Bob S.

Our family has stayed with this company every year for almost a decade. They have been courtesy, helpful and every house has been great. We especially liked out stay in Seattle. The sales person did a great job in explaining the place. The housekeeper was very pleasant.

We did see them evict some renters from a house next door when we complained that the group was partying late at night. We were very thankful that the Sunspots managers were not adverse to risking unhappy guests when those guests were so obnoxious.

I don't think you could find a more courtesous bunch of people. They are highly recommended.

There are thousdands of Vacation Rental websites out there like HomeAway.com. But VacationRentalCentral.com is the only one operated by the Vacation Rental Association, a Not-For-Profit trade organization. Members must be qualified, operate reputable properities and subscribe to a Code of Ethics.

HomeAway.com and their subisidary VRBO.com are engaged in false advertising. They want guests to believe that renting direct from owners will allow the owner to reduce the fee by eliminating professional managers. But owners who use the service want to eliminate the commission and get the money themselves. Guest and owner can't both get the same money. So that is the false premise.

Several years ago HomeAway raised $450 million dollars to buya nd buildng VRBO.com, CyberRentals.com, A1Vactaions and others. This has has been a disaster for advertiers (Owners and Managers). By overloading their sites with listings, the sites become unusable. Ad rates have sky rocketed but guest inquiries and guest qualifications have plummetted.

The only goal the HomeAway managers have, is to build up the thing big enough, go public, and cash out. They are not in it personally for the long haul. They are Internet geeks who don't understand the basic business premise that they must produce economically for advertisers. Hey even teenagers working at McDonalds understand it better than that.

Stay as far away from this company as you can.

Sites like SiteJabber.com love the Review/complaint concept because we consumer create all the conten for them. All they have to do is code the code and they are off and running. Its good for legitimate complainers, but also an easy forum for those who would slander and liabel anyone they like. Its a perfect vehicle for extorting businesses. So - as you read reviews - be sure to discount at least 99% of what you read. Its only the malcontents who make complaints usually with ulterior purposes. (And hey, now I'm one of them)

As a vacation rental owner I find the operators of this website smug and greedy. The raised $450 million in capital to buy out all the Vacation Rental Websites and then jacked up the rates 10 fold. That might be OK but viewership is down so listings are 20 times more expensive. This advertising media is way over priced. Most of the rentals are actually from managers so even its name is false and misleading. And if you ever need to reach a human you will be out of luck.

The BBB has survied for decades soley on their misleading name. They are neither Better nor a Bureau - not a government bureau as most consumers mistakenly believe. The BBB is an unusual not-for-profit franchise.

Local offices buy a franchise and the financial benefits go to the local President who is usually paid well over $250,000 and gets huge bonuses based on how many businesses he can make fall victim to his telemarketing scheme.

The scam is easy, when anyone asks them about a business they call the business implying that consumers wants the business to be evaluated. Then the business is offered an approval by paying a huge membershp fee. Or they can pay more to become Accredited Member.

The trouble with the BBB is that it ONLY allows complaints, so no alternate views can be considered. In 2009 the BBB switches to a grading system but they won't tell anyone how it is determined and businesses can't earn an A+ without being members. That's kind of like a teacher who won't give a kid a A+ unless he is of the same race.

The BBB has been dropping in value for years because other online complaint websites are offering an open system of compliments along with complaints. Plus they have a variety of ratings from zero to 5. The BBB takes only complaints. Its new grading system is a futile attempt to resurrect a system that is self serving and was never of value to business or consumers; at least not consumers who take a minute to figure out that the BBB is the least honest business in the world.

The BBB scam is biased and designed ONLY to create membership income. Last year the BBB extracted $250 million dollars in fees for naieve business owners. No smart consumer or business person cares a wit about what the BBB thinks.

There are many investigative website reviews out there that reveal the dispicable tactics of the BBB. Search and you'll be amazed - if you dare.