Vrbo Reviews

Tops’l Tides at Miramar Beach - Destin, Florida: We recently stayed at this condo July 7 - 14 in unit 406. This unit had very old nasty carpet, no hot water for part of our trip, and the cleaning fee of $200 was a joke. There were clothes left from the previous guest. I requested a refund for one day and was quickly denied. Don’t waste your money on this condo, the pictures are very deceiving. #406

Booked a vacation rental in February of this year (2018) for use in June of this year. Owner contacted me about two weeks prior to the rental stating that I would have to "change my dates because the house was being listed for sale". What? This vacation was coordinated with three families and was 500 miles from our home city. Travel plans had been made in good faith. The owner was very blunt and didn't seem too concerned with the position they were putting me in. So much for the hospitality industry!

I rented a apartment on VRBO that was listed as sleeping 5, when we got there it only slept 4. The owner of the property said I got what I booked and it's not her fault it was listed wrong and VRBO is saying it's the owner's fault not theirs. No one wants to take responsibility. Would recommend that no one use this company or rent from a Rosanne **. She has place in Islip NY and I believe Cape Coral/Ft. Myers FL area.

I tried to rent a vacation home for a month, when trying to get a location and look at the home, they would NOT give me an address until I booked. WHY WOULD ANYONE BOOK FOR ONE MONTH AND NOT LOOK AT THE PROPERTY. They would not give me the phone # on the owner, they blocked out the #. SO I booked a rental on Airbnb. Too bad VRBO. I spent $3000 somewhere else. I feel sorry for the owners of the rental property.

I rented a condo in Hawaii. I sneezed and wheezed all night so decided to wash the bedding. What I found underneath horrified me. I took pictures, stained mattress pads, shredded foam pad to cover sagging mattress. The pillows were covered in sweat stains and mildew. The owner did send someone out to change the bedding. However, I did not want to stay there. I left two days early, filed a complaint with VRBO with explicit pictures and requested a partial refund. VRBO has given me a case number but no follow up. I have called three times. They cannot tell me owner's response and will do nothing else to help. DO NOT USE VRBO no protection. No integrity.

Three different times now I have found a place on VRBO, begun the booking process (w/ credit card and all), and then find out that VRBO is providing INCORRECT PRICING! I am quoted one price and then told by the owner that the actual price is more than double what I was quoted! I am amazed this is even legal! Buyers beware... confirm pricing BEFORE you proceed!

We rented a condo from Barry ** ID #**, and bats came in almost every night through the vents and holes in the walls and ceilings. It was in Orange Beach at Romar Beach Condos number 307, managed by Three Palms Realty. The owner said "act of God" and stopped taking our calls, as did Three Palms Realty, and VRBO won't post our review. VRBO website runs you round and round. We hope no one else has to go through this. It was expensive and frightening.

I looked up a host, when seeking to rent a vacation home for my family on VRBO. In searching, I discovered that the host had an arrest record. And, the host later bed in the home being rented. Improvised all information to VRBO and they stated they would remove the listing. However, they continue to list and rent the unsafe property. Unaware families are renting and staying in the residence with this individual.

I posted a polite but negative review on a property I rented. Odd, but it never showed up on that property listing under "reviews". So, if negative reviews are deleted or hidden, how can I trust any reviews in future rentals that I may consider.

I know that as a new owner/lister, VRBO/Homeaway holds the first payment for 30 days or the 1st day after the renter checks in, whichever is later. This situation is different and I am STILL fighting VRBO/Homeaway on receiving payment for a week from June 30-July 7. On 5/31 I had the first booking for a week in our rental home and they paid in full. This was for the week of June 23-June 30.

If you want to rent a property - do NOT use VRBO. There is nothing but issues but the worst part, if you do have a damage and claim the damage deposit, they block the listing until you pay it back in full. My guest damaged the table, even wrote to VRBO about it, and my listing is blocked even though he admitted, I sent pictures and original receipt. The customer service is horrible, I wait up to a week and longer for a simple reply. I used to list my properties on the website for 8 years but will no longer since they think they can control and decide. They changed a lot lately and I can only recommend to stay away. All fine unless you really have an issue, they only support renters because they pay their extragous fees. I will not accept this and I can only tell you - Stay away!

This was the worst experience ever!! We booked a house through VRBO and had to cancel 90 before we were going. VRBO's policy says 100 % if 60 days or more. The property owner charged us $250.00 cancellation fee and VRBO would not stand behind their policy. We will not use VRBO again.

Your policies concerning reviews seem to be focused only on protecting the owners. As a renter I can be given a bad review with no recourse to defend myself or even ask for an explanation as to why. If a renter has several 5 star ratings from owners then inexplicably gets a 1 star rating from another there’s no protection in place to protect their reputation. These reviews can be seen by other owners and could adversely affect future rentals.

Company is very unprofessional... I booked in advance and received an email confirmation that my condo was paid in full... you all did not notify me that I would drive this far to be told because I booked with a third party that there is an additional 200.00 fee. When I called in the representative said it was a mistake they forgot to tell me and I got upset. She then contacted the property owner and said, "Oh well we can submit a claim but it’s not guaranteed that we will give you a refund even though we didn’t tell you." I even called after I booked to confirm everything.

VACATIONERS BE AWARE! I booked a condo on June 28th for my family of 4 from VRBO, Property #**, owner Marie **. My stay was scheduled for August 14th - August 20th. My deposit was $314. Due to a family situation I had to cancel our family trip. I attempted to cancel that reservation and was told that I was required to do it at least 60 days in advance and I would not be receiving a refund. I cancelled the reservation 40 days in advance of the trip. I only reserved 46 days ago. REALLY! From what I can see most VRBO's cancellation policy is 30 days. A TOTAL RIP OFF. The owner will not even try to give me a credit for future travel. Of course when the owner was taking my money she was responsive but, now that she ripped me off she will not even return an email. Who regulates these owners, how can they get away with this type of robbery... Can someone HELP.

We rented a home and then had to cancel it 90 days before check-in. VRBO policy makes owners put in the clause on contracts 100% refund if cancellation is 60 days before check-in. The property owner had added into the contract above the refund statement that refunds were subject to $250 fee. We of course believed the 100% refund if made 60 days in advance of check-in policy. But we contacted the property owner and she said no she would charge us the $250 fee plus the $150 VRBO fee.

Rented my condo on VRBO for the first time and the place was completely trashed. Cigarettes ashed out on every surface, empty bottles hidden EVERYWHERE, blood stained pillows and wine that will never come out of my floors (they need to be replaced completely). Called customer service 2X to explain what has happened and both times they said that it's "tough love" and they will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help me. No money back from the HUGE fee they took from me renting my place and they will not even contact the horrible person that rented from me. I have rented my place on Airbnb over 100 times and I have NEVER had ANY issues. I hope that NO ONE uses VRBO in the future! They are a horrible company with horrible customer service.

The VRBO needed to train their employees better and fortify procedural structure improved but they had refunded my 350 plus dollars right away unlike what the girl on the phone suggested that I was a few mins too late to do so. She was even suspicious about the fact that my unforeseen event of my daughter getting a new job and starting the work that weekend. So rude and unexpected but however someone saw that she was crazy and refunded the full amount. I would one hundred percent sure next time when I book through these middle man companies. Beware!!

I've been a VRBO owner for several years - since they were the good guys! I'm also a web developer so I have a pretty good idea of one of their problems: they have "good idea fairies" in suits coming up w/ new features, changes to the booking process, changes to the interface CONSTANTLY. Every time they do that, their tech team needs to make it happen and those changes aren't easy - mistakes in code happen in a high-stress work environment with a constantly-moving target. They're constantly playing whack-a-mole w/ the bugs in their booking platform. It doesn't help that they keep partnering up w/ more and more external companies.

Had decent VRBO rental in the Denver area and wrote honest and detailed review. Owner was disappointed and sent me childish email. Then owner gave me [renter] a ridiculously poor review with no examples to substantiate. When I tried to get VRBO involved to help mediate, they never seem to call back. Ugh... Can't wait to see what happens to security deposit.

This company takes your money for an out of country and then won't help confirm the address. The phone queue is ridiculous and you have to re-tell your story repeatedly - only to discover no one writes what you say. They email you, but you can't reply to the email as it routes to an error message "this email is not monitored". They're hiding and don't really care to help. ADVICE: Book through Airbnb. Don't use VRBO.

They booked my first guest for two nights and they got paid already. In order for me to receive my funds I have to wait 30 days. That's bs. I have a condo worth over 500k and you tell me you got paid and I have to wait. Will cancel all my future booking they have with me. No more business with these crooks. Stay away.

They will take your money, then the homeowner takes your money, then you have to contact them all separately to get a refund and then contact them all again to make sure your refund comes back, I am sure many people are getting taken for a can't get a refund ride, watch for it if you change your dates or your mind. It is impossible to get an English speaking representative on the phone and your hold time will be in the half days. It is absolutely ran like a zoo of clowns.

I was browsing cabin rentals and found one I thought would be a good one. I needed to enter my credit card information (which I thought was odd because I was just browsing). One cabin located at Wasa Lake said those dates are not available. Two days later my credit card showed a $955 deposit to HomeAway. I had no idea. I cancelled the reservation as soon as I found out about it. And VRBO tells me to contact the homeowner. The homeowner (Mr and Mrs **) are refusing to refund my money as they have a no refund policy. I am extremely frustrated by this website for charging my credit card when my dates were not available.

I had a terrible experience with VRBO and they're deceit. Long story short... the owners showed me the emails and their emails and charges... Unbelievable HIGH. Don't use VRBO. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS BAD... go direct to the owners. The owners made it right with us and was so kind and HONEST. So if you go to Costa Rica go directly to the owners of ** then go to (rentals). Or see their place on YouTube. "Grecia Guest Home" 2/2 Fully furnished. They are so kind and the place is real Luxury at a real fair Price. Bottom line We had a great time because of the owners and will never use VRBO.

After rental confirmation the price was increased and our reservation canceled because we refused to pay the extra rental fees. Tried calling VRBO with very little effect. They could have cared less just wanted the extra fees or cancelation. Not expecting a speedy refund either after reading reviews. Spoiled our whole vacation.

Beware of vacation rentals on VRBO, as their ratings may be falsified and you may get more (or less) than you bargained for! VRBO will not post my review (see below) and they were no help in resolving an issue with the property we rented. I will never trust VRBO again, and you should not either! Your rating: 2 of 5. Title of your review: Pirate's Plank was Missing a bathroom!

I am a 28 year owner of a vacation property located in the Florida Keys. I am now retired but was a 35 year real estate broker in a California ski area... more than just a working knowledge of the vacation rental industry. I started advertising with VRBO over 14 years ago and was extremely satisfied with the service. I typically booked between 20 and 25 revenue weeks each year... couple with a like amount of repeat business, so I was at full occupancy year in and year out. My property is a very small boutique, well located condominium. All our owners have the units cleaned professionally and maintain the units to a high standard. I got the other owners to doing the professional cleaning as well as choosing to rent only by the week (or more) and have a Saturday change over date. All our units rent very well and have strong guest loyalty.

The house was for sale when we arrived. First day no water pressure. Drip showers. Toilet barely flushed. Contacted owner. She told us we need to practice conservation for the day and water pressure should be back to normal the next day. Day 3 Gave owner a video of shower that still only dripped. Owner told us to shower in town at public shower house. At that point I contacted customer support at VRBO. Day 4-6 Could not do laundry, barely showered, had to fill bucket in kitchen sink to flush toilet, neighbors told us she is not to be renting house out till she put in a sprinkler system in the house. No sprinkler system. No fire extinguisher.

Have been researching vacation homes for the past month, on VRBO, observing terms and condition etc. Finally narrowed down my choice and excitedly, request to book our vacation home. Now when I say request to book that is exactly what I thought I was doing. I noticed the purchase went through and our reservations confirmed in less than 5 minutes! After booking I continued to browse and noticed this homeowner had several homes that I did not notice before, that is when I noticed the poor reviews! I realized that I had made a mistake. I immediately contacted the owner and told her that I would need to cancel due to her poor reviews. She refused cancellation and stole my 1500.00, she refuses to refund, and VRBO said they could not help me.

When we initially reserved a property for rent through VRBO late last year, the rental price was quoted at $2,800. Now, the site shows that we were quoted $4,000 -- that's more than a 40% increase! The property owners are unhappy with VRBO as well and are working with us directly, so kudos to them, but we will NOT be using VRBO for any future rentals. Increasing fees on future rentals is one thing. Increasing fees on an existing contract is an entirely different matter. I will boycott Expedia and its child companies due to this incident. This sort of tactic is entirely unacceptable and is likely illegal, not that I have the funds and desire to try and fight Expedia in court.

I have a vacation rental listing on VRBO. Because I am not comfortable accepting instant bookings and because our strata rules require our guest to book directly with our on-site management my listing rarely appears in potential guest searches. In the past VRBO was an excellent place for owners and renters to list and search for vacation rentals but since being purchased by Expedia their business model focuses entirely on making as much money possible for the company and not on what is best for owners and vacation renters. As a renter I want personal contact with the owner BEFORE I pay them, I want to talk to the person who owns the property and get a feel for how much they love their vacation home. In my experience owners who truly love their vacation home typically have a property I am interested in renting.

The site is filled with glitches and errors. Their policies are continually changing. I own a rental. Policy is to refund damage deposit, which VRBO keeps, unless claim for damages is received prior to 14 day deadline. I was going to claim extra charge by my cleaner for excessive cleaning needed because guest left my property a horrible mess. VRBO refunded the entire deposit 9 days after check out. The made the error of refunding prior to 14 days but will not reimburse me. Their site has so many glitches it is difficult if not impossible to use. They include properties 50 or more miles from the area searched for a rental. They continue to raise their fees to travelers for a useless guarantee and raise the cost of subscriptions. VRBO was a wonderful, competent company before being purchased by Expedia 2 1/2 years ago. They continue to go downhill while raising cost to use.

Today I received a call from the VRBO representative from Austin, Texas, asking me if I wanted to renew. I said, "Not really..." and wanted to explain why I didn't wish to renew but the representative promptly hung up in my ear right in the middle of my sentence. This is no way to do business in my opinion.

We were to travel on Saturday May 26th 2018 and depart on Saturday June 2, 2018. Midweek before our day to travel we heard on TV news that there was a Tropical Storm, Alberto, brewing and headed towards the Gulf of Mexico and could possibly hit directly at the point of where we were going to be staying...Fort Morgan, AL Gulf Shores area. We had made reservations in the Spring April 11th, 2018 through VRBO/HomeAway. When I made the online reservations, it appeared that the place was already booked but it also looked as though my reservation went through more than once...and I had to contact the owner Donna (she had to approve our reservation through VRBO as we requested to bring our 8 pound Shih Tzu and she approved our stay).

Do Not Rent From VRBO. We advertised on VRBO and HomeAway for 10+ years. Their new requirements have almost put us out of business. Any legit long time home renter will be advertising on other sites with 20%+ discount off of VRBO fees. Be wary of those still on VRBO-no guarantees, hard to get return deposits, etc. Deal direct with owners and with fee-free sites such as hometogo.com, homeescape.com, tripadvisor.com/rentals, local sites, etc.

My major complaint is that when you review a VRBO property that review is only available on the site you booked on. The same property is listed by VRBO - HomeAway on more sites than I can count (50+?). Not showing existing reviews to all is leaving renters vulnerable to poor conditions etc. Owners knowing the above have little reason to improve. Recently used VRBO to rent in Madeira. The agent was difficult to deal with, did not respond to emails. Contacted VRBO, who initially agreed to cancel, then after we had searched for another suitable place, refused to refund saying their agent had made a mistake. Finally had an email from agent, I suspect because of VRBO. Rental was the worst we have ever had, not dirty, it was a nice apartment, very poorly equipped, no micro, no can/bottle opener, 2 uncomfortable chairs, no sofa - ants - the list goes on.

We are a senior couple who booked a unit in the Historic Center of Asheville, Montford for 10 nights. Upon our arrival we had to walk down a long driveway blocked by the owner's car and overhanging untrimmed bushes. After getting to the back of the building, we had to negotiate three steps w/o a railing onto a slate patio with uneven concrete seams. Upon entering the unit it was obvious that the picture was not worth 1,000 words. The bunker bedroom walls were concrete slabs and the electrical outlets were exposed; the kitchen sink faucet was about to come apart.

VRBO is doing everything to increase its revenues from vacation rentals at the expense of the owners. The new online booking requirements includes substantial additional fees to both owner and guest. Recently when responding to a potential guest's questions using VRBO's email system (quest contact info is not revealed to owner until after booking), I noticed that VRBO's default response authorizes instant online booking automatically. To avoid instant online booking owner must choose another reply tab which was told by VRBO agent that the instant online default was for owner's benefit. Does VRBO think we're that stupid? Since it was acquired by Expedia/Microsoft, VRBO's mission seems to be to maximise profits even at the expense of the owner. The new culture at VRBO is such a disappointment.

I have been using VRBO for years, and it has worked great until last year that they change all their fees. Now they are like a car dealer: commission fee, based fee, service fee. In all the fees they took over $1000.00. This service has become very unattractive when 6% of credit card fees are charge in addition to all the service fees. Very disappointing!

I was one of thirty two people that rented a house on King St., in Yachat, Oregon for a week. We were charged @ $250 cleaning fee. When the organizer showed up the place was filthy. They had to clean the house before the first group showed up. The pictures on VRBO were misleading. It was apparent that the house and grounds had not been managed, cleaned or maintained in years. There was mold on curtains, rusted sinks, dead bugs throughout the house and going downstairs the stench of mold on at least thirty year old carpeting made you gag. Complaints wanting to be filed with VRBO, but They don't accept negative comments. I wanted people to know that VRBO is not a reliable source especially when they don't and won't accept the truth about their listings.

As a group of 10 women, we rented a home located at ** Milton, DE 19968, for a long weekend away. Within 2 hours of being there, we had our first rodent sighting. Over the course of the night, there were several more sightings. Upon waking up, the home had also developed a significant leak inside the house. We contacted the property owner, Mike **, and he offered to send over a maintenance man. The homeowner was rude to us until he talked to his maintenance man, who agreed with our complaints. VRBO did offer us a refund but couldn’t relocate us and only offered to put us up in a substandard hotel in separate rooms.

On 2/27/2018 I placed a reservation for a property in Hilton Head. After receiving confirmation email from VRBO.com of the selected dates, I made final travel plans. I was then contacted by the property owner advising me that he was adjusting my reservation for one day shorter. I advised him that I had a confirmation of my original reservation and I had made travel plans so, I would need to keep the original dates. Without any further contact, I received a new confirmation with the new dates. I contacted VRBO about this and was ensured I would get a return call. As of 5/15/2018, not contact. I received a final payment request from the property owner for get this... the same amount as the original reservation! So they want me to pay the same original amount ($200 per night for 8 nights) but, it is now $227 per night for 7 nights.

My recent experience with VRBO is shameful. After I reserved a condo on the site for my 40th bday and contacted them after the reservation seemed confusing and I didn't get a confirmation they assured me it was all set. I even corresponded with the owner who explained we were good to go and would give me check in details... Fast forward my reservation is now canceled... No one is taking responsibility and passing the buck on a major booking error. No help, nothing... Just happy birthday. DON'T USE THIS COMPANY. They are very unprofessional and the customer service is outsourced and you cannot understand what the person is saying. They might as well hang up on you. My experiences with Airbnb are night and day compared to this.

I booked a large boat in a dock in Florida for a 3 night stay in February of 2019. My plans have changed. I have requested a cancellation. The property owner charged my credit card $897.00 for this trip and will not issue a refund, will not return emails and will not return phone calls. I have been asking for 6 weeks for a refund. I contacted VRBO... they gave me a case number, but continue to tell me they are just a service linking travelers to homeowners and do not seem to be offering any solution except for me to continue to contact the homeowner. VRBO should handle all transactions until the cancellation window has expired so that travelers don't have a problem getting money back from a VRBO member that obviously doesn't want to refund. DO NOT DEAL WITH VRBO. DO NOT BOOK A YACHT FROM PAUL **. MY ATTORNEY WILL BE CONTACTED NEXT.

So far, every dealing I have had with VRBO since November 2017 when I signed up, has been done incorrectly on their part. They have lost bookings by incorrectly billing the customer, and their latest blunder is that they refunded the damage deposit to a traveler that I specifically called and said do not refund his deposit. This traveler broke the closet doors, left 20 cases of beer bottles and a week's worth of trash in the apartment, and vomited all over the kitchen, as well as did not take the sheets off the beds or empty the refrigerator. The damage deposit would have covered the additional costs, but this morning after they already refunded his deposit, they told me I had to file an insurance claim, after it was too late!

VRBO now has what appears to be a monopoly in the online vacation home rental market. They appear to have changed their terms where the transaction MUST be booked through their operation. This is a major change in the business model. The homeowner must provide a bank account number. There is no screening of renters and it is easy to create a false identity to browse and phish for further identity information from high net worth people who own expensive vacation homes.

I signed up for VRBO and after comparing similar properties decided to lower my rates. I noted my average on advertisements was not reducing with my changes and so began the horrible service from the representatives. I have called multiple times explaining that my average nightly price cannot possibly be my highest price listed but they continue to assure me it is correct. Every single representative dismissed my complaint and I would eventually get tired of wasting my time talking to people that don't know how to get averages and end the call. The last call, not only was my complaint dismissed, she argued with me telling me people don't consider their budget when looking for a vacation rental and then denied me the opportunity to speak with a manager stating they would tell me the same thing she had. Unbelievable!

VRBO can't explain how their accounting system works. We manage 300+ rentals and try to implement a short term rental service but quoting the VRBO fee is nearly impossible. They charge both landlord and tenant fees. VRBO accidentally refunded a guest and now we have to fight with the guest to try and get it back. When you try to call customer service there's a huge language barrier and it's difficult to understand their representatives as they don't understand accounting or what I'm saying to them.

I've been a homeowner on VRBO for over 8 years; offering our Lake Home for rent. It was a wonderful service when I started, as they connected people searching for a Vacation Rental to homes. A year or two ago they put processes in place that prohibits Owners from booking their homes directly with vacation guests so they could begin charging large processing fees to Guests and Homeowners. I tried to book some reservations directly with some guests that had been coming to my home for years, and VRBO suspended my listing (though I'd paid my $500 to be listed). I tolerated this, and adapted, so my guests and I both get charged big fees.

Back in 2015 we used VRBO to find a house to rent for my birthday. We found this house that was in Santa Monica and the total price was over $6000. Trusting VRBO would screen for scammers and this house had reviews which apparently were fake again obviously not scanned by VRBO, We signed a contract and sent $6000 for the rental. This company suddenly said the house was flooded and we couldn’t stay, we tried to contact them and found out that the house did not belong to the people that were trying to “rent” it out. We signed a contract and sent $6000 for the rental. This company suddenly said the house was flooded and we can stay, we tried to contact them and found out that the house did not belong to the people that were trying to “rent“ it out. I would never trust VRBO again and never use their services as they do not do any security screening to make sure that the house that’s for rent is a real one.

This is a wonderfully located condo with excellent views. The condo itself is poorly equipped and cheap in terms of furniture, upholstery, bedding etc. The linens, mattress padding and towels are of very low quality and poorly maintained and have stains. The living room sofa has stains and the sofa bed in the living room meant an extra bed does not work. Beware of the property management who did not refund us the cleaning deposit fee of $500 and exaggerated the state of the condo upon our check-out. The cleaning expenses should have been covered in the $150 fee, but the property owner retained the deposit by charging outrageous cleaning charges against issues listed above, the same have been reported in review comments from previous renters.

Martie was wonderful and assisted us in every way possible and really listened to our needs. She is the reason for two stars. The issue is the master bedroom, I have been bitten over 40 times and my daughter was bitten over 30 times herself. Lice or bed bugs? Doctor mentioned bed bugs. After contacting VRBO I was disappointed that they didn't take my complaint seriously. They stated I have to deal with the owner? But, it's your website! They have limited resources on investigating if my claims are true or the resources to check proof of practice if they have bed bugs or lice have the issues been rectified.

Very dissatisfied with this monopoly company. I've been using VRBO since 2006. About 2 years ago, they started bullying me to use online booking. I told them they were not a management company, just an advertising tool. They dropped my listing to the bottom of the list because I refused to let them book for me. In April 2018, my listing was up for renewal again & this time they refused to accept my rental listing if I did not let them do online booking AND THEY WANTED MY BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION.

I have used VRBO for years off and on for a condo I own in Naples. I signed up in May last year to find renters. I was able to communicate with prospective renters and book all three months for 2018. In January of 2018, suddenly I was blocked from any communication with prospective renters. There was no warning. I still had 4 months left on my annual membership. I contacted their customer service. I was told that I was correct. They were blocking me from using their service the way I had for years. No, they would not refund any money to me for the lost time I had paid for to list my property.

VRBO will not post bad reviews. I tried to give a home one star and they would not post it. I have had friends experience the same thing for different homes. Since VRBO receives a percentage of the rent, it is not in their best interest to post poor reviews.

I have been with VRBO for 5 years. The thank you I have received for doing business with them is they now are gouging me and gouging my travelers with huge booking and service fees. Without any warning, the quotes started showing up with these fees, fees I cannot opt out of. I do all the work. They answer the phone. They are making more on all of these new fees than my cleaning lady does working for hours. All of this expense is just an electronic fee, they are doing nothing. They have already made money on booking with the old fees, these new fees offer no service to my travelers nor to me regardless of their bloated claims. They are now blocking out all phone numbers so people cannot communicate or discuss their stay without first paying off VRBO. Sometimes an email is not enough and people need communication, NOT after they book and make a commitment.

I tried to book online an apartment. I put in my information and when I would submit my request, I got a message that said, "The dates you're requesting are not available." So I looked for another apartment and the same thing happened. Long story short, I was charged 2500.00 dlls for reservations that didn’t go through. One of the owners is keeping 300.00 out of 1600.00 because he is being fair with me. I'm in the process, but it looks pretty bad!

I have been with VRBO as a home owner for three years now. I have been 90% booked on a year around rental business. My business has dropped to a 10% booking in the last year. What in the world is happening. All the changes made within this company is nothing but a failure to a very successful business. A well run and smart business person began this company. We thank you so much. I am not sure what kind of idiots have control now, but all I know is that you have destroyed a very good thing for the home owners. I am trying my best and shedding a lot of tears of this once good thing going very bad. I will fight to make the best of this situation and will discover the solution and let the public know who not to do business with.

Paid for a VRBO reservation in NC thinking I had a film project. The project didn't happen so I began trying to cancel this reservation. VRBO site says 'talk w/ owner or property manager about cancellation' so I talk to 'property manager' who basically says he cannot do anything and I should call VRBO. So I call. VRBO says they cannot do anything because they do not have access to the software that the rental company (which they advertise on their site!) uses. I have been trying for two weeks to cancel this to no avail...

I foreclosed on my house and needed to cancel a booking a customer had made 5 months in the future for 2 days. They told me I owed them $150 for cancelling and I signed up for that when I signed up with them. I am outraged!!! They wouldn’t even work with me to try to find a solution. They wanted their money. When you sign up for VRBO you unknowingly sign up for FlipKey, HomeAway, TripAdvisor... so many company names under one family. I didn’t even know this booking existed because they don’t make things easy for you to track. I got a call from VRBO, an email from name@flipkey.com about my booking on HomeAway. They charge their owners and guests WAAAY too much in fees. Book with Airbnb. Better service, cheaper fees. Never again with VRBO or the hundreds of other companies they say they are.

OMG! Dealing with VRBO has been a nightmare!! It is nearly impossible to get in touch with anyone and when you do the customer service is the worst I’ve ever experienced. I repeatedly asked to speak with a native English speaker and was told there was no one. I asked where they were located and was denied that info for security reasons (??? um...can’t imagine why). The “customer representative” I spoke with was barely understandable due to a heavy accent but even with that I understood I was getting the runaround. I still don’t have my $1500.00 back...so buyer beware. VRBO is horrible horrible horrible!!

VRBO charged a $374 service fee that was never disclosed. After having the reservation accepted, an email from VRBO came back stating they charged my card an additional $374 service fee that wasn't in the initial quote. In their email in bold black letters it stated "service fee; $374 not in payment request". I spoke to 4 reps and 2 managers, all whom said "pay it or cancel your booking". You can't charge a fee that was never authorized to be charged and then use blackmail to pay it. I will never use VRBO ever again. To top it off, they've said they've been receiving a lot of complaints about this business practice. You think?

Upon securing a reservation through VRBO and going through their process of booking, the number that was disclosed to me was significantly different than the amount that was billed to my credit card. Both VRBO and iTrip Vacations, never disclosed to me the full terms of my rental. Instead there were fees resulting in an increase of $800 over what terms I agreed to. In addition, I find out that this property cannot legally be rented out. It is embarrassing to walk around this condominium area knowing that I'm in violation of some rules. I would not recommend using VRBO or iTrip Vacations for anybody's trip or planning vacation.

Since being bought out, VRBO has taken a wonderful service and turned it into a cash cow for VRBO at the expense of both owners and customers. I have rented several houses through VRBO and have 5 stars on all my rentals. We have seen VRBO gradually squeeze and squeeze to get every dollar out of both sides of the transaction. They are all about monopoly power now like so many tech companies. Once you get used to using their platform they restrict and charge and manipulate. We are actively looking for other more reasonable platforms. I think VRBO will be out of business in 5 years if they keep this up. It is too easy to start a website and someone will figure out how to capture the VRBO listings. Until then we all will suffer with excessive charges, poor service and frustrated customers and owners.

Seems easy, but they are only an ad agency. So any troubles or money issues they don’t handle. A third party in Ireland does. They distribute to the homeowner. Meaning they can’t fix anything and won’t give you direct contact info to the third party... They may contact them for you or connect you... Talk about difficult. Probably easy without any problems, but with any concerns it is a nightmare. They tried to fix the problem and were nice but I had to file a chargeback with AmEx to get it taken care of (their recommendation) as they didn’t know how to refund my money... 6000$ tied up for a month?!

We accepted a booking through VRBO, The renters were chronic alcoholics, not just mild drinkers, we saw 30 bottles empty of vodka etc, mind you we are very tolerant. They stayed an extra 1/2d day, left felt pen marks on floors, brand new furniture, broke the microwave and permanently stained new sheets. We were holding back the $1500 damage deposit to reconcile the replacement costs. All of the accounting is on VRBO headings and documents. It states very clearly that there is $1500.00 PAID BY THE RENTERS as a refundable damage deposit.

As an owner of two properties I had some pretty good experience with Vacationrentals.com until their acquisition by HomeAway. This website is no longer competitive. They now charge 500 to list your property then charge each customer booking your property a fee of 8-15%. They also charge you a credit card fee of some 3% and leave it up to you to handle any chargebacks. This fee schedule has slowed down business for my properties to a crawl with Airbnb picking up the slack.

They have made it very difficult to have direct contact with homeowners and managers. They also take an extraordinarily long time issuing refunds. I canceled a reservation within 24 hours of booking. $2106 Credit was to be done in 2-3 days. It's been a week and I'm being run around. I will not use them again.

I am an owner of a house that lists on VRBO and I am shocked by how expensive VRBO fees are for my guests. As a basic website listing a property it is shockingly and unjustifiably expensive. It offers little value. It is a horrible website. Now, in addition to charging fees it also is requiring payment through its site, which also increases the cost to consumer. It is a HORRIBLE site for consumers.

I was just on the phone w/ VRBO and my last two payments were short the damage deposit from my renter... I was informed "this is the way the platform is moving". What's up - this isn't VRBO's money - it's mine!!!

I am a property manager who manages several vacation rentals at a local resort. I acquired 2 new properties recently, and up until now, had no problem receiving copies of emails regarding the deposits to my business account. They gave me the runaround after I called for "SUPPORT" at least 10 times, and they just bounced me back and forth between the HomeAway website and the VacationRentPayments company. They have lied to me about what proof was needed to receive proof of payment from the renters, which I need to do my job. Their customer service is also the worst. Everyone I spoke to sounded like they were scripted, they would not let me speak to a supervisor, or they would put me on hold hoping I would just give up. I want every homeowner and renter to be warned not to list or book with them. You will regret it.

Rental in Clermont, FL at Silver Creek on Woodcrest Way - When arriving at the home we rented for 3 months the toxic fumes of bleach were so bad we ended up sick! The home was filthy... mold in bathrooms, showers. Carpet and tile were so gross. Couch and loveseat were disgusting. Pool area so dirty, mold around tiles, drains covers broken, pool lights not working. Patio furniture was old and worn out. Garage with pool table stunk, and junk all over. Washer was filthy. All exterior lights were burned out as was bathrooms. Property Mgmt came and agreed, but said the "owner" wouldn't do anything about it, wouldn't spend the $. Ann and Gary ** already had our $11800... so we were stuck. I even sent pics of all the filth to them... then found a wonderful woman who came and spent over 4 hours cleaning. She was shocked when she saw it. I sent pics again of the before and after... of course nothing was done about carpet.

I have been with VRBO for ten years. I enjoyed being a part of their business, it was great. As you all know things changed when purchased by new owners. Recently they started to retain the traveler's damage deposit. No warning. No explanation. Just did it. Why? They must have millions retained in damage deposits. Now they have their greedy little hands on our cash for their benefit. This is only speculation but 2 & 2 does = 4 and so since money is going out everyday and new money coming in every day, they only need a total reserve cushion of 10%, so they have 90% or a lot of money to invest and profit from. Money hungry company.

I am an owner of a vacation house. I have used VRBO for renting my property for 10 years. I was always pleased with them until HomeAway took over. Now it is a nightmare. I have my own cancellation policies as I have been stiffed with people putting a deposit to hold the reservation and kept shopping for a better deal. Needless to say they would cancel the reservation and I wouldn't be able to rent it for the days that this renter had booked. I now charge a 50% cancellation fee if cancelled > 31 days of arrival. Now VRBO has a limited choice of cancellation policies and is just not acceptable. I had a renter cancel and said that they received an email from VRBO stating they would get a 100% refund.

VRBO is absolutely worthless. Searching for properties to rent in Nashville. Property 1 - Credit card declined, used another card, declined, Fiancee used her card and got an email of confirmation (wth)... then within the hour it got declined. Property 2 - Paid and confirmed with credit card, had to wait 24 hours and owner never approved the stay. Property 3 - Paid and confirmed with credit card, had to wait 24 hours and owner never approved the stay again! This is the epitome of absolute timewasting and mental frustration. SO, I use VRBO to find properties and then do a search on that particular property and book them through the property itself. It amazes me how a company like this can exist.

Back in October 2017 we attempted to have reviews of our house transferred from one listing number to another listing number. This was the same house that we own but we were with a new rental agency and therefore wanted our old reviews to be transferred from the old listing to the new listing. Back in October we spoke with Louise in customer support and she took on our case, # **. We then set up 2 separate times to speak with her on the phone and both times she did not show up. We then followed up with emails and she stopped responding. At this point we gave up.

My family and I have been using VRBO rental as a guest for over 10 years. I am so disgusted with the way all the attachment fees are almost double or the same amount of the rental cost! It’s making us guest impossible to stays and afford a vacation. There’s no way at all, it makes me sick to my stomach to tell my kids we no longer can afford to go to PCB Florida on spring break or holiday because the prices are jacked up to max our budget! It’s almost better to stay in roach motel and pile the kids in the same bed. Homeowners you can stick together and do something about these piracy! They are robbing you of quality guest and customers with your eyes wide open. There’s gotta be some law to step in and stop this.

I have had a listing on VRBO for nearly 20 yrs. All was good, now with the HomeAway takeover NO customer service, non-English speaking reps that will lie instead of checking for the truthful answer. So frustrated, looking for another option.

We have owned a vacation rental property for over 10 years and listed primarily with VRBO. While we get good exposure and good renters we have seen VRBO doing more and more to get between us and our customers and charge excessive fees for bookings and refunds. We used to simply list our rental on VRBO and then close the arrangements and payments directly with renters. Online booking is now required. VRBO claims this is necessary to provide a smooth and “insured“ experience for the traveler. However it is really a thinly veiled move to gain control over the whole transaction and extract fees at every step including timely cancellations. We also pay an annual fee of $399 which should be sufficient compensation for our listing. As someone else said, customer service is scripted. I wouldn’t want to work there. Looking for better listing option recommendations. HomeToGo? Others?

I have used VRBO as a traveler and owner for years. The single most important feature to me - from both angles - is being able to communicate with the owner/traveler prior to booking. I don’t even mind the extra fees! As an owner, no longer being able to speak with my guests prior to booking is simply not acceptable. I have a significant investment that I need to protect. I am looking into alternatives for listing my home. So sad that they have ruined what was once a fabulous travel platform.

VRBO had a good thing going connecting owners and renters for vacation rentals. Now, they won't even reveal the contact info to each other. You're supposed to just blindly accept a renter if you're an owner. They forget that I have a significant investment. I'm NOT going to hand keys to someone I haven't screened. And renters have the same concerns. They don't want to just blindly walk into someplace. No more, there are options. Using hometogo.com. Renters can see everything (including VRBO) and make their own choices.

When looking for property in Naples’s Florida the number of listings actually available are far less than advertised. The time spent using VRBO could be better used dealing with a realtor. I found a property but not without days of aggravation. This business needs new and better management or another company will steal their business. Would love to see others enter this business.

The level of customer service is nearly non-existent at this company. Since the HomeAway merger, service has rapidly declined. As a property owner, they treat you as you're an inconvenience and are less than eager to help actually support or assist when issues arise. The communication is difficult, many Representatives have extremely heavy accents and very broken English (not to be judgmental, but this does make conducting business and communicating very difficult). Representatives are unknowledgeable and are unable to divert from their scripted roles. There is limited contact information or resources on the website, as it seems they are avoiding contact with their customers. For the fees they charge, this is unacceptable.

Our family recently began a vacation with the expectation of staying in a VRBO rental house. On January 22, 2017, eleven months before our planned vacation was to begin, we had made the reservation for a six-night stay from December 25 to December 31, 2017. All payments were made on time, using VRBO’s website. We were looking forward to relaxing in our 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom house with a shared living space and enclosed heated pool, game room, and washer and dryer. With eight people, three families coming from two states, the space and amenities of the house we booked was what we needed to be comfortable.

Lake Las Vegas - 18 Luna review. Last year I stayed in Vierra for four weeks. I was moved at least five times so this year I thought I’d try Luna for five weeks this year. I work with a number of HOA’s so I know the drill. I want to start by saying that the owner (Victor) was great to work with. He always got back to me when I had a question. The unit was neat & clean with great lake views. I was very happy with this part of the stay & he did anything within his power. There were some issues that were totally out of the owner's control & are management/HOA issues that need to be fixed. I brought up a few issues to the front desk, they blew me off & they said there wasn’t anything they could do & to contact the management company. I contacted the Management Company but never got any results.

Renting your home out through VRBO and having damage occur at the hands of your renters is awful. Dealing with their insurance co is a nightmare. First be prepared provide original receipts. All you're going to get is 1500.00. After doing that you have to get the renter TO ADMIT THEY DAMAGED YOUR PROPERTY to the insurance co! What? Our renters burned our home down after checking in 6 hours earlier. They would not speak or return calls to any insurance company. Not ours, and not VRBO’s. All we expected was a mere $1500.00 but no, we were required to provide proof they burned our home down. Our house was gone and they didn’t want to pay $1500?? I got a letter from the fire dept with the renter's name on it. I got that $1500, VRBO and their Insurance co needs to do better by their customers. Homeowners beware.

I have been a homeowner member of VRBO website for numerous years. I was always 100% satisfied with VRBO rental website until they were bought out and revised the VRBO rental system. I own rental properties that require approval from the HOA and Property Management Company before I can rent. The new site allows travelers to book directly through the VRBO system and VRBO charges me extra for this service! I pay a high annual fee for VRBO website and now they charge me extra for bookings that aren't approved. I have had to reject several rental bookings because of this problem.

I am a property owner and have used VRBO for about 5 years with no issue until this past year! VRBO has taken away all control property owners have of renting out their homes. I prefer corresponding with guests and getting a rental agreement signed. VRBO does everything in their power to prevent this type of negotiation! Guests are expected to pay by CC and get charged a huge a service fee in addition to the fee they charge property owner. If they pay by credit card, we owners are charged 3-5%. If, instead of accepting a reservation request within 24 hours, I reply to the potential renter to answer their questions or give options, VRBO cancels the reservation request and HIDES MY PROPERTY even though I have paid for an annual contract!!! They won't even allow owners and renters to share contact information!!! WTH... I PAID THE ANNUAL FEE!!!

I was charged more than the advertised price and reached out to VRBO. However, they provided very little assistance and told me that I need to deal with the owner directly. Will never recommend or use VRBO again. The customer service rep Chris was sarcastic in his emails and no help.

VRBO tells you on their site that they are there to help you in any way they can. Apparently this means consistently giving misinformation, maintaining a system that makes it impossible for new owners to take over an existing listing (thus losing any reviews), apologizing for misinformation but doing absolutely nothing whatsoever to help resolve the situation. I took over a property with great reviews. I was told I'd be able to transfer reviews: turns out: not possible. A booking made with previous owner occurred after I took over the property. I was told I'd be able to get the review for this: turns out: not possible.

I found a place on VRBO/HomeAway and requested a reservation for a period to the owner. My request was accepted and I paid through my credit card the full amount of the rental immediately. The very next day I received an email cancelling my reservation. I emailed the owner to find out why he had cancelled by reservation. He emailed back that he had looked at his 2019 calendar by mistake - the time was opened - but then checked his 2018 calendar the time I have reserved and discovered that lo and behold the time in 2018 was already rented.

I rented a house for a week in Pembroke Lines, Florida during Thanksgiving 2017. The property manager/owner of the property refused to give me back my $500 damage deposit. I also paid a cleaning fee. I left the property spotless and took pictures of the entire house before I checked out. The owner/property manager said she had to keep my $500 deposit because the stove was scratched (normal wear & tear of a stove top... I didn't even cook there!) and a small tear in the fabric of on of the headboards (not vacant to the naked eye... In the pictures I took before check-out it can be seen that there was no damage).

Expedia's purchase of VRBO has taken away all control property owners have of renting out their homes. Guests were very upset to see they were charged a service fee in addition to the fee they charge property owner (which they don't tell property owners). I can request payment be made by e-check provided I have an annual contract, however if the renter chooses credit card, I am charged 3-5%. If instead of accepting a reservation request within 24 hours, I reply to the potential renter with a question VRBO cancels the reservation and HIDES MY PROPERTY even though I have paid for an annual contract. As others have noted, their website is a disaster to navigate, especially since the latest updates. They apparently think everyone is illiterate so they have removed writing everywhere they can, giving you the luxury of spending time unnecessarily trying to figure out what stands for what.

I renting a vacation property off this site and was charged a service fee by the company for utilizing their services only to get to the property and it not be at all what was advertised. After contacting customer service for assistance I was basically told it's nothing they can do about it as it isn't their property. I am beyond disgusted as not only are they scamming by charging a fee for service or guarantee they don't provide, but they allow these property owners to also scam you.

Their website booked my credit card for 8 separate charges when I tried to book a vacation home. In each instance my card was charged and then I was told the property(s) were unavailable. I had nearly $3000 in pending charges!! I called the booking support number who told me to call billing who said they could not help me who then told me to call my bank. I would have entered a receipt on this complaint but they never issue one. Now I am getting emails about completing leases that aren't even available. I can't even resolve this with my bank since the charges are still pending. This company is ridiculous. Poor customer service, ineffective procedures, an uninformed off-shored staff. Stay away from this website!!

I am a homeowner who rents out their vacation home privately and on several booking sites. I was previously signed up with VRBO and decided to reactivate my listing with them; I secured three bookings for March. I set up my preferred payment methods with them, and later realized this was not for me to receive payment, but to send payments to them if desired; they still had an old bank account on file for me, in which my first payment was rejected by the bank. As soon as I realized this, I submitted the required bank change form and provided a voided check, because you are not provided an option to update the information through your account on their site. I assumed it would not take long to change out the account information when I noticed a couple of days passed with no change I called them.

Everything I have read about the new VRBO platform is scary, but true. They are trying to scare guests into booking and paying directly through them (at a high price) by offering a "guarantee" that they can't even provide. Only the homeowner knows 100% if the property is available, what the correct price is, if the home meets their guests' needs, if their dog is allowed, etc. Our homes are not hotel rooms and guests shouldn't be forced to book sight unseen without open & private communications with the owners or property managers. I used to love VRBO, was happy to pay their yearly fee, and have gotten 99% of my guests through them for years. No more! I am going to try other sites like HomeEscape that has the old VRBO model.

I used VRBO to advertise my property for 15 years and was very satisfied. As of this past year they have taken control of my home. I am not allowed to talk to my clients before renting. I can no longer accept checks or PayPal. My clients are charged an extra fee that amounts to hundreds of dollars. If they rented from my other site they would save hundreds of dollars. As a homeowner I find VRBO to be totally lacking in ethics. If you are looking to rent find any way possible to locate the property on other sites. Most owners have their own website, do a search and contact the owner directly and save hundreds of dollars.

Renter beware!!! Not sure where to start with this. We started out by renting a property from VRBO and what a mess this became. We first of all rented a Villa in Bradenton for 5 weeks. We booked it and paid our money to VRBO so that all went well till the bottom fell out... We got an e-mail from the owner of the property saying that our rental was not confirmed and that she was confused at how we rented her property without her authorizing it. We find out that VRBO takes our money and makes it look like we are all good to go. Well guess what a week and a half before we are suppose to leave for Bradenton we find out we do not have a place to go to... So it was no issue to get our money back for this booking after a few calls to VRBO. I would get a different person every time so you are never dealing with the same person.

We bought a small condo and wanted to rent it out on VRBO and Airbnb. After the first 30 days VRBO had no bookings or inquiries. Airbnb was filling up fast with over 10 books in the first 30 days (same photos same description). A few months later we came to the conclusion that Airbnb met our needs much better so we called to cancel VRBO only to be told we can only cancel in the first 30 days and receive a refund. Not satisfied with the customer service or how I was blamed for them not booking the unit. Never will they have my business.

This is a review regarding working with a property owner who was unfair and communicated poorly. I booked a condo through VRBO/HomeAway and paid a cleaning fee, a service fee, and a refundable $200 deposit. It is a long story but suffice it to say that the property owner of this condo did everything in the book not be pay me back my deposit.

I would NEVER recommend VRBO or any of its partners to anyone! Their customer service is horrible! I prepaid $399 for a year's worth of bookings and I wish I hadn't! For that kind of money upfront they still FORCE people to book through them at significant added cost to the customer! When people contact you with an inquiry and you try to provide them with contact information such as an e-mail address or phone number they edit that information out FORCING people to pay extra money to book through them!

VRBO reversed the fees paid for a week stay claiming charges on a stolen credit card. They showed the renter was verified and I was never given nor asked to verify the renter's credit card number. I emailed them the proof the guest stayed and even showed evidence the guest stayed an entire week. VRBO reversed the charges as a stolen credit card yet they are the only ones who take the credit card. How can I as an owner verify a credit card when the number is never even shared with me. They are no pro owners nor guests and have increased annual fees yet are inferior to Airbnb accounting, apps and websites. Their IT Department is a joke and their system crashes all the time. This is a poorly run company with terrible service to their customers.

I began working with VRBO in 2010. They were great. All they did was advertise my vacation rental property in Coos Bay, Oregon. They allowed me to contact my guests and answer any questions they had. It was a good experience until VRBO sold to Expedia. I am now held captive by their rules, without being informed of changes before, and they are now the owners of my property. I would suggest to any potential renter out there to go elsewhere. You are not getting the best service, and definitely not being regarded as a guest but a cash cow. Owners are not happy and booked guests are not happy.

Here we go again VRBO getting their fingers into my profits. Now you cannot book on VRBO without giving them a credit card. I am a property owner and just got my first booking since my renewal "1 day ago". They have charged this renter a 9-10% fee just to book with me - for what nothing. The only way to avoid this and get to the owner is use the "ask the owner a question" button, then I do everything outside the system. Which is fine but now renters cannot just inquire about my property without giving their credit care or playing the "ASK THE OWNER" trick question process. They say it's to assist renters if they have a problem - I said "HAVE YOU EVER CALLED YOU" good luck. I am sick of everyone trying to get a piece of my profit for doing ZERO. Posting how to go around the system in my description - until I can figure out another service that works for me. Oh and by the way I pay them $499.00 already each year - for posting on the site.

We signed up with VRBO to rent out our property and it has been the worst experience ever!! They have lost our payments for all our VRBO bookings...we have called and emailed over and over with no luck, their customer service has been nonexistent! We have spent hours on the phone and no one seems to be able to tell us where our nearly $2000 is! And to top it all off we have paid them almost $500 in service fees! We are seriously disgusted with this company, we will never rent our property thru them again and I strongly encourage others to not use them as well, unless you like to pass off your money to a large company that doesn’t care!! Where does one go from here??? What a scam...

I just found out that Expedia purchased VRBO. The level of service, fees and payment system are disgusting. Would love to hear suggestions on other safe and reputable home rental services. I am in a battle with them right now as their payment service provider continues to attempt to withdraw money from my account placing me in overdraft and incurring fees. I tried talking to them and they basically said "Sucks to be you", "Talk to your bank". FRUSTRATED.

Since being purchased by Expedia, the HomeAway companies, including VRBO have eroded the rights of owners to run their business as they wish in order to gouge owners and renters alike. Now VRBO has informed its rental owners that they will be required to provided online booking or they will not be allowed to renew membership. This is a move to extract more money from owners and renters. We already pay a large sum to be listed but now VRBO wants to make money off of each rental. We use a management company to handle the money from our listings because they also professionally manage the condo since we live 3 hours away. This is going to force us to sell our property.

For years we have rented monthly vacation properties in the Hawaiian Islands through VRBO. I was shocked this year at the exorbitant booking fees. This year we split our island stay and paid $444.00 in two booking fees! This is in the "details" under the reservation receipt, I guess the devil is in the details. What happened to the OWNER part of the VRBO? Never again will I use this service and I will use the local rental services and speak to an owner.

We started renting out our guest house with VRBO close to 2 months ago (went active Jan. 26, 2018). Since then we have had 3 separate renters which came to a total amount owed to us of $1925.12. The first renters arrived on Jan. 29 2018. After about 2 weeks we inquired about when we would actually be receiving our money. They informed us that it would likely be up to 30 days as they hold funds for first disbursement to make sure it’s secure? So they're really just using your money to earn interest for themselves. The 30 day window rolled by and we still hadn't receive any money.

I and 3 other girls rented a property in Charleston off of VRBO. Although the home was remodeled, the property ended up being in an extremely unsafe area of town, with half of the homes on the street posted with eviction notices and broken windows. Due to the condition of the area, we didn't feel safe enough to eve exit the car let alone stay at the home. After reaching out to VRBO they did nothing to assist us or offer a refund, have not posted our review to let others know of the danger of the home, and informed us we need to work with the property renter who has refused to speak with us. I am appalled by the horrible customer service and never plan on using their business again.

Vacation Renters beware. Don't waste your time with this agency. We just tried to rent a Mission Beach, California house for July and read all the information. We thought we were renting from VRBO and a homeowner but the property was really represented by Pacific Sands Vacations, which we have come to find out from the Yelp ads is not very ethical in their negotiations. We sent word on the VRBO website that we wanted to rent the advertised home on 742 Windemere Ct. Pacific Sands Vacations sent us the rental agreement which I signed, they took my credit card information and they made me send my driver's license. I just got word from a Nicole, with the Pacific Sands company that they are passing on us because we might have visitors.

My wife and I have been advertising our rental properties since 2011. Since then we have watched VRBO take the vacation rental industry to a all time low. We have been forced as homeowners by VRBO to accept their terms and rental policies as if they owned my properties. We had two rentals booked on February 18th, 2018 in the amount of $3,800.00. It is now March 09, 2018 and we still have not seen our rental money from VRBO. We have tried everyday since the bookings and have not received a dime. When we call we get different answers as to why and none of the answers make one bit of sense. We have asked to speak to a manager and none are to be found. We are getting ready to take legal action against VRBO.

I rented a house in Big Bear CA. for my family. The owner nor manager never contacted me. I waited months and sent several e-mails. I complained to VRBO with no response. When I found the Mgr local she said the owner fired her and cancelled the cleaning service. I threatened small claims, she gave me the owner's name and number and I contacted.

We rented a property, always sight unseen, only to discover it was a mobile home in a trailer park. The owner described her property as being "in a manufactured community". That means 'trailer park' in VRBO listing speak, I guess. When I tried to cancel and get back my money, the owner wrote a scathing email accusing me of taking up her time. She also told me she would NOT rent her property to me! I called VRBO and opened a case to get a full refund. VRBO's agent told me that her term, manufactured community, is fair and that I should have understood. The agent further told me that VRBO cannot get involved as they have no authorization. Really? Then why did they offer to open a case us? Essentially, VRBO says they are just a vehicle for listings. Don't ever use VRBO as they will not help you settle a dispute.

First they started masking email addresses so that we couldn't use PayPal. Then they added a new payment system so that we have to pay 3% on all reservations AND VRBO keeps all the money until the renters show up. I don't care about having cash sit in my account those extra months between payment and rental dates (I wasn't investing it anyhow) but it burns me up that they are now sitting on (and surely investing) piles of cash. Last insult is that I just took my first booking thru their sucky new system and the renter also has to pay $185 service fee!!! That's new, expensive and possible deters rentals! They are constantly looking for a new way to make money and we are hostage because some moron somewhere let VRBO and HomeAway merge so that there is now no competition (Apol’s to Airbnb).

I would give VRBO/Home Away negative stars if possible. I reserved a property through VRBO the beginning of November 2017, for March 8 - March 11, 2018. I had a reservation confirmation and had paid the amount in full. On March 6th I contacted the owner through the VRBO site to obtain the house code and check in instructions. Shortly after emailing him I was called by the owner who informed me that he was sorry, but I did not have a reservation anymore. He said that VRBO had blocked him out of his account and that since he did not have access to the calendar anymore and was no longer using VRBO for reservations, he had booked someone else during the same time I had. He also said that he assumed that VRBO would be contacting renters since he did not have access to that information anymore.

OMG... We have been with VRBO as property owners for many, many years and we have 3 beach properties. Since combining the AirBnB the service with VRBO is so horrible it is almost unbearable. One department transfers you to another department because no one knows who is supposed to do what. I have to call them at least once a week for clarification. They make reservations and transfer strange amounts of money into our accounts and no one can even tell me who the guest is that is paying. You are supposed to get an email giving you the breakdown of the payment. I have 2 mystery payments right now and no one can supply the breakdown. The Payment Department just told me that HomeAway/VRBO is to email the breakdown, so they transferred me to them.

Attempted to book a vacation rental online. Availability and rate were confirmed. 8 hours later the owner states that the unit is not available at the stated rate and the reservation was cancelled. Called VRBO. After a 20 minute wait, was connected to a customer service agent whose English was at best marginal. After a lengthy interchange, was told VRBO fees would be refunded in 7-14 days. As of today, the same unit is still listed at the same price. Use this site at your own risk. No quality control and very marginal customer service.

VRBO/HomeAway/Expedia have quadrupled their income and to an equal extent diminished their service. Owners used to pay an annual fee which had several tiers of membership. The higher the fee the better and more prominent the listing. After the HomeAway purchase of VRBO that changed into a flat annual fee of $499 and a "service fee" charged to the traveler of 10% to 12% of the rental price. So, in my case for instance, VRBO went from annual revenue of about $350 to last year's $2387.25.

My first experience using VRBO was a total disaster. I do not recommend this website to anyone. I found a booking, created an account, got verified, and booked a reservation. Soon an email stated that my reservation was accepted... Minutes later the property owner emailed to say the booking would be refunded due to a "booking error". First problem: The refund was not in full! It was $143 short! No explanation! Second problem: The quote/end quote "booking error" was a change of the price! The owner would not honor the previously advertised and confirmed reservation price! The owner claims that the VRBO system is at fault. VRBO blames the property owner. WHAT A SCAM! DO NOT BOOK WITH VRBO.

Most of the online booking sites of VRBO charge booking fees, and some are very high (i.e. VRBO charges an extra 10 - 12%). Sometimes these fees are hidden from the renters.

I am a property management company that has utilized the VRBO advertising product since 2008 with great success. We average around 30 rental properties advertised on VRBO. A couple of years ago we were even able to integrate our software with VRBO which made keeping calendars and rates up to date in real time and at a Property Management discounted affordable annual subscription per property (average cost is around $12,000 per year). It was a great B2B relationship.

I own a vacation property and have been using VRBO to rent it since 2011. For the first 4 years it was great. I booked my entire summer season. For the past 2 or 3 years I can't get a booking. The entire website has been changed and they are taking over the bookings. The website has become almost impossible to navigate. They want you to use their credit service - for a fee, of course. I haven't because I can't get a booking. Today I discovered that they have my property listed in the wrong section so I am not even being advertised where my property is located!!

I have been using VRBO for years to rent out my condos. Since HomeAway and VRBO combined, it has been nothing but headaches. Because of something that is their fault... Which they have admitted to. I cannot, nor have I been able to rent out my condo for weeks. Plus, every time you call, they tell me it has been taken care of... It has not. I am so disgusted with them. I asked to speak to a supervisor today. Guess what? The supervisors are gone!! I want my money back... But they won't do it! Totally disgusting!

I attempted to book a property and the request was accepted and VRBO took a $151 fee. I then went to complete the transaction with the owner and they requested an email transfer of cash rather than using the payment option through the site. This is highly risky as transferring cash has no recourse if something goes wrong. VRBO's own website advises against this as do tons of consumer protection sites, Airbnb, etc. I contacted VRBO to confirm that they would reimburse me if I discovered the owner wasn't legit. Their response was maybe, and it's probably ok. That was not reassuring enough for me and I requested to cancel. The owner was snippy but agreed to cancel. This was all within 2 hrs of the request so no revenue lost for them, but it is now my understanding that they could have refused.

I own beachfront condos that I rent out. Although we get lots of inquiries from HomeAway/VRBO (same company), they provide little support for homeowners and property managers. I've spent the 4.5 hours over the last 2 days trying to add 5 condo listings. I get transferred from one department to another, disconnected 4 times, and spent more than 2 hours on hold. I still don't have my problem fixed and after a few minutes talking with me, most of the customer support people get sarcastic and condescending. I've called and written emails and can't get support. I relisted yesterday for $499 annual subscription and when I tried to cancel it today based on the lack of support I was told I couldn't cancel. So now I have a listing that I can't get to go live, no one will call me back, no one will help me with my problem and I'm out $499. Terrible way to run a company.

We, like all of the other vacation rental owners that have been with VRBO (or HomeAway or VacationRentals - they're all one now...) for a long time, this new format and business model is atrocious! We already pay a hefty (very hefty) fee to have our property on the site and they've now started charging guests an additional booking fee and us a percentage of every payment they accept "for" us - we don't have a choice. If we don't simply hit the Accept reservation button, we have no access to their email or phone number. And if we try to reply to their inquiry and include our email or phone number, VRBO blocks it so the guest cannot see it.

I sent a reservation request for property id 4850733 in Sevierville, TN. On the website it stated the rate was $500 per night and minimum stay was 2 nights. Which the website still says 2 nights minimum but the property manager Tara ** declined my reservation saying it was a 3 night minimum. And told me to "Go ** yourself!", of which I still have the email and a screenshot showing the property listed for 2 night minimum. Very unprofessional and nasty response. When I told her I was going to report her behavior, she then replied that I cannot report her, which I have found to be somewhat true when trying to contact VRBO to report this issue. So I've turned to the ConsumerAffairs to warn others about this property listing.

NEVER AGAIN! I can't add much beyond what other owners have posted below, but this company is flat out greedy. Once VRBO realized or decided they could double dip on the fee structure and then basically extort the owners, was the last straw for me. When I signed up in 2017, I was given the option to renew with the automatic bookings ($399) or remain independent ($599)... I chose to stay independent and incur the additional cost so I could screen my renters. Next thing you know, my booking requests basically disappear... and lo and behold, VRBO has buried my listing.

VRBO site required me to commit my credit card info to request booking for a property at South Seas Resort in Captiva, FL for 4.5 months later. Owner, Kim **, questioned whether she wanted to rent to me. At first I argued, but then decided not a good match. I asked to cancel immediately, but the owner refused to cancel and charged my card for over $870. VRBO told me I had to wait to see if she rebooked the property. Then instead of canceling, Kim ** changed the date of my reservation to following year. About a month before the rental date, the property was marked unavailable on VRBO. Now Kim ** claims she could not rebook and is keeping my money. The contract requires reasonable efforts to rebook, but VRBO will not help me and says they can’t do anything. It's not practical to sue because I (of course) live in another state. I will not use VRBO again.

I generally only post positive feedback on public forums, but VRBO/Homeaway has pushed me over the edge. This is no longer a site homeowners or renters should use. We listed our home for the last 5 years and had nothing but positive experiences with any of our guests. Most of this I attributed to the fact that I phone-screened everyone. This is no longer allowed. We are now supposed to blindly accept reservations with only email contact with our guests. Good luck knowing that someone who writes a nice email isn't going to have a college party at your house or host a wedding gala in your backyard! - These are two real situations that I was able to screen out through phone calls!

The original mission of VRBO was to connect vacation homeowners and guests looking for a better experience with more value. They were a marketing partner for my vacation rental. Guests and owners alike were able to speak one-on-one and make a mutually agreeable arrangement. The unique experience is what created the incredibly successful business model. That model no longer exists. Now that VRBO is owned by Expedia, guests and owners are no longer able to contact one another directly. As an owner, I have no choice but to agree to online booking where VRBO's staff take over all direct client contact, as well as all financial aspects of the rental. They become a fee-based property management company, increasing guest and owner costs with no added value to the owner or guest.

I booked a stay at a place in Dallas where I had a business conference. When I booked it six weeks prior to my stay, they immediately took a $1500 refundable damage deposit, which I thought was strange... But knew it would be returned. When we arrived at the property at approximately 5 pm. The host answered the door and said she was not expecting us and appeared very confused. She told us to hold on while she checked something. She left us outside in 30 degree weather. She came back and said that she wasn't expecting us because VRBO removed her account on their site. She went on to say that it's ok, cause she didn't have anyone else expected to stay. I offered to show her my phone and the confirmation. She seemed to know that I did have a booking, just couldn't access the site to see it. She said that the apartment wasn't ready yet, but could be.

VRBO is a total scam. I have used Airbnb before and had great experiences. I booked through VRBO for the first time and ended up paying $371 per night instead of the advertised $179 per night. They charged multiple fees to my credit card without notifying me. I recommend staying away from these guys unless you don't mind giving your money away!

I tried repeatedly to book a room, sent several requests that were not responded to, called customer service several times with no answers. Wasted an entire week waiting for responses from homeowners. Decided to just book a hotel instead of waiting around for weeks to not have a place in the end.

My husband and I own a vacation property in FL which we have rented through VRBO for about 15 years. Initially, it was a wonderful service for both renters and property owners and we were very happy with it. The annual fee was higher than most, but we liked the way the service was structured so we happily paid our annual fee ($400-$600/year depending on the level of service we selected). We spend a lot of time and money keeping our property in tip top condition, well furnished and renovated. And, to keep that, we have high standards who can rent our property - no one under age 25, no spring breakers, etc. That was clear in our ad, and we had the opportunity to communicate directly with prospective renters.

My issue is that VRBO does not allow you to cancel requests to book. This not made clear up front. It's in the fine print, where most users will not double check. So if you decide to get rid of your request, only the owner of the property has the power to either take your money despite you wanting to cancel your request, or maybe they will cancel the request if you send them an email through VRBO. Again, none of this was made clear to me after until I called their helpline. It's not user friendly at all. So save yourself the time and either go through Airbnb or Priceline to find hotel deals NOT VRBO.

I used their website to book a rental for a weekend and was charged a service fee for booking online. I was then charged a service fee from the actual rental agency. My 280 dollar rental came with 100 dollars worth of service fees, what a joke! I will never use VRBO again, Airbnb is MUCH better without all the fees.

I also as a homeowner agrees with other property owners. VRBO has so drastically changed the format of the company and now seek to control every facet of the rental. I now am unable to speak to anyone inquiring to rent my home and vice versa for the renter, it is and was very important to have an open line of communication with both parties to ensure that it is a good fit regarding the rental. I really miss the old VRBO company and I feel the new policies they have implemented. Don't have anybody's best interest except theirs.

My entire nightmare with VRBO/HomeAway began because VRBO posted a fraudulent rental. I notified VRBO immediately the day after I booked it on Nov. 26 that I believed the property to be fraudulent. They told me I had to wait for them to do anything as my trip was over a month away at that time, and they had other people that needed help before me. They operate on a first in line priority listing. In other words, none. It took them 2 weeks for anyone to look into it and when they did they sent me a letter acting like I had never called and reported it in the first place but that they had discovered it.

I have been a host on VRBO since 2009. It has always been a contentious relationship but they were a necessary evil and so I put up with their ineptitude, their lies, their many systems issues that went on for weeks, months, and in the case of my channel management issues, years. The company had a “you need us more than we need you” attitude in my early years. That changed somewhat when Airbnb became hugely popular very quickly. But then Expedia bought VRBO and their attiitude went from bad to good to horrible!!

Beware everyone. VRBO will not switch your credit to another account nor will they give it back. Do not give them your credit card or pay for it upfront. They told me that I would have to wait for a manager to call me back 24-48 hours (that's just insane!). They quoted me paragraph blah blah blah some made up ** that I can't get a refund. Who do they think they are!?? They are awful! Stay far away. On top of everything they try to get renters to pay their fee if they pay upfront. I always told my renters to go through me and avoid their fees. VRBO only worries about $$$ not their customers.

NEVER GO TO THIS SITE. VRBO doesn't stand behind their product and it's a FRAUDULENT site. This site does no review or analysis of the "owners" who purport to rent space.

The level of incompetence is overwhelming!! I have over 55 homes listed with this joke of a company and they make it so hard to work with them! They removed guest communication which was expected and common for most advertising sites, however when there is an issue I expect VRBO to call the guest because I can't and when they "won't" it is so frustrating and unacceptable. For VRBO to lie to my face and say they don't have access to the guest info as well is the biggest slap in the face! The anger I feel for this company in un-natural and quite alarming. Every time I or my team calls no one helps us and no one knows what's going on and we are lucky if they speak any English at all! I don't understand how this company is so large and incompetent! I am looking forward to a day where a new booking site launches and we can all say goodbye to this corrupt shady company! VRBO YOU ARE THE WORST!!!

I attempted to rent a place and was told there would be no charge until the rental was confirmed. They said the rental was unavailable and charged my card anyway. After 7 days it was still there and I had to have my bank retort it as fraud. 1 month later on Feb 13, they charged me again!! It's about $900 each time they charge me and I have to get a new card each time. This company is fraudulent! Buyer beware!

Yesterday I tried to send a question about availability to a property owner. The website was confusing and sent some sort of message off into a black void with no acknowledgment of anything. I assumed it didn't work. Then it asked if I would like to try and book the property. I wanted to see if they had availability - so I tried to see if the booking would work. It asked for card info and then charged me.

VRBO just notified me that "you are no longer eligible for pay-per-booking listings." I get very few requests from their site, and a few of the requests didn't work out, so their computers determined that my "conversion ratio is low," and they bumped me from their site. They offered me the option to pay for an "annual subscription so you can continue booking your property on our site." I book so few renters from their site that it would not be profitable to do this. But they just want my $300 plus annual subscription fee! Stay away from this site. Book on Airbnb instead! Smarmy site!

As an owner of a rental property we paid for a year subscription. VRBO canceled our listings because we refused to charge guests a service fee of $75 per rental. We felt this was unfair to our guests. As a result VRBO deactivated our listing and when we called to finalize the deletion of our listing they told us they would not refund us the year's subscription ($597) that we had paid in advance even though they deactivated our account and we only used 5 months of their service.

For what was a great site to list your property on has been taken over by the greed of VRBO. We have always paid a membership fee, $399 per year, to use their site. That fee still exists - but now they charge our customers a service fee along with us paying a credit card fee. The service fee is rather steep which looks like we increased our rates. We can no longer speak to people before they rent our condo, because VRBO wants their $$$ first before you can speak to potential renters. We have lost a lot of people to this service fee and homeowners are starting to seek alternative ways to rent their homes. This site is more geared towards hotels, motels, etc. not the individual homeowner wanted to rent their place in which they cherish!

I booked my first vacation rental through VRBO. I spent a couple weeks looking for different places and locations. When I made a selection the contract required 1/2 down with the balance due 6 weeks before my vacation dates. Seemed reasonable and I booked. Now I have 1/2 down and the balance due 2 weeks later. I am beyond angry and of course lesson learned - nonrefundable. I have trip insurance but this is not covered under trip insurance. Another scam. So disappointed in this company and the inconsistency in booking and actual contract. Never ever again.

As a client of VRBO for the past 14 years, I am very angry and disappointed at the way they changed their business model from advertising owner rentals to becoming a booking company for Expedia which bought them. It is no longer a friendly "rent from owner" company. And forget trying to speak with a VRBO manager as they will deceive you. Many of your fellow vacation homeowners have expressed my same frustration. The only way I (we) can fight the giant is not to renew with them... which I plan to do. If we keep feeding them money, they have no reason to change their onerous treatment of their clients (you and me) who provide the inventory.

Since 2003, I have been one of the original members of VRBO and Vacationrentals.com, I had 2 property listings with them, referred countless owners to them which they collected their fee in full for, and all parties were satisfied until they took my money 2 years ago and decided to try and collect the rental amount themselves plus a hefty credit card fee which was not our agreement AND charge the consumer a convenience fee. My rental business was cut by 70% and I threatened to leave and did stop my Vacationrentals account but was assured by Mary in upper management at VRBO that I could still book my own clients if I renewed for $499.00 for the year for VRBO.

VRBO stands for Vacation Rentals By Owner and used to be a great site for owners of rental properties and people trying to rent directly without the rip-offs from large corporations. Unfortunately they have changed their policy 180 degrees and now make it impossible to have a direct relation between tenants and the owner. Instead VRBO tries to force all clients to use their "service" for a hefty fee. VRBO collects the down payments and installments of the rent and does not forward these funds to the owner before the end of the rental period. Property owners have to pay sales and tourist development tax on this income and thus have to pre-finance these expenses out of their pocket. At the same time VRBO enjoys to work with the liquidity of their clients.

I just called customer service in India who told me there is not time frame after the guests have left to bill for the used electricity which makes no sense to me. The whole Service fee is a ripoff and only to create more income. Then I also have to pay the 3% to 5% for the credit card fee where before I took a check and nicely interacted with future guests, I have no choice and hope a new startup company can take this business away from VRBO/HomeAway.

We stayed at property which is located on Bay Ave. on Bonnet Island. Our stay was 7/29/17 to 8/5/17. The place was nice and we enjoyed our stay even though there was construction right outside our unit from 7:30 to about 4:30 each day. There were some small issues that needed addressed during our stay and it was difficult to reach Mr. **. At the end of the week we cleaned the unit and left it spotless. The problem was getting our security deposit of $500.00 back. When we did not receive it in 2 weeks we tried to contact Mr. ** by phone and email several times with no response. We contacted VRBO and received no help from them. They told me to try and resolve the problem with the owner or contact my bank. I filed a complaint with the bank and finally received my deposit on 12/5/17. I will never deal with Mr. ** or VRBO. This was our first experience dealing with VRBO and it was very frustrating and disappointing.

I would suggest you avoid attempting to rent any property from Kathleen ** from Oregon. My girlfriend reserved a house in Astoria in October from Kathy. She confirmed the reservation and took the deposit. In January she asked for the full payment which we immediately paid. A week later she emailed and said, "I'm sorry somebody beat you by five hours." 5 hours three months ago? We looked at her rental and it was now booked for that same weekend indefinitely.

I booked a trip...paid down payment...paid balance 20 days before arrival. We have had a business emergency come up and are unable to come. No one would talk to me about it or allow me to talk to the owner about possible doing a partial refund. The customer service was lacking. What really irks me the most is that if I cancel they can rebook and double the money. And even if they will not refund all of my money, I do not understand why I would still be responsible for a $450 clean up fee, 629 in taxes, another 105 in taxes again, and a 321 service fee??? On top of losing the rent I paid, they get $1505 for nothing??? I will not use these groups again. I will stick with Airbnb where I only had to cancel once but they were gracious, personable, understanding and refunded me.

2002 was the year we started using VRBO. We have several listings. Then, in 2016, everything good seem to be negated. Listings buried with the assurance that that wasn't the case. We were told to "refresh the calendar" or have a "new review" posted in order to become more "prominent". What a joke. We have several guests who weren't able to access the site well enough to give us a nice review. But the worst part? Homeowners are not allowed any contact with guests until AFTER they have paid. And they're forced to go through VRBO to do that; we've been shut out of the process. Complaints seen here are spot on. The company has become a bully of its homeowners; we feel like we're being strong armed. The COG attitude - count on greed - is alive and well with Expedia/VRBO/HomeAway... Am searching for new ways to stay in business.

I spent hours ++++ carefully narrowing down the options for a trip out to Western Canada. I asked clarifying questions through VRBO site and got answers but when it got down to booking then things went south. My card got "rejected" - though the bank didn't see any of the so-called rejections. (I trust my bank 100%). Called VRBO, same thing. Told me to communicate with the owner via the site. MIA. Has been for 2 days. Why? it's unclear. This whole thing is a scam. Completely. Now, I feel like I've exposed myself with my credit card and wished I hadn't even considered. Stay away!

I was booking a cottage, for whatever reason (they won't tell me why) they said that my credit card was rejected because of "irregularities" but they still managed to charge the card $1,500. How exactly they pulled that off is quite a feat. Even better, they aren't returning the money for 5-7 business days. Now, this cottage was for my boss, who is arriving in 2 days. So in order to make sure she has a place to stay, I am going to have to shell out even MORE money to secure her lodging. And I still have no idea why they took my money and then claim they have to return it. Unprofessional and unacceptable.

I have had property listed on VRBO for two years, despite having used it in the past and finding it extremely difficult. However, I realize that most vacation renters ARE using VRBO so tried again. We have lost so much money to them!!! This year, especially, my own parameters for rents charged, discounts, etc were "fiddled with" (no better words to describe). All of a sudden, my rental rates were lowered and included an additional $225.USD discount... (what discount???) I called and was told that "our new rate editor must have recognized a better pricing". No notification to me, nothing.

I am very disgusted. After being a member since 2004 I'm finding it too difficult to work with this group any longer, they have taken control of my calendar, they continually make changes to control the owners and besides the large yearly fee to have our site listed. They now have found ways to take money from our patrons. They do not deserve to call themselves VRBO "Vacation Rental By Owner"... it's no longer by the owner!

Not only is VRBO and Homeaway collecting listing fees for the millions of property listings, but now they are even charging the guests a mandatory booking fee of 5 to 15%. They are doing this without even providing the property owners the right to set their own rates. We have 3 seasonal rates, In season, Off season and Holiday season. Since they only allow rates for 2 seasons, 30% of the instant quotes they give are wrong. In addition, they want property owners to give a per night rate for each additional person over 2 people. Our Villas rent by the number of bedrooms used or by the numbers 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 people etc. They want to run your business the way they tell you, not how you want to run your own business. Awful.

I have used VRBO for years to advertise my vacation property. Typically potential guests would see my ad and contact me. From there it was up to us to negotiate dates, times and costs. VRBO has changed the operating procedure so that it is now impossible for direct communications between owner and guests. They have engineered the process to make it nearly impossible for owners to vet the guests ahead of time. They also force owners to allow VRBO to handle all of the financials so that they can take a hefty chunk in fees. VRBO has become the vacation rental bully.

Frustrated and disappointed. My experience is similar; I sent messages for 2 days trying to book a place in Orlando. After 3 days of unreturned phone calls I finally reached an agent who reached out to the owner/ property manager on my behalf. Apparently, the property calendar (VRBO # **) not maintained, days were not available. The property manager responded via email to say that she had another property available (VRBO # **) she will follow-up the following morning. Surprise, no follow up! After several attempts to reach her I contact customer support again, a message was left on my behalf. It's now Friday morning January 26, 2018, still nothing.

VRBO does nothing more than a website that hosts vacation rental homes owned and operated by owners, yet they charge a hefty fee. When we had questions on our rental and called their customer service, their reps had no idea what they talked about, and read from a script, hard to understand. The phone line got discontinued multiple times, the wait time was long. We canceled our trip and booked with Airbnb. Will never use their sites again.

VRBO is requiring homeowners to accept a process called automatic bookings. I am given 24 hours to accept or decline, but I am not allowed to see the reserving parties contact info/email or phone contact until after I accept or decline. As a homeowner of a vacation home or as a business I should have and have always taken the opportunity to be sure that the folks inquiring about staying in my home are guests that I would want and likewise my home fits the needs/requirements of the folks reserving it. I currently speak with all potential guests and find that to be the best screening process for all.

I have used VRBO in the past but my experience in Palm Desert was a disaster. I spent 4 hours reviewing multiple properties and trying to book them. Each time I was rejected by the owner with "we can't confirm your reservation". Additional attempts to contact owners went unheard. All properties said they were available when I booked and still show available a day later. I'm not sure what game these VRBO owners are playing in Palm Desert, but don't waste your time and don't expose your credit card. I booked a nice hotel in 10 minutes.

My family planned our holiday vacation in La Jolla, Ca. We secured a property owned by Kyle ** and paid upfront the entire rental amount for the 4-night stay to include New Years. I somehow came across the property on a well known real estate site and saw it was listed for sale. I called Kyle ** and asked what the listing meant for customers who had future rental agreements for the property. I was told the owner was testing the waters and the property was to be taken off of the MLS. As we got closer to the holidays, I maintained constant communication with the owner and found the house again on the market as a short sale. I told the owner to return my monies as we would need to secure another property; he told me all was good and the rental would still be available.

I canceled a reservation through the VRBO website, for the service fee. The website is very user-unfriendly, and since I canceled I can no longer access information about the canceled reservation. After waiting 2 weeks, I emailed customer service and they explain the refund was processed but didn't actually go through. I was told it would be another 5-7 business days. Well now it's been 7 business days and I called and my refund didn't process until 5 days after the last email. I will not go through VRBO again.

Tried renting a place in Greece. (9 months in advance) Paid them rental price and their service fee. Was debited from my checking acct. Homeowners never got the monies. Called them and was on the phone with them for 2 hrs. Spoke to 4 people who kept saying, "I cant help you," and kept putting someone else on. They refuse to refund my money. (Their service fee.) They argued that they are entitled to it for their service- which they never provided! Do yourself a favor and don't use them. Putting a stop to the payment with my bank.

When we learned we had toxic mold in our house, I called VRBO. It was the best support I have ever experienced in 50 years of traveling. The five customer support people were incredibly helpful. They were kind, supportive, informative and most important had my back. I am so sad that I did not know of their small fee they charged for insurance but they could not have been better.

I have yet to secure a booking through VRBO. 3 for 3 property owners have flaked out at the last minute. There is no recourse as a consumer either. I'm a 39 year old traveler and use Airbnb often. I will never try VRBO again as it's always a disappointment.

I attempted to utilize VRBO to rent a cabin. I got as far as the "request a reservation" step, in which I needed the owner's go ahead to proceed. I received a message via my VRBO account from the owner, telling me to book directly through them, as they don't use VRBO's payment system and it would also save me $ on the fees. I had already entered my credit card info into my VRBO account, so I wanted to make sure I did not get charged twice. I attempted to go into my account and was unable to access my account. I attempted to change my password, but kept being routed to "this page does not exist" message. I contacted customer service via e-mail and received an e-mail back stating because my issue dealt w/ a password/privacy issue, they wanted to talk to me instead of fix via e-mail. I respected this and attempted to call the number provided and was told there was a high volume of calls and a three hour wait for callback.

We went on VRBO and property showed availability. We booked a Wednesday to Wednesday stay and the property manager wanted more money after we paid. They would not refund us transaction fees or the difference in money we lost due to the conversion rate. Basically we paid for something they were unable to provide and I lost over $60 for this whole mess.

I literally can’t believe what just happened. We arrived at the vacation rental and they never told us it would $65 for the amenities, ok whatever. That fine. Then we opens the door and the place was a nasty dirty mess. Pee on the toilet, ants in the sinks, toothpaste on the countertops, bath towels on the floor and beds that were slept in.

I have had my properties listed with VRBO for 1 year now, previous owner of the property had been with them for 7 years. You cannot get a callback or an answer to an email...EVER. I have been transferred 5 times this morning and still no solution, only "that is done by another department". I will certainly be looking at my options this year and it will be my last year with VRBO. I would highly recommend that you research other options before you pay that ridiculous subscription price with VRBO. Because no one would answer my phone calls or emails, I have to pay an additional $100 for my yearly plan. Keep in mind you have to pay that subscription fee for each of the rooms you rent out in your vacation rental (i.e., B&B).

No negotiated refund, no explanation. Only excuses. NEVER AGAIN. Can I rate this NO STARS???

I felt absolutely zero protection as a customer using this service. There is no protection for renters on this site. The property we wanted to rent had a listing promising "resort access to a 5 star pool" amongst other amenities. However, once we booked the listing the homeowner could no longer guarantee anything. Even though nowhere on the listing did it say anything was not guaranteed. I called to make a complaint to VRBO and they were did not care at all about the misrepresentation of the property. Just kindly warned me "it's a zero cancellation policy, so you won't get your money back."

I just read several other negative reviews about the changes VRBO has made to their MO since they were bought out by Expedia in 2016, and I have to admit that I agree with all of the other homeowners' comments. We began listing our beach home with them 5 years ago, and had no issues with VRBO until 2016, when we noticed that suddenly we weren't receiving any inquiries. I looked into it, and discovered that our home's listing was buried among hundreds for our tiny town where there used to be only 30 listings. There were places listed in for beach town that were two hours' drive away! We basically were bullied into online booking, and were told that it would boost our inquiries and bookings. Not so... And then we looked into the fees they were charging our guests in addition to what they were charging us for the credit card bookings PLUS the ever increasing subscription fee. Total rip-off of our guests and us.

The contract I signed (as a traveler) states deposit refund will be "within" 14 days of your departure date. Two days prior to the deadline, I contacted both the owner (silence) and VRBO. VRBO stated it was the owners responsibility to process. Owner (once I opened a complaint) finally responded and stated VRBOs responsibility. At the 14 day mark, VRBO notified me the refund had been "initiated" and should receive by 1/23 - 4 weeks after departure date. Contract stated "refund within 14 days" not "processed or initiated" at 14 days. Breach of contract.

VRBO began with a compelling case. Load up all the information of your family vacation home onto our site, set the rates, manager the guests, create your own experiences and we will charge you for the portion where our economies of scale benefit you. Plus, if you pay a bit more here and there you can improve your rankings. Fast forward: We are going to double and triple the amount of money we take from you and for that you will get less hits, fewer guests, payments after the guests leave and constant meddling in your communications. Overall you will have a much less effective and pleasant experience. They are taking advantage of the high volume commercial owner and screwing the homeowner who wants to make a few bucks on their home away from home. If that's you, go to Airbnb. At least they vet their guests.

I started renting properties 2-3 times a year 12 years ago. Then I became an owner and listed for the last 8 years. Simple concept, Owner pays for ad, customer deals directly with owner at no charge, owner decides payment and security deposit, all good. Then they merged with HomeAway so we had no competitor to turn to. After I invested heavily in my vacation rental property and built the business the greed starts. They now force the owners to "online booking" and demand credit card payment from renters. Plus they CHARGE THE RENTER to book. Then they CHARGE the owner a 3% credit card fee of which they retain a portion. Then they hold your money for a week to get the float. And they collect and hold the deposit (more float) and decide if you get it if something is broken or stolen.

Truly horrific... I have NEVER experienced such poor customer service and incompetence in my life! As a homeowner, it has been an absolute nightmare to collect money. I have been waiting for two payments for TWO MONTHS! Their "vetting process" is lousy at best. I will not being doing business with this site going forward and would NEVER recommend this experience to anyone.

At first they had no phone support. I started to sign up online but had questions that couldn't be answered so I left it behind. Several months later a woman called me saying she wanted to help me finish signing up, take my payment and that they were starting phone support.

We are a homeowner who has used VRBO since 2011. At first it allowed us to completely control our listing and how we managed it, that is: how we communicated with potential customers, how we contracted with them, how we received payments, and so forth. Two years ago VRBO began to offer owners an optional “booking service” where the owner could opt to use VRBO to control the flow of money (deposits, payments, distributions to owners). We opted out and noticed that our listing ranking fell lower, however we continued to receive inquiries from potential customers.

VRBO seems to have changed their entire business model. We tried to book a condo rental in South Florida. The contact information for the owners was no longer available. On the condos that we wanted to rent, our only option was to call the HomeAway booking service and deal with a telephone rep from another country who had never been to the condo or even the city. The reps couldn't answer specific questions. When I tried to book, they required my credit card, which took a fair amount of time and they said that they owner wound contact me within 24 hours.

Our property is located in a special environment that requires us to personally contact and screen our renters. This process takes time and is not amenable to online booking within 24 hours. Despite this, VRBO has FORCED US to accept online booking. Online booking has many disadvantages for the customer- they are charged a 10% booking fee that they could avoid if they contacted the property owner directly. Also, things like the damage insurance offered by VRBO and insurance on cancellation are according to other accounts on this site, quite simply terrible.

We've been on VRBO for at least 9 years and until they implemented their required booking policy everything was great! Now, it's on crappy company looking to extort money from both home owners and vacationers alike. Use VRConnection instead!! We used to get a lot of inquires/referrals from VRBO. This year, it's down at least 90% - that is not an exaggeration. In 2016 we had a total of 9 inquiries, 7 of which booked with us. In the same time period in 2016 we had a total of 1 inquiry. 1!! And that person did not book.

As owners we have used VRBO for 8 years. Our subscription runs out the end of January and after reading all the reviews from both owners and tenants we will not be renewing. Our rental is very nice and we take pride in keeping it that way. We like to have personal contact with our tenants and feel that we have lost the ability to have control over our own property. The fees they are charging the guests are ridiculous as we already pay a pretty hefty fee to advertise with them. This is really going to hurt the vacation rental business for tenants and owners alike. Can't wait for a new listing business to be created that is like the old VRBO!

We travel often and have used VRBO since its beginning. I dislike the fact I cannot contact the owners with questions before booking. I dislike the fees now being charged to renters. We had an issue with an owner selling the rental and the new owner refused to honor the reservation. Old owner would not refund and said new owner had our money. VRBO was absolutely no help. We plan to search other venues for rental. One owner we actually got to talk to has said she is not renewing when her contract. She is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and will be listing with them. I think this is a good idea. We will be going through local chambers from now on. Rentals are Vetted by the chamber before allowing the listing. Sounds more reliable and cheaper than VRBO. It is worth a try.

VRBO hid our listing due to high rejection rate of applicants without consulting or inquiring with us. They basically collected our listing fee and then hid our listing so that other listings would get them the % booking fee they charge the consumer. For 7+ years we have been using them and the consumers who have rented our condo have been great with many repeating their trips. Since August of 2017 my listing has been hidden without any cause from VRBO. They said it was because we rejected too many inquiries - the only people who have been rejected are those that did not meet the requirements on our listing such as no pets and adults/families only (no beach week under 21ers) or asked for weeks that were already booked on the calendar that they did not look at.

I have been so dissatisfied with VRBO (now Home Away) the past 2 years that I actually took the time to set up an account with CONSUMER AFFAIRS to complain. My complaint is similar to other homeowners. I pay hundreds of dollars for Home Away/VRBO to market my home, and when I call to complain they say "we're changing for the best interest of our client"... whom they say is the "traveler". Legally, I'm the one paying, so I AM THEIR CLIENT. Home Away/VRBO has lumped my Ft. Myers home with Cape Coral, Sanibel, Ft. Myers Beach for a total of 8,6** listings.

Their 2017/2018 format requiring all contact between potential renters and property owners to run through VRBO is invasive and unacceptable. VRBO used to serve as an advertising medium, putting together two interested parties. They are now strictly a booking service. I don't know any high end property owner that would allow potential renters to book without speaking to them directly first. Terrible business model. Will find renter this season another way.

I have never liked VRBO's service, as a host, especially compared to other company's like Airbnb. They have unfair business practices, threatening to shut down my site (for declining guests, accusing me of using the site for lead gen). Instead, I was declining guests because VRBO does not have a thorough process to vet guests before I let them in my home! Now, they have removed ability to contact your potential guest until booked, which increases safety risk. They charge a large fee to be the lead gen engine and now they continue to raise rates for hosts and guests while continually downgrading the services offered.

We have been using HomeAway to list our condo at Las Palomas Resort for the last 5 years- We now have to convert to the BookIt now feature if we want to keep it listed. We are going to stop using VRBO due to this forced change which also adds on a 8% fee.

I have rented a property through VRBO where the owner of the property was a scammer. He secretly contacted me to add an additional charges. When I refused, and wanted to cancel two hours after my reservation, he said he would take the money and not refund us our vacation saved $. Called VRBO and their assistance was mediocre. I wanted to write a review about the owner to alert other customers and VRBO said no. Be aware people. You are on your own and VRBO won’t have your back. They referred me to my credit card to dispute the charge. Very disappointing experience.

My family is relatively new to VRBO, but it's still been a decent two years renting out an old family home, which is almost continuously booked due its location. We have opted out of online bookings for the past two years and have had no problem getting our place filled for much of the time. About two months ago, I noticed our property disappeared from the site VRBO/HomeAway site completely. After a few frustrating calls where I was relegated to online call centers apparently located in India and/or Mexico, I was informed that Expedia/VRBO/HomeAway is now blocking all properties that do not use their obnoxious online booking service (extraction fee), which tacks on a 6-12% to all renters who use the site. We pay $1,000 a year already to advertise on VRBO/HomeAway.