500CAD that we will lose if we cannot convince the owners to do the right thing and allow us to cancel. So far, that is very questionable.

I rented a home in Bluffton SC to attend a wedding on April 18th at Palmetto Bluff. Due to the COVID 19 the wedding has been cancelled. The bride and groom are from California as are all the guest. I saw the CEO of VRBO say they were going to do refunds. What he really means is they are asking their owners to give a full refund by they do not have to. I did buy trip insurance. Guess what? They are not covering this. This is my first and last time using VRBO. My rental was 3200.00. Every other travel company is providing refunds. This is just a greedy owner who won't refund or return my emails once I noticed she only gave me 50% of my cost. This shows what kind of company they are. They should work with their owners and help hem maybe but I will never use the company again.

Used VRBO to rent a house in Frisco, CO for a ski vacation in Feb 2020. The house required a $250 deposit which was paid 3 months ahead of the rental. I asked the home owner why I hadn't received my deposit back a week after we departed. She told me that VRBO puts a 2 week hold on the deposit. I have never had this issue before. It is now 2 weeks and still haven't gotten my deposit back. The sleazebags at VRBO are holding money to try and make money on the float. They also make it very difficult to contact them. We have used VRBO for many years for home rental but not anymore.

Vrbo is not offering any refunds due to cancellations related to the coronavirus. They are leaving all refund decisions up to the individual owners. The company is taking taking zero social responsibility for keeping their community safe. I would recommend Airbnb, which has offered a much better policy for cancellations related to the coronavirus outbreak.

My wife had booked a trip through VRBO two weeks ago. We tried to cancel last week, (1 week after booking) still 50 days before her stay and we were denied any refund. The stay totalled near $1,000 dollars and with that was a broken down statement that included cleaning fees, the property fees, along with vrbo's fees. We were told basically unless the owner agreed to refund we would not be given one penny back. In light of the Covid19 crisis other property listing sites like Airbnb that have similar terms are requiring their property owners to refund guests.

VRBO is not willing to consider cancellations outside of their normal policy despite of the recent COVID-19 epidemic. I tried to explain that the President of the United States has recommended to avoid travel, however, they are unwilling to reconsider their cancellation policy during the COVID-19 epidemic which seems unethical during this time. I would avoid using VRBO. My experience with them has not been pleasant and they do not exhibit ethical standards. They would not address my concerns they would only refer me back to their cancellation policy. I am very displeased.

I've rented through VRBO a handful of times through the years without issue. However, their crisis response to COVID-19 has brought out the true colors and shown that they prioritize homeowners over renters. My family of 5 booked a week-long ski vacation in Park City, which has shut down operations during the COVID-19 crisis. VRBO has been completely unresponsive - it's impossible to get them on the phone or use their chat during this time. The only guidance they've given online is to work with the owner to potentially receive a refund if the owner agrees. As expected, the owner did not agree and is giving no flexibility to moving the dates or splitting payment in any way. So now my family is out thousands of dollars for a vacation we are not going to take. VRBO has lost a customer for life. We will never again book with them and will use AirBnb or hotels which have responded with empathy to the crisis for so many of their customers.

Either the fit I pitched helped or the chaos surrounding the Covid-19 caused complete confusion but I checked my online banking this morning and every penny was refunded. I'm not sure but I was able to get a refund, although yesterday they were telling me I wouldnt. Who knows. I would still be cautious booking with this company!

I booked a place and called for confirmation number and was told they couldn't see anything on their end that the house I paid $463 for had been reserved. I checked my bank account and I saw that the money had been debited so I called my bank to cancel the transaction. I was given a temporary credit while this was investigated by my bank. About a week ago I had a chargeback on my credit only to be told by my bank that VRBO - Homeaway refused to pay them stating that I canceled outside the policy window and that the service was provided.

I am having a very bad experience with VRBO ex HomeAway. Due to Coronavirus restriction at 99% I won't be allowed to go from Amsterdam to Bonaire in April 7th 2020. I tried to ask the owner a partial refund or just a rescheduling, but she doesn't care at all, she categorically refused to make any other arrangement. I contacted Vrbo and the only thing they will do is to try to convince the owner to be more collaborative, which for sure won't happen and to pay me back their commission, about 120 dollars.

I am blown away with the rude customer service and lack of sympathy due to a Pandemic. I would never recommend booking through this company. I contacted VRBO initially to ask for a refund due to the COVID-19 Virus. The response was that they don't give refunds and I should have purchased insurance. I responded that I indeed purchased a travelers' insurance before Dec 2019. She then stated she cannot help me and I need to contact the insurance directly. They were no help either and refused to refund this $4000 trip. Unbelievable knowing to have thrown away that amount of money AND insurance that doesn't even cover for you to cancel. VRBO is simply a CHEAP BOOKING FIRM that is obviously money-hungry, unsympathetic and not willing to help you out in any way at a horrific Virus outbreak like this that we all have no control over it. I am so DISGUSTED... SHAME ON YOU GUYS.

I have used VRBO for over 5 years and have paid them thousands of dollars in fees and service fees. As of the last few months, VRBO has introduced a new policy (under the disguise of a new payment platform) that essentially collects 50% down payment from my renter many months in advance of the rental (My renters usually book 6 to 8 months in advance) but holds on to my money until the day before check-in.

I would never recommend booking through this company. I called to cancel my reservation due to the COVID-19 and sat on the phone for 3 hours just to get the runaround. I was told I was being transferred to a “higher up” where he told me I could be lying about being on the phone for three hours. I proceeded to tell Him I would be happy to send him a screenshot. How unprofessional and rude! He also told me I should have purchased insurance and it is not his fault there is a virus outbreak right now. These are the kind of higher ups dealing with customer affairs and wellness? I will never book through this company again. DISGUSTING!

My husband and I booked our trip to Hawaii and were really excited until the Pandemic of COVID19. We didn’t panic and thought we would wait things out but now we are weeks away from our travel date and boarders are now closing. When I reached out to VRBO and asked if they were waiving the 60 day cancellation policy I was told no. The owner of the condo also said no to refunding our money. I don’t think I’ll ever book through this company again! This travel restriction is out of my control and would have thought VRBO would understand and refund our money. Also, the thing is, we would have rebooked once this pandemic was over. Definitely won’t be booking anything through VRBO and will ensure to advise all my friends and family of this disappointing service.

We booked a condo through Vrbo for a stay in Park City, Utah for March 13-18, 2020. We tried to cancel our reservation due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Vrbo said we could only cancel and receive a refund if the property owner agreed. "Rob," the owner living in Australia, has refused to provide any refund or accommodation. He's simply keeping the full amount, and doesn't care that there is a national health emergency. And Vrbo says it can't do anything about it. So essentially, if you book through Vrbo, you're on your own. It's nothing more than an advertiser for the property owner.

During the Coronavirus pandemic, VRBO is advising renters to contact owners for refunds. However owners are not willing to refund anyone! It is disgraceful that during such scary time their own concern is profit! No support from Vrbo. Other companies are refunding!

VRBO has been completely hellish to work with during this current pandemic, we were suppose to fly to the UK but because of all the travel bans we had to cancel. The owner will not answer any of my emails and VRBO just tells me that they have nothing to do with it. Do not use this service and for sure do not book this place if you go to the UK Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London, UK Property ID: 8636376. This owner is profiting off this crises.

Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic AND National Emergency, all of the events we were traveling for were cancelled and travel and crowds were discouraged. We had no choice but to cancel our booking for the rental house we had previously booked to stay in. While ALL other airlines, hotels, cruises gave full refunds due to the extreme circumstances, VRBO assumes none of the loss and showed zero compassion. They “urged” the individual homeowners to refund at their own expense, and offered no financial responsibility and assumed no loss. The homeowner we rented from was only able to offer us a portion of our money back as he was taking a huge loss with all of the cancelations and VRBO did nothing!

I like VRBO. I don't like one owner with whom I had to cancel because of the Coronavirus emergency. She will not give me a full refund because it is within the 60 day window even though this pandemic is unusual to say the least. So stay away from Rachael in Minneapolis. Her owner ID: **.

We booked a family vacation over March break at Sonny Skky’s Paradise Gulf-View Retreat. Contacted the property manager TurnKey Vacation Rentals and VRBO to enquire about cancelling and reimbursements they are offering due to the Coronavirus pandemic. They don’t care! Will not offer us a refund or credit. So unrealistic and uncompromising during this outbreak. Wish we had have booked through Airbnb because they are offering full refunds and making exceptions to their cancellation policy: NEVER using VRBO ever again, how dare they be so insensitive during a time like this, our government is strongly advising not travelling outside of Canada. The country is in a crisis travel advisories worldly and VRBO only cares about the $2800 we paid for the trip. SHAME on You!

The Rental house #694131 Madeira Beach Florida was going to be a great family vacation but we had to cancel our trip due to the nation's “State of emergency“. Carrie, the Home owner, was wonderful to work with and we plan on renting the house in the future.

I book the wrong apartment on the website, the owner or the website did not make clear how many rooms were inside. I contacted the service right away, about 5 minutes after (only in English) it is a chance that I can speak english in an area where people only speak french in Canada (the owner speaks only french too). It took several phone calls of 15min to an hour to be able to do something because VRBO policy is that they cannot cancel on their own, what a mess. The owner doesn’t answer to them anymore, and my 800$ for the booking will be spent on nothing. Worst booking company ever.

Bernard of Brighton, Colorado. Mar 09, 2020. VRBO supports Rental Owners who discriminate against Disabled Persons and those requiring a Service Dog. I made a reservation in mid-February 2020, for Property ID 1064907. When I informed the owner that I am 100% Disabled and have a Service Dog, the Owner immediately Canceled my reservation stating Service Animals are not allowed.

I have used VRBO twice in past month. Both times I purposely declined the cancellation insurance, both times a charge for it, (the last one $80) was added to my bill. I called both times, the last time I immediately called and they told me they could not remove it as my request for the property was pending. I told them I wanted it removed immediately so I wouldn't have to call a second time, They transferred me to their associated insurance company and I got a message to leave my phone # and they would call me back. I didn't want a call back, I wanted to settle this, so I stayed on the line but they didn't tell me that I couldn't do that, and the line hung up on me. I had spent over 1/2 hour on the phone with no resolution of the problem.

Booked a stay at what was described as a luxury home in Costa Rica. The house was falling apart, was animal infested, sheets and towels were moldy. Let the hosts know how shocked we were and asked to opt out of booking. Owners negotiated a heavy discount based on similar properties nearby and we agreed. Owners asked for us to wait a few days (at which point we had checked out) to see the credit, but of course, never put it through, despite our repeated requests for them to make good on their promise. We had promises in writing and when we called VRBO for recourse and to intervene, VRBO washed their hands saying there was nothing they could do. Owners have sent us insults and threats following our negative review, yet VRBO refuses to deal with the situation or deal with or delist dishonest owners. Disappointed with the experience, and shocked at VRBO's failure to address the issue.

We booked a place to stay for an event. The owner cancelled the booking saying that the property had sold, but there was no sign of a refund. My wife has now been on the phone to VRBO for over an hour to learn the following: We have a case number but we still have to check for the refund and get back in touch with VRBO if it doesn't happen. Presumably spending another hour on the phone in the process.

I am an owner with more than a few listings on VRBO.com and I've been a client 5+ years. VRBO once was a wonderful, user friendly system that created an environment that was safe for travelers and safe for the owners. All this has changed. While the customer service reps are friendly, they don't understand how to correct the most basic billing issues and, the ticketed issues (forward to another level of support are IGNORED). Weeks will go by without any feedback or resolution.

No booking deposits since October 2019!!! We have around 80 homes that we advertise on VRBO and we have been pushed into higher monthly subscriptions; as when I started this company the listing were $89 per year and the site was used for simple advertising. Over the past two years it has required online booking, they charge renters additional booking fees as well as the person listing the property. Mind you that the listings now cost $599 and there are fees EVERYWHERE! Forget all of the bookings from the past, as renters aren't booking as often due to ridiculous booking fees.

Properties are totally misrepresented. In the absence of any policing, owners are free to fleece renters at will. Our current “cottage” of 500 square feet could be described as follows: no heat with 42F nights and days in the low 60’s. The heater did not function or was shut down to save a few pennies. 2 broken windows, 1 boarded up with the board falling off. Semi finished or horrible workmanship. Gaps, left out tiles, paint splattered around, doors so crooked they can’t close. A cleaning lady that forgot her job function. Years ago. New kitchen cabinets installed so poorly they are separating at the seams and, eventually, will fall off the wall.

Horrible Processes, inaccurate information from Customer Service reps, they are pretty much useless. They cannot guarantee that the listings are accurate, that you will be refunded if unhappy, that the owners are responsible, you don't know and they do not indicate if they have other complaints filed against the owners. The owner never responded until 20 days after I had sent him a complaint and Vrbo process is 24-48 hours. They tell you to do a review in order for them to look into a claim, then you cannot attach pictures, no one gets back to you, and the reviews are not posted.

Booked a location for my son's college graduation in Pullman, WA for May in the early part of February. Booking accepted, paid for, money deducted from account. Three weeks later, I get a message that says "Oh, sorry, the company double booked for the same dates". I tried to get in touch with the property owner by messaging him through VRBO, telling him he needed to refund my money and thanks for nothing because there are no vacancies at motels within a 90 minute drive of Pullman now.

We arrived at Hidden Gem in Crystal River Fl VRBO early evening & found door code not allowing entry. Messaged owner numerous times and called, voicemail said box full. Couldn't leave message. VRBO directed us to a local hotel mostly on their dime. Owner Carley ** got back to us between 10 and 11 that night and said she will have neighbor check out lock, no apology just that we should leave hotel at 10:44 at night and try door again, really.

I booked a condo on VRBO. Due to a change in my travel plans, I had to cancel. It promised me a 100% refund as long as it was cancelled by a certain date, which it was. I went to website, went to my reservation, and there were only 2 choices, cancel booking or reschedule. I hit cancel booking. I received a response within hours from the host, the man who actually owns the condo, saying no problem and he authorized a refund. I questioned why it wasn't 100%? He said, the rest VRBO will process after the refund processes. So I waited. But never saw it from VRBO. So I called, and got the snottiest little Filipino, who accused me of not canceling the booking, talked over my voice and was rude. I told her, I hit the cancel button, how else would I have received my refund from the Owner/Host?

I have been offering my property for a while on VRBO. They have become sooo expensive. For example, today a client had to cancel his reservation. By contract he would be refunded 50% of what he paid (less than 2 month before rental). He had paid 1800$ reservation, he got 900 reimbursed, I got 200, rest is for VRBO! Other example: Customer paid: $3,047.75 for a rental this summer, I got $1,923.95. Plus now, if you want to get the payment directly, you should leave an extra 6%, if not money will be received few weeks after the end of the rental! AirBnB has become cheaper than them unfortunately! I am looking for other options! Yes, they are big, bringing quite a lot of business, but really.

Booked a vacation rental on VRBO for an upcoming trip. The way it works; you place your request and the owner either accepts or rejects. In this case the owner accepted and took my money for the rental (in the local currency Euros). One week later the owner canceled my reservation and refunded my money in Euros. The issue was that the exchange rate between the booking and canceling had changed and I lost a lot of money. When I explained my issue with VRBO, they said that could not do anything for me and that I should take it up with the bank. Really, the bank. Anyway, just want to warn people that may be booking anything at a different currency. In my humble opinion, VRBO should have stepped up to the plate and reimbursed me the loss in the exchange rate. If it was me that canceled, it would be a different story, but it wasn’t and it was totally out of my control.

I have been a host with VRBO since 4/2015. I was extremely happy with the service and support I received as a host. Since Expedia bought this platform the cost to me and my guests has risen exponentially with a significant decrease in service. I have experienced multiple incidents of the mobile app and web site becoming non-responsive. Most recently, they are experiencing issues with their website and seem unable to resolve issue. They executed a 'nonbookable' automation feature that is not working properly. I have been trying to get resolution to multiple dates on my calendar showing up as blocked. I have not blocked these dates; the site has automatically applied 4 day blocks to days after a reservation. I cannot reach anyone to resolve problem. The website does not provide an e-mail address to send complaints. I guess this is intentional so there is no documented proof of issues. This VRBO / Homeaway site has become a joke.

Browsed this service several times before committing to try them out. I should have listened to my instincts. My very first "booking" I was shown a fraudulent listing which I input my cc/debit info to "rent" and was charged. I contacted the "owner" to confirm details at which point she informed me that it was pretty much a rooming house which was not what I was shown, booked, and was charged for. I booked what was advertised as a private home. I then had to endure this person attempting to argue with me over the phone including when I called the corporate number. She also attempted to get me to cancel the booking which would have penalized ME financially. I did eventually get my money refunded after several phone calls and a short period of wait. It was an obvious scam and I would never trust my personal or cc/debit information or their listings again.

VRBO users beware. Today I booked a VRBO and minutes later realized it was too far for the first leg of our journey. I immediately canceled the reservation giving the owner an explanation for the quick cancel and the reason. Then the reservation was canceled but I was only refunded 39% of what we paid. I realize I made the mistake, but this is terrible customer service!

VRBO fails to apply any taxes that may be applicable to your total upon checking out. I wanted to rent a condo for a few days, researched options, and found something I wanted to rent. I set up the rental, reviewed my total and decided it was more affordable than other options I researched. After I made my payment though, I was emailed saying I still owed for hotel taxes because of the location of the rental property. This was close to an additional $100 to rent the property. The tax was not included in the total/final price shown to me during check out. Had this additional tax been included in my total, I would not have chosen this property, or company to rent through.

Lighthouse Gulf Shores unit 1408. The unit is without a doubt the worst condo we have ever been in and not to Mention the uncooperative landlord. Here is the list of items we found as we arrived at the unit, shower leaked out on floor and ran over to wall, both bath vents hanging by a screw, room vents on air conditioner closed and hanging by one screw, chair support broken, toilet ran constantly, chair in bedroom wicker bad, deck tables very rusty. Will cut yourself if used. No lids that fit pans, one burner on stove crooked, only four bowls to use, no stool to get stuff in Cabinets, alarm clock not working, dishwasher leaked on floor, no 2 cup measure. Blender broken, old broom with bad end, shower item holder falls down, comforter on main bed has numerous large bleach spots on it, ceramic tile floor has numerous holes and cracks in it, all furniture cushions are worn out, all lights and very dim bulbs. Could hardly read, no maintenance agreement in unit.

Scheduled a rental in Clearwater Florida a year in advance to attend the Elite Invitational Softball tournament. Paid in full, received the address one week before. After several attempts to contact the owner about access to the home, I called VRBO. They called the owner, who happen to have a number of properties with them, and came back to the phone and said the property had been sold and no longer available. No problem they would accommodate us. Valentine's weekend at the beach, nothing available. Offered to put us up in a hotel but we would have to pay 1500 for the weekend for two rooms and they would pay for two rooms.

BEWARE! I stayed at a VRBO property in early January 2020. After rating the stay and including a slightly negative feedback the owner who had rated me 5 stars prior to seeing my review subsequently deleted hers and charged me $95 in damages including stealing a washcloth. She even charged me the convenience fee that she has to pay VRBO which I was told she is not allowed to do. I paid for an hour of late checkout as the website did not match the contract.

So I have booked with VRBO 2 times, once last June and then this week. Both times I declined the protection plan and both times I was charged for the protection plan. When contacting the property manager she indicated I would need to call VRBO. When I contacted them after waiting for 30 minutes they told me there was nothing they could and really did not seem concerned. I contacted the protection plan insurance provider after again waiting on the phone for another 30 plus and finally left message for them to call me back.

We booked a place on VRBO for Belize. They sent the confirmation, A week later sent a cancellation. An issue with the booking, the first time we booked, owner did respond in 24 hours to the request, and VRBO sent a email saying so and we were not charged for the reservation. VRBO offered other properties to book there. We did want this home, so I resubmitted a new reservation request and the owner did respond.

I booked a week in April at Tybee Island through VRBO. Due to a family emergency I needed to cancel. (February- 2 months out). I tried to cancel through VRBO within the 60 days (required to get full refund) but the site kept taking me to a page requesting I refresh with a?. No phone number to be found... Nothing. Finally the next day I decided to reach out to the owner- Susan **. I was able to cancel but when my email confirmed the cancellation it said I was refunded $870 of $2062.35 I paid. (Under 60 days said 50% refund once I cancelled... Not before.) I was instructed that my cancellation was less than 60 days (59 I missed by 1 day) even though I tried to cancel before.

I have been using VRBO for at least 10 years. I think I had to use their customer service for a minor complaint once before and the response from them was very good. This time I paid a lot of money for a single night rental through VRBO. The owner contacted me once after payment to ask for my email and phone so he could send me check-in details before we arrived, and that was the last I heard from him. Tried emailing him on the day of arrival but nothing.

Horrific service. I had a substandard experience. They did not help me at all. After many calls and e-mails I would never ever recommend them at all. I wish I could give a negative as 1 star is 1 too many.

As AN owner. I've been with VRBO since 2009 When VRBO was actually Vacation Rentals By Owner. Never had any issues. Loved this company. Once Homeaway got their hands on the company things got bad, then worse when they decided to intrude on our payment systems by using a third party (Yapstone) to collect payments. All I had was problems. It actually took 6-7 months and I can't tell you how many hours to fix these issues. My accountant at the end of year could not figure out all of the their mess.

The customer service people want to help but have no access to the billing department which is holding millions in customers money for a year or more and using it to do what?? So any issues we speak to a person with very little information of access. So all they do is read a page for answers. It's ridiculous. I have been waiting 4 days for a billing department call back.

VRBO the company has now broken their own product by not allowing the guest any direct communication with the property owner or the property manager. All COMMUNICATIONS MUST GO THROUGH VRBO!!! The result is chaos. Complaints from the guests about any problem large or small is now routed through a 2 step call center process, NOT IN THE USA, but in the PHILIPPINES. Before, you could simply call the owner whose contact phone number was right there on the listing site. NOT ANYMORE!!!

I just wanted to warn other travelers. We have booked numerous times on VRBO and have never had a problem until this January. We falsely believed that booking through VRBO offered the consumer some protection. The property we had rented resembled more of a crackhouse then a vacation rental when we arrived. We were shocked and did not feel comfortable staying somewhere covered in stains with exposed wires (with our toddler). We contacted VRBO right away and then have done nothing to rectify the situation after weeks of arguing. They had us deal with the owner who of course had their money and couldn’t care less. I don’t want this to happen to other people so I am posting this warning to think twice before you book with VRBO - this offers you zero protection so please beware.

Renter beware! I made a reservation online for Hawaii, it went through and my card was charged the correct amount. The problem was I never received a confirmation. I called customer service, they were nice enough and said they would turn my case over to the proper department and I would get an email or return call in 23-48 hours, easy enough! Forward seventy two hours later, no email, no call. I called again, and they ask for all the information again, long periods on hold, and repeated information over and over. It seemed like no one typed anything I told them - it was mass confusion. Then I got disconnected, I called back!

We have been using VRBO, nearly exclusively for all our travels in Europe and US for the last 10 years. Anytime we stay over 3 days in a place we turn to VRBO. I would estimate 30-40 rentals over that time span. We have NEVER had a problem. The properties are usually better than presented and the owners have been responsive, kind, helpful and top rate. Again, never an issue. We are in our 60s and mid range travelers. In Europe our stays range from 3 days to 2 weeks in one property with an average of about 10 days for a trip that is 3 to 4 weeks in duration. In the US we take long weekends or week reunion getaways with families and friends. Using VRBO allows us to experience the ebb and flow of a place and often meet and make new friends. Fantastic!!

The owner of our rental house cancelled our reservation a few weeks before arrival, citing a problem with her HOA not allowing short-term rentals. She sent us this notice through message on VRBO but then did not proceed with cancelling the reservation. We called VRBO for assistance and they were absolutely useless!! They told us we had to wait for the owner to cancel the reservation and they couldn't do anything. In the meantime, we needed to re-book a different house but couldn't until VRBO released the funds that we had already paid. This was a $17,000 rental!!! Their solution...wait 24-72 hours for the owner to (maybe) officially cancel the reservation. While waiting, there are fewer and fewer homes available for us to rent because we are traveling there for a huge tradeshow that is taking up most of the city. The call center is terrible. They won't escalate you to anyone that can help. STAY AWAY!!!

I've had my condo on Amelia Island listed with VRBO for about 3 years. Although the fees are high, I was earning money.. Regularly getting my income from rental directly deposited into my bank account. Now, they owe me over $4500 for a few bookings over the last two months. They keep giving me various stories... Yapstone Problem, my problem.. They say my bank account number I've used for the past two years is wrong - suddenly - and somehow it's my fault. Then it's their system (the believable excuse) but yet after 4 calls and a few hours on the phone with unpleasant customer service (after all, it's all my fault they say) they can't get it fixed. IS THERE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against VRBO that I can join?

Insurance was bought through VRBO, but they will not pay. I sent doctors letters describing heart surgery, but all they do is keep asking for the same information again. I submitted everything they asked for including credit card statement. I will never use VRBO again. They were no help. What a rip off.

This has been a time consuming and horrible experience. Despite the owner releasing the funds two days after our stay, and despite repeated phone calls with VRBO, I still have not received the security deposit refund. Even though I've opened a case with them and each time I'm told someone from their financial department will contact me - nothing. And it starts all over again. And when I request a supervisor, I'm placed on hold for so long, I'm forced to hang up. Worst company ever and will never do business with them again. And will be certain to share this everyone I know.

I had a confirmed reservation for a cabin in Blue Ridge Georgia. Less than two weeks before my travel date the reservation was canceled due to the owner selling the property. This was less than two weeks before Valentine’s Day which was my reason for the trip with my wife. When I was told the reservation was canceled I was offered no assistance or compensation. Due to the short amount of time I ended up booking with another company but I paid more money for a property that I did not care for but because of my short time frame I really had no choice. They Say they have A booking guarantee but I found out first hand they do Absolutely nothing for you. I believe you should judge a company on how they react to a problem and with this company they didn’t react at all. I will never use them again and I warn you if you have a problem they will not help you and this wasn’t even a problem am I am was a problem on their end.

The VRBO rental agreement only protects the home renter, not the people wanting to spend time at a home that fits their vacation criteria. While planning a trip to celebrate our Mom's 70th birthday, 2 homeowners cancelled our reservations with no notice. One gave no explanation at all and the other got caught renting out their condo and had to face fines from their HOA. As a renter, if I cancel at the last minute I face a penalty by losing money. Yes, I was refunded my deposit but the time spent looking and ultimately finding a rental that suits everyone's needs is lost. Not once, but twice! I will not be using VRBO ever again. Vetting owners to be sure they are on the up and up should be a priority to VRBO and having the owner forfeit a portion of the deposit to the renter would make it fair if there was a family emergency and the home needed to be used.

Last summer my husband and I were planning a trip. I made the reservations with VRBO for a rental in Friday Harbor, WA, along with stops on the way up, as we were driving. I purchased the insurance when I made the reservations, only to discover later, the dates were only for our stay in Friday Harbor. The VRBO person that I asked questions regarding the insurance cost and policy for our trip was less than knowledgeable. We got as far as Richland, WA, four hours from home, when my husband became unable to continue the trip and we had to return home.

I have booked with VRBO for years and have been satisfied. But on my most recent booking, I received a contract that was $425 higher than the original agreement. I spent over 4 hours on the phone trying to resolve with no luck. Finally spoke to the owner myself and she agreed to give me 10% discount although she claims the error was theirs. I agreed even though price was still more than original agreement. I contacted VRBO and asked for a refund of my service fee since (1) I worked for several hours to resolve this and ultimately did so without their help and (2) I am still paying almost $200 more than original agreement. They flatly refused. Will not ever go back!

Rented a property in Seaside thru VRBO that listed the property managed by Sunburst beach vacations aka Southern Sands. 2 days ago VRBO notified me that something was wrong with situation and to not pay them more than the $2,000 first payment I had made! I checked website immediately and it was shutdown. Called number and no longer working number. Emailed asking for refund. Looked owner Steve ** up to find this guy has been sued countless times and involved in multiple lawsuits from investors and more since 2016. VRBO was also extremely unhelpful with crediting me back asap so I could move forward with another reservation. I even said look just put the amount I've already paid towards another deposit I make today with VRBO because I need another property asap.

Owners can cancel their reservation with you, for any reason, at any time, and VRBO takes no responsibility and will do nothing to help you. VRBO's Book with Confidence Guarantee is useless when a popular destination books up for the dates you have planned your vacation. There is no repercussion to the owner because you cannot leave a review on a reservation that they cancel.

On January 7, 2020 I was trying to book a home in Bermuda with my credit card. The Vrbo site kept saying the card was denied. I tried 3 times thinking I typed something in wrong because the card had a zero balance on it. I called my MC card # and they said the 1st charge did go through, and I said that can't be because I never received a confirmation from Vrbo. So I called Vrbo with my CC company on another phone at the same time and the customer service rep @ Vrbo said the charge did not go through that it was declined. So I opened a dispute with my Mastercard company. I called Vrbo to open a claim on 1/13 and they said someone would look into and get back to me within 48 hours.

My rental was not at all as described, no way was it a luxury unit. The building was perhaps an upper scale condo but the unit itself was 3 star at best. Also, I was not able to leave an honest review despite attempting to contact the company. I suspect the 4 very short 2 sentence reviews I read were bogus. Buyer beware.

I booked recently an apartment through VRBO.com. All through the booking process the total price of the booking (including cleaning fees, service fees) was stated 711.08 EUR. After I had entered my CC details, everything seemed fine. But than for some reason no confirmation e-mail was send. This made me a bit suspicious. Later came an e-mail of the property, but there was no information of payment details. I just was asked to fill out my arrival and departure time. That made me even more suspicious. So I asked the property directly (as they contacted me directly) to send me any payment details. And they did and again, the total sum stated was 711.08 EUR.

I was able to speak with someone when I called who saw my correspondence that I had written the review on but quickly resolved the issue and refunded the fee which I saw the next business day. I changed my review from 1 star to 2 stars. Though the overall experience was one star but the final assistance I received made a difference when I was having anxiety of having to deal with them any further.

VRBO, part of HomeAway and under the Expedia umbrella. I had used VRBO a number of years ago and had a good experience with them. This was before they were bought out and under the Expedia name. Expedia had previously stranded us in Mexico, cancelling our flight. That was the last time we used Expedia. Just this month, however, not realizing that VRBO was now under Expedia, we booked a trip for this summer and got back a confirmation email of total cost of $248 but when my credit card bill showed $271, I called.

This is from the perspective of a property owner using the site to rent. I have never in this day and age seen such horrible customer and tech support. You are never allowed to talk to tech. Customer reps will tell you they deliver the issue to them and that is it. You never hear from them again. I have a pending reservation for two weeks next Christmas That I am unable to accept accept because they are having an "internal issue", I have called three times and written two emails. The only thing the customer rep told me was it will be at least a week. Who in the world takes a week to fix a glitch?? After one day the interested guest will not even respond to me. This cost me a huge amount of money. If anyone knows of any recourse please tell me. We pay huge sums of money to advertise there. They get away with such abuse and basically scam us.

Be aware, VRBO charges up to 9% additional fee on top of what you would normally pay. I booked vacation rental on Big Island, HI in January, 2020. It is surprise to me that VRBO charged me $251 service fee on me (traveler) in addition to charging owner side for their property listing fee, their business model is charge both owner and traveler side. If you (as a traveler) don't want to pay additional and expensive service fee to VRBO, please find other vacation rental sites.

We booked a unit in HI for 2021. We received a confirmation and we paid half of the rental which went through on our credit card. After that, the owner contacted us to say she had the wrong rates on the VRBO site. We would have to pay a substantial fee to keep the reservation. We quoted the VRBO policy stating that she could not raise rates after an accepted booking. She then cancelled our rental. VRBO cancelled it within 30 minutes as well. We called VRBO to question this deal. The agent was going to contact a supervisor, but we were disconnected. He did not return the call. VRBO did not follow their own guidelines. The owner still has the same rates on VRBO today. Other consumers should beware. This is a scam. We will advise everyone we know not to book through VRBO.

VRBO is engaging in aggressive surveillance of consumer online purchases. If you travel, book hotels or flights online, use Airbnb, or use a credit card for any purpose related to travel, VRBO has scooped up your data and has created a profile on you. Your data and your profile are used to bombard you with ads. VRBO's customer service is routinely poor, and they have no email address or chat line to handle customer issues. The wait time for their customer service phone line ranges from 23 to 45 minutes. Doing business with VRBO should be considered risky.

We made a reservation in October for a trip in the middle of March. Two weeks before we're to leave VRBO cancelled, leaving us scrambling to find lodging in the Florida Keys. They gave no explanation or apology or any suggestions for finding a place to stay on such short notice. We suspect someone desperate offered more money. We will NEVER use VRBO again.

I have rented numerous times from VRBO, mostly for work, some for personal. We have always been ideal tenants, we leave the property in the same or better shape than we got it in. I have had numerous great experiences, great houses, owners. I rented a house for 2 weeks in Vegas for a trade-related work event, and cannot get the owner to communicate with me about the address or the code to enter the house... and tomorrow is the day I am suppose to start my rental.

If I can do no stars I would! Rented a property to house 16 people. Bought everything for my trip and find out 2.5 weeks before my trip that the property that my home is through switched my rental and never communicated the change and the new rental is not comparable. Contacted VRBO and property Executive Villas to cancel which they stated we were able to since they basically screwed us at the last minute. Paid over $2K for the rental, 2 weeks later still fighting with these people to see my refund.

Beginning in October 2019 I attempted to search out and book a vacation rental for four people in Palm Coast, Florida in March 2021. When I settled on a condo at Canopy Walk, the first couple I contacted seemed friendly and advised me that they couldn't rent that early for 2021. They explained that they would contact me in January 2020 for the booking. They did not call or email and on January 10th when I contacted them they said they had booked it already because it is a popular area - precisely the reason I tried to book early.

I booked a property with a free cancellation until May 3, 2020. The property owner was kind enough to make contact with me and inform me that the property features might not be what I expected. I filled out the cancellation form with VRBO and the response I received from VRBO was "the cancellation request has been forwarded to the property owner, if the property owner does not make the refund within 24 hours contact the property owner directly." There is no reason for me to believe that the property owner will not process the refund, but I find it discomforting to know that while VRBO processed the reservation and the payment, they don't process the refund. BEWARE: VRBO will make you fight it out with the property owner to get a refund. If I don't get a refund within 24 hours I'll call my credit card company and request a merchant chargeback.

I rented a property through VRBO that was advertised as 100% refundable up until a few days before arrival. The property owner cancelled my reservation due other circumstances and said I would be fully refunded through VRBO. It's been 3 weeks and I have not received my refund. Initially I called VRBO and they said they needed to "push" my refund through and I would receive it in a few days. I waited a few days and called back for the status and was told I need to work with the property owner and although refunds typically go through them, they will not stand behind my refund. Now I'm out $1672. Totally unacceptable. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT USING VRBO. There are better options out there. #VRBO

We booked a VRBO in Australia for December 2019 to January 2020. Due to the bush fires and horrible air quality my family was forced to cancel our trip just 4 days before leaving. VRBO did not refund us a single penny, even though the situation was out of our control. We ended up going on vacation in California and used VRBO to book again in hopes they would refund the service fee or do SOMETHING for us and even with us re-booking through them they still refused to do ANYTHING! We understood that it was so last minute and the renters depended on that income, but for VRBO to not even give us the service charge (which by the way was almost $600 for each place) is absurd. I would NOT book with them ever again. We will be using AirBNB from now on! CAUTION TO ANYONE WHO PLANS TO BOOK THROUGH THEM!!!

VRBO is a great tool, but one very frustrating thing is they allow properties to be listed with a low daily rate but then the owners add outrageous fees on top of the rental. VRBO should not allow additional fees but require owners to include any fees they want to collect to be part of the daily rate.

I booked a last minute vacation rental. I got an email from property manager the day of rental stating that my reservation was cancelled. I called VBRO and got the property manager. She said that she doesn't know how my reservation went through since there is a 3 day ahead booking policy. So not only did we not have a place to stay, VBRO charged me $160 refund fee! Be very careful dealing with these crooks. This was my first and last experience with them!?

We are extremely frustrated with VRBO for a couple of occasions. The most recent is one that I cannot get past. We are looking to rent in the Palm Desert, Ca area. We found the perfect one and booked early in 2019 (paying entire rental upfront). A week before Christmas we received an email that the owner cancelled our unit. We have been planning all year and inviting family and friends to visit. Now, what do we do. There is nothing comparable. I feel that vrbo should make the owner honor the agreement. Or find us something that is comparable. We are definitely looking for another company to find us something.

We stayed in a sub-standard VRBO vacation rental during Christmas week. The home was dirty and had many electrical and other problems. VRBO offered no support for dealing with the manager and had not published by one star, detailed honest review. Beware of VRBO rentals.

I have had 2 properties listed with a VRBO for 7 years. In the past year they have instituted payment policies that are unfair to owners. My reservations are generally made 6-9 months in advance of a stay at my property. The potential guest pays 100% of the rental rate at the time of booking. I used to get paid when the Customer paid. Now I wait until the day after the guests check in. Vrbo holds my money and earns interest for months while I have $0.0 from my guests payment. I should have that money as soon as they pay! Is this even legal? I know it is unethical! Vrbo also charges the guest a fee that I do not participate in upfront for booking a stay at a listed property. So they have their fee (no problem) And my fee (BIG PROBLEM). They have all $$$$ upfront. I have nothing! They are next to impossible to get on the phone. If I want to speak with someone! Average 18 minutes response time to answer a call?

My wife made a reservation a few years ago that the website was not clear was non refundable. I lost $1500 for a reservation which we could not use. I would never use VRBO ever again. They are a ripoff.

I think VRBO does their perfunctory responsibility, advertising and payment processing. There doesn’t seem to be any vetting of owners or follow up of complaints. I rented a house in Orlando a few years ago and it was perfect. The house was great and the owner was honest and repaid 100% of the security deposit promptly. In December 2019 I rented a house in Orlando. The stay was fine but when it came to refunding my $400 security deposit the homeowner kept $50 of it for himself. He said I left the grill dirty. The problem is I never used the grill. He was unconvinced and in not so many words, called me a liar. I can’t be the first renter he did this to.

I did not want to give them a star for rating. I was searching for a location at VRBO. The price was 40$ per night. When I tried to book it became 244$ per night, plus fees and tax the total was more then 450$. Maybe it was a mistake so I look to the next available. The rate was u91.31$, plus 98$ owner fee and tax 28$. You add to get the total. I will not use this service.

Vrbo.com claims to be an advertiser for property owners. They allow the property owners to add bogus charges not already agreed upon after the fact. Point being, you can lose your deposit for ANY reason and VRBO will back the person charging (stealing) your money. Do not use! Buyer beware!

Horrible horrible horrible!! I wish I read the comments on this page before going through VRBO. I’m out $800 and did not stay in the rental due to misrepresented housing, it was disgusting, bad communication, and not what I paid for! Pay the extra money for a hotel or Airbnb!

Due to VRBO's lack of vetting, my family of seven and I (including two children), were stuck in the middle of a dispute between a landlord and tenant on CHRISTMAS EVE. Basically, tenant rents home out on VRBO, landlord does NOT give consent, landlord rolls up on my family and I with no idea of what was going on. We should have known there were issues when we walked in and found out the house was dirty and there was BROKEN GLASS all around. Sheets barely washed. Gross.

This has been the worst situation possible. This rental place is the absolute the worst. We’ve emailed them, called several times with our concerns and issues and no help at all. Even the management they use for their properties are very rude, non helpful. This rental home the refrigerator is not in proper use. We contacted management and Love Rental no help. We toss out all the food we bought because it went bad. The dryer was not hooked up correctly. The vent was not even connected properly. There was lint and dust all over the house. WiFi is horrible. Was never able to make any calls in this rental. We tried but only to have dropped calls.

I can book a reservation through VRBO but cannot cancel the same reservation. I’ve been trying to cancel my reservation for my June 2020 honeymoon since December 12 2019 and VRBO cannot help me because the property manager, Alain ** uses a third party software program that does not allow VRBO to do, well, anything other than to take your money. Bye VRBO. I’m done!

I rented a place for my mother to stay by VRBO and initially the place was very clean and safe. After three days rat droppings began to appear in some parts of the house and increased considerably. I warned the owner and vrbo expecting some assistance and they didn't return back. In addition, when I called them they told me that they couldn't help me because of the time it had passed. They didn't help me to find a new place for my mother, they didn't pay my full money because it was NOT my fault the place was not SAFE. Moreover, I rented a new place from Airbnb more expensive and my travel became a nightmare. I am extremely disappointed with vrbo and Home Away.

I'm a vacation rental owner. I don't trust VRBO. The main problem is payments: they handle all payments, guests are not allowed to pay you directly, and that's OK, same on Airbnb. But if a guest doesn't pay, VRBO will NOT inform you. No email, no text, nothing. They send the guest a reminder, and that's all. If you check carefully, you can find if a guest has not paid. But VRBO doesn't care. I have currently a guest who hasn't paid, and I need to evict him. So be careful, VRBO/HomeAway don't manage correctly the side they should manage: payments. In fact they don't bring anything better compared to airbnb. They are more expensive (I pay $500 per year for my listing on VRBO) and they don't provide good services.

I will never use this service again. I made a reservation for the coming weekend. The reservation went through without a problem until the owner contacted me and let me know that VRBO screwed up and reserved for a blocked out weekend. This would not have been so bad if not for the fact that they had already charged me a $475 rental and $500 deposit for the stay and i was told there would be no refund if I cancelled on short notice. When I called about the refund, I was told it would take seven business days for the refund to be posted to my account. So the policy at VRBO is if I cancel I get punished and if VRBO cancels I get punished. Fortunately I can afford to pay for another rental without the refund, but I would guess that many would have to cancel their plans if they were suddenly out a $1000.

I rented a house thru VRBO. The house is in Ajijic Jalisco Mexico. Not a cheap price 350.00 per night. I rented this location to meet my family that lives in Guadalajara and to celebrate my Mom’s 75 birthday on December 23. Three days before the trip I received an email telling me that the reservation was cancelled due to a plumbing issue. And just like that my four months of planning and preparation went down the toilet. No apology. I got my money back but we ended up canceling the celebration and our Christmas since we were unable to find another place that will suit our plans. Dealing with people that are not professionals in the Hospitality industry can be devastating. Months of planning and Two weeks of vacation wasted just because this people did not provided appropriate maintenance to the property they rent me. Worse Christmas ever. I don’t wish this to my worse enemy.

If you don’t see the property live before booking, you don’t know what you’re really getting. If you run into issues, VRBO’s policies are not designed to truthfully assist you. You’re stuck. Period. Save yourself money and time. Don’t book.

I made a booking request for a property in Hua Hin, Thailand, at Baan SanPloen, a condo we know well, on the beach in Hua Hin. This condo, and about another four to six condos in the block, are managed by a Mr. Naruporn **. I sent several e-mails to Naruporn and received no replies and my booking request was not accepted. I would avoid booking any properties managed by this guy, as he obviously has no interest in communicating.

Within a 24hr period our reservations were cancelled after receiving confirmation and paying via credit card. The 1st owner gave no reason for the cancellation property #1746801. We booked our second property #1490975, reservation was confirmed. Credit card acct charged and within 8 hours they cancelled our 2nd and last reservation we will ever make thru VRBO. This owner claimed a "glitch" in the system. The helpline is absolutely no help. We were able to successfully make a reservation thru Airbnb and has not been cancelled.

I thought I had booked a very nice 3 bedroom condo at the Ritz Carlton in Aspen Highlands at a hefty price, only to find out I was totally scammed. Called VRBO and told there was nothing I could do. We are one week away from going over the New Year week and now can't find anything! Police are now involved due to the phishing scam I got caught up in. How they run a web business if they cannot secure the site... Horrible experience and no money back, how can that be.

We stayed at a VRBO home in Nassau Bahamas. We had a very bad roach problem along with text messages from owner we would get a refund. Owner said if we didn’t do review in 21 days we would get a refund. After no guarantees or confirmations we logged a complaint with VRBO. They were no help at all even with all our pictures and texts we supplied for our case. We were told VRBO would contact us within 24 hrs..then 2nd call 48 hours then our 3rd call 48 hours..all this time telling us not to post our review to wait until they got in touch with home owner. Well it never happened. Hoping in the future there is some sort of ethics that home owners have to follow when renting their homes through VRBO..something needs to change to protect the consumer when it’s a legitimate complaint.

Worst experience with a filthy property located at 23 Hollybank Avenue Lower, Dublin 6, Ireland that we made via VRBO. We promptly left the property and found a hotel; VRBO was entirely unhelpful in securing a refund. However, they dragged the complaint on for 6 months reporting that they were working on it. I finally got one of their customer representatives (I use that term loosely) to admit that nothing was going to be done. Renter beware - some properties are great, but misrepresentation by owners leads to disappointment and loss of your money. We will never use VRBO again after this dismal experience.

I agree on rental contract and VRBO lay out all the fees for both renter and owner only to find out just before renter arrives the owner fees get changed from original contract. Example 14 nights rental original fees $124.94 but just before payment it is increased to $156.35 which includes a hefty processing fee. Then when money is transferred I lose another approx $50 on transfer fees. Why and what is the processing fees for if I additional pay for all transfer fees. This happens on every rental contract now????

In late November we contracted to rent a property via VRBO/Homeaway. A month later and less than two months before we were to go, the owner canceled. Apparently, at the time he was advertising the property for rent he was also negotiating the sale of the same property. A month later the sale went through and he simply canceled the rental leaving us high and dry. At this point finding a comparable rental is next to impossible and anything we would find would cost us a ton. When contacted the owner was unapologetic and didn't seem to comprehend that his advertisement was fraudulent. VRBO was equally blase and responded by telling us to just find something else. Basically, not their problem.

Beautiful home - greatly remodeled....now a party house for rent. I live in the neighborhood and it has been a nightmare. No laws in place -YET- for this. I cannot speak to anyone connected with VRBO, their web site spins over to Home Away. There is a manager, but NOT the owner..?! This is a residential neighborhood, not a convention center. Nuts. No one lives there, just groups that come and go. I do not get to sleep well with every occupancy in a home I have lived in for 9 years.

Absolutely brutal customer service. Customer booked my property yet I was unable to "Accept" the booking. Kept getting error message that something went wrong and should try again. After several tries over several hours still unable to "accept" the booking. As the time frame to accept is 24 hours I was getting concerned and contacted customer service who were polite but non-responsive to the issue. Said they would send ticket to tech department and may take 5 days to fix and I would receive an e-mail when resolved. As acceptance by me expired in 24 hours this was obviously not good. I asked if they would be calling customer to explain the problem and ensure that property is booked for them (no), can they provide customer contact and I would call (no), would they be compensating me for missed booking or refunding my annual fee for lack of performance (no). In essence they would be doing nothing.

As an owner setting up an account and still trying to list our properties, Vrbo is THE WORST most INEPT vacation rental platform and customer service in the world! This is why I only list with Airbnb. The ONLY reason I am trying (yes, still trying) to to list our properties on Vrbo is because a business partner wants us to use both. They have already locked me out of my account email before I was even done filling it all out! It's now been 1.5 weeks and after turning in all their ridiculous "requested documentation" to prove I was including Photo Id, DL, Deed to our properties, and utility bills...which our property is still under construction so we don't have utilities hooked up yet...but that does not mean we cannot pre-book dates for when our properties ARE ready...and now they are saying we cannot.

Like so many others I recognize that VRBO has customer service in the Philippines, or similar place with people whose English is barely understandable AND, the information they do provide is often wrong, AND they are unable to have any authority. It's just terrible! Most recently VRBO changed the system that OWNERs get paid through. Prior to November, OWNERs got paid when initial payment was made by renters, and then again 45 days prior to guest check-in. Now, VRBO receives guests' payments often months in advance, and VRBO keeps that money, interest free, until 7 days after the guest checks in. This is bogus, it is theft and it may well be illegal. I will find another vehicle to rent my property out.

We booked a property through VRBO/Homeaway for over the Christmas holiday in Los Angeles. I was notified via email that the property was no longer available. Apparently, the property owner was fraudulent. That was over 2 weeks ago. Since that time we have been jerked around to various different departments (rebooking, Claims, Trust and Security), when all I have been asking for is my money back. We had to pay upfront for the entire stay including a $500 deposit. Just received another email today saying it will probably be about another month before we see any sort of reimbursement from this company. VRBO is holding our money hostage, and I cannot afford to book elsewhere until they refund our money. We will rethink ever using this property rental service again.

We recently stayed at a VRBO property, managed by Wyndham Resorts, and the house was not in good condition. A couple things were even downright dangerous to leave unpaired. I learned, however, that in the process of leaving a review, if you clicked on the “no, I didn’t enjoy my stay/frowning face emoji”, you got booted out of the process. One question was asked, and it was "would you recommend us to others". No place for comments or to leave stars. I only got to leave my review by clicking on the opposite emoji, saying I had a good time. So logic tells me that others might have reviewed the house honestly, but were unable to leave their reviews. I feel like I was scammed.

I booked a rental through VRBO for New Years' Eve months in advance. It was cancelled by the owner through no fault of my own, and I found myself without a venue for my event only a month before the holiday after friends had already taken off work and made plans to be in attendance. I contacted VRBO support who said they would help find me a comparable place and honor the rate within 4-6 days.

Property owners beware!! Class action lawsuit should be filed against this website! Homeowners have been ripped off and abused by this website! We as homeowners should be awarded damages for our losses! Unfair business practices due to greed!

I sent a poor review of our stay in Boston this summer. I got an email back saying they will review it and get back to me. They never did! They don't want to lose their source of revenue which is their listings at any cost!

My guests stayed on 11/27/19 and left on 12/1/19 - VRBO finally paid on 12/2/19 BUT only after calling them two times. The first call on 12/1/19 was useless as the Customer Service Rep was not empowered or trained to solve my issue. He logged in a request for someone to contact me. On 12/2/19 I had not received a call/email from VRBO so I called again. The new rep could not resolve my issue therefore, I had to insist my issue be escalated to a manager - I was on the call with VRBO for an unreasonable amount of time (approx. 1 hour). I'm pretty sure VRBO holding my funds for these 6 days is unethical (maybe illegal). VRBO should pay me a late charge or offer some form of compensation. An apology would be nice as well.

As an owner of a condo in Maui, my experience with this company has gone from great to absolutely horrible. Since Expedia bought it in 2015, they have increased the fees they charge guests, the fees they charge owners and now withhold all revenues until 1 day after guests check in. In addition, the revenue does not get disbursed to you until 5-7 days after they guest leaves! What was automated with respect to guests receiving information on access to the condo is now no longer automated and you have to send to guests individually! I used to be fully booked but because of the extra booking fees that they have now tagged on that guests pay, it was become more and more expensive for guests and I am now only at 80% full. I will be leaving this company and looking for alternatives to advertise my condo soon!

I contacted Vrbo.com to schedule a vacation Oct.25 - Nov. 2, 2019 at a property located at 2951 South Highway A1A Melbourne Beach, FL 32951. Upon arrival at approx. 4:30 PM, it was evident that the Air Conditioner was not functioning and the temperature inside the condo was 84 degrees and humid. The owner's contact information was provided by the Vrbo app and I immediately contacted the owner, Carole and explained the situation. She apologized and said she had just learned of the situation and would call me back shortly, which she did to advise that a repairman would be out in 1/2 hour. We waited until after 7:00 PM at which time I attempted to contact the owner once again. She did not answer and I left a message and also sent a text advising that we were going to go to dinner and that I would like a callback and to know what was going on. Again, no response.