Dream Vacation Rentals

On 4/24/22, I rented a vacation home from Dream Vacation Rentals. I decided to cancel my reservation on 8/7/22. According to my agreement, the remaining balance was supposed to be paid by 9/2/22. The total cost of the rental was $4221.22, and I had already paid $*** when I made the initial booking. The agreement stated that if I rebooked the rental at the same rate, I would be eligible for a refund, minus a $180 reservation fee. The rental has been listed at the same rate throughout. However, this month, in August, the rental was sold to SanCap Island Vacation Rentals, and they are now renting it out. The price has increased by approximately 20% to $5347.52, including my pet fee. I have tried contacting SanCap, but they told me to reach out to Dream Vacation Rentals because they have no shared agreement. SanCap's policy is that if you cancel 60 days prior, you can receive a refund. I have emailed the owner, ***, and called and emailed the company, but the response I received was that I would only receive a refund if the rental is rebooked. I asked if it would be at the same rate, and they confirmed that it would be. However, I have since found out that there is no agreement between these two companies. I believe I am entitled to a refund.

We stayed for 2 weeks at a rental managed by this company. There were several issues, they promised to follow up after talking with the owner and didn't. We rented a home for 2 weeks and had several issues. First issue, we paid 500 dollars for a golf cart. The company provided us with a dangerous cart that didn't charge, and when stepping on the gas, the lights wouldn't work at night. My wife then got pulled over because the cart was illegal. They did fix this problem. During our stay, a tropical storm hit and knocked the power out. A generator was there, but the company wouldn't instruct us on how to use it. Some emergency equipment was provided; they said they couldn't do anything. After talking with the electric company and finding out that this house was the only one without power, they linked it to a dangerous line because of tree overgrowth. They warned us it could be hot and dangerous until it was properly fixed. Our contract said an equal site would be offered if issues arose, and we were offered a very small condo as the only option if we wanted to leave. The hot tub didn't work the whole time we were there. After several complaints, the company was very slow and didn't follow up with the hot tub service company on delays in getting it fixed. It didn't get fixed until the last day we were there. Dream would only contact the service company when we complained to see what was taking so long. Finally, Ryan said he would follow up after talking with the owner. He never called or texted me; after calling the office several times and being told he would call me back, he never did. Even using the after-hours number, his wife would field the call and say he couldn't talk. He basically refused to discuss the issues after promising he would.

On 8/26, I booked a condo for 2/2-2/5/2022 with Dream Vacation Rentals. I didn't hear anything from them, so I emailed them to check if everything was paid in full and okay in January. I received a brief response saying it was paid in full. On 2/2/2022, my 90-year-old mother tried to enter condo 5234 at South Seas Bayside Resort, but we didn't have the code to get in. My husband and I tried to reach Dream Vacations, but they didn't answer. My daughter and I also tried. After standing outside the room for over 30 minutes and with my exhausted mother sitting on a suitcase after traveling since 2 am, we called the resort office and booked another room.

On 2/3/2022, around 1 pm, I finally received information from the company on how to enter the condo. I called to see if I could cancel so my mom wouldn't have to move, but they refused. I asked if she could get a refund for the 2/2 cost since she couldn't get in, but the lady said no. I asked her to check and she said she would get back to me, but she didn't. On 2/6, around 2 pm, I tried to contact Dream Vacations, but their message said they were closed. Since I was at home with Wi-Fi, I went to their site and emailed them. I received a message from Ryan B., a co-owner, saying there would be no refund. He mentioned that their automated system is infallible and that I should have contacted the "emergency number," which I didn't have. In September, I was also charged $2207, but the total should have been $1844, so the invoice shows I have a $384 credit that I haven't received.

My main concern is that other consumers should be aware of the very impersonal and fallible communication this company uses to conduct business. I also want to shed light on the absolute narcissistic attitude of the owner, Ryan Block. He only cares about cash and not enough about his customers to have a kind and caring staff that contacts customers to ensure they have the necessary booking information. Dream Vacation Rentals and Ryan Block expect a computer to do the job of people and have no way of knowing if their customers are receiving the information. Instead of apologizing and showing empathy, they only care about money.

In May 2022, my husband and I booked a vacation condo through VRBO, managed by Dream Vacation Rentals. The booking was for Thanksgiving week, 11/19/2022 to 11/26/2022. However, a hurricane struck the area in September, causing extensive damage and making our booked location unavailable. We requested a refund from Dream Vacation Rentals in early October, as the property was inaccessible, but they refused, blaming us for not purchasing travel insurance. Despite our inability to access the property due to restrictions, they offered to reschedule, without providing a new date. Our credit card company was unable to reverse the charge due to the rental agency disputing it. Dream Vacation Rentals then rebooked us for Thanksgiving 2023, only to cancel again shortly after. We've been unable to use the property through no fault of our own and have been seeking a refund of our final payment of $1717.27 since early October, but Dream Vacation Rentals has been unresponsive.