Vrbo Reviews

When looking for a property in Destin, FL we found one rated as 9.0, wonderful. That was the criteria I had set for property search so I figured it would be wonderful. Once we arrived it was certainly not like the pictures. It was filthy. Everything was broken from furniture, blinds, wifi, flooring, lighting, and more. Most of the already limited outdoor seating was broken as well. The outdoor deck box that kept all the water toys had cockroaches running around in addition to used baby diapers and beer bottles. The yard had scattered red solo cups and more beer bottles/cans.

Only gave one star because zero was not an option. This was the worst experience I've ever had. Door was wide open when we arrived. Stated sleeps 5, but only 1 bed. Running water was brown and rusty, couldn't brush teeth or take a shower. Trying to reach VRBO is a joke. Spent hours on the phone/computer but could never connect with anyone. Please don't waste your time/money.

I have been an owner on this site for 10 years. It has become a nightmare to deal with their customer service staff. They are beyond incompetent. No one can help, All my questions end up needing Advanced Technical Support which is a joke. The situation has worsened considerably since EXPEDIA bought them. I have spent hours and hours, no days and days, on the phone in attempts to rectify a number of issues that arise with my guests. Actually, as an owner, it is embarrassing for me to be associated with the site. The only reason that I have stayed on the site is because I have 105 excellent reviews and am a Premier Host. In spite of this, my business is down this summer because renters have smartened up and no longer use the site. Don't care any more, changing my business to Airbnb.

No longer needed reservation as other opportunity came up. Tried to cancel 9 days before rental. Would not allow it I guess per contract. Guess I misunderstood "24 hour cancellation". Contacted host who blamed Vrbo for contract. Never received any funds back and vrbo could not be reached. They are horrible, do not use!!!

Vrbo is not user intuitive, it lacks features like automated messages, limited size of images you upload, even when you get the correct size uploading is tedious. Often the app does not load well and is slow. Also they do not offer much support for their hosts, I have yet to have a good experience when I call to get assistance. On top of all of that it frequently un links for my hosting app and then I have double bookings and I get penalized even though it unlinked. Also I can not edit reservations with my booking app I always have to call them directly and they expect me to look up and calculate the costs, when it should be as simple as adding the dates with the price on the calendar.

I was due to check in today the 14, however, the host needed me to check out earlier so he offered me a free night, he did not reflect this in VRBO because they would have charged me. I needed to say that because VRBO might say I’m not a verified guest. So we arrive yesterday and we walk in (the host said it slept 17) but it was extremely small. And the odor was horrible. Then I go to the places I check for cleanliness, kitchen and bath. The kitchen stove and oven filthy, the bathroom shower doors had mold and mildew caked in the edges, the walls had stains on them and the coffee pot had caked on coffee in it and the kitchen cabinets had dust caked on them and the ceiling fans as well. If you turned one on dust would fly all over. I would not feed anything from the kitchen to my grandchildren.

Booked wrong dates. Host was awful. Lying, deceitful host. VRBO no help. Paid for dates couldn’t go. It’s a scam. Stay away from VRBO. I am sure that I wasn’t the first person to book a place not realizing it was the wrong date. I had to cancel and lose my entire deposit.

It would be great if toilet be cleaned in the middle of the stay when linen changed. It is not convenient to turn off A/C daily when you leave as it takes a while to cool the place when you return in the evening when it is too hot in the property.

Do not list your property with VRBO!!! They have a terrible platform and tons of hidden fees!!! Beware, beware, beware! Terrible experience - stick with Airbnb - much better! I listed my property and they automatically accepted a listing without my approval and my calendar link to airbnb was not working (because vrbo's platform is terrible). I already had someone in my rental and vrbo now wants to charge me $1200 and I never made a penny on their site.

VRBO does not hold people accountable. They only care about getting paid. SCAMS happen all the time on VRBO. Anyone can post online, if you are stupid enough to pay online, they can pull out anytime. We booked a week stay at Apartamento LUXO 01 quarto - Praiamar Residence in Santos Brazil. Few weeks later, they cancelled saying there was a change in ownership. When we went back to the stie, the same place is advertised again. It's a shame VRBO is a sister company of Expedia. But then again, Expedia doesn't check their vendors either. I was scammed by transportation vendors couple times. Only hotel bookings with large reputable companies can be reliable. Advising travelers to stay away from VRBO.

Beware of doing any reservations with VRBO. I made a reservation in the fall of 2024 for a villa in the spring of 2025. VRBO requested my credit card to make the reservation. I then received a message from the villa stating that they do not take Visa and a wire transfer must be made. When I called VRBO and asked why they had confirmed my reservation on my visa and the villa owner was asking for a wire transfer, they advised me that I would have to deal directly with the owner. I followed their advise and it turned out that the villa was fraud. Meanwhile VRBO had listed on my account that the villa was confirmed. There seems to be a serious fraud happening here. When I confronted VRBO they expressed their disappointment but did nothing to refund my money. I will never use VRBO again. I would suggest you look elsewhere for your dream location. Our dream location became a nightmare.

Like others, the property was not as listed and the hotel was not any better than our room. We notified the front desk about 11:00pm the night we check-in (9:30pm) that we would be leaving in the morning. Booked another location about 11:30pm and couldn't wait to leave, which we did at about 8:00am the following day. Got most of the refunds as promised but there is still $242.01 missing and unaccounted for! Emailed the property manager, the property and the accounting office and have been unable to get any answers. Caveat Emptor or Let the Buyer beware!

Don’t use VRBO. They charge an arm and a leg just being a third party. Look up the property, and book with the actual Host. You will save a lot. They also were not transparent about the host. So when I was charged from an unknown name, I blocked it and canceled my account. Now I have to go through the hassle to get a new card.

Booked thru VRBO, had a problem with the room (it was NOT the one advertised). Contacted VRBO first because I booked thru VRBO but the rep told me to see the host or front desk reception then emailed me later to say I was given the correct room and the resort owed me nothing. They were, I guess, rightfully on the side of the resort but they did nothing to help ME (except give some free advice). Why would I ever use VRBO again?

VRBO listing: Gorgeous Retreat w/private Pickleball court!!! Only 3 min from Sandalwood Manor. [18022 COUNTRY HILL, TOMBALL, TX 77377] Unfortunately, our stay at this VRBO property was far from the relaxing getaway we had hoped for. The most serious concern was a persistent bee infestation, which made it unsafe to enjoy the space. One of our guests was even stung. It was clear this was a known issue, as evidenced by patchwork attempts on the exterior of the home to block the bees. We contacted the homeowner immediately, and while she did attempt to address the problem, not a single day of our four-day stay passed without these unwelcome guests disrupting our experience.

I booked a house for a week for a baseball tournament. I tried cancelling as we would not be participating in the tournament with over 3 weeks notice. To cancel online Vrbo wanted to keep 50% of my deposit (over $1700). I reached out to the host directly for assistance, and did not get a response. I followed up with a second message, finally getting a response asking if I had contacted Vrbo. I explained the situation. It took 6 days for a response saying that was her cancellation policy. Based on the host's poor customer service and insane cancellation fees, I would never book through Vrbo again. Hotels and Airbnb you can cancel up to 24 hours prior to check-in.

**DO NOT TRUST VRBO’S "GUARANTEE"** – I booked and paid in full for a rental property in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. (Prop. ID # 4230006) through VRBO, only to discover the host was a **fraudster who disappeared** with my money (Over $10,000.00 USD). Despite providing proof of the scam, VRBO’s customer service **refused to help** recover my funds or take accountability.

The VRBO we reserved was advertised as being on historical 7th street across from the famous Hometown Bird Dog Cafe. It was actually featured in one of Laurel city promo books. VRBO description needs to update the site. Cafe is closed and we were told it has been sold several times since renovation. Homeless people were roaming the street and it’s not within walking distance of the popular downtown. Subject yard was poorly maintained and due to homeless activity, you would not want to sit out on the yard chairs during day and especially at night. Overall, it has seen better days.

STAY away from VRBO. Upfront Pricing no hidden fees is a lie, Book with Confidence, is a lie. Make a reservation, find OUT AFTER the reservation there are hidden fees you were not told about, plus being charged a $300 deposit. Cancel the reservation and they will not refund. DO NOT USE. By the way. If you say a deposit to a host, and they refuse to return, VRBO will do absolutely nothing. You are just screwed out of your money.

I've rented through VRBO many times in the past without issues. A few months ago I rented a beach house and found out it was owned by a third party, Surf or Sound Realty. As a result of this, VRBO has charged me over $600 extra for this booking. I have worked with customer support and Surf or Sound and cannot get this resolved.

Indeed worthless customer service. We booked a place VRBO had listed as 10/10 and it was roach-infested with dry rotting furniture. Not only was VRBO worthless addressing the issue, they refused to post my review showing the real condition of the property and warning travelers. VRBO/Expedia/Travelocity are the same company and you cannot trust the reviews.

I booked a property through Vrbo for a short stay, received a confirmation, and made travel plans around it. The very next day, the host messaged me claiming a “conflict” and asked me to cancel because they had double-booked the property. I did everything right — I booked in good faith and followed all the steps through Vrbo’s platform. I contacted Vrbo expecting them to enforce the terms of the reservation or at least support me under their “Book with Confidence Guarantee.” Instead, they told me either I or the host would need to cancel — effectively putting the burden on me to solve a problem I didn’t cause.

Infested with insects. Outdoor furniture was not usable chairs were unsafe to sit in. There was no outdoor grill. Refrigerator icemaker and cold water was not working. TV would not connect to network. Second floor vanity sink is not usable. First floor bathroom is not clean, shower is very dirty. The local office rectified a few of the problems. However, we lost two days of vacation.

Worst business I have ever dealt with. Nothing good to say about it, and will not recommend to anyone!! So bad, I can't begin to try and explain my experience with them. The host wouldn't answer email, and the property wasn't on their site. After HOURS on the phone trying to find out what the issue was, no one, not even the supervisor, satisfied the problem.

We lost our VRBO home in June 2024 due to a fire in Ruidoso. We reported the loss to VRBO June 20th. To communicate with our scheduled guests as quickly as possible, I cancelled the reservations. VRBO sent me a cancellation invoice of 10% of the reservations I cancelled 7/5. I called and asked about the invoice that was sent even thought they had been made aware of the loss. I don't recall the full conversation, but they are telling me now because I called 7/24/2024, I still owe the cancellation fee. Don't trust VRBO or any of their subsidiaries (Home Away, Expedia, etc). They have told me I should understand their policy, but they are showing no understanding of our loss.

Ocean Village Club, A1A. St. Augustine Beach, FL. Great location, great beach access, rented Unit A23, one bedroom, beautiful condo interior. All new kitchen galley, new appliances, nice table are to sit down and eat. Nice large bedroom with a Sleep Number bed. Nice size bathroom, all utilities worked perfect. Very clean and well stocked with needed items. Must stay.

In October 2022, our family rented a cabin in Eagar, Arizona. On our first night, the microwave didn’t work. We reported it the next morning, and the property owner sent someone to check it out. They decided to replace the unit—then sent us a bill for $750, equal to our entire two-night stay. We hadn’t purchased the optional $150 damage protection because we’re meticulous renters and have never had issues. Yet we were expected to pay the full cost of a microwave that simply stopped working during normal use.

I am extremely disappointed with Vrbo as well as the host. My daughter and I rented a place in Louisville KY to visit my other daughter. The place was a great location for us. A lot of restaurants in walking distance. We received our check in instructions day of. When we got there, I noticed they only had 1 towel. I searched cabinets and found the dirty towels in the washer not started. I did message the host via platform and no response. I washed the towels, no biggie. We woke the next morning to a cockroach in the living room area. There just happened to be Raid there on the fireplace mantel (should have been the biggest clue), so we killed it. We were hoping it was a one-time thing. It wasn't, ended up vacating and going to a hotel at 1am.

April 7th 2025 I booked a rental in Lumberton MS. 10 minutes after I paid for the booking the host sent me a text saying the property had already been rented and they would send me a full refund. I received only 50%. I called the host and they said they had not received the money from VRBO. The next morning I checked and listing was still listed as available. I called VRBO and told them about the experience. They told me to "call the host". I told them there may be fraud involved. They said they would call the host and get back to me. They didn't.

VRBO charged me a cancelation fee for a listing that was suppose to be set on approval only and unknown to me had been set to automatic approval. So, after 2 years with no bookings on the platform, I got an unwanted booking overlapping an occupied guest stay. I talked to a customer service agent with this company, and they are unwavering with the fee. I had 9 listings with them of which I removed them from the platform. I keep getting invoices and refuse to pay! I even got a call asking me why I unlisted rentals. They were undeterred citing that this is their policy! The fee was over $200 for a 3 day stay! With them again once I will consider listing. I get a written notice that the fee has been waived! With a 1.1 rating I am not surprised they are going downhill!

I wanted to look at a place in Shoreline, WA for my son, who would be attending the community college there for 1 year and would just need a place to stay during the week if we found an affordable one. We found a place for $80 a night all fees included on VRBO and I tried to ask if we could visit on a day we would be in town but inadvertently booked the place. The bill that was sent to me was for $242.14 for the 1 night. I could not see how to cancel the reservation and emailed the owner, whom I had already emailed explaining we were just looking to visit. It's incredible to me that VRBO engages in such gigantically false advertising.

Booked a house a month and a half before my trip. Paid in full at the time of booking. Got a message with 2 weeks till trip that host cancelled because they rented the house to someone else for a month. I was told sorry and that my money would be refunded and that it could take 15 days for it to show up in my account. There was no offer from VRBO to rebook me. No offer of anything. Now I have to hope that I get my $400 back in time to book something else, and that’s if I can find something available when I do get my money back. IF I even get it back before my trip!

I had a very disappointing experience with VRBO's trip insurance. After booking, I never received any email with the policy or plan number — even after two weeks had passed. This made it nearly impossible to manage or cancel the insurance properly when I needed to. Trying to cancel the insurance was a nightmare. The process is slow, support is unresponsive, and there’s no clear guidance. It felt like no one was really handling it. Given how difficult and time-consuming this was, I strongly do not recommend purchasing insurance through VRBO. It adds more stress instead of peace of mind.

First of all, the host notifies you the day of that there is an additional $20 parking fee when providing check-in instructions. Vrbo states rate as "All fees included", but apparently, that's not the case with all of their properties. Upon arriving, you need a government grade Hum-V to drive through all the potholes surrounding the property. I immediately see a worker slowly cupping water from the roads entering, with a bucket. The entry gate for your key card isn't working, so there are 2 men trying to fix that. The 3 building layout is also quite confusing. I park, and see a hole in a fence where people are accessing the beach, as an entrance.

VRBO is barely a company. The hosts do whatever they want. They lie about their listings, the number of rooms, bed, amenities, they charge insane fees for things they don't do and when you complain VRBO does nothing. Use Airbnb.

That’s happened second time they canceled. I booked three months in advance and 15 days before our vacation they canceled the property. I can’t take this anymore and I will not recommend to anybody go thru with this!!!!

Airbnb is FAR SUPERIOR! Please, do yourself a favor as a guest and STOP USING VRBO. As a host (and vacation property renter), VRBO is horrible. Their customer service, their integration support, their platform user interface, honestly - I don't have anything good to say about it. I have NO idea how it's still in business.

VRBO is now going after property owners fraudulently. They are now charging property owners if a customer needs to cancel. They say that they don't, but you have to file a dispute within 30 days if a customer needs to cancel (if you are aware of this) and dispute that it was the customer that needed to cancel, otherwise, they will charge you a 25% fee minimum of $50. Even if you call and dispute the charge, they will say that yes, it was the customer that cancelled, "I see that" but you needed to call us within the 30 days. (Because after 30 days, it becomes your problem.)

I have been dealing with this company and listing with them for over 10 years. They started out humble and kind. They have turned so greedy and ruthless. They do not support owners what so ever. They don't even support renters. They are very selfishly motivated and only care about retaining their high fees from everyone. Their competitor are much more reliable. I hope that other, better companies come to the forefront so these guys don’ t last much longer.

I paid $312 to rent this RV on the owner's residential property because we were looking for a "camping' experience and chose this place over all others because it had a hot tub. The jets were broken and on order, according to the homeowner when we arrived. We accepted that fact graciously and then as the night wore on the smell of sewer overcame the camper to the point that we could not sleep and left the property at 2:30 am to drive around and call around the area to find a decent hotel with a vacancy. The owner offered a 50% refund for the hot tub issue and said nothing about the sewer stench. I then reached out to Vrbo and was told I had to have photos of the issues of complaint. How do you photograph sewer stench and broken hot tub jets? Vrbo is a joke and so is their rentals!

VRBO doesn't take down a property listing even after receiving multiple customers' feedback stating their inability to contact a host and access the location. I also didn't hear back from VRBO support until the following day which really shows how much they care about the customers. I will forever advocate for the use of Airbnb or Booking.com over VRBO. Vrbo will leave you stranded in a different city with no place to stay and continue allowing scam listings to ruin your vacation.

VRBO has been experiencing difficulties for hosts to log into their own hosting accounts for weeks! VRBO's customer service representative confirmed that it was a known issue and they have been working on it to address it. Several weeks now. This is the absolutely core of of their business model! If the airline can not sell tickets for the planes they have, they do not make money. If owners can not access their own owner's portal to access guests' reservations/bookings/their properties for several weeks, is there a reason the company is still in business?

A nice house is far superior to staying in a hotel. Usually. This was, hands down, the worst experience we have ever had with a vacation rental. A month after our stay and trying to work with management/owners, it’s time to give our honest review. After parking in the car port — not the garage promised in the property listing — and entering the front door, we found the misinformation about the garage wasn’t the only thing that would not match the property description. 

I stayed at a property (1051 Oakland Ave. Menlo Park CA) for 2 weeks. The day I arrived there were signs of neglect such as a broken fence gate, uneven walkway and an air conditioning unit sticking out over the sidewalk. April 8, 2025 I slammed my head on the unit and was taken by ambulance to the ER. A week later the owner never asked how I was (even though she lives in the same house that I rent a part of). The kitchen is in a closet with no air vent. The entrance to my unit is dangerous including rocks on the bottom. There are missing bulbs in the bathroom, dirty windows and slippery hardwood floors. I had to go buy over $100 in rugs to put down to prevent me from falling. This property needs much work; but the owner will not admit that it does.

First time we used Vrbo and also the last. First house we rented told us that the price we paid in October was not good for April. Did not tell us until about February so we had to rent another house. The second one we rented had roaches in the house so we left early. Owner was nice enough to refund us for the last day of our stay but Vrbo would not help us at all.

We have rented several properties through the years with VRBO. Most recently, we rented an apartment in Mazatlan, Mexico. The unit was clean and comfortable and the one maintenance issue we had was addressed by the landlord. We were required to leave a damage deposit that was stated in the contract to be refundable. We never received this back and we definitely left the unit clean and with no damages. This is where the VRBO experience is not so good - good luck trying to reach them. The Landlord said it wasn't his responsibility to refund this as it was booked through VRBO. Have been unable to find how to contact VRBO directly about this issue. They had my credit card number on file and should have been able to refund it automatically. So I was ripped off for this damage deposit in my opinion.

Something has changed on VRBO- The host contacted me directly not on the app- Asked me to pay- Never sent the link- Spent 2 hours on chat with VRBO-VRBO said the host needed to cancel and host said VRBO needed to cancel....I have rented around the world and was never contacted directly by host on WhatsApp....I am struggling to cancel and confirm that there are no charges... Transaction felt shady- Not what I expected from VRBO.

I had an issue accessing my account on the website and I call customer service. I spoke with Ahmed who has my customer service representative. He resolved all my issues and helped me contact the owner to have access to the property. He was very professional, caring and concern and he gave me great customer support in a timely manner.

I booked a house for a vacation and then cancelled it well within the 100% money back guarantee period. The owner had charged my credit card and was not returning any attempts to reach them to get a refund. I called VRBO customer service and was told for several weeks that they would try to reach the owner. After several weeks, I had to request multiple times for a supervisor phone call. When I did speak to a supervisor, I was told that this particular owner did not use their payment system so there is really nothing they can do to help. They suggested we work with our credit card company to get a refund. What is the point of their guarantees and renting through them if they are not going to back up what they say. So disappointed in them and very sorry that we rented through them. Still don't have over $2,500 back. Going to have to get an attorney which is awful.

I will never use VRBO again. They do not take care of their guests and will back a horrible property owner even with proof and message receipts. Customer service is trash. The property is allowed to post picture of the home that is a misrepresentation and they don’t care. I included one below.

VRBO.com IS A VERY VERY VERY VERY BAD COMPANY. THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM PULLING THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER YOU.... Me and my grand kids spent week looking at Aruba homes to rent, they had a ton of fun,, "Papa we like that one. Papa we want that one," they finally settle in on the one with the flamingo in the pool! We booked the vacation home thru vrbo 4 months ago, 12 people total going kids grandkids family... We are all going down to watch papa run the aruba marathon.... 6 weeks to our vacation they send email, here's the email:

The worst accommodations company. My wife and I booked a trip to Europe in 5 different countries and VRBO property owners cancelled 3 of them before we even departed. And it took weeks to get the refunds. Brutal. Go with another accommodation company.

The owner canceled my reservation and didn't tell me until 5 days before our reservation. They had sold the house and did not notify VRBO that the house was up for sale. Could not get a reservation for the dates needed from VRBO and looked at all the other sites to find one. I was told by customer service to get one from anywhere I could, and they would give me the price difference, but they did not. They told me that their employee made the mistake and would not honor what the employee said. Very poor way to do business, and customers are employees and rely on what their customer service states to them.

I am cancelling my reservation. The host of the listing has not gotten back to me in over a week! I started looking for other options on Airbnb, and lo & behold! There is the cabin I booked available for the dates I booked! Calling my credit card company today! I do NOT recommend this site!

VRBO.com is a scam. We rented a property, when we arrived the bed sheets were wet and smelled like urine and there was a fast food coupon taped above the door frame in one of the rooms that was covering a small hole. Concerned that this was a camera we abruptly packed and left the property. We reached out to the owner and VRBO expressing our concerns and asked for a refund. We were abruptly denied a refund. VRBO service stated that I should have stayed around and investigated further instead of leaving to assure I had plenty of evidence. VRBO had no concerns to assure guest safety and does not protect the consumer.

VRBO allows hosts and third-party management groups to contact guests outside their system. After booking a listing, the host contacted me a month later, demanding an additional $80 cleaning fee. I provided my invoice, which confirmed the cleaning fee was already paid, but the host insisted I pay the cleaning crew directly. When I reached out to VRBO, they assured me I didn’t owe any extra fees but also admitted they couldn’t guarantee the host wouldn’t withhold crucial listing details if I refused to pay. After relaying VRBO’s response to the host, he told me not to worry about it—only to contact me again weeks later, just after my free cancellation window had closed, demanding an additional $50 maintenance fee.

Vrbo is a SCAM!!!! DO NOT BOOK A ROOM. THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY & GIVE YOU THE RUNAROUND. FAKE LISTINGS!!!! This site needs to be taken down immediately. I will sue this company & blast them on all social media platforms including ALL news channels.

If you list your property on VRBO or are considering it - beware! VRBO sent me a renter who used a stolen credit card and destroyed my home! Then, after a chargeback, VRBO took back the rental payment ($11,000), took back the security deposit, and offered little compensation for $15k in damages. When I asked VRBO how they prevent fraud, they said they check that the booking name matches the credit card. COMPLETE LIE! After the tenant left, I received a “Rate your guest” email and the name was totally different. When I called VRBO back, they said “Well, it could be a family member.” So essentially, they don’t do any checks and expose all owners to these dangerous & costly risks. If there is any problem, it falls 100% on the owner. VRBO doesn’t give a damn about you. All they care about is getting their commission. STAY AWAY!

VRBO allowed property owner to steal nearly $2000 when they cancelled our booking unexpectedly and kept the deposit. Property was owned by Haller Coastal Homes in California. Spent nearly 3 hours with VRBO customer service which were not helpful and obviously did not have the ability to issue any sort of compensation for our substantial loss. I would not trust VRBO again as they do not seem to have any ability to support consumers and seem to just be a gateway for fraudulent postings and theft.

I booked few apartments 6 months before my vacations! One of host informed me they double booked it with other guests on via AirBnB! So apartment was occupied, my access been refused and I had to sleep 5 nights in my car cause high season on Canary Island, nothing under 300$ per night was available! VRBO doesn't allow guests to RATE the hosts unless they stayed in the apartment! Wow HOW UNFAIR is that rule???? So I been in the street, although I booked and paid 6 months in advance! And I’m not even permitted to COMMENT on how not reliable those hosts are???? Very bad experience I’m sorry to say.👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼

I have used VRBO to rent vacation properties for probably 20 years but will never use them again. Instead of spending a fortune on tv advertising they should go back to vetting the properties they list. In last 15 years we've rented in Palm Springs. Last year on VRBO site we rented a property that was listed by a company, not an owner, and the company cancelled the rental a month before we were to go! This year we again went to VRBO renting a property for the backyard pool and hot tub, I'm a swimmer; and the interior jacuzzi tub. Our payment however was made to management company Vacasa. What a disappointment.

This is a total rip off. Do not get scammed. I was charged a property that was not available and definitely not the description they gave me. Was never sent the check in information and after driving 3 hours was unable to get into the misrepresented property. They charged me before I even checked in and refused to give me a refund even saying I booked with Expedia and not them. The property contact was not even a real number and the location was a coordinate not an address. I turned VRBO in for fraud to my credit card and had to get a whole new credit card. They are a scam, do not do it.

In no way, shape or form did I advertise my property having a “private pool.” Guests cancelled 2 hours before check in because my listing did not state the pool was not in the back yard. Refunds are not given prior to 7 days of arrival. My description under amenities/ pool features had pool and communal checked off. I am being told they granted the cancellation with full refund due to “misrepresentation.” How can it be misrepresentation when I checked off pool and communal!? They stated that I need to write the pool is a short walk away and not in the back yard. Poor customer service, unprofessional and the company does not even stand by their own policies in place. Shame on you!

We paid a huge amount for a run down place in a neighborhood that was advertised as "up and coming" that was a ghetto. But the worst part was we paid for a damage deposit that was presented as refundable. A month later we had no refund. We emailed them. No response. We called them. Now all of a sudden it's "Oh that isn't refundable" claiming it was actually insurance. WELL THAT ISN'T THE WAY IT WAS PRESENTED TO US! Be very careful with these clowns. They will mislead you and rip you off. NEVER AGAIN WILL WE RENT FROM THEM!

My husband and I made reservations for a place in Mexico Beach for our anniversary but changed our minds and lost our deposit because of VRBO misinformation on contact with the owners. Will never use VRBO again!

I have worked with VRBO, Booking.com, Airbnb, and various other vacation rental sites. By far, VRBO is the rudest, worst in Customer service, and deceptive in the properties they list. My first and only experience with VRBO was a place in Naples, Florida that advertised as a charming beach bungalow. It turns out when I arrived. It was actually a garage poorly converted into a studio with paint and mediocre furniture. The inside pictures of the place looked great, but pictures can do a lot. I was put in a garage in the back of a home, and that Home☀️🏠♥️ wasn’t even a bungalow.

We've had some great experiences with VRBO but were unable to travel to a Vrbo in Canada due to my passport expiring. I notified Vrbo and the host. I didn't ask for a refund but I was promised an opportunity to reschedule however, the host decided she would not honor that. That ends my long loyalty to Vrbo.

I booked a cabin through VRBO for 2 nights. I accidentally booked for 1 night instead of 2. I realized this right off and contacted Vrbo to explain and add another day. The cabin I rented was $90 a night. They said they could add the additional night and it would be an additional $300.50. I asked why so much difference for one night to two nights and they said the pricing dynamics change daily. I understand the price differences for different days of the week but really? You want $90 for one night and $300.50 for one night. I canceled the reservation. I just feel this is a huge scam. I will not be using Vrbo again.

The website leaves much to be desired. They don't offer a way to save a search so you have to enter all of your filters every time you log in. They also don't allow you to delete past trip boards so that clutter remains on your account forever.

Do not book with VRBO.com. We did and it had no heat or hot water in the showers. We contacted the host and the lied about sending maintenance out. Now vrbo won’t do anything about it. The host is in violation of short term rental laws. And vrbo will do nothing about it but waste my time!! Horrible customer service!

They did nothing to deal with worst Apek Rentals in Palm Springs...they did nothing but over charge for heat in pool and hot tub. Getting in was a nightmare. No lockbox as described. The house was for sale. Never advised me of that from beginning. Sheets were archaic old. Called me half way thru for a dog...what dog??? Only time they called f... for more money. VRBO blocked my honest review below...what's wrong with that review?

We booked a property in Florida to visit Disney World many months ago. Since then the U.S. elected a new president who is openly hostile to Canada and threatening to annex or destroy our Country economically. We thought we were dealing with a decent and honorable property owner on VRBO and asked for an extension for our final payment, explaining our concerns and that we would finalize our payment or cancel following the tariff announcements. She agreed and 4 days after our original final payment date we cancelled based on concerns for our country and increased hostility and threats from trump. She has now refused to refund.

The worst company to list with, I have listed my property with them, they got paid Jan 23, 2025 and it is March 7th I haven’t got my payout and they charge a lot of money for fees, I haven’t been calling every day and I get their support team promising to help and nothing happen, they don’t even know what they are talking about, it is very frustrating with them, I will never list with them ever again.

Broken furnace, 24 hours, during -32 snow storm. Broken dryer. Startling noises from above unit. Repeated 5:30 am forced wake-up from very loud noises. Construction noises: No warning nor discount. Hammering. Food grinder broken, 2/3 sinks plugged. Worst: We booked and paid for Jan 1-Mar 1. Was kicked out Feb 28. No refund from owner for lost day. VRBO supports our booking. Arrived late on Jan 1. Passcode provided did not work- sleep in vehicle? Owner did not rectify nor compensate and kept our payment for Mar 1. Horrible! Horrible! Unjust and unfair. Liars and thieves! Left unit much better than found.

I booked a Vrbo and was given an address of ** on August 5, 2024, less than 24 hours before check-in, I received a message from the host with a different address (**). When I questioned the different addresses and different locations, she told me “Maps error”. I asked how can it be a "map error" when I have two different addresses, the host called me directly and was very rude and aggressive on the phone. Even asking me if I thought this was a scam. I hadn't, but then I did.

I attempted to make a booking today and was given a Total price which include a statement "Total Includes Fees, Not Taxes", however when I went to make the booking the total did include a "Service Fee" and a "Host Fee"...The statement of "Total Includes Fees, Not Taxes" is blatantly false.

I recently rented a home that advertised 185' of lake frontage. They stated, "Very few Canyon Lake homes have such a perfect lake access! This fabulous home is located on 2 acres with a paved path to the gentle shoreline at water’s edge that is perfect for swimming and water fun. The easy slope into the crystal clear water is superb for adults and children of all ages." The lake had dropped 26 feet back in 2023 and there is not lakefront. When I contacted VRBO they said there was nothing they could do about it. Since then, I have checked the website, my review is not posted and the false claim of access is still there. With old pictures. I did send VRBO the correct pictures. They have said they are sorry and offered me a $100.00 credit for my next rental through them. But of course, I can't rent through them because they don't monitor the properties they advertise.

VRBO.com is very bias with their host. I wrote an honest review adhering to their policy. Vrbo removed the review and could not tell me what content was against their policy. Vrbo customer service is horrible. I called several times and was always on hold and when they answered they were no help. Unfortunately after using Vrbo prior we will never use again.

Was notified by property owner. My reservation had to be canceled. Because of leaking roof, a week before my trip. I canceled at owners request. I only received 1/2 my $ back. I called CS and spoke with Charlie. After some investigation. Charlie got a full refund for me. Charlie was great and very professional. I will continue to use Vrbo.

VRBO Has over the years continued to be in a downward spiral for customer support of Owners of properties and guest that rent thru their rent portal. Vrbo charges us Owners a fee or 695 per year and a 3% commission rate. They also charge the renters a hefty fee to reserve a property on the platform. Then they are constantly asking us owners to discount our rates while VRBO continues to take on their full fees! I have been renting with Vrbo for over 30 years when it was a small company with great customer support. Now customer support is in a foreign county and lacks any support. Ask for a supervisor and they transfer you to another agent or just hang up on you. I'm disgusted and as a renter. Beware you're getting feed to death!!!!

This company is a ridiculously high scam. I understand why hosts use them, but I will never try to book anything through this company again. We have tried for 6 days to get a simple booking done. Every time we tried to pay, the card rejected. VRBO stated it was on their end. But every day it was the same story. it was elevated to the Advanced Tech Team. Who I never heard from. After a third and final attempt, the down payment doubled and of course the card did not go through. We released the reservation and the host lost out. I am a travel agent and I lost commission on this sale. My client lost the vacation he wished to enjoy with his family. This company needs to step it up or close. They do not help people. Stay away!

Stay away from this company. Our host cancelled on us a month before our trip to San Antonio. They told us that they had sold the property. We had already paid half the deposit. They said we would have to cancel to receive our money back. We cancelled and still haven’t received any money back. We can’t get a hold of the host and VRBO can’t either. We have gotten the run around from Vrbo, we have probably talked with at least ten different people regarding this problem. We have been told we would get our money back and been hung up on after waiting on the line for hours. We have sent two registered letters with no reply. So much for their book with confidence guarantee. The sad thing about this is we are out $1,500 but Vrbo will be out much more because every chance we get we tell our story and I’m sure they will eventually be out that much money and more.

Horrible!!! Will never recommend Vrbo to any of my friends or family!!! Lillian the homeowner at Vero Beach FL, let us book for one night and then changed the booking arrangements saying we had to book both nights. Sat and Sun. We were able to book the Sat night but then Vrbo stated to us that she changed her rental agreements after we booked the one Sat night. After all the calls to her that went to voicemail and after Vrbo said their billing department will look into this we never got another updated Vrbo email. We have called Vrbo and Lillian and it’s mayhem. We will never do this ever again. Still haven’t gotten a full refund. We will use hotels. They have committed fraud both parties and we will contact our bank and Better Business Bureau to try to get this resolved. Please do not use Vrbo!!!! It will be a disaster. Trust me.

Booked a home through VRBO which was pretty easy to do. When I looked at my charge statement and saw they charged me 489.00 to book with them. I contacted their customer service about the fee and they said there was nothing they could do about it. I tried to contact a manager the first time I called and waited 45 minutes on hold just to get disconnected. I called the following day again and talked with an account advisor and she told me the same thing that there was nothing she could do about the charge because it is all computer figured and they can charge you up to 10% of the booking fee, which is what they did to me.

Run, don't walk from VRBO. We had booked a second week in Maui at a VRBO rental. Two days before we were going to the VRBO rental, we find out the host is bogus, don't even know if it was his place. We called VRBO, they canceled our reservation, then we were on our own to find a place to rent in peak season in Maui. After 7 hours on the phone we finally found a non-vrbo place that cost us $423. more than the original vrbo rental. We asked Vrbo to reimburse the difference, they said "no" because we canceled the reservation. That is totally false, the vrbo rep canceled the reservation. This whole situation was a nightmare, vrbo's customer service is horrible.

Booked a property on Vrbo.com and received confirmation. The host then cancelled and is listing the property now for almost double the price. Host doesn’t care and Vrbo.com is not doing anything since the booking is a couple of months later. Quite frustrating.

I am a VRBO host and I've struggled with the platform for years. It's much less customer service focused and organized than AirBnb. For example, on AirBnb as a host I can automatically have the calendar blocked the day before and after a stay when someone books in order to reserve time for cleaning. For VRBO this is a manual process, meaning each time someone books I have to quickly get on and block the days so that someone doesn't book the same day another guest leaves. Though I'm generally quick and available, more than once even a lag of a few hours has caused me to have to ask someone to cancel their reservation, which is bad customer service and causes an inconvenience for both hosts and guests. After suggesting this years ago, VRBO hasn't made that seemingly simple feature available. Even during COVID, when we took extra time to clean between stays, VRBO did not have this as an option.

Do not use VRBO! They say that you can book with confidence but not true. I was scammed by one of their renters and they have been making me jump through hoops to reimburse me back. It has been well over 3 months and still nothing. Their vetting process to allow people to advertise on their website is horrible and pretty much non existent. There is no confidence when you book with this company, stay away! I will never use them again!

Hosts BEWARE! If you have an integration software and you also build a website to take direct bookings, VRBO will STEAL 10% commission from your own direct bookings. It won't matter if you paid a company to integrate the platforms and build your own site, you will still have to pay VRBO 10% of any "offline bookings", aka "off platforms bookings". I'm talking about paying my own money to advertise my own website, yet I will have to pay VRBO 10%. You know, just cause they want to take from my pockets. I am now removing all my listings from VRBO. Disgusting behaviour VRBO, shame on you. For those who don't think this could possibly be true, please call them and ask.

I have had the worst experience with VRBO. After booking a place to stay in Puerta Vallarta, I contacted the host to ask a couple questions. They informed me that the pricing listed was outdated and it would cost me additional money to stay there. I immediately canceled the reservation within minutes of booking. I was well within the timeframe to receive a full refund. It has been 4 weeks, after multiple phone calls to customer service, hours wasted on the phone, and still no refund. I’m being told there is a problem with the system and they are working on it. I’m extremely frustrated and will never use this company again.

I’m writing this review to warn others about a scam listing on VRBO. The listing for Beach Mansion appeared legitimate, but it turned out to be a complete scam. We rented this property for 7 nights, but on day 5, we were kicked out in the middle of the night because the owner was not authorized to rent the property for short-term vacations. The property was located in a private gated community, which, since 2023, has prohibited short-term rentals. The owner was aware of this but still went ahead with the listing. The community seized the property not allowing us or the owner to come through the gates.

After booking with VRBO 16 days before my visit, which was confirmed by the host... the day before my stay I received a message from the host stating VRBO overbooked. I received my refund from the HOST upon our return, but VRBO said this was not their fault... repeatedly and the original host failed to help me and kept saying it was not their fault and speaking with a supervisor would not help with the situation. After being on the line with the Supervisor "Tricia" she attempted to find me a place to stay but was unable to for 2 HOURS... I was on the phone... Supervisor agreed to comp my stay but was having technical issues with their one key cash.. She told me several times that I could book a room myself somewhere else and they would refund... I told her I booked the room somewhere else since I was tired of being on the line and was very frustrated...

BUYER BEWARE-ILLEGAL BAIT AND SWITCH…. Just paid an advertised Total price after taxes and fees of $409.68 via VRBO/Vacasa (property management company). I received receipt/confirmation for $409.68. I noticed after checking my credit card statement VRBO charged an additional $55 and another charge of $1 without my knowledge. Please don’t advertise total price and then, after, without my knowledge, use my credit card to charge an additional $56-. Shame on you!

VRBO, it's time for some honest feedback. I don’t typically write reviews like this, but this situation demands a response. This is not merely a case of high pricing—it's outright exploitation, and VRBO is letting it happen. As a resident of this community with extensive knowledge of the local market, I find the current listings appalling. We own property on the water, and I would never even consider charging the outrageous prices I’m seeing here. I’m not alone in this belief. I live among developers who have built some of the most luxurious communities in the country—homes worth $50 million, not just the typical “million-dollar” properties. These professionals understand real estate and would never resort to such blatant price-gouging. No fair-minded person would.

Theft. They admit having my deposit. Admit it being owed to me. Will not provide any assistance in finding out where it is. Customer service is barely understandable and every time I’ve escalated it, supervisors are not understandable. Multiple questions asked without them providing any answers. Then told the same thing, we will email you and you can respond there. If they do this time, it will be the fifth time. I asked to speak to somebody in person and they said that when I get that email, I can email back asking for that. Which I’ve also done four times without a phone call. If you ever have any issues, don’t hold out any hope of getting any help from VRBO.

My Valentine's weekend was ruined thank you to VRBO. We rented a cabin in the mountains, hoping it would be our winter wonderland. Three night before the host cancels our reservation due to snow. A cabin in the woods, in the mountain, in New York, is cancelled because of snow???? As it is a long weekend, we were left empty handed as properties in our price range are not available. And to the host, who was extremely unethical, we can't even leave a review. VRBO never more, unreliable.

I wouldn't use them again, you have virtually no ability to contact them with any issues. They are unresponsive and unhelpful. I had a situation where I booked a trip and could not contact the host after multiple attempts through calls, messages, and emails. VRBO did virtually nothing to resolve the situation. The is no customer service support other than a useless bot. Avoid if at all possible.

VRBO offers no support or refund when you are stranded in a foreign country with nowhere to stay. I checked into a room with animal hair, pubic hair, dog hair and sticky floors and obviously a bad smell, no working water and poor wifi. I had to leave and find my own accommodation, all VRBO will do after taking your money is tell you to deal with the host. In my case the host wasn't even in the country.

Terrible communication. After I received and instant booking, I responded via the VRBO portal to the guest stating that I needed to cancel. The communication was affirmed on both ends. Their system didn't permit me to cancel via the calendar. VRBO. The client is needing a refund.

The worst. We had a homeowner contact us directly a week before our annual family ski trip that we booked in July. Juston ** was asking for more money because he had made some renovations. We told him no, contacted VRBO and sent them his texts. They did nothing. Absolutely nothing. Spoke to multiple agents, only to find out none of them communicate. So every time we’d call to follow up it was starting over. Have not received anything. Avoid VRBO.

If no star was an option I would give VRBO. Worse website ever. Nothing works right on the website, I tried to use it before as a homeowner and as a customer and is awful either way. I put my house for rent in 2024. Few months later try to delete my account cause I never was able to get the site to work probably so I attempted to delete my account many times but couldn’t cause their website is terrible and they don’t let you to delete the account that you made. So I had to call the support team many times and emailed them to delete. They emailed back say need it in writing to confirm the dedication so I replied with that request. I never check after that to make sure they did their job and cause I couldn’t even log in.

VRBO’s Customer Service is Non-existent! After months of attempting to resolve a basic issue, I’ve learned firsthand that Vrbo’s Host support is broken beyond repair. What used to be poor service is now completely absent. Endless delays, generic responses, and no real solutions have made it clear: Vrbo prioritizes neither Hosts nor Guests. Just check the Better Business Bureau or countless online forums filled with frustrated users. I’ve been left with no choice but to secure external solutions for my properties because Vrbo has failed at every step. Serious operational disruptions, zero accountability, and a refusal to offer real assistance define my experience. If you’re considering Vrbo as a Host or Guest—beware. Extremely Dissatisfied Host

We rented based on reviews and when we arrived the smell was so strong upon opening the door it was unbearable that we started coughing and the kids couldn't breathe, Toxic smell of pure cigarettes and whatever else was in the air and sofa, tried to contact owner all night but she waited till I called VRBO to res place is nonsmoking and pet free but if you were there and smelled what we had to inhale for one night and saw the conditions of the sofa and apartment you will agree with me 100%. We all felt the same, I'm still sick from inhaling the toxin in the air in that place.

Booked a property on Vrbo.com, spoke with the host, within hours they called me and told me they double booked the place. They said I would have to cancel my booking. I canceled it but they still took the $3,000 out of my account. Attempted to contact Vrbo but it was moot. The chat AI is pointless and no help.

The condo I stayed in at Dolphin Run Va beach was disgusting and filled with black mold. I emailed the owner and sent pictures who promised a full refund in writing. Now, 5 months later I'm still not fully refunded. I've gone through the owner, through VRBO, and through my bank. My bank was able to get a partial refund. Now vrbo has deleted my review from the owners listing. Crooked company. Will NEVER use them again. Tried to add photos of the place but they won't upload.

VRBO host cancelled our reservation 2 days prior to our trip! Never emailed. Glad we checked itinerary and seen they cancelled. Called vrbo. Was not helpful at all. Said refund in 5-7 days! Total crap. You took our money same day we booked return same day you cancelled on us. Like people have $500 laying around for people to hold onto for nothing. Will never use vrbo again. So now this morning it is gonna be another 5-7 days???? Well where is my interest fees late fee on return and inconvenience fee? Seriously this is been a total joke!

I have had a terrible experience with VRBO, that people should be award of. The details are below, but the bottom line is that VRBO has partners (referred to as its "VRBO family"), that have listings on the VRBO platform but that seemingly operate separate from VRBO. If you have a problem with one of those bookings, which I had for a listing in Paris, you are basically on your own and have to deal with the respective host directly.

I have had so many issues with VRBO! As of now I will no longer use your services. I will make it my mission to make sure others are aware of your inept ability to serve your customers! Issues: In November we rented a two bedroom condo in Atlanta. When we arrived we were put on a loft with a bedroom in the kitchen, no wall and no second bathroom. Also it No Dish towels. 2 towels? 1 wash cloth. Shampoo and body wash ran out. Hot water only lukewarm warm. Painting on floor? Stained carpet. Broken coat rack. Closet doors don’t close. Halls smell of marijuana and cigarettes.

We've been host on VRBO for the last 5 years with 10 listings. They are the absolute worst vacation rental platform we've dealt with. All our cabins have maintained 4.9-5 star reviews in the the last 5 years. We are exceptional host with exceptional reviews!. Though we do receive multiple bookings through VRBO, (many of which are scams) VRBO has never provided us with any good customer service. We've always felt VRBO is a liability for our business and cabins, as they always find a way to not support their host. My opinion, if you're getting into short term rentals, stay away from VRBO. You will save yourself headaches, frustration and money. Stick with Airbnb, Google Vacation Rentals, Glamping Hub, Hipcamp and direct bookings. My two cents. Hope this review helps someone avoid this terrible company.

I recently stayed in Carolina beach at Jamie Wheeler’s vacation rental. We had a wonderful time. We got a 5 star review and the a month later, I got a bill for a stained white pillow case and was charged almost 100.00. This is so petty and I am so disappointed. I will never go back nor recommend any properties they own as I find this to be ridiculous!!!

Horrible experience with VRBO!! They don’t care if your home is disgusting and won’t give you a refund no matter what you say. Do yourself a favor and stay far away from this company!!! I wish I had knows this before!

Nightmare of short term rentals, don't use any host, as they don't care what happens to your property. The guests like animals destroyed my property, and VRBO shook of their hands saying they can't do anything, unless the guest had bought insurance.

There are roaches in my room. The heater keeps popping the breaker and it's winter. I called the VRBO. They wanted pictures of the roaches. I took pictures. There were some in the bed. They said it wasn't infestation and I couldn't leave and get the other two nice money back. So I left anyway after spending an hour and a half and pulling out the oven and taking pictures of bugs while you're with my 3-year-old.

My Awful Experience with VRBO: A Cautionary Tale. I’ve always believed in giving businesses a fair chance, but after not one, but two terrible experiences with VRBO, I feel obligated to share my story and warn others about their practices. I will never do business with this company again. The first incident happened on January 3rd. I booked a house through VRBO that was advertised as a dream vacation rental with a hot tub, BBQ, and screened porch. It seemed perfect—on paper. But when I arrived, I quickly realized all of those amenities were not on my side of the house at all. The property was set up like a duplex, and the owners lived next door.

I rented an apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona for the week of Christmas, Dec. 22-28. 2024. When I arrived there was a pungent animal smell. There was a used condom in the couch. The floor and furniture had visible hair and dirt. There were piles of leaves on the patio. The bathroom floor flooded after use of the shower. There was roof construction going on all day. I contacted both the owner and Vrbo. Vrbo customer service told me they could offer no assistance and for me to talk to the owner. Vrbo offered no refund though the owner said he would refund 50%. Vrbo gave me a credit to use on another rental--as if I would ever stay in another Vrbo rental. The owner did not refund 50% as he said he would. There is virtually no recourse if you rent an uninhabitable room/house/apartment so once you pay, you will not see your money again, no matter what the state of the rental.

We booked a house in San Antonio. It was advertised as being in an area it wasn't which we would've been okay with had that been the only issue. The house looked homemade inside as "repairs" and "updates" were clearly not done by anyone who knows what they're doing. There was hair all over the floor, and a large puddle of water in the kitchen. The cord to the stove's homemade light set up consisted of 2 different cords wire nutted together and there was mold on the outlet. The front door didn't shut tightly and there was evidence of rodents in the house, asking with gum stuck to the AC unit which was loosely mounted through the wall with no trim and air free flowing from outside.

From the supervisors down to just a regular call center tech, they have no compassion, concern, or anything else for that matter. They talk down to their homeowners and do not wish to solve any issues. I’ve had nothing but issues since I listed both of my properties with this company. I don’t know how they’ve been getting away with this treatment. Stay clear from this company, you will not get paid. Plus, it does no good to call the call center for a resolution. Lost customer for life and more to follow after advertising on TikTok and More

If I could give zero stars I would. First, I will speak as a host, then as someone who as a travel RN has pursued VRBO for potential rentals, but has not and will never book. As an owner who luckily has this far has thankfully had 99% of my guests book on AirBnb. Airbnb is easy to navigate, control rates, block nights, etc. VRBO could not be any further from that. This difficulty may have been tolerable until this month when it has cost me money. For my particular property, this is peak season. My place is already reasonably priced and I do not give discounts at this time of the year nor do I need to. I did not have auto book on for VRBO and expressly went on The site in the fall to ensure there were no weekly or monthly discounts.

Terrible experience. We got to our rental property at the checkout time. I had not received any responses to my request for the check-in information. I contacted VRBO who tried to get in touch with the host, the host did not respond to VRBO either. VRBO at that point did a good job of customer service offering me a hotel for the night paid for by VRBO. Kudos to them for that. However when I went to go and write a review of The Host the system would not allow me to do that because I hadn't actually stayed in the property. According to their guidelines you cannot write a review unless you stay in the property. So I was not allowed to post a review of the host indicating how terrible that experience was not having a place to stay when my reservation had been accepted. This whole thing made VRBO a terrible system to deal with.

We had an unpleasant experience with two of Vrbo hosts. One declined our booking without any explanation, and when we inquired, we were informed they reserved the condo at another platform; days after, their condo was still advertising on Vrbo as available!!!!!! We attempted another host only to have even worse experience - this time, host advertised by Vrbo canceled the first day of our reservation and proceeded to charge us for the two remained days without ever communicating with us.

This experience was nothing short of a nightmare. The company completely failed to protect us as customers and ignored serious safety concerns. We rented a cabin through VRBO, and upon arriving at night, discovered that:

I would like to warn Vrbo users about your reservations, even though they are fully paid, are not guaranteed. After hours of browsing places and finally booked a place and soon after the booking I have to pay the initial payment even before the property owner accepts my reservation. After 24 hours of waiting, the owner did not respond and my booking was disappeared. I called Vrbo customer service to cancel the booking and for the refund. They told my money was handled by a different company and contact them to resolve my issue. Not recommend to anyone and please stay away from Vrbo. It’s not safe also nobody knows your booking is honored or legit.

Imagine you've spent hours scouring the various listings to find the perfect vacation home for your upcoming epic group trip with family. You've looked at every detail, so many properties, but you found just the right one. You click the button. You make the reservation. The payment is made. The owner accepts the booking. Life is good. All you have to do now is book your experiences/excursions. Good times ahead! Until....the host/property owner decides to cancel your booking without warning somewhere between the day you booked it and the day you are supposed to check-in. That sinking feeling you get when you see the email in your inbox that there has been a VRBO refund. What?! Did I accidentally cancel it somehow? This can't be true.

I would like to warn potential users of Vrbo that reservations, even though they are fully paid, are not guaranteed. Ten days after I received my booking and paid for my reservation, the owner canceled on me, giving a terrible excuse that the price was incorrect (€682 for 4 nights was what they charged me). So apparently VRBO owners can change prices at will, after collecting their payment, leaving their paying customers out in the cold with no place to stay. It’s not safe not knowing if your booking is honored or legitimate. Documentation is attached. I called customer service and they said they can refund what I paid but not the foreign transaction fee. Then they encouraged me to book another property from them. I chose to use a legitimate booking service instead.

Don’t trust this company. They robbed me of over 16 hundred dollars. When I tried to book a place they told me that the dates I booked were unavailable and to look elsewhere for another booking. After I booked another reservation this site charged me for the booking wasn’t available. I was stuck paying for a reservation they told me wasn’t available. Avoid this site, or you’ll get double billed also. They're deceiving and crooks.

DO NOT USE VRBO. I WANT TO LEAVE ZERO STARS but I can't ;(. I have tried to review this experience on VRBOs site and on the property that I rented but I was limited to what I could say and no pictures as evidence of my claims. VRBO has given us the run around and just quotes their cancelation policy, we are lost and out of pocket $5700. Please read our experience and it might save you. My husband and two friends rented what was advertised as a beautiful Cliffhouse Big Island in Ookala, Hawaii. When we arrived we found cockroaches and rodent droppings all over the house. And a filthy house with stains on furniture, walls, windows and Cobbwebs everywhere. As well as bugs in the fridge and mold in the showers. The photos that were advertised for this home were nothing like the rundown dirty home we arrived at.

We used VRBO for the first and only time. We were booking a stay and the site said we will not be charged at this time. So we booked. It immediately charged my card. That was fine because we were going and the site said full refund if cancellation by January 15th. Photos included below showing prior to 15th full refund. Other bottom right corner will not be charged yet. The very next day we had an emergency come up and had to cancel. Vrbo said we only get half back. Contacted them directly only to be told it was up to the property management, it was their guidelines? Then why say on YOUR site something different and do something different I asked? They just kept telling me they couldn’t help. Just contact the property management so do not believe what Vrbo says on their site. They use false information to get you to book. Be safe and use Booking.com

I would highly recommend NOT using this site or company. I recently booked a place for 11 days. Due to some health concerns, we are having to cancel the trip. What a hassle!!! You literally cannot either cancel the trip or contact customer service from their website. They want you to download the app and do it from there. I do NOT need yet one more useless app on my iPad so I refused to do that. I had to go through a rigamarole to contact customer service directly and it took almost half an hour on the phone to do the cancellation. I will NEVER use VRBO again. What a crap company.

We had two bookings - neither went ahead. Terrible service. Ended up in worse properties. Fake listings. Terrible customer service. We had two bookings. 1 the host never received it and told us on the way to the airport. Despite 2 hours on hold at the airport, no help from VRBO. Ended up in worse accommodation, worse location and paid more. Got a refund for the difference but ended up paying what we were supposed to pay for a much better property. Second booking. No response from host. VRBO said we had to turn up to property and check it. Couldnt go ahead - traveling with pregnant wife, 4 yr old son, elderly parents. Same thing, rental didnt go ahead and had to book somewhere else that wasn't as good and only got difference refunded. Just avoid. So many of the listings are fake, and you're trapped when you've booked and they make you book with 'them or their partner' where selection is terrible. It's a scam.

Rented a condo in Kihei represented as beautiful, 180 degree view, wonderful restaurant opening 2024 in building, clean, a place you would never want to leave. It was disgusting. We had booked 10 days and stayed 30 minutes. Coldwell Banker Vacation Properties was no assistance. VRBO is no better after 8 calls now. Grossly misrepresented, filthy windows you couldn’t see out of, no privacy on the master bedroom, 90 degree view which you couldn’t see at all through the caked on window filth, dirty elevator, the list goes on. We left immediately and booked in at the Fairmont and are prepared to go to court to get our 8000.00 back. Will NEVER USE OR RECOMMEND VRBO OR CB VACATION RENTALS. We are seasoned travelers and about 150 days per year explore the globe. This was an unprecedented and horrific start to our Holiday. Inexcusable. Shame on VRBO and thankfully there are plenty of competing services.

D'esire Condominium, Constitucion Ave, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 1. Water pipe noise in bedroom from pool directly above PH 04 all night the first night. Took management 24 hours to stop it temporarily. Noise kept coming back, and when they got around to it, they would stop the noise. Management admitted that's a problem with PH 04 -- after they got our money and after we'd complained for three days. 2. Water leaks visible in ceiling and walls. 3. Bedroom windows face the hall which has a motion sensor light so whenever anyone walks down the hall the bedroom gets the light - even with the shades down. 4. Third day there was no hot water. Surprisingly it was fixed in an hour with new flashlight batteries. 5. Management tries to ignore the issues by not responding to complaints. One phone number is disconnected. Another phone goes to voice mail.

Shame on VRBO. They allow third party rental companies to rent through their app. Then the third party will try and switch you to a different property due to a scheduling error and VRBO knows and allows this. Be wary when booking with VRBO.

VRBO allows hosts that scam travellers. I have had two bad experiences in 2 months and when I contact customer service all they do is provide generic answers and not willing to help. The first host cancelled on us and then blocked his place for a few weeks as booked and removed the ability to put a review. The last host cancelled 2 days before our booking for New Year’s Eve. Made up some excuse and it’s been over a week and he has disappeared and not returning our money. He has blocked reviews and vrbo won’t do a thing to help. I will never use this site ever again. Safest to go with airbnB.

Terrible experience with VRBO: Cleaning started at 2:51 PM till 4:00 pm, heating only worked downstairs, unhelpful customer service, no compensation for issues. Overpriced and unprofessional, avoid VRBO.

VRBO has horrible dishonest staff and customer service. Their properties are not even close to what the description full of bugs and not safe at all. Spy cameras. Two of their customer service representatives even promised me a refund that has not happened. First and last rental using this company.

I had a very poor experience with a property I booked through VRBO.com. I submitted a very honest review noting the problems and gave my experience a 4/10. The property owner didn't like that so she continues to send me very childish, sarcastic text message. I contacted VRBO customer service to see if they would be able to arrange at least a partial refund. I had to submit photos and written experience 4 times because they couldn't seem to keep it all in one place. In the end they did nothing so that's what I'll do with them from now on. I will not EVER book through VRBO again. Reservation Number: **

It has been a complete nightmare to tru to get a refund for a hotel reservation that I needed to cancel in Los Angeles, California. Specifically I am talking about the The Haas, Trademark Collection by Wyndham Hotel in Los Angeles. NEVER STAY THERE. I was traveling alone and booked a hotel for five nights in downtown Los Angeles. When I arrived there were homeless, drugged and unconscious people on the sidewalk in front of the front door of the hotel. In order to press the hotel doorbell, I needed to walk over an (unconscious?) male body that was laying across the front door of the hotel. So obviously I could not stay at this hotel for the remaining stay. Where would I walk to get dinner?

Vrbo.com works through different parties. They are cheaters and very dishonest people a businesses. When I tried reaching Vrbo, there’s no number and you can only reach some Airbnb company that seemed to be in another country. DON’T book with Vrbo!

We are pretty new in Vrbo, we had some cancelations, almost 15 days before the date, and of course, Vrbo doesn't do penalties to those persons. But, Vrbo DO PENALTIES TO US!! We had a problem in our property, damage in the master bathroom roof, a guest from AIRBNB told us about that. Obviously, we was trying to find a solution, when we receive an automatic booking, we cancel that petition, practically immediately, the window that was pop-up at the moment of select the reason of the cancelation, was ONLY "YOU WOULD HAVE A FEE DEPENDING OF THE REASON OF YOU CANCELATION". We select "damage in the property". There not was any amount showing up about the fee (penalty to us). Of course, we didn't know if would have a sanction or not... That issue was on Nov 1st 2024.

Cancelling my subscription after more than 10 years of hosting. VRBO charged me a fee $400 for allowing a customer to cancel. Customer called into VRBO and initiated wanting to cancel on check in day. I gladly allowed the cancellation when the agent called me. Months later, I noticed a fee had been assessed. I called more than several times and was told it would be handled each time. It never was. They locked my account up. I’m cancelling today and they can keep their customers. I have multiple properties and do not need VRBO or their bad service staff half way around the globe.

If I could rate 0 I would. We booked a property 6 months in advance. The night before we were supposed to leave, after I reached out concerned about not having received our check in information, the owners called us to tell us that their property was under construction and VRBO should have removed their property and advised us. The owners tried to help find us another option, and VRBO told us they would immediately help us rebook and honor our previous rate.

I showed up at my reserved home in Keystone at check-in time and there was a three page letter on the door and people living in the home. I called VRBO customer service immediately and reported the scam. I submitted pictures and the agent said someone would call me to reschedule. I have not heard from anyone at VRBO twelve hours later and the property is still listed to rent. This is unacceptable! What a scam from VRBO!

I had the worst possible experience with this company. I booked a 4 bedroom home in Redwood City for my family to pay tribute to my late son at his memorial stone, on the first anniversary of his death. I had also paid in full on booking. The afternoon before the reservation, they called to say the booking was cancelled and they would refund the money. They said they would pay the difference if we found somewhere else. We were leaving early the next morning, and had no time. Talking to others, it would appear this is common practice. Maybe they double book, just in case. I will never use them or Expedia, part of the same company, ever again.

I have been an property owner and a guest through VRBO. They are terrible. Their customer service is a joke. They do not have people qualified to answer questions and address your concerns. I have multiple listings as an owner and every time I have had an issue they have been completely incompetent and unable to address my concerns. My most recent issue is that we had to cancel a reservation of a guest due to a water pipe bursting and the house needing major repairs. They would not let me cancel the reservation. I had to contact the guest to cancel the reservation and that worked. They then proceeded to suspend my listing.

I booked with VRBO on the 24 of the month. It says they don’t collect the money until after you get there but 1 day after they took the money and something happened with our travel so I tried to cancel 3 days later and they don’t do refunds so even though they won't supposed to take the money until we get there they took it early and didn’t refund us…!!!! Terrible business😒

Nightmare vacation! We flew to the capital city and then drove 3.5 hours to the lake house only to find that another family was cooking and swimming etc.- the house had been DOUBLE BOOKED! It was a holiday weekend and VRBO could not find us another place- not a similar accommodation but NOTHIG AT ALL! We were 8 in total and it was in a smaller resort style upscale area with no inventory available. We had hired a chef for the weekend and bought all of the meat for grilling and other groceries for 8 people for the entire stay- such a waste. We ended up having to go around in person and beg for a room because nothing showed available online- it was getting dark and we couldn't drive back to the capital city as it wasn't safe and we didn't have a driver.

Every year my husband and I plan our annual trip to visit Raleigh in April. Because we have been doing this for several years, we know and understand that the rentals go fast if you do not book early. This year, we decided to plan ahead and started looking for a place to stay earlier because we thought this might be our last time and we wanted to make it extra special. When we came across Valerie Schwartz's "Professional 2bd Condo Near Downtown Raleigh" we thought it was perfect. It was right on the edge of our budget but it was exactly what we were looking for as far as location and comfort. We were so excited. That was on November 7th. We did not worry about it because we paid in full and received a confirmation.

Do not use them. We were Premiere Hosts for a very long time and preferred their genuine customer service over the other guys for many years. Once they were purchased by Expedia they were horrible to deal with and what others say is factually accurate. As a host they blocked our site as a result of their error and cost us thousands of dollars in lost bookings. It took weeks to solve an issue that should have been instantaneous and we repeatedly had to send them the same documentation. It’s sad and unfortunate what has become of this company which once had the best customer service for both owners and sellers.

I am unable to cancel my reservation on either platform, even though I made the booking through Expedia. Expedia keeps redirecting me to Vrbo, and Vrbo sends me back to Expedia—neither is able to resolve the issue. Neither systems will allow me to cancel online. This platform is a complete mess. I strongly advise against booking anything other than hotels on Expedia, and I would never consider hosting or renting a property through Vrbo. What an incredibly disorganized experience.

Two out of two of my hosts canceled on me within the same week. One because they had a concern they weren’t sure would be fixed by the time we came. Okay, no worries. It happens. The other (A brand new host) says they don’t understand why it was set up and tried to cancel their listing. Each asked me to cancel thankfully prior to the refund (by days) but I’m wondering if there’s scammers setting up false establishments to gain money. Finally I called Vrbo direct and waited online 6-8 minutes before they hung up the line. This was a horrible first experience trying to make the change over from Airbnb.