VRBOReviews 2,001

Honestly, I never post reviews but in this case I have to say my part. I will NEVER be using Vrbo again. I have waited almost a month for my refund from them regarding a booking that was cancelled ON THE DAY by the owner of the property. The customer service team are extremely unhelpful and rude and no one ever gets back to you. Good luck to anyone who books through them.

Holiday booked, postponed due to covid, assured date change possible. Now im being told I cant change dates or get a refund.

Booked a stay via Vrbo which had to be cancelled due to covid. I requested a refund which was denied at the time, instead I was assured that I would be able to change my dates when we were able to rebook. Now that travel restrictions have lifted I tried to contact Vrbo multiple times with no luck, I was then able to reach them and a case was raised but still no contact was received. After raising a complaint I have been told I will not be able to rebook and they will not honour a refund. £600 down. Thanks Vrbo

1 star is generous

I am a home owner for Airbnb and VRBO.
My last guest was from VRBO and they trashed my place.
I called VRBO to complain and see if I had a deposit held back like I have with Airbnb. I also wanted to put in a complaint. This guest had police come to my place the first night because of a big fight she had with her boyfriend.
So I wanted to be reimbursed for damages they did to my place, but instead she got into my VRBO account and gave herself a credit back (but it says I gave her the credit) of almost $500. I reported this right away and VRBO and vrbo said it was already refunded and there was nothing they can do. So this guest Brittany Miller from Union New Jersey got to trash my place break everything they used. Had cops at my place and I was nothing but nice and accommodating to them. And now they got to stay for free! VRBO should be able to get my money back. Instead they sent an email that I refunded her money in error and please return it. Yeah ok. She Brittany Miller has not returned any messages or phone calls.
Very disappointed with Vrbo and I am out almost $500!
So unacceptable!

Even though we have a historic listing with VRBO that 1) had an annual service fee and 2) paid us our customer payments when the customer paid them, rather than when the customer checked in, they have changed both of these policies without notice. They now 1) charge per booking, and for our high-end bookings these fees represent, get this, a 2,500% increase in their fees, and 2) hold the owners funds until check-in, with us that is up to a year.

VRBO used to be our go-to booking platform, but unfortunately these policies make it a terrible, awful, horrible (etc) option for owners.

Filthy property, Bird crap everywhere and vomit in the pool. No one came to remove the vomit or treat the water. I almost vomited when I saw someone swim right into it. The utter lack of customer service and blatant discrimination is sickening. Booked via Expedia who forwarded the booking to VRBO who Did Absolutely Nothing to help. Sent my requests to the people behaving like animals. Here's my show and tell of "Pictures of My Summer Vacation"

VRBO is just a platform for private home owners to reach potential short term renters. Their fee is outrageous but they do nothing beyond host he platform. The system is rigged for the host. Customer service depends on the host. Our experience was terrible. And there isn't anything we can do. We will never use this site again!

If I could give 0 stars I would. Our reservation was NOT available when we arrived. Only after we tried to access the rental, spoke to the owner, and messaged the property owner was our reservation been cancelled. We were left without a place to stay, and money has not been refunded.

I'm reviewing this here after numerous attempts through the phone and the app.
My friends and I booked a VRBO reservation, address 2923 South Dakota Ave NE 2, Washington, DC ******* (property ID *******).

The reservation was made by my friend on April 20,2021 (reservation ID HA-MFGF78) When we arrived on June 17th we were informed that the location was no longer being used as a VRBO location and, according to the building owner, he has not had the location as an available VRBO rental.
Between booking (April 20) and arriving at the rental (June 17 at approximately 10 pm) we received no notification of cancellation.

The night of June 17 we were left without a place to stay and had to settle for a hotel, not as conveniently located, and not as comfortable as a house. When we look at Kristin's account the booking was cancelled on June 17,2021 at 10:50 pm. This was AFTER we arrived, AFTER we reached out to Regina (the property manager) and AFTER we talked to a man at the property claiming to be the property owner.

We emailed VRBO that very night. No response. We tried calling and contacting VRBO through the app on June 20th. My friend was able to talk to someone who said that the host was paid and they would be contacting the host for a resolution. They said she should get a refund within 5 business days. That would have been Friday, June 25,2021.

We are out the price we paid for the VRBO ($1,159.85). We are out the price for a hotel. We are out the added expenses for more gas, eating out more, etc. To say we are frustrated is an understatement.

My experience as a premier host with VRBO has has really gone South. No customer support of any value. Before VRBO, HOME AWAY was run much better. Now VRBO, with it's off shore help doesn't know the meaning of customer support. When asking for a supervisor, the answer will be they are not available- yea right! They don't exist! In my case, I have a home in Florida. I was informed by an agent from Australia? That she was sorry we had problems with our home there? I don't have a home in Australia! VRBO doesn't have a clue!
Beware of these clowns!

We booked a property in Puerto Rico for 10 days near the end of June 2021. All seemed well. When we arrived, we found the property to have been egregiously misrepresented by the owner. No internet, no wi-fi, no access to the beach, no pool, no DVD player, among a dozen other short comings. We emailed and texted the owner and our text was returned the following day. We demanded a refund, and the property manager told us she would let the owner know. We called Vrbo and after speaking to 5 different customers service reps and spending over 2 hours on hold, we were finally contacted by a supervisor who basically said they bore NO RESPONSIBILITY for the listing. They were simply the booking agent and had no authority to issue a refund. I warn you that if Vrbo is the booking agent... RUN AWAY AS FAR AND AS FAST AS YOU CAN. Need to book a trip? EXPEXIA... EXPEDIA. EXPEDIA. They stand behind their customers.

I will never deal with VRBO again. My last guests damage my condo, I negotiated with them and we settle for 1000$ refund. I was planing to use that money to replace what had been damaged. VRBO withdrew taxes and fees and left me with 625$, I got in touch at least 4 times with them until I got to a special department. I couldn't make them understand my point. It's seems to me that they acted in a bad faith. This will be my last lost with VRBO, they are dishonest and they will exploit you. If any of you can guide me through a small claim court procedure, it would be appreciated
I never had a bad experience with AIRBNB which I recommend. They give you a much better service and it cost you less.

Went to rent a secluded little cabin in Naples, NY for a much needed getaway. Arrived and the the place was a dump! Poop and hair on the toilet, springs popping through the mattress, live wires sticking out of the wall, boogers on the wall, just obviously never taken care of and did NOT look like the pictures! When I asked for a refund VRBO told me I needed to give the owner a chance to clean the place... completely ignored the fact that it didn't have a decent bed, or the fact that there were LIVE wires in the damn place. I wanted a refund, but was told VRBO's policy for a refund is that the owner is the only one with the discretion to give a refund. Yeah like that's gonna happen, I called the owner, he put the blame on me like I did something wrong, preceded to yell at me and tell me I was a bad "renter". So I lost $500. We ended up staying in a very nice hotel for about 40 dollars cheaper. But It was such a terrible experience and VRBO's policies and customer service are terrible and do not help the renter, once your money is put down you are NOT getting it back. Thinking about going to small claims court now, three months later... what a vacation. Learn from my mistake! DO NOT BOOK WITH VRBO!

I highly recommend this Bed and Breakfast. My family just had a wonderful visit there. The owners are just great. It is beautifully decorated. It felt like a home away from home. The beds were very comfortable. The breakfast was extremely good! I think it is my favorite Bed and Breakfast that I've ever stayed at.

Booked a condo in St. Petersburg through VRBO. The host for the property wrote a very lengthy property description and hid in the description that it was a self-service VRBO. Aka they don't provide anything but "starter supplies". This means, you have to go buy your own toilet paper, trash bags, etc. I have never in my life experienced this kind of cheapness. I will never schedule through VRBO again. If I went to a hotel, I don't have to go out and buy toilet paper! It boggles my mind that this is even a thing! Shame on VRBO for letting shady people like that advertise on their website. And no, I saw no concessions for COVID related cancellations, which is also unfathomable.

I booked a residence in Victoria, BC. I checked the dates and the place was available. Once the reservation was complete, I received a notice from the owner that it was not available for the duration of my reservation so the reservation was cancelled. The problem is this: VRBO immediately took out the $1700 for payment and now I need to wait 5-7 days for my refund. I have a HUGE issue with this as I feel they should issue a refund immediately in situations where the owner has cancelled the reservation. I know there are other options out there and I certainly plan to use them before I book through VRBO again.

4530 Bayshore blvd NE, St Petersburg Fl, first week of June 2021. It was dirty, dust, dirt, spiders and hair collected in corners, floors needed mopping, outside had mold and mildew, and entrance was cluttered and had many dead plants. Mattress as dirty and stained badly. Cockroaches and centipedes ran in some rooms. In need of repairs kitchen faucet fell apart, tiles in shower loose and came off, holes in ceiling, appears from water leak. Unsafe piles of building materials about the property. Only positive was convenience of the pool. VRBO or owner/whomever dropped the ball wont use VRBO. Do not recommend VRBO or this property.

We booked 3 months in advance. Host cancelled 1 week prior. Called VRBO regarding their Book With Confidence Guarantee, to find us a booking to replace the host-cancelled booking we had. First call: was on hold for 10 minutes. First rep was helpful, but transferred me to an "escalation department" number seeing my trip was 1 week away. Once transferred, it sounded like someone's private mobile number and that their phone might have been in their pocket. I could hear reggaeton music and a rooster in the background. Like WTH!?! Awful!

Well we have always use vrbo for our vacation well we did it today and then our stuff got canceled, this is so stupid now we have to wait 15 days to get money back, and tell our kids we are not going on vacation the person who canceled it will not message me. Nor call me back. So yes if you want to go on vacation don't use vrbo or airbnb

While VRBO's listings tend to be on the high side, pricewise, what really got my dander up was their exorbitant "cleaning and service fees"—$60 and $40, respectively. The cleaning could not have taken more than a half hour to do, as we were expected to do the majority of it ourselves. Besides that, it appeared to be done by the homeowner/renter, and not a outside cleaning service. And $40 as a "service fee"?!?!? For WHAT, may I ask. Taking five minutes or so to hit a few keys on a computer and confirm our reservation? Wow, THAT sure must've been pretty labor intensive.
In addition, the property description neglected to mention that access was by means of a high set of stairs, which would have been disastrous if we were unable to navigate stairs.
Between the high rental prices, the slightly deceptive property description, and the unavoidable and exorbitant fees, I can assure you that *we* will never again be booking with VRBO.

I try book a condo n put in location around Daytona Beach n dates n pull up the one I wanted than put my CC in
A few minutes it said those dates not available, so I booked another, same problem n another n another n another, 5 different condos than after a few minutes they started coming back confirmed, n charge me for all the condos, I was able stop one, n another intime, dn to 2 in the same week, vrbo said it was my problem n call the condo owners n refused to refund either, after 8 agents n 4 to 5 hrs with no support, one person out of 8 said they had this problem before! N pass it on with no recourse!, the book one that was supposed be a 1 month min, luck they canceled me n I did get that money refunded. Still have 2 out of 5! They never would let me talk to a supervisor!

Do not use Vrbo unless you have money to lose from either being forced to cancel or by having additional astonomical fees forced on you by property owners.

I rented a property for for $2800 for two days.

Virginia/Vienna/Wolf Trap
Luxury Estate near Washington DC Impressive

6br 4full bath and 2 half bath sleeps-20

I accidentally forgot to change the number of guest from the default 2... who knew it would cost me almost 3000...
The property manager wouldnt allow me to change to the correct amount of ppl even though the property was stated to be able to hold 20 ppl.
Then said if I was holding an event they charge an additional $600 an hour for their house staff... even though there is a $400 cleaning fee already as part of the rental.
When I told the owner I would not and couldnt do 600 and hour. I was told they could take my rental fee of $2800 and allow me to have a 6 hour event at the place but could not stay overnight!
The event when I did have it in a a friends yard was a whopping 8 guest...
Then the owner told vrbo he would refund HALF my money if I cancelled in 3 hours. Which I did and have heard nothing from them since.
And they rerented the property again for my dates after I cancelled the reservation.
But has yet to respond back to me or vrbo in refernce to the refund.

The lack of accommodation and unwillingness to return my funds makes me concerned as to whether Vrbo has become a preditory haven.

Vrbo says they can do nothing it is on the owner discretion!

Robber of $2800 just trying to celebrate my daughters college graduation.