HomeAway

After having read many of the reviews regarding Homeaway's new online booking policy which amounts to forcing the owner to chose online booking/payment or pay a considerably higher subscription fee, one is left feeling very poorly served and thinking about finding alternative companies who are not so greedy. Such a shame for a company which appears to already to have cornered the market. Thanks Homeaway. No not really.

My request for a property was denied, however 3 days later my bank account was hit for the money. Called 3 times and was put on hold for over an hour before being disconnected. They show no record of my payment which I know is a lie because I'm looking at my bank statement which I have emailed to them. Now on the phone AGAIN! Guess I'll wait for that disconnect signal again.

Had a fabulous weeks holiday at this lovely appartment. It offered us everything you would need to make it a great time. The private pool was fabulous and we were never out of it.
Plenty of nice bars and restaurants within a 10 minutes walk away offering a wide selection of food and drinks.
Used the tram which is in easy walking distance a few times to visit the local towns and markets.
Thanks for a great time.

Went to Portland using VRBO which connected us to Barsala. They were extremely helpful, I had no problem getting our room, and they even gave us a free upgrade to an apartment right in the center of the city which was amazing. Their customer service was great, I had someone named Nika helping me through text the whole time and she was readily available to answer all my questions. In the future I will look to use Barsala and VRBO again whenever I need a place to stay.

I stayed in the home last summer 2018 and the house was amazing. You walk in to the Kitchen from the 4 car drive way and then into the living room where there are (3) 4' x 7' picture windows looking over the beach and ocean. I could have spent the whole week in there. Although this is not a party house as the house is in a quiet residential neighborhoodthe neighbors on the north were very friendly and the ones to the south were essentially never there or hide very well. The home owners were very nice and did a lot for the guests. There were ample towels and all the amenities one could ever need. I highly recommend this vacation home for a lovely vacation. See the photo I took from the porch of the Beach, Ocean & Prouts Neck at the crack of dawn. Albert

I have rented numerous properties through HomeAway over the years, always with good experiences. I have found the company particularly stellar during the COVID19 outbreak. I had 3 separate properties rented in mid-March for a myriad of family memebers. They worked swiftly and efficiently with the home owners to resolve travel disruptions we experienced as a result of the pandemic. In one case, the homeowner was extremely gracious and issued a refund for our shortened trip which was quickly issued through HomeAway. A second property that my family had to vacate early (2 nights early) was challenging because of the property owner. The owner fell back on the 50% only cancellation fee for a current disruption. I will mention it was the Alamont Manor in Fort Myers, property #*******. The owner is from Germany and not empathetic at all to what was happening with the advancing COVID crisis. I would never rent her property again. I bought trip insurance for that specific property through HomeAway. I was forced to file a claim with CSA which took numerous (7) hours to complete. Probably not worth it for 2 nights reimbursement. Which I will probably never see. Lesson here is I'll never buy trip insurance through HomeAway again. I would have been better off without it because HomeAway would have taken care of me directly. I really felt supported by the company through all this. I'll continue to use them for my travel experiences.

After reading all the terrible reviews on here, I guess we got lucky. We rented a condo in Panama City Beach, FL and were thrilled with the entire experience. The owner was a wonderful man, and the property was everything he promised and more. We loved it so much, we're going back in May and staying in the same place.

Parts of my family has stayed here many times and have always been very pleased. The people who manage this unit do a wonderful job - very helpful. I understand there will be some updating done soon and am looking forward to seeing it. Have it booked twice next spring.

Great Service with an authentic way of work. I am highly impressed with the work they do.

I hope i wl make a great relationship with the homeway.

Highly recommended

I have been using Home Away/VRBO for years and never had a bad experience. This year I rented a home in Pigeon Forge for our family vacation. One of the children was hospitalized the day before we were to leave for the rental. I made the choice to cancel the rental and stay home to help with the other small child and the other family members. The home owners were kind and did everything to help us. CSA, Home Away Insurance denied the claim because the child had a problem that was not covered by the insurance. I paid for the rental and the insurance but the company refused payment because of a child. By all means rent from Home Away or VRBO but find another travel insurance.

Try picturing a lovely apartment above a delightful bakery/deli in downtown Kinsale, a quaint and pub friendly community that's safe, welcoming and loaded with charm. Now picture the apartment being close proximity to everything in the little city of Kinsale that you will like to walk to, including live entertainment, 7 nights a week. Homeaway afforded us this little gem of a fully equipped, lovely and yet cozy, three bedroom, 2 and half bathroom, hardwood floors and tastefully furnished homeaway getaway that we loved! Wonderful restaurants, bookstores and cafes, galore! Much to do and see! We spent a month there! If you want to become a visitor who feels like a welcome resident during your stay in Kinsale, find the apartment above THE PANTRY in downtown Kinsale, owned by a personable, helpful and delightful lady named Margie. I recommend it to all!

Today I copied and printed, in order to put in my memory book, as a souvenir, the advertising for my short term rental in Paris which has been running in HA/VRBO for the last 8 years. For eight years my studio rented successfully enough to make my work moderately profitable and pleasant because of the many wonderful renters I met.

Although not very happy, I put the advertising in my memory book because I quit in November at the end of my subscription and will put the studio for rent on a long term basis.

I am unwillingly and refuse to continue abiding to Expedia's policies which changes my role from owner to manager good enough to clean and repair. Adding to my new role, the "book now" process which limits my contact with potential renters, the modified payment method, the lie concerning the charge for the 24 hours service (who is going to fix in Paris a water leak while sitting in an office in Austin Texas) and the new algorithm used which has placed my add so far down, because I refuse to opt for "the book now" system are responsible for my decision.

I consider that HomeAway, although functioning legally is basically reaping profits as a parasite would or as a scavenger.

If I were to continue renting short term I would have left HA anyway. Why pay a yearly fee to HA when there are so many site like Airbnb where one can advertise for free.

M&M bagels and cafe is located in a small mall in Park Ridge, NJ. The store is small, people are friendly and the bagels and cream cheeses delicious. They will do anything you want. I love this small shops instead of big $ makers

Lake Lodge, Annecy, France: Beautiful holiday and stunning accommodation. Managers made us feel at home and relaxed from the moment of arrival. Great walks, lake swims, hikes and local scenery stunning. Great restaurant 5 minutes walk away on lake. Highly recommend on every level and would return tomorrow. Have recommended to a number of friends in Australia. Thank you for a holiday I will treasure for many years to come

We had the pleasure of spending a week in early August, 2016 at the Johnson Homestead on Bailey Island in Maine. The home was wonderful, spacious and located in a spectacular setting: near the end of the island, it is quiet and restful. The family members were very helpful throughout our stay. Local shopping for necessities and reasonably priced restaurants were just a few miles away.

We hope to return often!

Homeaway worked similarly to airbnb for us to find a lovely home in the UK. This area was very difficult to find a listing that suited our party of 2 Grandparents, 2 Parents and 2 (opposite sex) children. This listing had a good number of reviews, so I trusted that it would not cancel and leave us scrambling for something at the last minute. It was a lovely property in a really small village, but close to the siteseeing, friends and relatives that we wanted to visit. The full kitchen, wonderful shower, washer and dryer and relaxing living room were great. Had no problems and would search Homeaway when looking for another listing. However, I am careful to look for lots of reviews on a property to authenticate the owner's representation of it. I want a listing that doesn't show owner cancellations that make me nervous about their reliability. This was our first experience with Homeaway and it won't be the last.

My family and I spent 7 nights at 2809 Pier Pointe Drive Emeral isle NC. Listing at HomeAway.Com was *******. The condo was breathtaking. Very clean and well decorated. Ocean views right from the backporch. Everything you need is already there for your use. The owner is very responsive if something happens and you need help. I highly recommend this condo to anyone that wants to have a relaxing vacation really close to the ocean.

Property id #******* We stayed at Cannelle Canard's beautiful villa recently to celebrate our friend Lynsey's 40th birthday. The villa is set in it's own grounds above the town of Deshaies (home of the British TV series 'Death in Paradise' It is quiet and secluded with spectacular views over the bay. It's spacious rooms and expansive outside area facilitate a more than relaxed holiday. The little town (10 minutes walk away) has numerous restaurants and bars some of which offer delicious food"

My family and I also lost money (over $1000) due to having to cancel due to COVID-19. We are a military family and there is a military travel ban in place. There is absolutely no way we could have traveled. The owner is refusing to refund us, and Homeaway refuses to step in.

My planned holiday to Morocco had to be cancelled at the last minute when the Moroccan Government closed all its airports to holiday flights because of the coronavirus. I immediately asked HomeAway for a refund (on 20 March) which was acknowledged straightaway. I have recently (@ 20 April) had a refund for the full amount paid out credited to the card on which I paid. Good job in the current difficult circumstances. Grateful thanks to Home Away and the property owner who waived the normal cancellation fee. John H. (Herefordshire, UK)

Lugar y apartamento espectacular para estar en familia, muy acogedor, equipado con todo lo que necesitas, sumamente limpio y organizado, es por eso que lo recomiendo al por ciento.

My wife daughter and I have just spent four nights at County Loft flat in Whitby and had a lovely time, this flat is furnished to a very high standard and is in an excellent location. We were fortunate that restrictions in restaurants and pubs due to Coronavirus took affect the day we returned home and so we were able to get out and about. Having said that the flat is very spacious and has excellent TV in living room and bedrooms, also lots of DVDs and CDs for your entertainment.The owner Graham is very friendly and helpful and we would highly recommend this accommodation and will definitely return
Many thanks Paddy & Denise Greer

I have used Homeaway Vacation Home Rentals to book my vacation rental. HomeAway offers the best selection of properties around the world. The website is very user friendly and connects clients to homeowners or property managers instantly.
Additionally you do not have to worry about paying as they offer a variety of very trusted options to secure your money.
Although they also own VRBO.com, I personally like the layout of Homeaway.com as I find the layout and navigation are more user friendly.