VRBOReviews 2,001

OWNER: They just cant figure out how to make a functional website. Gotta love it when a guest calls with an issue and the calendar/inbox wont load so you cant even find their reservation. Every update is small UI changes that break the functionality of the site and nothing is done for weeks to fix it.

Their customer service has also eroded terribly. They have outsourced it all and sometimes the reps do not even speak english which can be tough. I will refer guests to them for issues with the site and their timing on payments/refunds and they are not trained well enough to understand how to help the guest.

It is insane to me that a tech/lodging company is missing the two things a company like that would need to survive: A good website and customer service. They also charge a $500 yearly fee per property you want to list with them, while offering half the service airbnb delivers its clients for free. Its just been a slow descent in quality since they went public in '11 and I cannot wait for the year to end so I never have to utilize their site again.

I tried listing my property on VRBO to short term rentals and for some reason my property was locked because of a tech issue. I have called countless times and spoke to countless representatives who barely speak a word of English who just tell me to wait for the problem to resolve OR direct me to phone numbers that don't work half the time. I cannot believe this is a known business. I will exclusively use Airbnb for my property and I HIGHLY discourage using Vrbo/Home Away to list yours.

VRBO is seriously the poorest run company I have dealt with, perhaps ever. I do not know how they are still in business outside of the fact that there is no real competition. I have a property - have listed it on VRBO for the past ten + years. It just gets worse and worse and they keep upping the prices for owners and renters. A month ago, I wondered why I hadn't had any request for listings... I discovered that my listing had been removed - never a word from VRBO about this. After about 6 total hours and talking to seven different agents, there was STILL no resolution. No one could answer why my listing was hidden or what I could do about it. It was "escalated" but no reply from anyone outside of VRBO. Eventually I saw an update in my listing that said it was hidden because of a "Policy Violation." What does that mean? No one could tell me. Then, a day later, the listing was restored.

Here is what they sent me:
"Thank you for contacting Vrbo.com Customer Support.
This is Steven with Vrbo Technical Support.
You notified us about an error you experienced on the site. The issue you reported has been resolved, and your listing Vrbo ###### is now live. I apologize for the frustration this may have caused. Let us know if you have additional questions. I hope you have a great week.
If you require additional assistance, please visit our online help portal at help.homeaway.com. Your experience is very important to us and we truly appreciate your business. Thanks again for bearing with us during this technical difficulty
Thank you for using HomeAway."
Thanks, VRBO! If you want your listing mismanaged with inept customer service, sign up today!

Guest TONY WILSON vandalized our Malibu Property. He reserved for 5 Guests but had a party for over 50 people. TONY and Guests vandalized the property. Sofas, armchairs, and dining chairs were left with stains of black marks, and red marks, people vomit in the house, and alcohol is everywhere on the floor, furniture, burned table, and whatnot. Horrific guest! AND Vrbo does not have any deposit from the guest to cover teh damange. The guest simply deleted his account and disappeared. Unlike Airbnb. I closed the acc with Vrbo.

-"Luxury condo" with no electricity in 2/3 bedrooms
- The power was restored less than 24 hours before checkout in our 3 night stay
- VRBO was 0 help in getting it resolved and their agent gave me incorrect information
- VRBO did not help me get a refund for the $900+ that I was charged in advance and wasn't even good enough to refund their $100 fee
- Evolve vacation rental only gave me $190 back because they only refund 25-50% for major amenities that don't work (electricity should not be considered an amenity unless camping)

I'm not sure if what the process is to list a property on VRBO but I wouldn't trust any of their listings to be safe/habitable. I would have been better off finding a vacation rental on my own, then my bill would have been $800 for 3 nights.

Booked a room through VRBO which was connected to Airriva.
Airriva then texted me to ask again for my credit card information, the nature of my stay and where I currently live. I then had to complete two separate rental agreements through Airriva. All of this was on top of what of the booking that was done through VRBO. THIS IS A SCAM!

Rented a condo in Maui. It was INFESTED with bed bugs. VRBO played games with the host was non responsive. Then finally Said a "specialty unit" would contact me. Never did 300 bites between myself and my partner ans medication... this company is a mess won't refund and will just give you the run around. I guess this is what court is for. Do not rent from paradise vacations or VRBO

Property *******, P/A Texas, 9/14-9/19, mgr. Life in Paradise: YOU cannot write a negative review on this manager or property because they are part of the IPM and review all reviews (in other words anything negative does not get published), the listing price $830 per nite actual price over $1,200.00 with hot tub and cart BUT to get the 'hot' tub that is extra and the cart you must travel several miles and release the managing co. (LIP). I paid $295.00 for cleaning yet if you use the grill there is the potential of an additional charge for cleaning and if the trash is not disposed of an additional charge (now what are the trash cans for and what is my $295.00 for) the place was dirty, my wife's feet were black after walking on their floors, this management co is evasive in their answers and lied to us, this pics are deceptive it is not a house but small rooms stack on top of each other, This is and was a rip off deluxe.

Never use VRBO. We paid $900 to rent an apartment in Paris for 3 days/nights. Two days after the cancellation period expired, the owner contacted us and told us that we had to agree to her "Formalities." In addition to all sorts of weird statements about claustrophobic rooms and narrow stairs, the Formalities included a demand that we agree to clean the toilets (despite the fact that the rental fee included a cleaning fee), sign a Fiche de Police with our birthdates and other personal information, and send copies of our passports to her. French law can require hotels and other tourist lodging to requiring identification upon check-in. It does not require sending copies of passports in advance to total strangers. When we contacted VRBO to tell them about the demands, VRBO told us that we were outside of the cancellation window so they could do nothing. We will never rent through VRBO again. They are terrible.

Via VRBO een appartement gevonden in Portugal. De prijs voor 15 dagen was 608 euro. Omdat wij met de auto zouden gaan, heb ik via die site een vraag gesteld aan de verhuurder of er ook een P-plaats aanwezig was. De eigenaar reageerde met de melding dat die er was en had direct een offerte meegestuurd voor die bewuste 15 dagen, ook voor het bedrag van 608 euro. De volgende dag wilde ik gaan boeken en via de site bleek dat de prijs aangepast was van 608 naar 1400 euro voor dezelfde periode.
Ik heb toen de offerte van 608 euro erbij gepakt en deze via VRBO betaald.
Nog geen 10 minuten later kreeg ik een bericht van de verhuurder dat die bewuste 608 euro niet correct was en dat de reservering geannuleerd werd. Het bedrag zou worden teruggestort.
Ik heb toen contact gezocht met VRBO maar daar verschuilen ze zich achter: 'Wij doen hier niks aan, dit moet u opnemen met de verhuurder'. Toen ik aangaf dat mijn betaling via VRBO gelopen is (ook op de afschriften staat VRBO) werd gezegd dat dit alleen maar administratief was en dat zij geen enkele verantwoordelijkheid nemen.
Tja zo kan je best wel geld verdiene, zeker als de 'servicekosten' van VRBO zo'n 70 euro bedragen. Veel betalen voor weinig service.
Wat een dievenbende!

VRBO's book with confidence "Guarantee" is a complete lie. My family's vacation was ruined when the property we booked lost power and running water for 24 hours (see pic of no faucet water). That means no working toilet, and 8 people, including two seniors and my 8 month pregnant wife, making for some filthy conditions. Plus my sister had for poisoning.

So we called VRBO thinking these unsanitary conditions must certainly "guarantee" us at least a free night in a hotel. No. Instead we got handed off 5 times to 5 different "customer service" reps, none of whom knew anything about what I had told the previous reps. This went on for over an hour, until another rep simply hung up on us. That is time my family could have been finding our own hotel room, or you know, actually enjoying our vacation if we had booked with a better business.

Following our vacation, we've continued to work with VRBO customer service online, and they have continued to refuse any wrong doing or offered any assurance this wouldn't happen again.

Don't book with VRBO. They do not provide any guarantees on their "service." You'll only lose time and precious family moments.

We rented a vrbo cabin in Tennessee. The cabin was not as described at all, and we reached out to the host but no response. I took images of the issues (broken mattresses, damage, broken pool filter, etc). But there is no way to contact VRBO, they don't have a customer service email address. When it was time to review the site I gave the cabin 4 stars to be nice but stated that the place was not as described. VRBO ALLOWS THE OWNER TO GIVE REVIEWS ON THE GUEST-CAUSING GUEST TO BE BLOCKED FROM RENTING FROM OTHER PLACES THOUGH. I have never heard of this concept, and how terrible it is for sure. So because I didn't give 5 stars to the terrible cabin the cabin owner gave me 2 stars so now when I want to use VRBO again no one would want to rent to me. What sense is this? Just use another company.

Terrible service!
I've been doing Airbnb for a little while now and I decided to give it a shot to the VRBO.
Today was the checkout of my very first guest.
Although they left the place semi-clean, they brought a dog without disclosing, and the dog peed on the bed and all over the floor of the master bedroom.
As I'm used to the quick and easy resolution process from Airbnb, I wasn't so worried about this one.
I could be more wrong!
Turns out they said I didn't set up the protect plan (I didn't even know I had to set it up). There were no alerts or reminders about setting this thing.
Because of that, they said I was not covered. And I would have to cover for the cost unless the guest agreed to pay.
The gues already lied about having the pet and is objecting to pay for anything.
The app on the phone does not give all options, like escalate or chat with customer service, so I had to call.
It was only a waste of my time.
They said that I have two options for protection.
1- would be insurance for $59, $79 to $99, which are not refundable to the guest. This makes my listing more expensive and less competitive. Also, if I have to file a claim, it would have to be done through a 3rd party company. For emergencies like I have today, would not be much of a help, and no guarantee of coverage.
2- I could set a deposit amount for any amount I wish. This deposit is refundable to the guest, but in case the damages are higher than the deposit, I would be on my own to cover the rest.
This deposit makes my listing to be even more expensive out the door and offers me less coverage.
On the call with customer service, I requested to talk to a supervisor. I was told that the supervisors don't answer calls, and it could only be scheduled for 24-72 hours.
The app itself is not user-friendly and the process is not clear on what we as hosts have to do to make sure we are covered.
Due to the horrible experience, I will pull my listing out of the platform.
I have already contacted other hosts to tell them about my experience, so they know about the lack of protection. They are also pulling from the platform.

Be careful when posting your property through these guys, you might more to lose than gain.

Really tried to write a not so good review of a place we stayed. VRBO wrote back saying that I couldn't mention $. So I tried to re-write it 2 days later and this is the response I get: WE CAN'T ACCEPT REVIEWS AFTER THE 14 DAY WINDOW HAS PASSED. Golly Gee, it was 2 days. So unfair. Not sure it makes me want to vrbo anymore. VRBO has NO way I can find to contact them. So I am wondering exactly how trustworthy these reviews are. Here is my review: Not sure how this place got all the previous "good " reviews. I read all of them. I found nothing special about the place. No wifi, No dishwasher, no grill and No comfy place to sit, the couch smelled like dog, the beds were old and saggy. Shower was 4' by 4' (if that) and not very clean. I'm embarrassed to say how much we spent for a place that has carpeted kitchen and bathrooms and a wooden toilet seat. The owner was there with 3 others staining the house right outside our bedrooms. Talk about NO privacy. We paid for 7 nights and left after 5. We never asked for a refund or to be compensated. I even asked the owner to Not come on Wednesday as we were going to have a home rest day. She said they were already on their way. The nerve! I have never had an owner that was so intrusive. STAY AWAY. The place was certainly not worth the money we spent. I have photos to back up my review. "

Date of arrival - August 20,2022

Reservation ID #HA-0002QY

Y'all please NEVER book with Vrbo ever! I booked with Vrbo, and it was a terrible experience. First, the room was disgusting, full of mold, dirty, and the AC was busted. The host was conniving and dishonest. When we messaged and called, she ignored us and Vrbo. Vrbo ended up paying for us to go to another hotel because the host wouldn't answer her phone. I thought everything would be fine after that but no. Vrbo wouldn't let me post pictures of the mold or a negative review for the room she rented, but allowed her to post a negative review of me as a guest. So now every host will see it and think I'm the problem. I called Vrbo to get the review taken down, but they said it was against policy and only the host could take down the review. I will never book with them ever again.

Room was so dirty, bedsheets wrinkled, chair one leg broken my husband almost fell, window blinds broken.

I have used VRBO multiple times for vacation rentals, however I will not in the future. What they tell you on refunds are not what really happens. They will always side with their property owners where cancellations are concerned. My personal experience - refund was valid for 100% received only 25% Be cautious when booking through VRBO

Normally, I have a decent experience with VRBO. The host in NOLA, however, rented the Penthouse to me but did NOT allow me access to the penthouse but instead directed me to the 4th floor apartment which had no outdoor space and was dirty. I called them but they said there was not outdoor space there. I didn't not know I had to call VRBO themselves to get a full or partial refund, and I was there to vacay, not be on hold for an hour. Called after the trip, the hose lied and said I never called and gave NO refund at all. I told VRBO that I would never use them again, call my CC and leave bad reviews and they said there is nothing they can do to make the hose refund. So, here I am. Never again will use VRBO, and leaving this review with utter Glee. Don't use Southern Comfort host in New Orleans LA and if you get a shyte rental, Call VRBO directly and during your stay.

After years of using the platform, among others, I am leaving. Aside from a ridiculous level of fees, they make money by holding guest payments for long periods (in this case 6 months) and then slow-paying the host. I will use anyone except them in the future.