Vrbo Reviews

Have tried four times to rent a vacation rental thru this company in Orlando Florida unsuccessfully for 5 nights in November to take our grand kids to WDW. Have submitted all info even credit card numbers only to be told they can't confirm rental or property is unavailable, even though website says it is available on all the properties. Have even called Homeaway directly to no avail. This is no way to treat consumer when trying to book a property that is "supposedly" available. Somebody needs to look into this immediately!

I had changed my bank account. HomeAway apparently didn't register it and 4 month later sent money to the wrong account (which didn't exist anymore). I made them aware of the mistake, then they told me I needed to fill the formula again even though I have email proof that it was already done and a sales guy promised me in writing that all was ok. I filled it out again, then said it was file now but for the bounced money transfer, I owed them 1250 Euros. They would not release any funds until I pay. At the end they deducted them from my rental income and sent me the difference. I am deleting my account and will never deal with them again.

I have booked with VRBO several times and just today was charged a 118.00 service fee. I called them and was told this fee was to protect me from internet fraud. I was forced to pay it. I don't understand why I gave my CC number to another agency but somehow VRBO was able to make this fraud.

If I could give this review all 0 stars I would. Rented through VRBO. We were looking to get away on a mini-vacation retreat and wanted to go to a secluded remote area to get away the stresses of everyday life. This property owner of the unit ended up "scamming" us out of $2,000.00. Owner was NOT forthcoming with information about his property. Nowhere on the property listing on the VRBO website does it state that there are surveillance cameras INSIDE and outside the property! A mini vacation in a secluded area to get away was set, at least that's what we thought until we found out "BIG BROTHER" would be monitoring our every move!

We have had an account with VRBO for the past several years for a property that we own in Florida. They charge property owners a pretty hefty fee to use their site to advertise vacation rental property, take bookings and accept money. In addition, they charge a pretty high rate credit card fees to the owner for customer's paying with credit card (even higher if outside the US).

OK, I understand all the business model changes with VRBO and don't agree with them. We will not be renewing any of our listings with VRBO (we have been a customer since 2008). But now when we log in to edit our calendars or listings, we get this "sign up for VRBO online payments" window, and we cannot get around it to get to our listings!! Thankfully we have figured out a very burdensome workaround but won't mention it because it may get blocked by the VRBO terrorists. The decision has been made to cease doing business with VRBO and letting our listings expire, but what I think is ridiculous is we have to "work the system" to even update our listings or calendars due to this ridiculous pop up window.

I booked a vacation through their website and they charged my credit card without my permission or knowledge. Do Not Use this website.

DO NOT BOOK THROUGH VRBO/HOMEAWAY!!! I have booked through VRBO for years without issue... UNTIL NOW. I recently booked a condo and discovered not only the deposit, as correctly reported by the rental company but a charge to HOMEAWAY which was never mentioned in the booking process. I attempted 6 times to contact the toll-free number listed on my card with the charge and was only put on hold... The phone was NEVER answered. After googling HOMEAWAY and contacting them in another country, no resolution was offered... UNBELIEVABLE!! What a scam! I intend to contest the charge with my credit card company but customers should not have to deal with undisclosed charges like this. Please book directly through rental companies instead of VRBO/HOMEAWAY. I'm not sure who owns them but I assure you, they know nothing about customer service!

I reserved a week's stay at the Windmill Cottage in Cape Cod for late June 2016. Within 45 minutes of arriving at the home, my husband and I saw our first cockroach! Anyone who knows about roaches know they only come out in daylight when the area they are inhabiting becomes overcrowded. We immediately contacted the owner and indicated that we would not be staying and wanted our money back. We took pictures and a video as proof. We posted a review on VRBO but they pulled it down because it is their policy to not post reviews when renters are trying to get their money back. This is ridiculous. Future renters should be advised of a home's condition - especially when we have concrete proof; otherwise why bother with reviews?

I am a veteran VRBO property owner in the range of 16+ years. The initial service was good. All I wanted, and all they advertised was a "listing" site, pay for play, if you like. Let's skip over the astronomical fee increases. To outline the 'structure' to potential renters, property owners paid a sliding upscale fee specifically to HA/VRBO to only "LIST" our properties. It was meant to organize a gap in the market whereby millions of 2nd Homeowners listed their houses, direct to guests and with our fee-based structure, there was NEVER a question of charging a guest a "service fee" to book. NONE of us signed up for a 'Property Management Company', it was a straight transaction. I pay YOU, the Company, to List & Advertise... that is it! With the fees you charge, YOU go to the market and with collective buying power, you get us exposure. That is IT, that is ALL!

Rented a property from a so-called "owner", turns out it was an ex-wife of the owner who scammed us of $800. Had to go to small claims and only got $300 back. VRBO did nothing to help the consumer. Beware. Owners may not be real owners of properties!

I have used VRBO and HOMEAWAY to find vacation home rentals for the last 8 years and I have always been very satisfied with the experience until now. I just booked my second vacation this year on their website. I contacted the owner, we agreed on the dates and the total price and I then paid the owner online with my credit card. Today I received my credit card statement and there was an additional charge on my credit card from HOMEAWAY! I called HomeAway and spent 45 mins on the phone with someone in another country (poor English) who said they will NOT take off the charge.

I've had a great time reading reviews from other owners who feel the same way I do about VRBO's online booking system. I've been with VRBO for 3 years and I'm a holdout who refuses to adopt their online booking model. My rationales: A) I don't want VRBO monitoring all the dialogue with potential guests; B) I don't my guests paying the fee; C) I don't want to use credit cards -- my guests have always paid by check; D) I don't want VRBO cancelling potential bookings if I don't respond within 24 hours (and let's not forget I sleep or am otherwise not checking e-mail for at least half those hours!).

Don't use VRBO or HomeAway. Who owns them!!! I submitted a request for a vacation rental. My credit card was immediately sent a hold for the amount (hidden service fee included) even though the website stated that would happen after acceptance by owner. The owner did not accept the request so the reservation was canceled after 24 hours. Per VRBO website, funds will be released after 72 hours. This is not true! After talking to their customer service which was horrible (even asked for supervisor and did not get one), I was transferred to 3rd party to get release code that I had to give to my bank. It turns out that these funds are not released until 7-10 business days. I had to make several calls, wait on hold at my bank and finally gave up. Am waiting out the 7-10 business days. Funny how they could quickly charge my card but can't release the hold on the funds.

Home Away took my full week rental fee not knowing if the property would be available or not. With great intentionality they were very slow and difficult in refunding my money when the homeowner finally responded with no on availability. Customer service was horrific. Separate processing company. Poor English, huge wait times.

We have been trying to secure a refund of an annual subscription fee of over $1600 which was paid to VRBO in February 2015. Under their agreement which we signed at that time, they offered a full refund to property owners registering with their site, if no bookings were made through their websites - and if a number of criteria were followed - which they were - such as property being available, photos, calendars being updated, responding to inquiries, etc. We met all these criteria. They did also state they don't need to inform if there's any change to this policy. This was shocking in itself, but seeing as it's stated, I'm not sure if we would be able to argue. However, within just a few weeks after we had submitted our request for refund, which to us was an obvious outcome, we were told no refund due, as they had changed the policy just two weeks after we subscribed! This policy was dated 2012.

This will be a short review. I've been a property owner using VRBO for about three years without problem. We were very satisfied, paid our $400 annual fee to advertise with them and had the flexibility to handle rentals however we wanted...online booking, PayPal or payment by check/regular mail. My guests had no problems and everyone was happy. Early in 2016, VRBO suddenly started adding a fee to every booking without notifying owners in any obvious way that this would happen. They did not notify me when I paid my annual fee last year either. These fees were payable by guests to VRBO. They also wanted all booking to be online so they could collect more fees. Very disappointing. I'm sure there will be many members like myself that will not continue with this group.

When you book with VRBO you do not get a full disclosure of fees. I had a 4 night stay where I was charged $250 damage deposit, $72 cleaning fee and a $42 fee, of which there is no stated purpose for, other than enriching VRBO. The owner of my property stated she feels VRBO's business model is very poor as well. If you book through VRBO, beware.

The deposit explanation that is sent to you via an email does not coincide with the payment explanation under your account on your listing. It is not explained who paid which fees (owner or guest) and how much commission was charged based on what amount. It is purposely designed to be unclear and when I called customer service the person wanted to ramble off numbers without explaining how they arrived at those figures. Then I ask for a supervisor and spent almost an hour with him and he could not clarify the charges either. He created a ticket to get back to me.

I have listed my properties with VRBO since it's inception. It has always been a good and fair company until now. However, since it has joined with Expedia, I have not had an inquiry for the last 2 months, I also have a poor ranking because of my low response rate and my calendar was not updated. What happened? How could I respond to inquiries when I didn't receive any inquiries? How could I update my calendar when I didn't have bookings? I also found out that if you do not update your calendar ever 60 days, regardless of whether it needs it or not, your listing will be "inactive" and not be included in any guest searches. Of course, if you sign up for online booking they will keep you active. Did I miss an email telling me this would happen?

I found a vacation rental online through what I thought was VRBO. The website offered email contact with the property owner/manager. I received an email with a pricing which included a reservation fee. I called the number on the website and made a reservation, not knowing that in addition to the reservation fee another fee would be added. When I spoke with customer service, they indicated I would only have to pay the total fee sent to me in email by the property owner/manager. I subsequently discovered my credit card had been charged an additional fee by "HomeAway". My experience with the customer service agents on the phone was uninformative and directly misleading. I subsequently called and spoke with several layers of customer service who each in turn characterized themselves as unable to refund this additional fee, stating they did not have the power to do so (?).

I have been a member of VRBO/HomeAway for almost 2 years and wasting time writing this. The changes that are being made to paying customers are unbelievable. My plan is to not renew my membership as I have other ways to list without being given grief and aggravation. This was once a great site but no more.

MORE than a review this is actually the simplified version of a report I will be filing very soon with the public authorities. We can all read VRBO policy in matter of reviews used by renters as a means to extort refunds from their own host. "Any threat or abuse of the review system " would have the effect of having removed the review.

We are hard-core property owners who are the ones who pay the bills, keep up the properties, keep happy guests. Without us, VRBO would be nonexistent. We will find other means to advertise. We can exist without them and I applaud the college student who will hopefully come out of MIT or somewhere and start a new VRBO - we will be there. Did VRBO not realize that at some point guests would quit going to the site and come straight to us? You need us more than we need you. The guests will find us. JUST RIDICULOUS MARKETING FOR GREED. FOOLS.

As advised by a VRBO representative over the phone, VRBO recently changed how it groups property listings. They have gone to a region/map format. This recent change in my listing area has caused a huge error. I have contacted VRBO several times via phone and email to have it corrected. In fact, VRBO did correct temporary, but now has reverted back to the incorrect format. Here is an example, and I hope anyone reading this checks their search area too for this error!

We recently rented a condo through VRBO - I LOVE the location. But the owner of the condo was condescending, rude (had people servicing the condo during my kids' nap time, without asking or taking our schedule into consideration. After she had my money - and I would ask her a question, I was met with a condescending tone. And when we mixed up the check out time - that was completely our fault - we apologized and started getting out as quick as possible, offered to help with extra cleaning - even pay for cleaning... Told the owner we would be out in a short time... The owner called the cops on us saying that we were "refusing to leave" which was completely untrue.).

Back in November of 2015 the VRBO CEO Brian Sharples decided that it would be a great idea to change a good thing and mimic his competition by adopting their payment model, unfortunately it has not worked out as planned! My wife and I have several properties, one of which was on VRBO at a cost of over $400 per year, and up to the change we were booking at least half of our vacation rentals thru VRBO. However since the change we have had NONE, with only two hits. It's not like it's sitting idle, it's fully booked thru Mr. Sharples competition so what do I get for my money... a savings on our other rentals, we didn't add them to VRBO and when this one runs out he will lose this revenue as well. Way to go Brian! Glad I'm not a stockholder.

Long story short: Greatest ever business model and we're grateful for them. But they've recently decided that - after becoming a part of Expedia - that all the money they make just isn't enough. So now they're charging the renter as well. PLUS, they're changing the way they do business and long-time loyal VBRO'ers who have been willing to pay a premium for high exposure are now at the back of the bus. Their new business model is a big disappointment. But they know they have the us by the short hairs. So what can we do? Corporate America stuffs the little guys again.

Words cannot express how disappointed I am in VRBO. We rented a house through VRBO. We received a very threatening email from the owner - making horrible threats and accusations. We discovered that the owner was watching us through security cameras throughout the property. In addition, the smoke detectors were dismantled, and quite obviously not functioning. Property was advertised as being on a quiet street. Traffic is loud and goes all night. VRBO advertises that they warranty the properties. The list goes on and on.

The recent comments on this site are helpful, and fair and accurate from our experience. We've used VRBO for our UK & European properties for almost a decade; at this point we have a London property and two Swiss properties listed (one of those through the Swiss letting firm Interhome, whose former CEO was hired away by Homeaway). As another has said, Homeaway has constantly felt the need to increase charges as the firm has changed hands and been revalued: Wall Street demands this. The result has been increasingly bad service. I have a lawsuit (moneyclaim.gov.uk) on now because VRBO refuse to delete a defamatory review placed there by a "guest" who rented under a fake name and with a credit card under yet another name while an undischarged bankrupt. (I filed an objection to discharge in his bankruptcy) I've been contacted by his ex-landlady (whom he also defrauded) and his ex-girlfriend (whom he abused).

We have a very expensive property and have been happily renting it through VRBO since 2008, with many returning guests who love it. This year VRBO, under their new owners, has been a nightmare to deal with. Not only have they placed us much lower in the rankings even though we have 2nd highest 5 star rating in our geography and pay for top platinum membership, they try to "force" guests to pay through them using the "Book it now" feature which gives VRBO about 9% surcharge on every rental, even though we are already paying them $1,500 per year for the one listing! We rent about $30k a year so this is $2,700 more in income to them!

They instituted service fees and have taken control of rental fee disbursement. I and my partner haven't received ANY additional benefit from their added fees. In fact our rental inquiries are down since they decided to impose them. AND they now control rental income disbursement; i.e. they hold on to the rental money (escrow account) so they can make interest off of it. This website went from a useful tool to nothing but a big ripoff!

A beach property rental was quoted online as $810.53 for 1 week rental. I asked a question and in her response was the total amount of $1607.73. I called to clear this up and I got some lame excuse that it was a new rental and amount entered incorrectly. We had planned things out for this trip now it is off thanks to their incompetence. The listing was # 873762. As of this writing the original amount is still listed.

I have been using VRBO to list my rental home in Galveston for the past 4 years. Since VRBO has changed its business model, I have not had 1 inquiry in over 6 weeks. These changes have directly affected my ability to make an income. Does this merit a class action lawsuit? If there is one pending, I would certainly like to join.

I usually don't use my bank card for reservations but recently closed several cards to reduce open credit and when we booked a beach house for the 4th of July used my bank card on VRBO. We booked a house for $1,663.14 and were waiting for the confirmation email. The following day we received confirmation that the rental was booked and the funds would be released. That was fine however 72 hours later my bank account was locked due to fraud. I went to purchase a few misc groceries at Safeway for dinner and my card was declined even though I had more than adequate funds available. I called my bank and they put a freeze on my account to see if I had made a purchase for $1,663.14 at Walmart in Arkansas.

If you are not happy with a property and post a negative review, and the owner responds, VRBO will not let you respond to that. They consider it a "duplicate review" even if the owner is lying about his property! So essentially the owner gets the last word. Although I know that those reading the review will take note of what I said and if they don't, well they will see how bad the place is when they get there!

I've been with HomeAway since it was run out of a guy's basement in Vermont. That was back in 2002. It was a great service then. You have a problem and the guy fixes it. I never ever had a problem keeping fully booked. The company has changed hands a number of times over the years and each new owner adds their own little obscenity to attempt to recoup the costs assessed by their purchase. The most recent owner is Expedia... and their changes are NOTHING SHORT OF AWFUL... These ** look at every move with an eye to extract every last dime out of their members - and now renters as well. In addition to simply increasing the cost of the listing, they now insist upon having financial transactions take place through their vendor. It increases the total cost of the transaction by about 7 percent. The homeowner pays... the renter pays...

We rented one condo through VRBO with no problem. It was not until we rented our second property that things started to fall apart. First the property had not been cleaned, dirty dishes were in the dishwasher, wet laundry was in the dryer and the floors were covered with filth. It was in disrepair and the stove was filthy and in need of replacement. We contacted VRBO right away to ask for a refund and a new location. They stopped communicating and tried to take an additional $500 out of our personal account without permission. We also tried to contact the homeowner without success. The incident has been reported as fraud and hopefully will be remedied. Avoid this company!

I accepted a Christmas booking for 6000.00 UK Sterling on my luxury London Property from VRBO/HOMEAWAY group of companies. VRBO sent me confirmation that payment had been made. I bought champagne and foods ready for the guests' arrival and had that house fully prepared for them (garden tidied, windows cleaned etc). I let the guests into my house and then drove several hours back to where I was staying, to receive an email from VRBO/HOMEAWAY saying that there was a problem with payment.

I have personally sent an email to VRBO/HomeAway and told them I will no longer use their sites to book rentals because of their service fees. There are plenty of sites out there (FlipKey by TripAdvisor ranks high) that do not charge fees to book. I am officially jumping ship and I hope many owners do as well when their subscription ends. Good luck to all owners and shame on you VRBO/HomeAway!!!

I have used VRBO many times in the past with successful results. Recently I used the site to book a lake house which showed as available for our dates. I booked the house and received a confirmation email from VRBO stating they were confirming the reservation with the owner/management company. The next day I received another email stating the owner did not respond and therefore I was not being charged. That night I used VRBO to find another home and before booking checking my bank account to make sure I was not charged for the prior rental. Turns out I was charged the full amount to the tune of $1,400.

I've been renting my house for years now and have never had any issues until recently. A guest booked my house through HomeAway, showed up and stole thousands dollars worth of items, even numerous irreplaceable ones. To add insult to injury the card they used to book the house was stolen as well, meaning the money that was used to rent the house was also withdrawn from my account... even the security deposit. HomeAway hasn't helped in the least so at this point I'm going to have to hire an attorney. Has anyone gone through the same experience? Any tips/advice? Please help!

Recently my 2 listings on VRBO disappeared. You could find them by VRBO number but no longer associated or found in the complex they are located in. Mine with a large number of others simply gone. They changed their search process to using V & H coordinates and in doing so they somehow placed my properties in other places...but no longer searchable by complex name though others were still there. Took their tech support almost a week to address. I had 3 different devices and each came back with different results from the same search request (by complex name...no filters, no dates, etc.).

I have listed 3 homes on VRBO for about 14 years. It was a wonderful resource and you paid for what you got. Now forget it. We have about a 1/3 of the inquiries for homes that have sold out every other season. I finally figured out that one home was arbitrarily given the US bundle and it got many more hits at the bronze level than the gold level home had. When I called repeatedly to find out why one home was given the bundle and the others weren't, no one could give me the same answer. I have been told repeatedly that all homes would be given the bundle in July 11th and that if you are a "best match" with VRBO then you will get listed higher and your subscription costs will be lower!! Don't list your home on VRBO. I certainly won't after my subscription ends.

I have been very happy with the rental referrals I have received from VRBO since I first signed up. I own an ocean view home in Cannon Beach, Oregon. My business tripled when I joined VRBO. Then, around late winter/early spring this year, my referrals totally dried up. I could not figure out why and just received my notice that my membership would soon auto-renew (GOLD LEVEL $899 DUE 6/14). I also received an email re Expedia has purchased this company and they are going to a single level membership in July but I can stay with my GOLD level for another year with the same benefits (high ranking in the search).

After renting on VRBO, we submitted our review. We had a list of complaints - soiled bedspread, dirty coffee pot, layer of dirt on entry doors, and most importantly, mold growing on window frames that made it impossible to sleep in one of the bedrooms. We did not list all our complaints in the review, only 2 of them; we also said a few positives on the place. We gave it 2 stars -- our review could have been way more harsh. Now, I just received an email from owner saying that unless we withdraw our neg review, she is seeing an atty to seek remedy. This feels like extortion. Why should we remove a review that was wholly accurate? (Btw, she posted a reply to our review, on the site, where she went into a rant about us -- shot herself in the foot.)

I have gone through VRBO for many years. With added service fee this will be my last. They charge owner of property which should be enough. Goodbye HomeAway & VRBO.

I recently booked a condo in Kauai through VRBO. Before I was able to confirm my reservation, VRBO charged my credit card the booking fee of $117.12 USD. The next day, the owner cancelled my reservation because another renter has booked it (so he says). This is absolutely horrendous and unacceptable from a company this big. Renting through the owner of the property is completely unreliable. To date I have not received my refund for the fee. It was my first time to use VRBO and never again.

Am I understanding this correctly? I pay VRBO to advertise my beach home so I can attract renters. VRBO does a good job of attracting renters to my site. Now, VRBO charges a service fee to the renters that I pay them a fee to get for me. IF I HAD NOT PAID THEM A SUBSCRIPTION FEE, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE A home rental to collect a commission on. It kills me that I am paying them and supplying a home to them so that they can collect a commission on. Does this make sense?? Have you tried handling your rental lately? It's a nightmare. Having a third party stick their nose into our business is not going to work. It may take a while but someone will come up with the same model we used to have. What an opportunity for a savvy person to make millions.

The new Service Fee is TOTAL B.S. We've been a very regular user of VRBO - worldwide - but this aggravating fee will force us to search for alternatives. I'm sure I'm not alone.

I stumbled on the reviews of the recent VRBO/HomeAway changes and after weeks of sleepless nights worrying about 'my' predicament realized I WAS NOT ALONE!! I wondered WHY no one was inquiring on a property that has been fully booked for 13 years during the summer months in Big Sky MT? Hell no, I am not sharing my income with the company who I already pay dearly for my site. AND since when have they come to clean toilets and turn beds, for me? So when I read countless reviews I felt at least validated in my worries. With 3 vacation rentals in my quiver; I work hard at keeping them spotless and welcoming as I read many who do the same. I move from one place to another so that I have a place to live while the other is rented, and therefore, my life is busy (by choice). My solution if in fact it is one was to let one VRBO account expire.

I’ve used VRBO for many years and have stayed in many great places. The site offered easy navigation, complete descriptions, and useful filters - until it was taken over by HomeAway. I recently was on the site, found a place I wanted to rent, but when I got to the final cost, there was a $70 service fee!?!! For what? The privilege of using their site? Checking out others reviews, I learned that the property owners are spending $1,500/yr to list their property, the customer service they receive is essentially nil, and their occupancy rates have dropped dramatically. I will no longer be using any HomeAway site, and hope others will do the same to send a strong message to this company.

I have been searching different websites including Flipkey, airbnb and this vrbo trying to find suitable vacation rentals all evening long for my stay with my fiance in the Philippines. What I am surprised at is that the prices that are listed as 35 USD or 41 USD, when I click for booking page, it at first shows me the price listed on the initial site but within 10 seconds, the price nearly doubles for that... 41 USD turns in to 71 or 75 USD. This is just awful. I know that all these companies are trying reap people off by the excuse of cleaning fees, booking fees, payment protection fees, service fees etc... but this one has been the worst in my experience so far. I instantly checked the prices on other sites and what a big difference! Why not stay in hotels or book hotels directly instead of dealing with these big crooks?!

My very profitable and beautiful rental in Cozumel went from HERO TO ZERO since VRBO decided to copycat AirBnB. I can't believe I spent almost $1400 this year to advertise with them and now I am stuck until Feb 2017. BUYER BEWARE!!!

Our clients are Canadian and they are looking for a holiday home in CANADA. The rate that is displayed to our customers have been showing in US $'s. This misleads our clients into believing that the house costs much less than what it does. We are losing clients because of this. VRBO did not tell anyone that this is happening nor do they seem in the slightest bit interested in changing this. Apparently the world revolves around the US and Canadians are worth their bother. I will be looking for a different place to list my holiday homes.

I have had no inquiries for 6 weeks for my vacation rental, Pua Hale at Poipu, since Expedia bought the company. I have had the rental for 20+ years and am always booked and get an overflow of inquiries every week that I refer to friends. THERE HAS BEEN NO EMAIL FOR MY PROPERTY, **, FOR 6 WEEKS. I have talked to other owners who use VRBO and find the same problem. There is something wrong. I have paid over $1000 for one rental... I am looking into other ways to rent my property.

I have been renting property for vacations through VRBO for a number of years, although the past couple of years I have often found better deals by contacting local property management companies. Nevertheless, I still start with vrbo when I'm searching for properties. This year I find that they are now charging me a fee to rent properties through them, even though they also charge their property owners a fee. I understand their desire to increase their bottom line but I'm saying no to this attempt. They have less expense (unless they are not managing their business properly) than local property managers, and don't have to maintain local offices so I'm just not going to deal with them anymore. If they want my business they're going to have to get it by removing the fee.

I object to the new Travelers fees for VRBO vacation rentals. I have lost bookings because of VRBO Travelers fees. I feel it is unfair for a very large company to exploit small business owners. They try to make me feel good by telling me I will only pay 350 a year, down $500. However after I reimburse my Travelers the fees, it costs me another $2000.

I have used VRBO/Homeaway for years and am normally booked for our summer high season by mid-March. This year we're a week away from Memorial Day and I have no bookings at all. This makes no sense as our town has been restricting short term rentals at some places which would take at least 100 properties out of the marketplace so I should be getting more inquiries. I know I am not alone and there are thousands of other vacation owners out there who are experiencing a serious loss of income due to the changes within VRBO/Homeaway even though we are contracted and have been paying increased rates to list our properties for the last several years. VRBO/Homeaway was a great resource but they have breached all of our contracts and should offer refunds for the damage they have done.

I subscribed to VRBO last year with a platinum membership. During that year I booked my house with reservations extending beyond the subscription. I called VRBO to inquire what changes, if any would occur if I did not resubscribe and was told nothing would change and that VRBO would honor the reservations. I decided to try pay per booking just to fill in holes in the calendar. Imagine my surprise when I learned all my payments for bookings made PRIOR to my subscription running out were now in a delayed disbursement plan! So VRBO has decided it's okay to hold funds for up to 5-7 days AFTER a guest has checked out? I would like to know how the folks at VRBO think home owners can run a business by being paid almost a week after a guest leaves? Are they going to pay the house cleaner, taxes, utilities, etc?

I sound like a broken record but hoping the more people that write in may have an impact on VRBO changing their policy back to what we all signed up for... Vacation Rental by OWNER! I would happily pay even more than the Platinum service charge I currently pay on both our properties if I could continue to manage the properties and have a more personal relationship with our guests.

I have had two homes on HomeAway and VRBO for over 10 years. Things were great until this year. I am at 1/4 of my rental income from last year for both homes. Just awful and THEY PUT YOU AT THE BACK OF THE SEARCH LIST IF YOU DO NOT GO WITH THEIR PLANS, and now that I have signed up, I have not gotten one inquiry and it is over a month. I paid in excess of $2000 for my two homes for 2016 and feel I have just been **. I can't see how they need the extra money for marketing. They are just greedy. I do not recommend signing with HomeAway or VRBO.

I had two properties advertised on VRBO in 2012. At the time they merged with HomeAway, I suddenly could not find either property. Not surprisingly, my bookings went to zero. There was no warning from VRBO, and my calls to customer service were not answered for weeks. Finally I got in touch with someone who told me my listing has been "down" due to a "software problem" and there was no estimated time to have them back online. I asked for a refund for the time that the homes were not listed, and was told "We never give refunds, and we don't ever credit more than a month's time."

We have used VRBO since 2007 and have had great results until recently as they grab for more money. Ours and friends rentals have booked slower this year than ever due to the games VRBO are playing to generate more income for themselves. If I can find an alternative site like the old VRBO we are leaving. They want to much control and now are charging our renters an additional fee for as they claim better advertising. I call bullshit, it's a money grab and a huge one at that. I will not bow to this pressure and will not do online booking. It takes away the personal touch that we like and our renters like. Take note VRBO we are not happy at all.

I have been renting my home on VRBO since 2011. I only rent for July and August the Saratoga race meet weeks. Never have I had any openings, and have had to turn people away. I actually did extend my rental one week because a family that has stayed with me for 7 years had some health issues and when they found out they could come I was already fully booked, so I added new week for them.

This reminds me of the time Netflix tried to raise their prices for mail-in and streaming subscribers. I completely agree with everyone else's comments on this site... Really, It's just a terrible business decision from VRBO.

We have used VRBO to advertise a resort rental for over 10 years with very good results. Over the last few years the fee has increased dramatically but we felt we had no other option. Now with the recent fee and ranking changes we will have to explore other sites. Our place is not a typical rental property since we and our children use it as well -- and thus we must be very careful about who we rent to and the renters have uniformly been very happy with the accommodations (all 5 ratings). And because our rentals are so seasonal and our cleaning people's schedule so constricted, we vary the rent considerably based on the number of people, days, and season.

Our property in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL has been listed with VRBO since 2009. We always had great response from the site (at a Gold Level). After the latest change in February to require the use of their Payment system to have a high ranking (we use a property manager for our billing), we haven't had a SINGLE inquiry. Our property went from being on the 1st to 2nd page to about the 12th page. WHY would I pay one additional cent to this company? We let our contract lapse and have moved over to VacationHomeRentals.com, which is part of the TripAdvisor family. The prices are lower, there is NO fee to the renters and I have had 8 inquiries on the property in 1 1/2 months. They offer a 60-day trial membership. I will be paying for a full Gold or Platinum membership when my trial is up!

Over the last 15 years we have owned 6 different properties in Outer Banks, NC and 2 in The Villages that we advertised on VRBO. We have sold them all, but know how costly it is to advertise on VRBO. We spent thousands of dollars over all those years. Yes, we did get rentals and we felt it was one of the better sites to advertise, but nevertheless, very costly. Owners pay a lot.

Been with VRBO for 12 years. Was initially established to provide owners a means to rent property themselves and avoid the huge fees rental agencies charged. AND, provided renters discounted rates as a result. However, this is no longer the case and both property owners and renters are paying the price. Rental agencies are now allowed to post properties on their site, AND, getting preferential listings on top of the page. Rental service fees are now required 8%+, if property owners elect to "opt out" they move to the bottom of the page listings, AND!!! if you elect to select book it now but end up dealing directly with your clients, there is a note on their site that they accept less booking than normal. So because I have so many repeat renters that contact me directly, (which should be a good thing) I end up declining a lot of requests for dates I already have booked even when my calendar is blocked.

I join the masses of owners who have expressed their concerns over changes in Homeaway/VRBO. I am happy to see I am not the only one that is saying "What the hell is going on". I have been happy for 6 years and now went from happy to zero with them. Just got off the phone with them, so far EVERYTHING they told me is not true. I was doubled billed, then not then next year it will go down, then in July everyone new gets a better deal but I get screwed because mine does not renew until 4 weeks. That extra fee is so unclear to guests. Everything is scrambled eggs. I am just really unhappy now.

I have been a loyal VRBO property owner since 2011, at the platinum level so my listing has always been top second in searches. I have perfected my personal way of conducting MY property management, being the sole manager/owner and corresponding directly with my potential renters. I have developed multiple, custom responses through personal experiences over the past years as well as conducting my own bookings/reservations. Now, VRBO is penalizing both me the property owner and the potential renter by penalizing me if I do not allow bookings online. I am charged more money by deferring this feature and the renter is likewise charged an additional fee. Moreover, my consistent rating as #2 in searches continues to drop based on my refusal to allow online bookings. Appears VRBO does not value their loyal property managers and feels compelled to stick their fingers in my personal rental management.

Went through VRBO to book a property for our family of 10 in Florida. We contacted the owner of the property and was assured there were no bugs and that the home was treated for insects. VRBO guarantees you a refund if the property is misrepresented etc. We booked our flights and although our plane was delayed, we arrived at the property after 8 pm on May 10, 2016. We were traveling with an infant so we were pretty happy to get to the property, leave our bags and go out to eat. Before we went to eat at a restaurant, I poked around the kitchen looking to see what spices were provided and what was not for our food shopping list. I opened the cabinet above the microwave and saw a bug run into the cabinet. I thought it was a fluke thing and let our party know to be on the lookout. We then left and went to eat.

I will not be renewing. They do not stand behind their products. They are trying to maximize their profits without giving any thought to their clients. One rep will say one thing and another something else. I have received more referrals from different sites than VRBO and the new added fees to the clients are really outrageous. They know their system is not working and they plan to eliminate the featured and scaled levels but they will not credit clients for features that do not work. Very unsatisfied Client.

I am a VRBO homeowner and have been for 6 years. I have continually had to upgrade my subscription with VRBO to continue to stay at the top of the listings of rentals. I have renewed my listing in February for $1,700 including the global package and a platinum listing. Every year, VRBO makes changes to their rules and their website. Homeowners including myself rarely get notified of these changes. This year, they starting charging traveler service fees effective February 19th and, once again, didn't notify the homeowners of this change. The impact of this change affected my reservation calendar tremendously. I am not receiving the amount of reservations that I normally receive during the Spring season. In a nutshell, by charging the traveler service fees, VRBO, has turned away interested travelers.

The February 2016 traveler fee is a disingenuous move on the part of HomeAway thus making potential clients suspicious of property owners, creating a loss of business for property owners because it increases the rate by a significant percentage. Homeowners were not given an option to decline the service fee added to their rate. Clients are not given an option to decline the service fee. Someway has done what is worthy of a class action lawsuit because business is declining as a direct result of HomeAway's gimmick to make money with their service fee. Homeowners and clients should have an option. It should not be a mandatory inclusion.

I have been with VRBO for 5 years and each year they increase their subscription fees. I've renewed my contract each year because I've found that consumers have become increasingly aware of the VRBO name and I like the web site (somewhat easy to work). I just became aware this week that VRBO is now charging the public (consumers, my guest) a very large fee to book through their website. I'm totally confused!

I have been a loyal subscriber of VRBO since 2006, and had developed a trust and satisfaction with their product to the point that I eventually used them exclusively and paid for their highest subscription level, platinum global, and followed their advice to allow online booking, keep my calendar up to date and every other tip they offered. Things were going so well that our vacation rental had our all time highest bookings in 2015, even in the midst of an extreme drought in California resulting in a winter with no snow in a Lake Tahoe rental where our biggest seasons are Winter and Summer.

After waiting days for a "supervisor" to call me back, he accused me of lying to him when I told him about problems with their website and how it keeps changing data on my listing to make it different from how I set it up. Their "new and improved" (read: changed to make them more money and screw landlords and tenants simultaneously) website has flaws that automatically change info about your listing (average nightly rate, town where your property is located). When I tried to inform them of this and request some compensation, they accused me of making these undesirable changes. (WHY WOULD I DO THIS? I'M TRYING TO RENT MY PROPERTY!)

Ugh! This whole system is horrible!!! It's clunky to start. I have spent a small fortunate on advertising for VRBO and they have requests that can't be answered because the "inbox" shows empty even though there are "alerts" that I get from my own email. I call repeatedly for help and the service people hang up on you. Airbnb is a much more reliable system, I am finding. Not perfect, but much better than VRBO!!!

I have been with VRBO since 2010. I have always used their subscription service. This yr, when it expired on April 14/2016, we decided to finish off our last 2 1/2 weeks of our summer rental season, as a pay per book format. When the payment was to be processed for the 1st guest of the 2016 summer season, she booked in Feb 2016 - I was informed that even though 96% of our guests booked before our subscription expired, all guests were now classified as pay per book, as that was the current status of my acct. If I want my money to be released, as how I originally paid for, I need to pay another yr of subscription. This is fraud, and no better than gangster mentality.

Since the introduction of the service fee by VRBO we have experienced a dramatic bookings reduction. Imagine their service fee for a high-end, water front Florida Keys home with a $28 minimum stay? This fee makes clients upset which in turn impacts our bookings. Very disappointing.

Then they were taken over by Expedia, straight downhill after that. They absolutely for two weeks are completely unable to read a map. They have not been able to put my platinum membership ($1,500) property in the right area of Maui. They cannot even understand that Maui is an island in the State of Hawaii. Completely clueless. Customer service is totally downhill too. What a disaster. On top of this, they are charging the guests 9%!!!! Wow! Are they ever raking in the money! My $1,500 to advertise per property (2 properties) and then they are soaking the guests another (% with is hundreds of dollars per guest!!). Try TripAdvisor instead. Home Away/VRBO is horrible now.

For eight years, we've used VRBO to list our condo in Myrtle Beach and had wonderful guests staying in our condo. Over time, we've put up with the changes made to VRBO, and then HomeAway, even though they gave us less and less control of our listing. In addition, the annual listing fees kept going higher and higher. Our listing level had always been in the top three pages on VRBO's site. Then HomeAway came along, and our listing level dropped down, even though we maximized the number of photos, had always had 4.5+ star reviews, and kept our calendar up to date.

Despite doing everything I can think of to make the new VRBO/HomeAway system work, I am nearly at the end of my rope. I'm having countless issues with their poorly designed and horribly buggy system. But rather than go on and on about those issues, I want to highlight one in particular in this post. This company has lost its values. The new VRBO/HomeAway culture is condescending, patronizing, deceptive and lacking in ethics. I've been with them for 12 years and it has changed for the worse each of those years.

I own a vacation home and every year Homeaway raises their prices and lowers their service. Today was the last straw, they want 500 bucks plus an addition fee for clientele to even see my property. Airbnb and TripAdvisor does not do this. When this year's subscription is done, so are we with Vbro.

Our rental has been using VRBO for the past 5 years. The recent changes are not acceptable for our rental. We will no longer be using this service if these changes stay in effect. I am sure that some genius in the Finance Dept. thought that adding to their revenue by forcing everyone to book online was a great idea. If we wanted to do that, we would have already been using AirB&B. We use the direct booking time with the customer as a way for them to vet us, as we are able to vet them, (control their expectations). We have always had great reviews. By not being able to have these conversations, we are unable to make sure that the vacationer is truly getting the experience that they expect. We can fill them in on the local must-sees, and the exact limitations of the property.

I was a subscriber with 7 platinum listings on VRBO and HomeAway and without proper notice they forced a service fee of up to 9% for each booking that is charged to the vacationers. I already paid $1,300 annually for each of my listings and had time on my agreement but VRBO did not offer me even a prorated escape route, they just forced the service fee upon us and we had no choice in the matter. It would not surprise me a bit to see a class action lawsuit brought against them. I am highly disappointed with their president's decision and think that homeowners will reject this and decide to use other booking services and protest by not renewing their listings.

I definitely want in on any class-action lawsuit against VRBO/HomeAway/Expedia!! We signed with VRBO in October 2015 after purchasing our vacation home. We elected to go with VRBO's Gold US Bundle for increased visibility. This Bundle came up for renewal around March, at which time we did renew. However, nothing was mentioned about the ridiculous new "Service Fee" which would be charged to OUR renters! Had we been notified of this, we would not have renewed at this upgraded bundle!

Decided to book a weekend trip to Santa Cruz for the kids and I. Found a beach house and clicked "booked", filled out the CC information. A few hours later, the home owner emailed and me and said it was already rented. How can it already be booked if it said it was available? Then to find out the homeowner charged me for the weekend rental, $900. Now I have been going back and forth with VRBO which has been a disaster. Finally they stepped up and wrote the homeowner, he replied he has fully refunded my money. Well, it's been 4 days and no refund has been made on my CC. Every time I have called VRBO I have to explain the ENTIRE story over and over. The customer service is awful. Today, I threw in the towel and my CC company will refund me and fight VRBO (that call was only 1 minute). I will NEVER use VRBO again.

If I could rate Expedia with a minus I would but I could not find the appropriate review. I recently lost my beloved husband and was being exploited by Expedia (HomeAway and VRBO) at the same time. I'm so tired of the government and Expedia telling me that changes are good for me. They are not and shame on anyone that believes this is true. How can Expedia charge a 9% service charge when they do not do 9% of the work. They actually stated that guests would not mind the extra charge. I'm so disgusted with Expedia and please find other Christian sites that do not exploit everyone.

I join the masses of owners who have expressed their concerns over changes in Homeaway/VRBO. My husband and I rent out a small cottage. We are the least expensive property in our area. We are the go to budget motel that has all the necessary amenities plus extra touches. We are reaching to the people who are looking for a deal. All goes well for 7 years and then we are blasted with online booking mandates which cause us to lose money in credit card fees and now our renters are forced to pay a service fee of 9 percent. If we were an expensive property they would be paying 6 percent.

For a homeowner. Every year they charge more and offer less. Now, you are forced to use their online payment system or have a terrible ranking. We use a management company and can't use their payment system, which means a much lower ranking. My experiences with their customer service have been brutal as well.

I, like many of these other folks, have rental properties advertised on VRBO. I loved them at first... paid top dollar to advertise at the Platinum level, kept my calendar up to date, immediately responded to inquiries and kept my reviews current and numerous. They now charge this ridiculously HUGE booking fee... can be up to $499. Up to 9%. That's unbelievable. Why am I not just using a realtor at 12% with none of the work? I also tried to call VRBO to complain. The gentleman told me many others have called and have similar complaints. I also posted my complaint to them in writing through my owner's page. Nothing. I am very unhappy with VRBO and am seeking another way to advertise, for the sake of my renters who don't deserve these extra fees.

I have a property listed on VRBO/HomeAway that I have successfully run for awhile now. Always happy guests through Airbnb and the handful I have had through VRBO/HomeAway and I have the reviews to back it up. Along came a guest that blatantly wanted a free stay and so he issued a chargeback, saying my place was not how it was described. Without asking any questions, VRBO yanked the money back from my account (even though he stayed the WHOLE time) AND they charged me 2 fees of $25 each, penalizing ME for the chargeback. It's the worst racket of a company I have ever dealt with and I will not be doing any more listings there. Atrocious customer service.

We own and manage properties from North Carolina, through South Florida, and the Florida Keys. We started with VRBO, then expanded onto HomeAway. Over the years we went through Tiered Subscription Levels; Basic, Bronze, Gold, Platinum. Then we went through U.S. Bundle, European Bundle, Featured Listing, etc. All at extra costs. Then at the beginning of this year, we went through online bookings, they charge +/- 2.9%, we process at 1.4%. Savings are passed on to our guests in lower rates. We have not increased our rates in over seven (7) years. Then we went through having banners posted onto Guest Inquiries, that they were NOT protected if they did not Book through HomeAway via online.

I just rent a villa in FLORIDA for March 2017 with VRBO. I have rented villas with VRBO and HOMEAWAY for 6 years. I was always satisfied, but this year I am very disappointed... For a reason I do not understand I was billed two times for the same PROPERTY DAMAGE PROTECTION. That is an insurance in case you accidentally break something in the villa. I emailed tree times VRBO and HOME AWAY since 8 days and still no answers. I find this situation very frustrating. VRBO should at least give me an explanation. I tried a phone number but it no longer exist. If someone know a phone number I could reach VRBO or HOMEAWAY directly, please let me now.

Deposit to my account by Yapstone Europe to my account $2,806.01 on March 24, 2016. April 8, I was told that the charges was a fraud, so did a charge back to my account of $3,261.20. So VRBO took $455.19 more from account without authorization. I have called many times but I have been transferred to many places without any answers. Please do not trust VRBO and Homeway. Do not give them your bank. They also charge the tenants additional commission. I have just cancelled my membership.

As many others have stated, we wanted a site to list our rental properties not a rental management company. We absolutely refuse to allow someone else to dictate our rates, fees and form of payment. The new guest service fee and forced online payment are deal breakers. Dusting off our html knowledge, we have now generated our own listing site at Floridarentalsnow.com. With two properties in the Sebring, Florida area, we will not be renewing with VRBO.

Good morning VRBO. Thank you for your email explaining your new plans. TOO LITTLE TOO LATE. We have been with you solely since 2000. We own one 4 bed 3 bath villa in Kissimmee. We have had a very successful booking history. We paid for the Platinum package with online booking and online payment (everything you advise us to do). Since you have induced this SERVICE FEE we have had only two bookings. By this time in a normal year we would have been well booked up. We are one family. Our villa is our delight but we will lose it if we cannot book it which will break ours and our children's hearts. DO YOU CARE. We think not, why are you doing this to your loyal customers.

I just learned that my vacation rental listing on HomeAway/VRBO/VacationRentals has been dropped low on the list because I choose not to sign-up for their online payment process, even though I have listed with VRBO, etc. for over 10 years. I also learned that when HomeAway manages your payments they charge a service fee that is scaled according to dollar amount of rental. I pay VRBO nearly $1000 per year for my subscription. Originally, I signed up for online listing, not property management. Gradually, VRBO/HomeAway has morphed into so much more and does not give members a choice. As a vacation rental owner, I enjoy getting to know my potential guests and want to make sure my home does not feel like a quick-click rental.

We first listed our new Outer Banks vacation home with VRBO three years ago. Our first season was fairly successful, with bookings most summer and some shoulder season rentals. Although not as successful as we thought it could be, we chalked it up to our first year learning curve and looked forward to year 2. During our second year we purchased additional banner ads and promos - and at the conclusion of the season had seen our bookings and revenue both drop. Scratching our heads going into season 3, we upgraded our listing. Three months into our upgraded listing we ran the "analytics" they offer owners, and while our listing scores high (reviews of 4.9 stars, online bookings, complete listing, 24 photos, less than 24 hour response time, etc.) in their "listing scoring system" with no areas we can improve upon, our page views have dropped to ⅓ of what they were for the same exact time last year.

Can someone make me a dart board with Brian Sharples face on it please? Aside from the "service fees" just because they can, the worst customer DIS-service revolves around the search parameters - map based searches. "My" island has one single zip code but three distinctly different towns. If you are searching in one specific town here, you would be extremely disappointed to find yourself in one of the other two. They all have their own distinct vibe.

Last month I made a booking on VRBO and paid through their "Book with Confidence Guarantee". 3 days before the arrival, the owner cancelled my booking. Few days later he refunded the money but it was not a full refund. He insisted that he made a full refund but I only receive a part of it. I have tried to contact VRBO support but the answer is that they are not involved in rental transaction. What a shame, I have paid through their "Book with Confidence Guarantee", so what kind of "Guarantee" is that? I will never book with them again. Stay away from VRBO if you don't want to ruin your vacation.

Wish there was another option for listing my home. They are trying to run my business by managing bookings, payments and customer interactions, info and penalizing us when we do not cooperate with their changes. They are also ripping off our customers by charging fees which I do not require. They do all this to charge us and our guest more in the name of "guest" security and making us look bad and not trustworthy! They also are trying to filter guest away from direct contact with the homeowner. I really wish a class action suit is taken against them.

I join with the hundreds of dissatisfied VRBO customers who are losing rental income since the acquisition of VRBO by Expedia. When I called to discuss the horrid collapse of reservations of my property since the acquisition I was assured that was counter to the documented trends and was told that only the owners were complaining. That is certainly not true nor are any of the other stories told by the "customer" service folks. After all, who is your customer when you charge the owner ever increasing fees and charge the traveler a "service" charge? I cut from the Platinum level to the Bronze level and am listing on every reputable commission service available. Next year I'll know which is best.

Started with VRBO and sister company Homeaway over ten years ago. I was beyond pleased until they "tried" to fix something that wasn't broken. Now the quality and quantity of inquiries is awful and so is the customer service. ALWAYS in the past paid one fee for both sites and now was forced into paying a separate fee for second site which is basically the same site as the first.

Very dissatisfied with the changes that have been made by VRBO to charge our gracious renters an additional service fee and their attempts to bully those of us who paid 599.00 and up for a one year listing to now use their online booking system. We were very happy and recommended VRBO to everyone we know but we will be sure to tell folks to avoid this company now! How can you charge someone an annual fee and then turn around and change the terms of the agreement? I for one will be looking for a refund from my credit card company where I charged our owner listing fee. You can certainly tell that there has been a change in ownership of VRBO!!! Does anyone out there know of a similar service that is like "VRBO was in the good old days"?

The first few years we listed on VRBO we had plenty of inquires and rented our house frequently. We could communicate back and forth with our guests and fully met them before they sent us a deposit. Multiple times VRBO made it more costly and complicated to have our property appear in a fair position on their listings. There are many different kinds of houses in Key West but the VRBO sorting system would put properties ahead of others on searches, even when they didn't fit the search criteria. This past year has been a nightmare and we have had no inquiries, after renewing at $900+. That is because we haven't paid ever more $ for banners, more and more photos and extra fees to advertise special pricing to have visibility.

Echoing all of you. Changes are ridiculous, we are NOT hotel rooms... We are homes in a variety of sizes. New service fee total turn off. I own 6 vacation condos on the Alabama gulf coast, a few miles from Florida border, two of them very high end. The service fees are sometimes close to $200. Fortunately I do all my bookings through a professional reservation system, ivacationonline.com and love it. And I'm leading my ads with 'no service fee' and guests are excited to save that money. Have been using them for four years and I take approx 250 total bookings each year.

I have been using HomeAway, etc. for 15 years and all of the vacation rental websites were purchased by VRBO this past year. Talk about a change. I can no longer screen my renters and my renters have to pay a 10%+ rental fee to book a condo. I always buy the platinum level advertising packages which are very expensive. I do not like to pass on my advertising costs to my renters so I have always encouraged my renters to book direct with me. They save money and they like that. The whole point is vacation rentals by owner... I no longer have any control over my properties and they make my renters pay to rent with me. Absolutely sticking it to the renters. If I refuse to make my renters pay them they move me off the list or to the bottom.

VRBO keeps changing the rules to squeeze more money out of owners! Their latest ploy is to force owners into doing online booking or you'll have to pay more. Worse, your property will be ranked lower if you don't do online bookings. I've been with VRBO for over 20 years... I sick of the repeated changes and am leaving at the first opportunity.

As mentioned by hundreds of others I started out super happy with my listing on VRBO. It was a great help financially and a great success. Now with the new fees charged to those booking I have seen my requests to actual bookings fall completely flat. As a paying annual member my days with VRBO may be coming to an end when my subscription expires. Greed kills another great business. I hope they see the light before it's too late and other companies replace them.

We were one of the first 80,000 to join VRBO so we have been with the company for a very long time... We were very happy with the company, the service and the value for the first 10 years. About 5 years ago their fees rose astronomically but we continued with them. The recent service fee and talking to a customer service rep on some island somewhere has been the straw that is breaking the camels back not to mention that our bookings are down substantially. We are done... As soon as our subscription runs out we will not renew. We hope other owners will follow suit and leave what has now become a very big rip off...

I've used VRBO in the past, and there was no fee. So they really should have made clear that they'd be charging a fee now. Instead, there was no mention until the final step of paying. I assumed the fee was coming from another rental company and they were displaying it, but I have since found out that was not the case. I will not use VRBO again, as I cannot trust the site to not change again and hide their charges somewhere.

Founders Carl Shepherd and Brian Sharples of Austin must be very upset about what has happened to their dream company. We ask, "can they do anything to help homeowners who signed on along with them and took a chance on their dream?" I have used HA for over six years and praised the company's practices and business model. One of my listings expired on April Fool's Day -- but I was no longer a fool -- I did not sign on again! When my only other listing ends soon, I will cancel that as well. I have a small business and have been devastated. I may have to sell my duplex cottage if this does not change.

I booked a holiday apartment in Vancouver through VRBO. The owner subsequently cancelled the booking and kept all of the money. VRBO (HomeAway) refused to do anything about it. They said that is is not their responsibility. They are complicit in the fraud by the owner.

We have been listed with VRBO for 6 years now. The first five were absolutely wonderful and I was constantly raving about their service. This year, however, has been the complete opposite in every way! As most have stated the additional fees they are now charging guests has significantly decreased rentals!! We use to get 90% rentals from VRBO and 10% from Airbnb. This year it's 40% VRBO and 60% Airbnb. And they still want to argue this fee has not changed things? We have called, sent letters, joined forums, called again and nothing seems to get them to open their eyes to what they are doing to this once upon a time great company. On top of this issue they started setting their own check out/check in times and when I called to ask how to change it they simply said "Oh that's a glitch we are working on."

We have had a family rental property in the Cayman Islands listed on VRBO for the past 4 years. Until this past year, we have been very happy with VRBO and with the number of rentals we have had. But, as is well documented by others, Expedia bought the company with several significant policy and service fee changes. We too have had virtually NO bookings since these changes occurred earlier this year. I have called VRBO every month to have them look at our analytics, which clearly graphs our activity from before these changes were made to the present, a graph that shows very active rentals a year ago to no activity now.

I used to use VRBO several times a year and loved it! Not only did I use it numerous times, I recommended it to several people. Not anymore! I got on a few months ago to begin booking trips for this year and they have added 2 new fees, in which added on average of $200 extra dollars to my trips. Needless to say, I didn't book anything, nor will I in the future. Very disappointed. I will find a new site for future use.

VRBO/HomeAway has now changed the parametres of areas when searching for properties. Instead of focusing on which city your property is located, they are allowing other properties in the province/state to fall into your area. This means that when someone is looking for a property, they are seeing what is around the area up to 100 miles away. That is very misleading to the person searching and takes away from the true availability of which is actually in the city. For example, there are 8 vacation properties where my home is but when you search the city, it tells you there are 57.

I signed up on VRBO in Jan. 2016 and in Feb. 2016 they added a service fee based on the amount of the rental. Had I known of this service fee, I would of elected to go with one of the many other vacation sites that offer a 3% fee vs. their 5% booking fee, 9% service fee, 3% credit card processing fee. Forget about double dipping. They are triple dipping. I unfortunately signed up for their annual membership and these fees were rammed down my throat. Not what I signed up for! They should at least honor the agreement for those that signed up for an annual membership, as it was presented at the time of sign up. Very unethical and deceptive practices. Not next year, I am already setting up my properties on alternative vacation rental sites.

I have attempted to book numerous vacation rentals on this site, only to have them all rejected. They all show available, but when booked they inform you that they are booked or that the price is triple the listed amount. The site is intentionally designed to make it nearly impossible for travelers and potential travelers to complain or warn others.

We are professional vacation rental company who have had an account with VRBO for over 12 years. During the last 12 years we have gone through many different business models, price changes, acquisitions of VRBO by HomeAway and Expedia. VRBO has used our data to build their brand and take our SEO. VRBO/HomeAway was a key component to our business model years ago and in the last couple of years watching with disappointment all the changes we realized that we needed to focus on our own vacation rental brand, loyal guests, and our own marketing.

I have been with VRBO for 14 years. I had two homes on the site until they dropped my initial listing from #1 on its listing to #60, because others paid higher fees. I didn't know until a renter told me that she "finally found my listing." I was shocked. You used to be placed according to the length of time that you had been with VRBO. Loyalty doesn't exist with them. You have to buy it. Now they have snuck in the "Service Fee" and are charging the renter above and beyond what we as owners pay. WE ALREADY PAY THEM TO ADVERTISE AND RENT OUR HOMES ON THE SITE!

VRBO apparently thinks it is too big to fail. I first listed my property on Airbnb. Since I want to build a clientele quickly I also listed our property on VRBO the same day. While Airbnb started allowing potential guests to view our listing immediately, VRBO took 9 days to "approve" our listing and scrutinized the ownership and even our marriage license to verify who owned the home. In the meantime I made over $1000 on Airbnb. I got one booking through VRBO and decided after that guest checked out I would cancel the listing, but was persuaded to reconsider by other VRBO owners that we know.

guess what folks, VRBO does nothing to vet guests before letting them into our properties. Guess who is out the money, not VRBO of course. If I was vetting them they would have not made it over the threshold in the first place. This is a great reason for not accepting online bookings unless they want to insure the bookings.

I will add my name to the very long list of dissatisfied owners using VRBO since the institution of their "service fee" for guests. I pay $998 to VRBO to list my property. In the previous four years of listing on the site, my seasonal summer use property has always been fully booked by February. This year, VRBO is charging my guests up to $400 to book a week! I currently have 4 vacant weeks during peak summer period, which I believe is due to this booking fee. These 4 weeks are worth over $16,000 to me. I, too, am looking elsewhere to advertise my property.

I have a vacation property in the US and have been using VRBO. We have a payment issue that is not allowing our customers to pay for their upcoming vacation. All of our renters are returning and have become very frustrated with this issue. We have spent over 20 hours on the phone with VRBO and the issue is unresolved. The customer support team is virtually nonexistent. I'm led to ask are they dumb or incompetent. I don't know which but one of those statements is true. At the same moment, VRBO has added a 10% weekly charge for no added value. I'm now taking our rental fee, the old fashion way, by check or cash. I'm also looking for a new management site. Please, if you are looking for a web based management site, buyer beware of VRBO!

I have been using VRBO for years. Now a mandatory 10% fee is charged to users. I pay a full service company to manage it for the same fee. They schedule cleaning, deliver keys and maintain it. The VRBO is only one of many places to rent my unit. I pay a flat fee for their service. Not only is this VRBO sneaky fee added, it locked out bookings unless they pay it to VRBO before booking. This was also implemented without telling me. I'm now looking for an alternate by owner rental site. I don't need the extra stuff and fees. I bet they will be hearing from a class action lawyer soon. Hope they change their mind on this change.

Homeowners working with VRBO, BEWARE of CREDIT CARD FRAUD if you are using the commission-based system and VRBO collects the money for you. VRBO gave us a client as paid in full for Easter week. VRBO deposited the money in our bank account but 10 days later, it was taken out plus a $25 dollar charge back fee. Seems VRBO accepted a stolen credit card and provided us with a false client email and disconnect phone number. We had an impostor (plus her six friends) staying in our house!

Back in November of 2015, I booked a 4-bedroom home in downtown Rapid City, SD, well in advance of a family summer vacation in July of 2017. I did this early because I wanted a nice, clean home that suited my family's needs. 5 MONTHS later, the owner broke the lease and the only other home in that area that I would have considered renting was booked solid for my dates. I ended up reserving another home through FlipKey, 3 bedrooms, 15 miles from where I wanted to be. As a result, the smaller home forced some of my family members to stay home, after purchasing non-refundable plane tickets. I am quite devastated over this and very angry about the fact that a HomeAway owner can, at will, pull the plug on a client who has dealt with her in good faith.

A one star is way too much to give VRBO at this point. Their business practices are now despicable since being taken over by Expedia for $3 Billion. We have 5 homes and have used VRBO for 10 years and have really loved doing business up until now. They are greedy and dishonest and hopefully will be put out of business. Does anyone have any ideas on what other sites would be good for advertising?

As a homeowner who has advertised on VRBO & Homeaway for nearly a decade I'm appalled by the greedy initiative implemented by Expedia which was quietly rolled out and conveniently given a corporate spin as a way to "guarantee" travelers can "Book with Confidence". If this is the case, why not simply allow travelers to choose the option to pay the 4-10% "Book with Confidence" fee? The fee is deceptively couched as a vague "Service Fee" to provide the traveler a "safer and more secure" booking experience with "premium 24/7 customer support throughout their trip" rather than what it really is -- a corporate booking fee to improve their bottom line. If this were actually a book-with-confidence-guarantee fee why not provide the option to pay for travel insurance, and if travelers find value in it, Expedia should not have a problem charging this as an optional fee.

VRBO has raised its fees significantly every year for homeowners who list their properties for rent on their website. Our fees have gone from $999 a year, to $1,499 and now to $1,899 a year, just to place an ad on their website. But raising our rates by $400 each year wasn't enough - now they have blindsided homeowners - who are already paying exorbitant fees - by charging renters a commission as well, which has caused demand to virtually stop.

I would like to let people know about a class action lawsuit filed on March 15, 2016 entitled Ivan ** v. Homeaway, Inc. and DOES I-10 (Case No. **) in U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Austin Division in which Homeaway is being sued for breach of contract, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, fraudulent concealment, violation of Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Violation of Cal. Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Violation of Calif. Unfair Competitive Law, and Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing. This lawsuit also asks for terrible damages, injunctive relief, pre and post-judgment damages, exemplary damages, and attorney's fees and costs.

Have been advertising with VRBO for seven years. Bookings have dropped, I believe the new service fee has been a big drawback. Looking for another way to advertise my place. They slide that charge in there, when I am already paying a yearly charge!

I manage my parents vacation rental home near Lake Oconee. Homeaway doesn't even allow the option to sort out individual owned vacation rental anymore. My parents have decided to go with a professional rental management company because with all the new fees and best book matching tool ends up costing too much money and placing managers above everyone else. At first I fought the idea because of the cost, but it has saved me all the hassle of having to manage the property, and gives them some peace of mind that a local guy will be there if the guest need anything. Managing from over 4 hours away was always a challenge. They used a website called Rented. It gave them a few different options of local management companies and they met with the best one. Glad to have it off my hands and out of VRBO's.

I have been advertising with VRBO for 2 years. I just wanted somewhere to list my seasonal property. I pay 10% of my income for that "honor". I have never had a problem. This year they've added their own fee to MY BOOKING! Over $100 extra for my customers to pay. A pop up showed up on my page that I could not close. I was unable to communicate with any of the inquiries I was receiving. When I contacted VRBO, they told me that if I wanted to communicate with my customers, I had to arrange for online booking and payment. I have an email stating such. I was appalled!

I have used VRBO to list my vacation rental property for the last 3 years. I've had great experiences with the guests and the website and all has been well. When starting, I had very low rates just so I could get more guests in to provide good reviews for future years. Now they suddenly sprung this "Service Fee" on my customers without any warning. Not only did we not know about it, but they provide no literature showing exactly how it is calculated. Apparently my $500 per year subscription fee and the 3% credit card booking fees aren't enough for them, they need to have their hand in my renter's wallets as well. They claim they are providing more services to the owners and renters as well as increased advertising for more bookings. Yet at this time last year I had 63 nights booked for the prime season and now I have 14. That sure doesn't sound like their "value-added" services are helping anyone but VRBO's bottom line.

My ONLY complaint is that VRBO just added a service fee for renters in March 2016. Before that, I had all the bookings I wanted. Great renters. Really worked well. Great tech support. At the moment they instituted these HUGE fees, my bookings stopped. I can see adding a $50 fee to the renter. But a PERCENTAGE. Come on! Regardless of what VRBO claims, for rentals in a regular range, people are paying 6-8% which is highway robbery. Up to a maximum of $499 booking fee. Is this max supposed to be reassuring? Suggestion to all: explore rental on VRBO, then call the owner and book outside of VRBO. Then they will not get any fee. That will teach them. When a system is a rip-off, work around it. This was a FIVE STAR system before the user fee. I loved it.

We've all heard the complaints! Most homeowners have suffered huge losses in rental income thanks to these ** at VRBO/HomeAway. Having said this, my plan has been to leave these greedy crooks. Before leaving I built my own site with "GoWebsite", signed up for a free 2 month listing with "Vacation Home Rentals", and a totally free listing with "Home Escape."

Have been an executive in corp for 30 years and I have to say, what Expedia did when buying HomeAway and VRBO is really screw up a great website and instead of creating the best product possible for owners and renters, they increased their fees all around, charging the homeowners and advertising annual charge, then charging a fee for each time framed booked to both the homeowner and the renter and tries to force the owners to accept a " book it now" online electronic booking with customers that I do not even get a chance to speak to. And Expedia/VRBO/HomeAway then threaten to put you at the bottom of the rankings and listings if you don't let them book your house in the future. That's blackmail!

We have a vacation rental and it was almost fully booked before the new fees were instituted. We have one prime week left and now understand why it is not booking up. We will not be using VRBO next year.

Our vacation rental in Mendocino has more five-star reviews than any other listing in the area. We are number one! Yet, we are not in VRBO's "Top 50 Mendocino Vacation Rentals" because we are not in their booking program that charges guests a fee. The are also flagging our page with an orange banner that says: "To book this property, you need to complete your booking through checkout on the VRBO website. We can't protect your payment if we don't know you've booked through us. Learn more". Then click on the learn more tab and they try to scare guests away with talk about possible fraud.

February 2016 VRBO has deceptively added a 4-10% service fee, paid by the renter, for all reservations booked using the VRBO payment process. This homeowner, as well as most other homeowners, believes this fee is without merit as the homeowner already pays a hefty fee for advertising on VRBO and the fee does not add any value for the renter. VRBO's justifications for this fee are 24/7 customer service and secure payments. The 24/7 customer service is just a marketing ploy because if a renter has a problem with the rental they will call the homeowner for remedy. The secure payment is also a marketing ploy because for the last 4 years I have used VRBO's payment process without any security problems. Expedia purchased VRBO in late 2015 paying 4 billion dollars for VRBO's 1 million subscriptions and this fee is just a way to recoup that layout.

We rented a townhome (Property ID: **) which had 4 stars. It was horrible. Stunk, filthy, scary dirty. We reviewed with photos of the disgusting toilets, sinks, full ashtrays, etc. We spent two hours cleaning before settling in and that was only because we had no other options. Our intention was to warn potential renters and simply to provide truth. Evolve never published the review. We contacted them a number of times. They said they would publish the review but did not. Now the property has over 4 stars. Clearly evolve filters reviews to increase the ratings of the properties and to keep their revenue high. Unfortunately the reviews they post are only the positive reviews.

Our family has been using both sides of VRBO - as a consumer of vacation rentals and renting our own vacation home for over 15 years. On the side of the consumer of vacation rentals the service fee has no added value! And on the vacation home owner trying to rent side, we pay fees of about $1,200. But the worst part of this is that over the past 10 years we have consistently booked between 12-15 weeks in the summer. This summer we have 1 week rented. We have 5 star ratings, we have return guests, but this year with the added service fee people are using other sites. I felt something had change earlier this year. It was like some algorithm had changed and we couldn't put our finger on it. VRBO... You have lost this customer. Zero stars for you. Sign us up for the CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT!

Corporate greed just hit "Ludicrous Speed" (in words that a Spaceballs movie fan can relate to)!! The VRBO model worked because it was just that..."Vacation Rental by Owners." It was a site where a vacation traveler could shop for a vacation rental at owner direct pricing and get the best value because there was no "middle man"; i.e., no booking fees, no commissions, etc. The vacation traveler had the good feeling of buying "wholesale", and with a good selection I might add.

I own 3 properties and have been advertising on VRBO/Homeaway for 10 years. I pay about $1,200/year per property and have never used their online payment or book it now features. So as of yet, they have not been able to extract their new "service fee" from my guests. However, my properties are now so far down in the search list that my inquiries have dropped off to almost zero. They are using the best match to try and beat us into signing up for online booking and payment, meanwhile implying to our guests that it is unsafe to pay us directly since I don't book through them. I am disgusted with the company's blatant cash grab and looking to move my rental listings elsewhere. Sign me up if there is a class action!

I have spent approx $10,000 with VRBO over the years and always thought they were value for money when advertising my Edinburgh, Scotland rentals. I paid them to simply advertise my property. I paid them extra to be higher in the search results. I paid them well for this and they rewarded well with bookings. That has ALL CHANGED. Next to no enquiries for the last few months even though I renewed at the 'gold' level. Why? Because I refuse to go to their instant booking system. I like contact with guests direct. I like having my own contracts and payment methods. I like linking guests to websites when they ask for advice. I like linking them to my own website. I don't like guests paying hidden fees to VRBO when I pay for my VRBO adverts. I don't like these controls VRBO are putting between myself and my guest, and their sheer GREED. I will not be renewing this autumn.

I signed up 2 properties, 2 years ago on VRBO and had lots of bookings. I even liked the update with the hospitality manager. But what has happened this year has just been appalling! We as owners are losing our ability to take payments as we feel fit for our own property. I was not able to access my site without changing my payment method!! I work with an onsite property management service and I CANNOT accept payments myself.

Since the new fees have been enforced, I have not had one new booking. Last year at this time I was almost booked for the season. So far, monthly renters who see a "service charge" of $499.00 payable to VRBO either haven't responded beyond seeing the fee or have responded by asking me to eat the fee on my end. Worst of all, despite the rhetoric, there is no real added value to support the new fees. It is all just a money grab.

We have been members advertising our condo rental on VRBO for over 20 years. Until this February, everything was excellent doing business with them. We paid to advertise, they sent us the perspective guests and the guest paid us on our own rental site... No extra charges by VRBO. But, unbeknownst to all of us using this site and paying $1200 to them to advertise our rental site, they are now charging the guests 4-9% more on the rental of our units. So, if I tell a guest that the total cost to them would be $5600 CAD renting our unit, it would actually cost them between $224 and $594 more that VRBO would pocket! And I believe that would be in US funds, not CAD. I do not believe they even tell the guest ahead of time that this will happen, but I am not sure about that part. Anyway, we are VERY UPSET AND DISAPPOINTED. Sign us up for the Class Action Suit.

I called VRBO/HomeAway to update my email address which their website would not allow me to do online. This company is a joke to deal with! The woman I spoke with was very condescending. After about 40 minutes she realizes that she cannot help me. She also has no idea how to do this. I also feel like she quit trying to help after she realized that I am a property renter not owner. How is it not possible to update/change an email address!!! Since VRBO was bought out new rental fees have appeared. A home that rents for $150 per night is now close to $200 with all of the fees!

I have been a customer of VRBO/Homeaway since 2002. At that time they were known as Cyberrentals. It was a website that owners could market their vacation properties for rent, speak directly to their guests and guests felt comfortable renting from owners on this site. I have had a lot of success renting my homes (3 total) through VRBO/Homeaway and our guests are very happy also because we are able to pass our savings along to them. At the beginning of this year (2016) Expedia purchased the site and since then It has dramatically changed. The website is slow, bookings have significantly dropped & guests are now being charged a 4-10% service fee to book online. I am not sure what "service" is provided for that outrageous fee!!! We have 3 homes on this site, we pay an annual fee of approximately $1500 per home. We also pay 2.9% fee for the "book online" service (this is separate to the service fees that our guests are now being charged).

I paid the highest fee. Returned calls quickly TO THE TRAVELER. Did exactly what VRBO wanted. Then just this year dropped way, way down the list because I did not want BOOK IT. Now I find out I need at least 10 BOOK ITS TO MOVE UP to anywhere above the bottom where I now closely reside. And then I am sure the rules will change again. BOOK IT is not for me. I am not a hotel. I like many rent out a very nice home for travelers to enjoy - not a party house. Where do we owners go to have what we once had with VRBO? This is just not working and the rules change like the weather. There is no trust and the extra fee is so wrong on so many levels. ONE STAR IS TOO HIGH!

Expedia has purchased VRBO and HomeAway. Last year as a new owner I had 1500 to 1900 visits in Mar and Apr 2015 and filled my summer. So I decided to increase bookings for off season by paying an ad fee of $590 to increase view. This would place me higher. What a bust. Their strategic match has cost me views. I went from 1500 views Mar 2015 to 271 for 2016. I am currently 12 days into April and have 45 compared to 1900 last year for the month. Now I have only 2 bookings from them for the entire summer. Their new fee structure is cheaper. Last year they took 10% off my rent for a fee. Now they shifted it to the renter. So I reduced my rate to offset. But leave it to the big companies to take over and mess it up.

We have been customers of HomeAway/VRBO since 2012 when we listed our vacation rental property with them. We have been very satisfied until they released (without warning) a new "renter service of fee" between 4% to 9% of the rental amount. As customers of these two companies, we pay an annual subscription fee to them, which is why we went to them in the first place. With these added fees, potential rental guests now think that we are charging them for this added fee and therefore bookings are way down.

I have been on VRBO since 2003 and pay over $1200 to advertise there. In Feb 2016 they started deceptive pricing. When a consumer views price quote, it adds between 5-10% above the actual rental fee. The guests now are charged a junk fee if they use the VRBO Book-it-Now. However, if they call the owner they can save hundreds of dollars by actually paying the rental fee, but that price isn't shown in the quote. Renters need to look at the rates within the ad, *** DO NOT GO TO "Get Instant Quote" ***, OR YOU WILL BE CHARGED EXTRA. To find the real price go to the rate section within the ad then call owners direct by looking to the right of the page for Owner then click on "show phone number". Expedia is deceptive and should not be supported.

Have used VRBO in the past and it was pricey, but okay. I will never use them again. 2 nights for a $235 room is costing me $718.15. That come out to $360 a night!! $85 cleaning fee, $49 Package Protection, $42 service fee!!! Ridiculous!! I will never go through them again. Actually Evolve was the renter of the property, so had to pay them both!!

While staying at another resort in San Pedro, my mother & I were to travel to the Sapphire Beach Resort Jan. 28 for 4 nights. My mother was not well enough to make the trip to Sapphire, and I immediately contacted the resort owner Anthony Goupil. There were 2 emails exchanged between us, & he then refused to correspond further when the issue of refunding my money had to be discussed. The cost was over $1400. He begrudgingly offered to refund me $500. I made a formal complaint to VRBO-HomeAway, and my complaint was recorded, and was told that the owner has 7 days to reply. That VRBO does not mediate this type of dispute, they encourage the traveler to correspond with the owner. The owner did not respond to my complaint in the time stated.

I have the same exact frustration w/ all the other reviewers. I've called the Customer Support team multiple times but they are useless unable to do anything. Since the new "Best Match" algorithm our property went from top 5 on first page down to bottom of 5th or 6th pages. Everything went downhill: viewings, site visits, inquiry & booking. I've complaint that since no one can see our listing, there is no way to get bookings. Our listing has the highest rating review counts compare to all other rentals in the area & I can't believe that we are not "best match" to anyone searching our area. I'm willing to join the Class Action Lawsuit because I believe VRBO/HomeAway/Expedia has breached our contracts & now I'm considering not renewing our listings.

I currently have five vacation rentals with VRBO and Home Away, but I will not be renewing my listings with them since they have become profoundly greedy since Expedia took over VRBO and Home Away in December 2015. During the last month, VRBO has instituted a rip off "service fee" of about 10% that is paid by the renter, but VRBO makes it look like the owner is getting the money,

They used to be so great. Decent value and a great service. NOW they are doing everything in their power to screw both property owners out of money, AND guests... with NO benefit. Their new ways of listing, their dashboard, their ridiculous new software... I cannot WAIT until another company out there takes them over. Because I will move SO fast, ALL of my properties listed. I've already started using Airbnb and they at least don't try to rip people off.

We were one of the early customers of VRBO and for years were satisfied with the website exposure. We had many booking on our property. When Expedia bought VRBO, the website went downhill. Few bookings, they added a service charge which most guest resent and go to other websites. Our current cost is around $1,300 a year. It was around $199 when we signed on. We paid for a website to list our property not for a property manager who adds service fees that we did not agree to. I wish a lawyer who's has a property listed with them respond to these many complaints. We intend to go elsewhere with our advertising. Sayonara VRBO!

I have been using online advertising HomeAway/VRBO for over 15 years. Prior to Homeaway, Pat from MI had created Great Rentals which she sold to HA which bought up everyone else and then by Expedia. It has been a continued downward trend with every merger. Terrible customer service and more money for the ads. Somewhere they have went from Advertising Company to pseudo property management company. Now they feel they have the right to charge our guests a service fee when they provide no service to our guests. We pay for our ad. Why should our guest pay them a service fee for no service! GREED. I hope it backfires. We need a new company to come in quick to compete. If they continue I will move all my business from them.

Our property management business has now delisted all of our properties from VRBO and HomeAway. We can longer trust them with our business. We now use a company called Fetch My Guest that enable us to use any listing site we choose and giving us back control of our guest communication. We are now converting at a much higher rate and building relationships with all of our guests!

I am extremely upset over the recent addition of mandatory service fees that VRBO recently added to each reservation. My inquiries dropped off and my customers are reluctant to rent my property now with the new fees. This is all due to greed by VRBO/HomeAway. I paid my annual membership and they secretly spring the new fee on us is a SLAP IN THE FACE! It shows me what they are all about- money. And you get their same crappy service. I called them today and demanded my money back - all they could say is that they can do whatever they want to and that there was some fine print in the contract when we signed on with them that allows them to take advantage of us whenever they want to. We need to drop them and go elsewhere. I am confident they will lose a lot of customers over this. Airbnb is less than half of what VRBO charges. There are also some free sites as well. Bye bye VRBO - you're not keeping my business.

I've been listing my single property for nearly 8 years (started with VacationRentals.com). They began with a fair listing price and have continued to add and double the listing prices, while adding some website features. The next wave of greed continued with listing gimmicks that could not be checked and credit card fees which they get paid nicely on.

Having been with VRBO for the last 10 years and having been satisfied, I cannot tell you how disgusted I am with them since the last half year. No bookings, and if there is a request, we do not hear from them again. I would guess because of a additional booking fee they charge our customers. We are paying close to a $1500.00 a year. It has been reported that Expedia bought Homeaway and VRBO for 3.9 billion. I guess Expedia wants VRBO customers to pay for its 3.9 billion acquisition.

Horrible isn't a strong enough adjective to describe VRBO's continued journey toward its goal - seemingly - of total customer dissatisfaction. Have used their services for 3 years- they were borderline okay to deal with. We both profited from our relationship. They are trying to use- seemingly- the Airbnb model, but it won't work because they have the wrong mindset. Have loved our relationship, but it has changed. I will no longer pay for site- hosting and no longer require my guests to buy the insurance they offer. I will no longer use VRBO in my travels-Airbnb. Saved well over $100.00 using Airbnb over VRBO for our SF trip this year. Like us the host rents on both.

We have been with VRBO almost a year now. We are not happy with the changes VRBO has recently implemented. Our customers have been affected tremendously and so have we. Our business dropped by 50%. We will not be able to continue at this rate. We understand VRBO has to make money, but we feel this increase has really been terrible. Our customers complain that we are false advertising. By the time they figure in the fees a room that costs $145.00 will cost $200.00. Thank you for this site!

Adding to the long string of good comments this pure greed-driven profit was implemented with no notice utilizing an obscure portion of the terms and conditions. Traffic has plummeted, literally, and rental inquiries are approaching near zero. We have rented through them for 7 years and will be immediately moving our business to other sites and awaiting any notice of class-action lawsuit. The profit from a whole bunch of ZERO rentals and renters switching from VRBO will be worse than zero. We can only hope that as revenues plummet the hoarding executive in charge of this "baggage fee" idea borrowed from the airlines will be fired and the concept reversed.

Out of nowhere our prospective guests are getting hit with a "service fee". Unacceptable. Going to AirBNB. It may not be better and they do charge a fee but at least they are very up-front about all charges; not so with VRBO (Home Away).

We signed up for a year's subscription, then they go and start charging renters a new fee so they can double dip. I don't see how this is legal for people who had signed up before for a specified, but will now get less business because the price increase to renters. They said it was so they can "improve customer service." Two years ago I was never on hold for help. Now the hold times are all 10 minutes and longer.

I called today to find out about service fees, since our house is managed by company they will not talk to me. I pay their fee and have for the past 8 years, but not now. They have to be the most rude not give a damn people I have dealt with in a very long time. Employees match what their company stand for, VRBO is becoming a shell. One that feels it has become too big to fail, too big to care about it base, forgot who got them where they are now, US, failure starts as a small stream and as you'll know builds to a mighty RIVER that will take down the largest of company. Remember GM.

I used to absolutely love VRBO both as an owner and a guest in travels throughout the world but I absolutely HATE them now!!! I have had 3 properties on VRBO over the last 6 years with dozens of 5-star reviews. We take immaculate care of them and bend over backwards to make wonderful stays for our guests. Since I have not signed up for the gouging online booking things have really changed.

I was trying to reserve a vacation home for March of next year. Using VRBO I couldn't do it. It worked well last year but they have changed it and so now I will go elsewhere to find a place to reserve. What a piece of crap this VRBO is.

For years I've used VRBO to find vacation rental properties for me, my family & friends and even my boss when he travels. It used to be an easy site to use & reliable. About a year ago I started to notice that I would enter parameters for a search and would get back a list of what seems like good choices, and then would find that the actual price charged was often more than doubled what the "from" price was. This wasn't even in high season - I often would see houses listed at $130 that came in at $300 per night when I requested a quote and that is before all the added fees. For many I did a search to see where the lower amount came from and found no days at all listed at that rate! About the same time I noticed many homes listed in my search as available where actually NOT available for those nights.

We have been a participating property manager with VRBO for over 10 years. We were very satisfied with their marketing of our property over that period of time. We followed their recommendation to have personal contact with our potential clients by contacting them by phone or email. Our bookings went up each year to the point where we were able to make this a profitable small business venture - even adding a second property with plans to add more. We are in a popular vacation rental market - the Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park area of Colorado. The last time that I looked, there were about 500 VRBO rental properties in this market. So our market is VERY competitive. We gladly upped our subscription to the highest level each time they introduced them, including their price increases, because there was real value to us in doing so.

What VRBO had done with the mandatory service fees and other policies is unacceptable business practice. There are plenty of sites to use that are much better and I am checking out all of them. One that I just learned about is Home Escape. I would recommend to all owners and renters to visit this new site, which is 100% free at the moment and see if it works for you. If anyone can recommend other sites I would be interested in looking at those myself. The only way to prevent problems like this is to cut into business by going elsewhere. Let's all join together and do that. I am certain they will regret their greedy decisions but it might be too late.

Hate VRBO now. I used to value their service. Now that TripAdvisor bought them, they've bullied their customers into charging a service fee directly charged to my customers. Actually I see a reduction in service. AirBnB... here I come. Anything but VRBO and Homeaway. Hate VRBO!

I have been listing my properties on VRBO and HomeAway for over 10 years. I now have 8 properties and pay up to nearly $1500 for a listing because it's the only way to get visibility in a market with nearly 1500 listing. Let's say the average listing pays $700, that equates to $1,050,000 for my market. The company now says it needs more money and is charging guests up to 9% of the entire rental cost. This is pure blind greed! Judging by how precipitously my inquiries and bookings have dropped and how outraged homeowners and guests are, it is safe to say this company will not survive in its present form.

So many reviews focus on that sudden and shocking "service fee," which provides no service that any traveler would want, so I agree with all that has been said about it being a cash-grab and an outrageously high percentage of the rental fee. It should be abolished, but I was told as late as today that it's here to stay - and spreading globally. Sounds like a pandemic.

Same problems on my end. This service fee has caused every booking I've had in the past few months requires the tenant to pay an extra $499 on top of everything else just to line VRBO's pockets. Here we owners for all the hard work to make our homes great rentals and they screw us and future tenants with this ridiculous fee? The book it now is also such a scam. They take out more and more fees with the credit cards (when I've always received a check in the mail instead) these service fees and the subscriptions they require us owners to pay. Shame on you VRBO, homeaway and Expedia. All horrible companies. My bookings have gone down. People have become more indecisive about moving forward and it's all due to this new service fee that adds zero value to the customer. I hope a class action gets started. We have been tricked, mislead and manipulated.

A good company turned bad because of greed. Been with them 8 years. Just announced a fee for travelers. Been told by 2017 they will REQUIRE everyone to book through them, with a fee for that. Also won't be able to communicate with renter until AFTER their fee has been paid. My listing is up next Feb. Time to move on to something else and dump these guys. It's a shame.

I too am not happy like everybody else with the new service fee. I have used Vrbo for three years now. This year I have two houses. One platinum plan I paid $1300 for. The other is a high-end rental. I paid another $1300 for one week. After paying that they started the service fee with saying nothing first. In comparison they're the only advertising site I used, last year I was fully booked. Now I have nothing to be on April 2016 as far as bookings. I too will certainly be looking elsewhere for my advertising.

Earlier this year, VRBO/Homeaway imposed a new service on people who rent my beach house. The fee, up to $499, has driven renters away from their websites. In the past, I'd be fully booked for summer by now. This year, I have not had one inquiry since January. I paid $699 to list my property. Their greed has made my listing worthless. What can be done?

I have been with VRBO for over ten years and been very happy. Like thousands of other customers I wondered why recently my bookings drop to about zero. When I tried to find my listing on the vacation by owner rental site I found it almost impossible. I have a beautiful house on the water and never lacked for rentals. At that point I called VRBO to see why my house was next to impossible to find as I thought maybe a mistake was made.

VRBO.com has started charging renters (we pay them an annual fee of up to $1800 a year to use their website to rent our condo in Hawaii) 4% - 10% of the total contract, a new fee. Because I have never used their online payment system (I use a collection company) they have put a banner on the top of my website telling renters: And I quote "This owner doesn't offer online booking through VRBO's checkout. You won't be eligible for our Book with Confidence Guarantee." VRBO sells guaranteed stay policies because I recommend them all the time to our renters. But the fact that they have "stamped" my website with this statement, it looks like my payment system is not secure. This is intimidating.

I started listing my vacation home with HomeAway in 2007. Until February of 2016, I have been very satisfied with the service I got as a homeowner. In February they instituted a mandatory service fee to renters. Since then I have had NO BOOKINGS! I have called to complain and their response, "sorry but that is not going to change and we will also be forcing you very soon to use online booking where you will also be charged credit card fees." Does anyone know if the original agreement allows them to initiate these fees without restriction?

I am a property manager that has strived for years to balance profit and providing people a good value. I actually take it seriously that many people work their butts off all year to save to take their families on a good vacation. My primary beef is that VRBO has tricked the industry. They started off reasonably, but have consolidated power by buying out any serious competition along the way, raising rates as they killed off competition. I feel that they are now acting arrogantly, like they monopolistically own the industry (which I think in effect they do) and have just gone insane with this latest rate increase proposal. I pay them $699/year - which is WAY UP over the years, and I already consider unreasonable. Now they want to charge my average traveler a 9% fee. My travelers will go elsewhere or not book at all. I have reviewed dozens of other VRBO users who say bookings have dropped off the map.

I had to put one star down because the review would not go through without at least one star. We have been advertising on VRBO for 6 years now and advertising two properties. For years we were very pleased with VRBO as consumers as-well-as homeowners. I now have let one of the subscriptions run out because of the horribly embarrassing advertisement and terrible customer service. If you have not seen the ad go to the home page of VRBO and scroll to the bottom of the page. Then ask yourself if that is how you would like your property represented - Zero class, zero respect and zero professional quality! I am going to pull my second property off of the website. Please contact me if there is a class action lawsuit.

We started using VRBO last spring along with a local management company for our condo in Captiva FL. It worked well until they started with all the fees. This is a lose lose for both owners and guests. We are doing all we can to find a different arrangement where we control the payment through our onsite management company. Would welcome any alternatives which have worked for others. Many thanks.

Thousands of individual homeowners have contracted and become loyal and dependent to VRBO and HomeAway and their business model to rent their vacation homes. The site was designed as a marketplace connecting individuals and that has been terrific till now. I have 2 listings on their site for almost 10 years. The response, customer service and overall success was great till last year when they were bought by Expedia. Last year I noticed a sudden and unexplained drop-off in inquiries and reservations. This year, without notice to the homeowners they implemented a 10% fee that the renter has to pay. They carefully disguise it to make it look like the homeowner is getting it. They do this coming into the busiest rental months of the season, so there was no time to prepare.

Sign us on for a class suit! My inquiries are consistent but my bookings have fallen. We will be looking for other options to rent our home when our subscription expires. Vrbo/Homeaway must think we are like blind sheep following the herd and they are the wolves! We're done. It was great while it lasted.

Had we known VRBO would change its terms and charge renters an outrageous service fee, we would have never chosen them to begin with. Now we have collected our review with them and are almost forced to stay with them. If there will be a lawsuit - we are in! We feel betrayed!

Was very happy when 10 years ago I found this company to list my 1st vacation rental with. It stood for: Vacation Rental By Owner. A few years ago they allowed property managers... didn't like that... but, they needed to make more money they said. Now, I have 6 properties listed with them & VERY unhappy about the way they have changed their business plan to charge travelers up to 10% service fee & make it look like the homeowners are getting this $$. Travelers aren't paying it & we are losing business! Doubt I will be renewing when all my properties come up for renewal in the next 3 months! We are all looking for another avenue... GOODBYE VRBO!

I am an owner of a vacation property listed on VRBO/HomeAway. I paid my $899 annual fee plus $49 monthly fee along with the owner's fee they charge per booking. A lot, right? But so worth it. I LOVED that my guests were not charged a booking fee and I raved about that to all my guests and ran any sale I could through VRBO. NOPE! NOT NOW! My guests are now charged what they refer to as a "service fee". I am furious about this expensive 9% fee added to my quote! It wasn't on the quote I filled it out but appeared after I pressed "ok". I didn't "ok" this fee! I guess they were hoping that I wouldn't notice. The practice of charging guests a service fee but hiding it in your statement seems like an unfair business practice.