The overall reputation of the company reflects significant dissatisfaction among customers, particularly regarding its customer service and reliability. Many users report frustrating experiences with delayed refunds, poor communication, and unhelpful support staff. Complaints about properties not matching descriptions or being in unacceptable conditions are prevalent, leading to a loss of trust. While a few customers express occasional satisfaction with specific transactions, the overwhelming sentiment leans towards a lack of accountability and professionalism. This has resulted in a growing number of users opting for alternative platforms, indicating a critical need for improvement in service quality and responsiveness.
This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews
Inferior bad support
I would like to press complaint.
Disconnect the calls and no help. I have to call back 12 times, every time 45 minues verifying and no help!
Inferior bad support
I would like to press complaint.
I need supervisor contact me ASAP.
This has been my first time trying to book with Vrbo and the FIRST time, the host canceled the reservation due to "the property needs renovations" (see first pic). Well then why was it listed?
2nd attempt: canceled because the host (Bruce Hause Property ID: *******) asked me to provide all names and ages of guests and apparently it was a "red flag" that I didn't provide last names. He also discriminated against us based on our ages. I called him out on it too (see second pic).
3rd attempt: Thinking third time's the charm, I book a property and make the first and second payments which are two days apart. After I make the second payment, I get a call from the host telling that the property is not available on those dates, and that "sometimes the calendars don't sync up" (see third pic). Well that's a big f**king problem don't you think?
Jesus Christ, we are so done with this site. Never using Expedia again. Garbage company.
I was put on hold for two hours. When they answered the first day they said their 'system was down' and to cal back again the next day. Two more hours on hold, then they tell me that they can't give me my money back even though my card was stolen when it was used on their website because they hotel owner said they would not issue a refund. I called the hotel owner twice, they said Vrbo had never been in contact with them. So their customer service lied to me after having me on hold for hours for two days in a row. Worst customer service I have ever experienced.
I wouldnt rate this place 1:1000 of a star but have to rate a 1 just to post this. Please disregard the 1 star rating. Aside from the false ads, which made me sick in the first place, this service is is a scam. No refunds for any reason unless your up for dealing with money grubbing owners with the mentality of Baltimore slum lords. "Customer service", laughable, is like dealing with a ghetto Super 8 manager who moonlights as a telescammer trying to steal your social number. Ruined our vacation. The property was nasty, had to deal with loud unattended disrespectful kids trashing everything while their "parents" were staring at their cell phones and blasting LiL Squirm on the Bluetooth. Half the attractions we planned on seeing were closed due to the Dirty Wigan and we had to, actually GLAD to, cut our vaca short. Still trying to get some money back. These people practically rip the cash outta your hands but act like your a thief when you try to get some back. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM.
Booked lodging through VRBO for 3 nights in Key West, Feb 9-12. Less than 24 hours before our arrival I received a text from Richard a "Host" stating he overbooked Key West and could either refund my money or book me in a room slightly up the road. Slightly up the road was over 50 miles away traveling a 2-lane road to Marathon Key. I stated neither is acceptable and I want what I paid for and was guaranteed. Numerous texts and emails followed with no response. In route to Key West, I received a refund, (which I did not ask for) and suggestions for alternative lodging at 3 times the original price. VRBO has done nothing, lots of empty verbiage. The all-important " Traveler Care number" I was issued by VRBO is worthless, no one has any authority to act, no one ever emails or calls you back. Never ever again will I book through VRBO, there are no advantages, there is no guarantee of a reservation, there is no recourse. In the end my girlfriend and I could have done an all-inclusive in the Caribbean for less money that the 3 nights I spent in Key West for lodging alone.
On hold for 20 minutes with no answer. Missed the perfect (and only home) in town. Get it together vrbo.com! Told the homeowner and they placed her on hold for an hour. Must be government ran.
As a new vrbo listing owner I mistakenly put in my personal bank info along with the correct info from my corporation that owns the property. Once I realized the mistake they would not let me delete it. So I had to cancel everything, including several reservations and start all over. It makes no sense!
I cannot emphasize this enough. Their customer service is absolutely terrible and do less then the bare minimal to help you with issues that arrive with your host.
I booked a one week trip to Tamp Florida for a festival and some other events and the place that I was staying at had roaches, terrible to not wi-fi and while my girlfriend was showers sewage started coming up out of the drain and then the toilet. I tried contacting the host busy there was no phone number listed anywhere. All I could do was use the initial payment email and vrbo chat service. The host was unresponsive to both me and the representatives that I spoke with at VRBO. My girlfriend and I could not shower or use the bathroom in our VRBO for two and a half days. I broke out in hives from the stress and girlfriend had her own skin problems. I called in over 25 times to try to get some type of help or just to get us moved. It wasn't until halfway through our trip and after 25+ calls totaling over 10+ hours, multiple ignored attempted call drops with no call backs and unhelpful people that VRBO paid for a 1 NIGHT stay at a cheap hotel 15 minutes away from the place that we booked specifically for its location. I then had to fight for them to pay for two more days. I ended up having to pay for one out of pocket. 2 weeks after the trip I am still fighting for a refund. I cannot say this enough their confidence guarantee is an absolute scam. We were literally sleeping in filth without being able to clean ourselves and VRBO only cared about the host and retaining their money.
I booked a place in Puerto Vallarta on January 1,2022 for a group of 12 to celebrate a 55th birthday. Tonight, February 13,2022, they canceled without explanation. I called and was put on hold, then hung up on.
We have been waiting 50 days for a refund... It clearly states that if we were to cancel prior to the 25th of December we would get 100% refund. We canceled on the 22nd... STILL, NO REFUND... awful customer service, am going to have to go through the hassle of small claim court now just to get out money back... what a rip-off
Apt PP9 550 Northside circle is old and mildewy and in need of a renovation. They had giant roaches and it smelled like mildew. They try to cover it up with plug ins that make you nauseous! There is poop all over the neighborhood from renters dogs. The walls have water damage or mildew. The bathroom laboratory was so tiny you could barely fit on the seat. The walls are paper thin and some items required a service call. The walls needed paint and the entire apt needed renovating. Quite OVERPRICED!
We booked a ski chalet solely due to the 100% money back guarantee if cancelled by a certain date ( we cancelled a few days prior to the deadline) France had closed its borders to the UK so we were unable to travel. We were then told that we could only receive a voucher or re-book as no refund 30 days before trip. I have it in writing that they offered 100% money back guarantee. Will have to go down the small claims court route.
I will NEVER go through VRBO again unless my issue has FULLY been resolved. VRBO isn't screening their "HOSTS" at all to see if these HOSTS are in fact owners of their homes and NOT renters of an apartment complex! I should have known from the beginning when the so called HOST put the wrong address on her ad so that her apartment complex wouldn't find out that she was going AGAINST her lease and subletting her SUBSIDIZED unit out! I should have known when the HOST asked me NOT to speak with anyone around the complex and especially her neighbor. Finally, the home was GROSS when I checked in on a Tuesday and the so called "OWNER" said that the cleaning lady would come that Saturday but did she? NO! The owner texted me saying the cleaning lady canceled. Coincidence? NO! VRBO has put me in a VERY uncomfortable situation and I am fighting for a resolution. I feel trapped that I can't even talk to anyone, I feel gross because I can't even shower in the gross shower and I feel used! I have contacted VRBO but they keep saying that there is NO supervisor to speak with and that they will call me but NO ONE HAS CALLED ME. I have been hung up on twice! No one at VRBO is taking this seriously when in reality it is THEIR mistake for not screening these HOSTS! To top it all off, when I spoke to the property manager of this apartment community and she verified this was COMPLETELY against their rules, the property manager confirmed this said OWNER is on a LOW INCOME BASED PROGRAM and pays very little per month!
After paying up front for a rental in the Bahamas, the govt changed their rules for a visa. Covid testing suddenly required a 72 hr advance test vs a 48 hr test. We were already into the 72 hr window. Our request for visa was denied. When a refund was requested, vrbo basically said "$#*! off". Not our problem. We had to forgo the vacation, the rental and our ENTIRE payment. Avoid these suckers like the plague!
I have had an issue for 7 weeks now with a case number and nothing has been resolved. I have repeatedly asked to speak to a supervisor which they tell me there isn't one available. I am about to pull all my listings from there.
We have booked through VRBO twice and neither was a good experience, but the recent one at an apartment in Paris was the worst! The apartment was barely adequate with a television that didn't work and in an extremely noisy neighborhood, but I would not have bothered to complain about that. But two weeks after we were there, I got a message on Vrbo from the host that she had charged me 200 Euros for damaging some blinds in the apartment. It was a totally bogus claim, and I should have gotten my credit card company involved, but I assumed that I would get help from Vrbo. Repeated attempts to get some resolution never got any kind of response from Vrbo! They get a 1 only because it's not possible to give a zero which is what they deserve. We will never go through Vrbo again. By contrast, we have had only positive experiences with AirBNB with 4 stays in the US and abroad. So be aware that you are totally without any help if things go wrong at a Vrbo property!
Truly the worst business/customer service I have ever interacted with. VRBO takes zero responsibility or accountability for it's properties, so if someone leaves a misleading or even fraudulent property on their website, VRBO sits back and does nothing while you try to get your money back from the person that scammed you. They were hard to get a hold of, evasive, poor communicators, and when you finally pin them down on it, completely worthless and lacking in any integrity as a business. Whenever I give recommendations on vacation stays, I always include "Make sure not to use VRBO", because using them for anything can only be described as one thing, a mistake.
Owner gave a house that wasn't even the house we contracted. Was filthy and had feces in the toilets with long black hair every where stayed in house W 10 minutes. Owner called me a liar and would not refund my money registered a complaint with Vrbo and they said it's up to owner and no refund. You have assurances that the house is clean. I have learned my lesson don't use them. They don't guarantee anything g and they will take your money. You have recourse once you pay your deposit. I lost $1400 and it can happen to you
We booked a place in Destin and it was a disaster. On the second day I sent a 22 item list of items that needed fixing. The place was dirty, electrically unsafe and grossly misrepresented. We never saw the agent. VRBO requested pictures, which I sent, and their final response was, "in the event of a dispute between the renter and the owner, we encourage them to reach a mutual agreement." BTW be aware that VRBO owns Air B&B and Homeaway. VRBO is in turn owned by Expedia.
As it turns out VRBO don't check actual ownership of the properties posted to their website, do that's a bad start. They also don't remove, restrict or investigate listing reported to them as scams or fraudulent, they also don't investigate owners or take any responsibility at all, they ALSO hang up when issues are chased up with them (see screenshot), and they even ALSO lie in response to negative reviews about contacting and investigating reported issues in order to present an appearance of customer service. I mean, wow, it's bad... there is apparently no safety net for anything, bookings are not considered a contract with VRBO (illegally as money exchanges hands) and both the owners and renters can cancel without notice or agreement.
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 provides vacation rental listings by owner in the US and around the world.