VRBO review: Used VRBO many times but never again

On September 9, 2026, we had a sudden death in the family forcing us to cancel our trip to Utah. Vrbo cancellations went great with exception of one property, which did not have the normal cancellation button as the rest of the properties had. My only option was to fill out an email requesting a refund. When I sent the email, the site stated I would hear back in a few days. Not hearing back, my wife called Vrbo telling the agent what had happened. After understanding the situation, the agent stated that we would receive a refund and that the refund was to be $337.08. After the funeral and returning home, I had not received the refund.
After contacting Vrbo, I was sent an email from Ahmen stating, “Kindly provide me proof of confirmation of cancellation for the reservation id HA-WQ63L1”.
I returned the email stating that my wife had spoken to an agent and he would take care of the cancellation and we were to receive $337.08 but had not received confirmation.
I received a message from Miriam stating that after a Vrbo Resolution Team investigation, there wasn’t any phone call made to Vrbo, but Vrbo was willing to settle for $29.
Next, after my own investigation, I sent the information about the phone call. A 19-minute phone call was made to (877) 202-4291 on 9/14/2026 at 10:03 PM. I also include “Hopefully, Vrbo records all phone calls and if so, I need a transcript emailed to me”.
I received from Mariam, Vrbo Resolution Team; Dear David, Thank you for contacting Vrbo customer support. We thoroughly investigated your case, including the details of your previous communications with us. I can confirm from our system records that you did call our support team on September 14th. However, after reviewing the interaction, we have verified that our agent did not guarantee or promise a refund during that conversation. Instead, the agent attempted to send an exception request email to the property owner on your behalf to ask for a refund.
I requested a transcript of the phone call and received this email.
Dear David, I hope this message finds you well. This is Mariam from the Vrbo Resolution Team. I want to clarify that we have not accused you of dishonesty. All communications regarding your reservation are recorded and documented on our end. However, we are unable to provide a transcript of your call due to our policy.

At this point, it seems to me that I was accused of two acts of dishonesty: 1. There wasn’t any phone call made to Vrbo and 2. What was said on the phone call.

Mariam
Vrbo Resolution Team We understand that you requested to cancel your reservation due to a sudden health issue on September 25, 2026. However, this request falls outside our cancellation policy.
(By Mariam own admission, the agent attempted to send an exception request email to the property owner on your behalf to ask for a refund. On September 14, 2026.)
I agree with your cancellation policy. Since the death occurred on Wednesday, September 9th, 2026, and we cancelled or attempted to cancel all Vrbo reservations on Thursday, September 10th,2026 and the phone call was September 14th, 2026, where did the September 25, 2026 date come from.

This is Udit from the Vrbo Care Team.
We contacted the host regarding your refund request, and they informed us that a refund of $94.30 USD, representing 50% of the reservation amount, was processed on 09/15/2026. Additionally, Vrbo refunded the service fee of $20.00 USD on 09/17/2026.
At this time, we kindly request that you check with your bank or financial institution regarding the status of these refunds.
My response Udit, You contacted the wrong host regarding your refund request, nice try! You should have read the transcript of the phone conversation. Read the transcript so you don’t bother other clients who were wonderful during very difficult times.
Udit response Upon reviewing your email, we recognize that the previous outreach referenced the wrong reservation, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Udit did offer us “As a gesture of goodwill and in recognition of your experience, Vrbo would like to offer you 120 OneKeyCash (OKC).”
It’s not about money; it’s about how Vrbo treated us.
This issue could have been solved weeks ago if the Vrbo Care Team would have used their “care” for me instead of trying blame me for everything.
The first request was for a transcript of the phone call, and the second request was to investigate why the property did not have the normal cancellation button as the rest of the properties and determine where the email was sent.