VRBO

We went to Italy and rented an apartment through Vrbo. Vrbo advertises that you always have the rental property all to yourself. The message is just you and your people. Well our rental was not private. Anything but private Wedged between 2 other apartments and the owners all living on site. In the same house very noisy no privacy. And Vrbo customer service were very very rude to me and did NOTHING to help. Worst rental experience ever STAY AWAY FROM VRBO

We have rented 5 listings in Chattanooga through VRBO for the past 7 years. We have consistently had a great experience with them up until they decided to change their payment system. I understand that Air BnB does their payment system the same way, but having the company do it in the middle of the year and still making the users pay when they book seems unethical.
It has completely ruined our book keeping as well as our pay roll. How are we supposed to pay the property manager an administrative fee in a way that is fair without draining our bank account?

We are in desperate need of a company that encompasses the good things of both air bnb and vrbo so that we can drop this company completely and go back to how things were.

If anyone has any idea of such a company please let us know!
Were at a loss as for what to do, since we do get so much business through them.

VRBO is a real scam booking platform. They have a one star rating on every rating or review platform only because it's not possible to give zero stars!
Avoid them at all costs.
They host many non-existent accommodation places... you get there and it's just not there or abandoned.
They don't respond to email enquiries and if you try to call them you will find the line disconnected or switched off.
Even if the accomm IS there, it's often filthy or completely different to the description.
They don't remove or pause offending accommodation providers even after shocking reviews.
Go to someone else. Don't be part of the VRBO scam like me!

VRBO is a crooked monopolistic outfit. They recently changed their terms without owner's agreement so that any requested reservation is automatically accepted, and if you cancel the reservation they insist that you pay around 12%. When I explained that I never agreed to these changes, they still insisted on payment and canceled my account which is fine because I will never use them again
In the past they also changed the rte on my rental unit without permission, sent incorrect 1099 tax forms, and would never correct any of it...

I have used VRBO a lot. Usually as a last minute rental and have had success. Most of owners are easy to work with. At times tho the initial price looks good but then they hit you with tons of fees so look out for this. Also sometimes they will bargain with you especially if it's last minute, although sometimes this seems to insult some of the owners but most are fair about it. I have gotten some great last minute deals through VRBO. Just do your homework.

Our Spanish villa was rented via Vrbo and they paid the £4,000 rental income to a fraudulent bank account and refused to reimburse us for their error. Their office is based in Dublin so they can avoid being taken to court for this in the UK. Disgraceful and dangerous agency!

Too bad we can't rate zero stars. VRBO cancelled our rental 1 hour before we left home. VRBO promised to find us another rental before we landed, but did NOTHING! We spent 6 hours in the Paris airport trying to get VRBO to find us a rental. VRBO kept making promises but all were lies. We had to find another rental on our own. Don't ever rent through VRBO. They will leave you stranded and won't do anything to help you. Customer service is the worse I have ever experienced.

VRBO convinced me to send money to an outside "managing agent" who represents a property I booked for my Christmas holiday in Cape Town on VRBO. It turns out that the managing agent "southern seclusions" run by Marco Manaman is a fake front capturing unsuspecting travelers. I only was able to figure this out because of the run around I was being given and my brother who kept trying to visit the property. VRBO lied to me saying they had vetted this company. It also refused to refund me my deposit to the managing agent even though they repeatedly told me I was safe to send money to this outside bank account… my bank eventually got me my money back but this has left a very negative experience of this company. I went through Airbnb and had a much better experience. Related to the fact that they only release funds to the managing agent or host once the vacationer has approved the legitimacy of the rental in person!

Worst experience booking accommodation.
Misleading information on the website.

VRBO terms and conditions are not in line with terms of rental with the owner of the properties.

It took me several emails requesting a contract in English ( even though they claim to speak over 10 languages on the site). I was actually asked by the owner to translate the contract myself! Had to insist to get it.

After you make the booking and pay VRBO, you are told by the owner of extra charges to be paid at the property.

For my absolute shock, on the translated contract I was told by the owner of the property, in these exact words: "you must provide bed linen, duvet cover, pillowcase, pillow and bolster towel and bath sheets as well as kitchen towels". Or alternatively, I could opt to pay 54 euros at the property! None of that is mentioned on the site!

I am a frequent traveller and never in any other platform I was told such an absurd thing when renting a flat.

Tried to resolve with VRBO customer services but after many emails, VRBO told me to reach an agreement with the owner and did not take accountability for the booking as this "was a matter of the owner".

I have requested the formal complaint procedure from VRBO and was sent only an internal feedback link. Requested again and I was ignored.

It is awful to have to make this public, but after my various attempts to resolve this fairly and being treated in the utmost level of disrespect, I will go the extra mile to make this public in as many platforms as I can in order to warn people to avoid this untrustworthy company and do not fall on the same trap that I did.

Stay away to avoid problems and stress!

Glitches i get, but. E and the lively vrbo community nite that we spend between 3 to 14 hours every month just trouble hung their system.

The assistants always promise a call to an expert which in our collective experience havens about one kn three times.

All 13 of us have had to completely redo our profiles at minimum 3 and at most 9 times in a single tear.

These take hours to do.

They have a good front product but we hire them and we have capital investment at risk - they don't.

They just don't understand the hispitakitybbusiness from an investors point of view, which is their entire clientele

Absolutely terrible company to work with. I am a host and I can't access payment from guests that have stayed at my property. I tried to update my bank details and received an error saying "We're sorry. Payments setup is temporarily unavailable. Our engineers are working quickly to resolve the issue. Please try again later". This was well over a month ago. I have called customer support multiple times, and sent multiple emails and I keep getting told that they are working on it and to be patient. It has been over a MONTH and I cannot access nor withdraw booking payments. This is absolutely outrageous and completely out of order.

VRBO ("verbo") obviously spent a lot of money for Feb 2020 Super Bowl commercials. Based on my experience with this app lately, they should've spent more money on functionality if they were hoping to capitalize on big dollar advertising.
I recently booked a VRBO condo in Jackson Hole. I thought the deal was done but soon I saw that my booking was cancelled (with no communication) and the property was re-listed at $800 more per night. My calls to VRBO Customer Service were frustrating and still no communication three days later.
I booked with AirBNB easily- their app and their service is simply better.

VRBO DELIBERATELY LIED to keep our multi-family group renting through them.
Property owner canceled day we were to check in. We contacted VRBO, but there were no comparable properties. VRBO collects heavy penalty from owner, tell us we'll get financial support if we stay with VRBO. We get new reservation through VRBO and provide receipts for reimbursement. The next Escalation Team case review team denies us any reimbursement, claims first group can't make that offer. So VRBO imposes, collects and keeps the fines, but we as renters get NO HELP AT ALL. And we're the ones scrambling for alternatives. We have to pay upfront the 2nd time to reserve while trying to get refund from owner on 1st reservation. All the inconvenience falls on renter, while VRBO collects fees.

I rented a property and VRBO blocked my review. They told me it needed work. I think the property needed work! Here is the rejected review. You decide

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Amazing 5 Bed Single Family with Private Pool up to 12 Guests - 8992 CC

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Property was spotlessly clean but not as grand as pics. Pool the size of large hot tub. Called property manager upon arrival and left message to ask where to park second car as I thought street spots were numbered for other condos. They never got back to me. I figured it out. Also, the advertisement pictures show a pool table. We really had plans to play pool at night- one of the reasons we took the place. But there was only one pool stick with a broken tip. Unusable. I texted owner who was very responsive to texted questions BEFORE we arrived. But not after we checked in. I explained situation and politely asked him if there was something that could be done etc. He never responded either. I did receive several communications from the property managers insisting that I send copies of my drivers license and credit card beforehand and a list of what I can and can't do and costs for each item that is missing which seemed ironic. How about charging the previous person for breaking the cue stick and running out to Walmart and buying the new guests a stick. The general fees were extensive, extremely creative and exorbitant including a damage waiver that you don't get back even if you don't damage anything. I would not go back. It's too bad.
Date of arrival - March 17,2022
Reservation ID #*******

The property smells of a urinal. Ants and mosquitoes are crawling all over. The fan cannot be turned on unless someone gets up on a chair to pull a broken switch. Grimy refrigerator. The roof has marks of water damage. I paid $200 per night for this. I was on phone with vrbo customer service team for six hours without any resolution! They think this smell is a "not urgent issue". T stay away from St Petersburg Florida properties in downtown

I had a nice little trip planned with my wife and I through the honeymoon suites and VRBO in Tennessee. I live in Florida when storm/hurricane Ian came through it made most roads impossible to drive through. I'm also considered emergency critical for a municipality. VRBO insurance would not cover it nor would the owner Jeanie of honeymoon suites Tennessee.
Plain and simple stay away from both of these companies they are miserable no human compassion

What a nightmare company! STAY AWAY. I felt extremely unsafe in my vacation rental and contacted VRBO several times to discuss it, I ended up making arrangements to stay elsewhere instead, because the vrbo location was so sketchy. I called vrbo with documentation, and several reasons as to why I didn't feel safe. They did not care. They did nothing to help. I lost out on $1000. Tried to get a refund. Nope, they steal your money. Stay away

I've spent the last 5 days in a row being lied to by customer service. The property owner promised a refund of 50% but say the other portion come from Vrbo Beyond that one time he refuse to respond. Vrbo says it up to the property manager and refuse to take no action or responsibility. No matter when I call the supervisor is always on another call which is a lie because it's their immediate reply without checking. Save your money and avoid using them, it's at your own risk because if god forbid something happens to your family they will not care at all.

From planning through departure at the end of our stay this has been an easy, pleasant experience.
The Overton Cottage and host could not have been any nicer. The views, quiet setting, privacy and sophisticated casual accommodations were worth every penny. The guest bedroom is separate from the master bedroom. Each had very nice bathrooms and plenty of towels. If you're looking for a quiet place with amazing views and no ambient lights, you just found it. The screened in back porch made for great relaxation watching the birds and the water. The Wi-Fi was not an issue. The Eastern Neck National Wildlife Reserve is just 1/2 mile south and Rock Hall is only about out 10 minutes north with shopping and restaurants. Our sailboat tour added to the experience and was very affordable with Captain Mark of Blue Crab Charters. We like to leave a place nicer than we found it. There was no way to do that. It was immaculate and very welcoming. Bravo to the owners.

Filthy, garbage, mold, dirty sheets and towels, dirty mattresses, blood on doors, list goes on. Call the minute we got there bad neighborhood. Car being robbed 2 houses down and they don't want to refund us. Stuck at airport for 5 hours trying to get a place to stay pay for a new place which was hard to find on a weekend at 10pm at night. Please stay away from VRBO read their reviews, they need to be shut down.

VRBO certainly isn't in the business of helping customers who have awful experiences. Many phone calls, many emails, no resolution. VRBO wants me to work with the owner. Unfortunately, the owner won't respond to any calls or emails. VRBO claims I didn't call within 24 hours of arrival, which is a complete lie. I have the call log on my cell phone. I called within 2 hours of arrival. They just don't want to take any responsibility. I will never use VRBO again and will actively steer others away from them.

If you have a property you own or manage and would like to derive extra income as a vacation rental, then VRBO should be your first choice. Their customer service is decent, their pricing is fair, the market exposure is good and their interface is good. The best part is that VRBO gives you many choices for important parameters such as cancellation policy, refund policy, booking contract (you can write your own). I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, if it wasn't for VRBO, I would simply sell my properties.

I rented a house for 3 weeks. It smelled of mold and I began having asthma attacks. I had to leave the next day. No one would help. I paid $2300 for one night of lodging and had to pack up and go home. Not one cent of refund and VRBO will do nothing about lodging that is unsafe for people with respiratory problems.