HomeAway has a rating of 1.1 stars from 1,751 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with HomeAway most frequently mention customer service, credit card and property owner. HomeAway ranks 152nd among Vacation Rentals sites.
I was seeking a two week rental while I waited for a household shipment to my apartment. I did find one that would work. And they could not have been nicer while I validated dates with my moving company. They did press me every time to go ahead and pay, and there would be no issue changing dates. I didn't want the hassle of a refund, so I waited. As soon as I had firm dates, I emailed and had an invoice from them in 5 minutes. On the invoice from PayPal, I noticed a statement that I would receive a separate invoice for the security deposit about 72 hours after I secured the reservation. When I inquired how much that would be, and stated I couldn't possibly prepay without knowing ALL the terms, they became much less responsive. I stated I was ready to pay, just needed the amount of the security deposit. Then they said it had been booked. So draw your own conclusions, but I for one will never use them. Very shady in my opinion.
I have booked 4 vacations on Home Away. Only once did the homeowner respond, book, take payment, send a rental agreement, and answer emails. All of the others said they were not responding to ANY of my emails because they were not GETTING my emails. I know that this cannot be true, because they were very quick in expecting a deposit, but it wasn't until AFTER they got this, that I would not hear back from them. 3 times I had to contact Home Away and tell them that I was not getting any emails or phone calls returned, even after the owners told me that upon receiving my deposit, I will get a rental agreement immediately from them. Yes, they contacted me after Home Away intervened by calling them. From what I gathered in my conversation with the reps on Home Away, they HAVE to call me back right away, or Home Away would take their listing off the site. Funny how quickly they respond after that! Funny how they also only respond when they need you to send a payment by PayPal. They get THAT email! Seems to me that it's a generic excuse with owners to simply say "what emails?" Also, when I inquired about renting other properties, and there have been at least 35, none of them got back to me. None. I couldn't know if the property was available since the owners did not list a calendar showing what days you can rent. You have to contact the owners on the site. What I find bizarre is that they show a response rate on the individual listings, to allow renters to see how often they do in fact, respond to inquirers. How is this possible when they DO NOT respond? Some say 99 percent!
We stayed at the Sunset Cottage #******* on Paw Paw Lake, Watervliet, MI - It is a
Very nice home with a beautiful view - In spite of cold weather our group of 9 were able to relax, play games and enjoy in very comfortable and spacious surroundings - Would highly recommend this home for an enjoyable vacation - BSmith
Tried homeaway was told my reservation was booked. When I call again was told I did not have the townhouse that I wanted so had to book else where. Today called the number on my statement and found out it was booked and lost my deposit
I have 2 complaints on the property I wanted to stay at on my vacation. The place stunk and we left complaint # ******* and ******* with homeaway. From reading these reviews, I guess I can count on not getting my money back. What a way to do business.
The property was #******* on 2600 paula drive, Dunedin florida. Dead bugs, broken cabinet, stinky, no tv, filthy placemats on the table. No reply from phone messages, texts and emails from the owner Diana Pergamo. RIPOFF
I see many reviews here blaming Homeaway for a bad experience. Vacation renters, please know that Homeaway/VRBO do not own any of the properties you see on their site. They are merely the marketers for property owners that pay to advertise on their site.
Homeaway/VRBO do not inspect properties, make sure the homeowners are competent or anything of that nature. They simply bill the property owners to place their properties for rent on their site.
We have just returned from a beautiful vacation in France. We had rented two large farmhouses at the Bed and Breakfast facility "Le Four a Sel" in the village of Aubas, just a few kilometers from Montignac. The houses were clean and well set up... swimming pool was well-kept... the owners of Le Four a Sel live on site and were helpful in suggesting local points of interest and restaurants. All in all- a very positive experience!
I booked a property in NY with Homeaway and made a full payment to Homeaway 2 months before I was due to move into the property. Having arrived in NY from London I was then not able to make contact with the property owner and did not move into the property but had to find alternative accommodation at short notice with airbnb.
I contacted Homeaway trust and security department ASAP to advise that I could not get a hold of the property owner, they also attempted to contact the host and was also unsuccessful. I was told that my payment had not been made to the host but was being held with Homeaway's sister company VRP (vacation rental property) however I still could not get a refund as Homeaway do not give refunds. 3 days later although I had not moved into the property and Homeaway were well aware that I had not moved in (they advised me to go to the police station and report my issue as a crime) they processed the payment and paid the property owner. Luckily for me 2-3 weeks later; after returning back home to London, after numerous calls and emails to Homeaway, after carrying out my own detective work, after finding the host on social media, after finding out where he worked and emailing his CEO (as he had ignored emails, voice messages etc) I finally had a response from the owner, who has given a hell of a story regarding why he didn't respond to calls or emails.
A month after returning home I am now still fighting to get a refund, Homeaway have done nothing to help, they did nothing to try and stop the payment being processed in the first place and any responses from them has now been that the contract was between myself and the property owner, they are only an advertising platform. Avoid booking rental properties with Homeaway, they do not carry out proper checks, had this been a fraudster Homeaway would have processed a payment to them.
AVOID, QUESTIONABLE BUSINESS ETHICS, BREEDING GROUND FOR FRAUDSTERS
My family was considering using Homeaway for our Disney in December vacation but have definitely changed our minds due to the comments here and the horrible customer service received during an attempted booking. Thanks for your reviews!
My girlfriend and I stayed for 4 fantastic weeks here in Marin County. We were very fortunate to rent our little secret hideaway in San Rafael. The apartment is cozy and has all the creature comforts of home. The best part is the Hot Tub and Sauna in a private area just outside the apartment. There is also a nice Bar-B-Que in the shaded area where the hot tub and sauna is. The landlord was quite helpful with whatever we needed and he has much local knowledge for spots to visit and hike to. We hope to return again next year.
DO NOT use this company for your reservation needs! They offer NO security to your reservation. You make the reservation with them, but it must be "accepted or declined" by the property owner. The property owner has 24 hours to respond either way. If you travel to the area with expectations of your reservation, you might be disappointed to find that it's been declined, (as is with ours) EVEN AFTER YOUR MONEY IS PENDING PAYMENT!
BUYER BEWARE! SCAM COMPANY!
We have used vrbo.com for years, to rent vacation properties and never had a problem. They are now related to Homeaway.com. This year we booked a property through the VRBO website 6 months in advance. To do this, you must pay the entire amount for the rental upon booking, with a credit card. My credit card statement cites payment to "Homeaway". (This property's page promised complete refund if cancelled within 30 days of check-in.)
2 months later, noticed the website description was changed. A review had disappeared. When I pursued details, I was told the apartment I rented was on another floor; no reply to my request for them to specify which window(s) had the promised ocean view. (First description said "full ocean view" but changed.) When I told them if I did not get the information I was seeking I wanted to cancel, they sent me an email that the rental was cancelled. This was June 5. Still waiting for the refund. The management first told me that Homeaway would do the refund. Homeaway told me the management must do the refund. Homeaway followed up on my request to their 'help' site to ask me for the manager's address and phone number! They said they would forward my complaint to the manager and 'put a note in the file'.
This manager is still advertising on vrbo. (Although they show no bookings.)
Has Homeaway become a web site address for scammers to bilk customers?
Stayed in condo J102 from 06/19/15 to 06/25/15 with family of three adults, two teenagers and 14 month old baby. Good size condo with large main bedroom having it's own ensuite bathroom and bath and a walk in wardrobe. Downside - unfortunately there are 5 air conditioning compressors directly outside this room which come on and off all at different times throughout the night making it impossible to have a good night's sleep. Second bedroom has two single beds with another bathroom with a shower/toilet. Downside - the mattresses on the beds were thin and uncomfortable. Good size lounge and well equipped kitchen. Crockery and pans limited with many plates showing chips and wear. Be prepared to buy all products as there was only some dish washing liquid and one roll of kitchen paper and some alfoil. The lounge has direct access to a very small pool and two small spas. There is a cover over verandah with tables and chairs where you look onto the pool. There is an old sofa loung suite which opens to make a bed. This was neither comfortable to sit on and certainly not adequate for one adult to sleep on! Very poor Management communication and their customer service was nil. I say this as one evening we experienced lots of adults consuming alcohol (Beer) whilst sitting in the pool. The children didn't want to go in the pool as the noise was increasing as the night went on. Even at 11:30pm children were slashing and screaming in the pool. When I sent a polite message to Management of this unit I was told that it is permitted for people to drink beer and be in the pool until midnight. What they failed to check were two signs stating the pool closed at 10pm and security would enforce this rule. I never saw a security person the whole 6 days we stayed. We were told to wear resort wrist bands and yet we were the only guests wearing them. The good point is the condo is walking distance to The Schlitlerbahn water slide. Okay for a family holiday but not in anyway luxurious for the amount of money we paid.
We really enjoyed 7900 Estero and everything that it offered. If we weren't at the beach we were in the pool. There were 3 families and this home had plenty of room for all of us and was very accommodating with 2 kitchens and 3 bathrooms. My parents stayed on the ground level and was very helpful then they had no stairs to maneuver. Home is very well kept and furnishings were very tasteful. Property was very well maintained.
We booked an apartment on 2205 3rd Ave in New York, NY for a one week stay. Pictures were beautiful and the owners description was great. We arrived to a sleeping doorman (24 hr. Avail) and cockroaches on the floor and on the see-through curtains. Bedsheets were dirty and so was the bathroom, cockroaches in the toaster, and the shower curtain moldy. We emailed the owner, Maaya, who assured us she would come and see herself and offered to have it cleaned. She never showed up. Due to a variety of circumstances, we had no choice but to stay. We surface cleaned (no cooking) our best and try not to stay in, but to sleep. It's been 3 days and no word from the owner, who supposedly lives in New York. The worst vacation experience EVER!
I have recently booked a rental through Homeaway.co.uk only to find out it is a complete and utter scam. Speaking with their custmer service staff and they don't seem surprised at all, and have now offered me very little for what I've paid. Essentially this company is corroborating with Scammers and fails to protect its customers. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE AVOID.
I rented Joe and Kathy's house for the week of June 8. Weather was perfect, just steps away from the beach. House was clean and comfortable, couldn't ask for more. Would definitely recommend this wonderful house to friends and family.
My experience with homeaway.com was terrible. I gave it 1 star because theres no option for 0. I was looking to rent a beach home in the Jersey shore for the weekend. They asked for credit card information and that a payment would not go through until the property owner confirmed that the property was available.
The next day I received an email from the property owner that the property was not available. I didnt think anything of it and continued my search. When I found another property and went to pay, my card was declined. When I checked online, homeaway made 3 charges totaling a little over $1000. When I called homeaway and asked why did they charge me if the property was not available, they said that its their policy to place a hold and then release it if the property is unavailable. This is not what the website says. The representives also gave me the run around, telling me they could give me authorization codes to lift the hold. This was only after the third phone call. Why didnt they tell me that from the beginning?!
Needless to say, this was a huge inconvenience.
I will never use homeaway.com ever again.
The site will kick you out every time you cross a border. Then the only way you can verify your account is through a text message or phone call. This is extremely frustrating due to the fact that most of us don't carry our service around the world with us. The horrible customer service doesn't help matters.
Stick with airbnnb.
My parents rented a house via this website and while the property was only mildly insufficient the owner was a nightmare and tried to charge us for a bunch (thousands of dollars) of BS work she claimed needed to be done and some missing items. However, when we explained the law to her she backed off. When we tried to submit an honest review of the nightmare owner they would not allow it saying that "your review does not meet our guidelines". After submitting several iterations attempting to become compliant we realized that the only way it could be seen as "non-compliant" is that our review was not flattering of the listing/owner.
This is not the first time we have had issues with owners and false advertising on these sites and neither case did VRBO/Homeaway do ANYTHING to help us but rather did everything they could to protect the owners!
Caveat emptor (buyer be ware)... these websites are NOT on your side!
Answer: Homeaway is charging a fee for paying through them. They said it was to improve marketing and because renters like to pay through them. As some one who is listed through Homeaway I find this practice destructive both to the owners and renters. I encourage all potential renters to contact the owners directly and pay us directly. Owners already pay a fee. If the owners want to be listed in higher tier you have to pay more. To me they are just trying to find ways to make more money at both the owners and renters expense without improved service for either.
Answer: Go elsewhere. Sadly what started as a very good site many years ago has evolved into an unethical monopoly that has a sole interest. Profit. They do not care about owners or travelers. They exist to remove you from your money, and will say one thing and do another. They have lost the faith and trust of both, and it is well-deserved. Anyone coming on board with any of HomeAway's companies as a traveler or host would be foolish considering their underhandedness.
Answer: That's a toss up... Kinda like eBay with sellers and no feedback... In general... I don't trust Home away anymore than I can throw em... cuz they are gonna side with their rentors and not you...
Answer: No, they won't. Worst agency I ever dealt with. Warn all you friends. They should be put out of business.
Answer: HomeEscape.com is relatively new but with the new Expedia Service charges on HomeAway/VRBO, the homeowners are moving over to HomeEscape in droves. Over the next year as the HomeAway subscriptions expire many of the homeowners will not renew with HomeAway if HomeEscape turns into a good alternative. In general we (homeowners) are pretty upset that Expedia is going to make over 4Billion in added income from our customers just in the first year of the fee, if folks continue to book through them. Many of us will feel pressure to lower our rental income but if you only knew our expenses you would know this is not really a big money maker for us - personally, these fees will actually put us well into the red. So, for our guests and ourselves, HomeAway will no longer be a site we do business with once our subscription expires. And, though we used to rent through them at least once a year, we're done with that as of now.
Answer: This was my first and last experience using a similar service. I have been traveling for years, staying at hotels, with no problems. Given my experience with homeaway, I will only use reputable hotels from now on.
Answer: If I were you I would run as far as you can from these people!
Answer: I don't think our guests are aware of the rip-off yet. Look what it took for us to figure out what they are doing.
Answer: Avoid them at all cost! They're criminals!
Answer: Trust me, Homeaway does NOT assist you contrary to what you might think of them as sort of a back-up if there are problems. It's the worst agency I've ever dealt with.