VRBOReviews 1,999

I understand that business models need to change to keep up with the times, but it needs to be based on sound market research. Clearly Expedia did not do the research in trying to change VRBO to compete with Airbnb. Would a 2-3% service fee be ok to charge to clients, maybe, but 4-9% - get real. We have a rental that on average got 2-4 booking from VRBO per month. Now we at best are getting 1 booking every 2 months. How can this be the result of good business decisions. Funny, to make up the difference we have just listed with Airbnb.

I made a reservation through HomeAway for a VRBO in Wisconsin for a family reunion. I put a deposit down on the house in December 2016 and thought that all was well. As the time approached for the reunion I tried to find the property on the website and it had disappeared. I called HomeAway customer service, a phone center somewhere in Eastern Europe, and they verified the owner had taken the house off the list but told me my reservation was OK. They gave me two phone numbers to contact the owner on which I left numerous messages. I also tried to contact the owner through Facebook and his business e-mail. No response. I did a little research and found out he had put the property on the market and tried to sell it. I decided to cancel my reservation. I found out that the only formal way to cancel the reservation was to contact HomeAway and have them notify the owner. But the reservation is only cancelled when the owner responds and acknowledges the cancellation which he has not done to date. Just got the automated message to make the final payment and still no success in cancelling the reservation. So understand when HomeAway guarantees the return of your deposit if you cancel 30 prior to the start date, that it is not really a guarantee. You are still at the mercy of the owner. And the only person you talk to for customer service is some person who works at a phone center in Eastern Europe.

VRBO new feature BOOK IT NOW IS A DISASTER! There is absolutely no benefit to guest or owner to use this feature.
VRBO strong arms guests and owners to use the service.
Owners do not get the guest's booking money timely from VRBO. It is not released to the owner until after the guest checks in.
Guests are charged a large "fee" by VRBO to use Book it Now,
Owners are charged $700-$1500 annual fee owners to advertise on VRBO.
VRBO penalizes owners who refuse to use BooK It Now at the bottom of the list of available homes.
Recent scams of fraudulent phishing of owners VRBO inquiries which resulted in stolen guest funds where the guest was offered a "discount" by an unknown person (not the owner) appeared to be perpetrated by VRBO employees in an attempt to "sell" Book it Now. This problem occurred with many owner accounts, but the majority of those owners were ones that did not use "book it now". VRBO's only official comment was "your email password must have been hacked.
Owners and guests emails are "filtered" through VRBO
A word to guests: CALL THE OWNER Deal directly with the owner. Save yourself much grief.

Vacation home through VRBO. The house is a mess! Roach infested, couch is covered in black grime, pool was filthy with cigarette butts floating along the bottom and a bed was broken and unusable. Did I mention roach infested? The property is NOT as advertised! It was filthy dirty, comforters smelled as though they had not been washed in months or more. I lifted a yellow comforter off of one of the beds and there were black specks all over the top sheet. No black in the comforter so it wasn't lint. Please view the pictures of the pool and roaches. Stay away from this property! Whatever reviews they have cannot possibly be for this house..

FRAUDULENT, MISLEADING, DECEPTIVE... Please note that fortunately I've had decent stays. BUT, CAVEAT EMPTOR! VRBO has a deceptive practice whereby after a vacation stay, if the owner reviews you, you are blocked from submitting a review on the property. This means, that if there is a lousy property and the owner beats the renter to a review, you have no way of seeing this potentially negative reviews on the property. THIS INTENTIONAL MISLEADING, FALSE ADVERTISING, and DECEPTIVE. A terrible and HIDDEN TACTIC! Therefore, question every property and review and consider how many reviews they obstructed when renting. I am sure the Attorney Generals and FTC might find this interesting.

Have used VRBO for about a decade. Just discovered that since they been bought out - corporate greed is now charging a service fee for every rental - the percentage is based on amount of rental up to $499 per rental! The owner nor the renter benefits despite what they pretend it is. It's just a greedy grasp for money. Never, never, never again will I use VRBO. All of you wonderful owners that allow families like mine to enjoy fantastic vacations - PLEASE try to find other websites because I can promise that if you are seeing a dip in your rentals - its because people like us are refusing to pay VRBO a service fee.

After using VRBO for over 10 years we, unfortunately, had a really bad experience with one of the properties. Wrote a very accurate review stating the issues we had with the property. Property was absolutely NOT as advertised. There was NO contact information that was accurate. Property was dirty, old furniture, musty smelling and not as pictured. Front door digital code only worked about 1 out of 5 times and owner didn't give us any other option for admission to the property. What is really disappointing is that VRBO has done NOTHING to rectify the situation. They only want to be the "middle man" and collect fees. Guess it doesn't matter to them that the property was not anywhere near what was advertised. I got an initial response from them telling me HOW much they care but that was it. NOthing else and absolutely no satisfaction about our issues. We will really think very hard before using them again for any vacations we take.

I've advertised my home on VRBO and Home Away for the last dozen years. Despite rising costs, it generated business and drove potential customers to the home which is exactly what I wanted. It was a company with a clear but narrow niche and performed well; bringing owners and potential renters together and letting them do business. They did such a good job that they became one of two or three dominant players in the market place and, since December of last year, they have become part of the corporate conglomerate Expedia. Like so many corporate behemoths (think Google, Microsoft) they are seeking to redefine that market to suit themselves. Their new business model doesn't work for owners (who are losing control of the process despite owning the product on which the business depends) or customers (who will be paying more as a result of the introduction of a service fee for a non-existent additional service and suffering the kind of Kafkaesque call centre experience that is the hallmark of corporate "customer service"). The explanatory video offered by the CEO is almost parodic; the feigned concern, the assurance that this is all in the interests of the owners and customers, the justification for income gouging as presenting answers to questions that no-one is actually asking. I hope the proposed class action is successful and that other entrepreneurs recognise the opportunity to provide competition but fear that, along with a couple of other players, they will dominate and define the market because of their business muscle - at least in the short term.

I agree with every negative review of this horrendous site. Now to add something new: I needed legitimate help with a booking. I called the HomeAway help line and recording says wait is greater than 20 minutes. Decided to call back and "press 2" as a renter. Got through in 4 minutes!
So, when VRBO/HomeAway/ExPLOITia tells us that they are putting all the money from the fees the guests pay into better customer service - they are RIGHT! Better for the guests and the same S**T for US!
PLEASE someone come up with an alternative to this website!

I have listed with VRBO for many years and never had a problem booking our cottage. Nothing has changed with our property, our listing or our vacation rental market. The only change is that Expedia entered the picture, and we have essentially lost all our business. We did not choose to let VRBO handle our booking, so I expected our listing to be low on the search list. However, our listing was not coming up in any searches. Not at all. We also paid to be a featured listing and our listing was no where to be found under features. This used to be a decent business but it is now one of the most unethical business I have ever dealt with. Add us to the list of owners leaving VRBO.

I made a reservation 4 months out through VRBO and had to cancel in 3 days. The owner would not let me cancel but said they might be able to give me some of my $500 back. They didn't. And they quit answering my e-mails. Air B&B and most reputable companies allow a way to cancel when it is so far in advance. Not VRBO. I hope Amanda Barrera in Pearland, TX (property #*******) had fun with my money. I have used Air B&B since and they are much easier to work with. And they do allow cancellations.

The Cheshire Cat Inn B & B of Santa Barbara, California is a must stay if you visit the area. The innkeepers were very welcoming. Our room was lovely with a fireplace and hot tub. The bed was very comfortable and our room was very clean. The Inn is one block from the main street where you can walk to stores, restaurants and the beach. Their food was creative, delicious and the portions were generous. Their daily happy hour with local Santa Barbara wines was wonderful. Staff were very friendly and always helpful.
Delightful!