First and last time useing VRBO. Tried to reserve a place, however, I was charged 328.00 and recieved no conformation or reservation. Talked to the propery owner and they said they didnt recieve a conformation nor did they recive payment. Been fighting VRBO for over a week, and cant get my money back. If you are traveling and need a place, stay away from this co. Complete SCAM
I've contacted VRBO several times I was a host and this was my first rental with them and they haven't paid me they sent me an email that said that they were paying me but it could take 5 to 7 days so I waited nothing and then I contacted them a week later and they said well we're having technical difficulties now this is February 1st and I still haven't been paid and they're still having technical difficulties in paying money to host that was already paid to them by our guests? This leads me to believe that possibly this company is in trouble and if I were you I would get away from them asap
They hold your money for over a month! I've called several times and they just hang up! This place is nothing but thieving scammers! The customer service reps are foreign. Customer service is not in place to help you and they are extremely rude. Trying to get your rental money is a full time job! They promise callbacks and never call. If they don't like what you're saying they just hang up. They just want your money!
Prior to Expedia purchasing VRBO.com, it was an excellent place for vacation home owners and travelers to exchange. Expedia has ruined this company! I have removed all 3 of my homes from the VRBO platform, as the company is now run buy uneducated, barely understandable idiots. There is no escalation process, no accountability, no reason to trust your home to these incompetent children!
We booked a place in Homosassa for the end of October. Due to the pending hurricane, we cancelled. Now, I had changed my bank account during the time of deposit for rental and cancellation, so VRBO now says they refunded my money to an account that's no longer active. The bank says they couldn't receive funds on a closed account. After several phone calls, I was dismissed, put on hold, told to call back in 48-72 hours. They have no intention of reimbursing the $282.62. The property owner sent an e-mail acknowledging the refund we did not receive. I guess VRBO is keeping that for themselves. The last person I spoke with was dismissive, kept saying "have a nice day" and hung up. I will never use VRBO again and would strongly suggest you steer clear of this company. I will give a one rating only because I can't give a 0. Poor customer service.
I host 3 properties on Vrbo, I will take them all off this company and only use airbnb, who are far superior, they have a real customer service team and actually care about their hosts and guests, Vrbo do not care about anything but the dollar
As usual we always stay at Brett Robinson for the Shrimp Festival. This year we had to book through VRBO. The initial price of unit was around 2100 for 4 days. By the time I saw what my credit card was charged was 2965. This was outrageous. I have never before paid a price this outstanding for a condo or would. The communication with the host was kind of touch and go. Granted I thought she communicated that the room was ready and gave us the code to the room and gate. I was wrong. When we got into the room there were flies both dead and alive. Literally there were flyswatters in the pantry. Makes sense. Also, in the kitchen was an excessive number of gnats. We thought maybe there was food in the disposal etc. Once we went to the store, I purchased bug killer and gnat catcher. Notified the VRBO rep. Who stated she was not aware of this and will let housekeeping know when they clean next time. Also wanted pictures. Next, we wanted to be able to use our phones. Meaning we needed the Wi-Fi code. Usually there is a paper with the code on it etc. So, I called the 1-800 number for Brett Robinson who was so helpful and got us the Wi-Fi code. Being from the south we are huge football fans and were going to watch the games while getting ready. We needed an access code. Texted the Lacie again and she was not aware of an access code. I explained to her the TV is asking for a code for us to be able to access ROKU etc. By this time, I was done. We had no dishwashing soap, dishwasher detergent, wash cloths, or scrubber. Thankfully this isn't my first rodeo so I always bring extras. Lastly, our friends were in Unit 310, same building. Come to find out their condo was $1700. I
Am hoping somehow the owner of the property sees any of the complaints mentioned and realize that VRBO is a travesty. Any comments on a course of action would greatly be appreciated. I do have pictures, but I am unable to upload them.
Rachel
Although I have cancelled my booking well before my trip (9 months until the trip) I have still not been refunded the 100% as promised. Only refunded the 286.00 service fee, but now still waiting for the other 1500.00. I used to use this service as an owner and they are trying to tell me that the owner needs to refund the money, but I know from experience that they have the funds, not the owner. I will never use this service again.
Worst customer service ever, and their renter vetting is non-existent. VRBO still has not paid me for a rental of my lake house from TWO MONTHS AGO, and they simply keep passing the buck to the next lackey who does NOTHING. You can only talk with customer service in India, they can't and won't do anything, and no one from US support or billing or chat will ever respond to pay what they owe me. On top of this royal PITA, every month there's another "guest" scammer wanting to rent my place for 3 weeks, but needs to pay with a "company check"--there's no picture, and no history, yet when I notify "support" that its a scammer they do NOTHING. Travellers AND Hosts beware
We were told that our rented space in Edmonton, Alberta had a combination lock on the door but would have its combination changed with each new tenant. However, that was not true and it was double booked. Upon arrival, I opened the door to be confronted by an old man in his underwear standing in the living room We called the owner and he blamed Airbnb, which means he was using both booking agency to rent one space. We had a hard time getting our money back, as the VRBO representative was just as useless as the owner. Suggest that you buy a lock of your own and replace the door knob while you are renting or you too may find yourself having uninvited house guests. This service is nothing but a venue for slum lords. If a no star review was possible, that would be my selection. What I will never again select is this site. If I don't have a place to stay the next time I am in Edmonton, at least I can go to that space. The door combination lock is 9696 for anyone else with a similar issue.
Answer: There are many problems with listing with VRBO/HomeAway. The 1st is that it is the largest company of it's size. While that may mean that you get more exposure, you also have more competition for getting your listing seen. For example, your listing could be # 300 out of 2,000. Most people don't want to search that far to find what they want because they can usually find something else sooner. In order to get a higher listing, you must pay more. I pay the highest rates they have for my properties in TN # 191351, 189535, & 289723, i. E. over $1,500 each. Listing position is also based on a number of criteria which they mandate. We have no control over some of those criteria. For example, listing position is based on whether or not guests USE VRBO/HomeAway on line booking. Initially,. VRBO/HomeAway required that we OFFER on line booking in order to maximize our listing position, so I offered it. VRBO/HomeAway then changed their criteria & now guests must USE on line booking in order or my listing position drops. I have no control over whether or not they USE VRBO/HomeAway & I don't recommend it for several reasons (more on that if you're interested). Listing positions are also determined by the number & quality of reviews. Again, I have no control over whether or not someone writes a review nor how they rate a property. What may be a 5 Star for someone may only be a 3 Star for someone else, but I'm at their mercy to provide a review & to rate it well. There are many other factors that go into listing position. As I said, I try to maximize what I can & If I'm luck, my property will be listed around 50/200. I get much better response from FlipKey by TripAdvisor. As I mentioned, I pay VRBO/HomeAway over $1,500 for each property. I Pay FlipKey by TripAdvisor about $450/property for #'s 6588094, 2386143, & 3746421 & get much better results. The problem with FlipKey is that it's hard for someone to search for a specific property using the property #.
Answer: VRBO will not help anymore with anything. Homeaway bought them and there is no personal contact with owners anymore until they pay through the site. I don't know about negative reviews. Never see any. If there was a way to avoid VRBO and Someway I would do it; but they have the corner on the VACA rental market now.
Answer: I have the same problem. I don't think they have any.
Answer: Vrbo will NOT get involved in any way. They will not arbitrate on anyone's behalf. They are strictly an advertising website. Carefree travel insurance & all the other stuff is just to make renters feel more comfortable to rent. They hardly ever pay out if there is a real problem. You can sue in small claims court, in the city & state you rented in. The only defense you have is if you paid with a credit card to do a charge back, & even then its hard. You have to have documentation to prove you case. However, vrbo won't contest the chargeback if you can get your credit cad company to work with you. Best to leave a review that warns other renters to stay away. But vrbo approves the reviews before they are posted.
Answer: I have spoken with them so many times yesterday and today with no fix my problem. The number is 1-877-228-3145. I wish you better luck than I have had.
Answer: Absolutely nothing! Every change they make results in their making more money and owners making less. My bookings are down drastically. I would not sign up with VRBO.
Answer: Go with the standard listing if you have already paid. If not save your money and try homeescape.com. Homeaway/VRBO rolled out a new 9% service fee charged to your customers in addition to what you're already paying for. They did this without any warning to their customers. I found out after one of my repeat guests questioned the charge. I'm moving away from them and going with other options.
Answer: A: NEVER, EVER DEAL WITH ANY OWNERS OR PROPERTY MANAGERS THAT YOU HAVENT SPOKEN TO DIRECTLY. NEVER use any form of payment other than credit card. All CC's would refund you the money if you don't get the services. If they don't accept cards or allow payment through Homeaway, FIND ANOTHER PROPERTY OWNER WHO WILL or be prepared to take the chance. READ all reviews, if they don't have any you ARE taking a chance it's a scam or a dump (or a new property but be careful. NEVER make a large deposit EVER! VRBO has turned out to be reliable for us, never used Flipkey and AirBnB wouldn't use it - I want a large property not a room room share
Answer: Try airbnb to rent part of your home
Answer: Same issue for us. The house we rented had glowing reviews and when I tried to post an honest review it still has not been posted.
VRBO has a rating of 1.1 stars from 2,000 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with VRBO most frequently mention customer service, credit card and property owner. VRBO ranks 153rd among Vacation Rentals sites.