Thumbnail of user davec94

Dave C.

Contributor Level

Total Points
181

2 Reviews by Dave

  • HomeAway

6/1/17

Homeaway/VRBO have totally mishandled our booking that I discussed in previous review and presently they 'say' they have refunded our deposit so our booking owner is now asking that we try to re-book again through VRBO but she dropped her subscription so her property is no longer listed. She made an alternate suggestion as she is trying to help out but the alternate suggestion has been blanked out by vrbo who controls any communications we have with the owner.
We're presently here on our vacation and have no idea whether we have a place to stay that we booked with VRBO months ago, put down a sizeable deposit and it was confirmed! The actual booking takes place in two days and we are totally confused, stressed, and whatever thanks to their mishandling of this booking! I guess things could be worse but we do not deserve to be in such a ridiculous predicament due to incompetent mishandling of a booking!
What a mess for ourselves and the property owner. Not sure what we are going to do but I do not believe VRBO/HomeAway has one iota of empathy/concern as to resolving our problem. Every step they have made has resulted in an error(s)!
What an uncomfortable way to experience a holiday!

  • VRBO

5/26/17
• Updated review

While this is now May 26th, 2017 and we have decided not to re-new our subscribtion with VRBO given their track record since 2016 fee add-ons! As a sequel, we recently found accommodation (March/17) on VRBO for a trip we are taking next Tuesday and booked for a week, paying their customer service fee & rental rate. While the people we booked with and were confirmed also just decided to not renewed their subscription. So, we contacted VBRO as we could no longer see the rental house VRBO info and asked if they would send us all the info entailed in the description. They said emphatically 'NO'! We said that we needed an address to locate the house as well as small info items like hair-dryer, internet, TV, etc. The Customer Service Rep (for which we paid a 75 GBP as a service fee) told us that he could not give out that info. We said that we had not heard at all from the host and were concerned that we would not have a place to stay when we got there. The CSR's response was that 48 hours prior to actual booking date, if we had not heard from the owner, to contact VRBO and they would respond. Hmm... we are really nervous about not having a place to stay and, at the last minute, trying to find new accommodations. The CSR continued to follow his rote script and said that the 48 hours before arrival was all they could do and that we would get our money back. We said, 'what about where we were now going to have to find a place to stay?' and his rote response did not include a human, I understand, reply. He said, repeatedly, that just to call them 48 hours before arrival at host home if you had not heard from them. He did not want to listen at all. We had to state at least 7-8 times to the CSR, 'you are not listening to me'! He would just return to his rote list of replies that addressed our concerns '0' Zero/null/empty-set times!
What a farce company! We are headed out next week and have not a clue as to whether we actually have a legitimate VRBO booking given that owner has dropped his/her subscription. Not sure what to do now as the CSR hung up on us!
What a way to treat a customer who has been a VRBO subscriber almost since it's inception!
VRBO has done absolutely nothing to ease our rental accommodations' anxiety. We even asked the CSR to put us over to his supervisor but that is when he hung up!
Word to the WISE: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT SUBSCRIBE/BOOK with VRBO! Our experience from this present dilemma and recent policy/pricing changes has been only negative. They care not about their customer but only the bottom line! Avoid at all costs!

VRBO/HomeAway, Inc. Where Do 'We' Go Next for Quality Online Booking Services?
2/28/16
• Previous review

Given their rather dismal explanation for this latest foray in income generation, is there a viable legitimate online competitor that values it's customer through integrity & genuine customer service?

About HomeAway:
HomeAway, Inc. based in Austin, Texas, is the world's leading online marketplace for the vacation rental industry, with sites representing over one million paid listings of vacation rental homes in 190 countries. Through HomeAway, owners and property managers offer an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with memorable experiences and benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy, for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations. The company also makes it easy for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online. The HomeAway portfolio includes the leading vacation rental websites HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.es and Toprural.es in Spain; AlugueTemporada.com.br in Brazil; HomeAway.com.au and Stayz.com.au in Australia; and Bookabach.co.nz in New Zealand. Asia Pacific short-term rental site, travelmob.com, is also owned by HomeAway.

HomeAway also operates BedandBreakfast.com, the most comprehensive global site for finding bed-and-breakfast properties, providing travelers with another source for unique lodging alternatives to chain hotels.

https://www.rentivo.com/blog/expedia-buys-homeaway-vrbo-etc/

Dave Has Earned 21 Votes

Dave C.'s review of HomeAway earned a Well Said vote

Dave C.'s review of VRBO earned 6 Very Helpful votes

Dave C.'s review of HomeAway earned 4 Very Helpful votes

Dave hasn’t received any thanks yous.

Dave doesn’t have any fans yet.

Dave isn’t following anybody yet.

Empty.

Similar Reviewers on Sitejabber

Thumbnail of user wendyl702
11/28/22

The place was very clean inside but had a odor smell which made us only spent one night instead...

Thumbnail of user deborahv848
9/22/22

Management was rude and deserted her position and left friends in charge. She made jokes about...