VRBO
reviews and complaints

I am done with VRBO. The owner wrongfully withheld the deposit for 3 months, for no reason. It was a huge time suck and hassle to get it back: multiple emails and phone calls, had to get VRBO's claim form notarized and supply them with copies of my cashed checks. Finally the owner sent it--pretty much on their own as VRBO never took the listing down.

But here's the rub--when I try to warn others of this owner's poor business practices by posting a bad review--after multiple emails and postings and revisions to try and comply with VRBO's owner-biased review system--VRBO still doesn't post it. And VRBO has all the evidence from the email trails between me and the owner as well as all my documents they made me provide. They say their policy is that reviews "must substantially relate to the stay."

Well, I don't have to pay a deposit at a hotel for my "stay"--that's substantial. So guess what--no more VRBO for me. They suck.

Owner, AAALuxuryVillas, LLC refuses to pay deposit and balance payment check after double-booking rental property VRBO #300483. I inquire about my vacation rental check-in procedures but the owner claimed that she received my rental payment late and booked it to someone else. The owner cashed my deposit but reserved it to someone else. She now refuses to provide a refund of my deposit and payment. She verbally agreed to pay me back but then has not replied to my e-mail to confirm to payment. Rental agreement states that full refund will be provided if booked to someone else due to a cancellation. NOTE: I did not cancel! The owner mistakenly double booked but still wants to keep my deposit.

Still waiting for my refund! Note: AAALuxuryVillas which rents out other properties in Orlando through VRBO has had other complaints with Better Business Bureau.

Horrible customer service - they purchased all other competitive rental websites out there and increased 500% their listing rating. The website and dashboard are down constantly or freeze, no customer service ...if you finally get a response (if you are very, very lucky w a 20% chance) it is mostly "sorry, we are working on the issue" or "yes, we increased our rates significantly but added features". Really, for whose benefits? Clearly not the listing owners but their own benefit to enrich them further. Hate it...

This was the absolute worst experience I have ever encountered with an online resource. I submitted the following inquiries:

172 inquiries for a vacation rental in Destin, and I Received back 28 RESPONSES out of 172 inquiries. That is 144 no response and a huge waste of my time.

In the past, VRBO was a wonderful resource, however, it is becoming a total waste of time. Half of the homes/condos that I researched were already booked but the left you to think it was still available for rent. I would never waste my time inquiring about a rental property that is obviously not available over my travel dates and no, my travel dates were not flexible. The amount of hours I spent searching was outrageous in compasion to the response rate, very disappointing, there has to be a better way. I had more success on Flip Key and Home Away with far less inquiries, time and effort.

We rented #127 in Seascape resort for 2 months in 2012, January and February. Owner Steve Khatchadourin required the full 2-months rent prior to our arrival. When we checked in there was a foulsmell upon entering the unit . We later learned that the owner himself put fresh fish in the in the freezer, stinking up the whole place. There was little to no maintenence on the unit as the patio door took two people to open it, the microwave was rusted and unuseable. There were only two plates, no usable frypans, no canopener or pot holders. On the 11th. day of our stay, late in the evening we heard rain leaking from the top of the window and dripping down on the sill. I got up and placed a pan under the sill to catch the dripping water. The next morning after pulling back the curtains that were placed in the closed position since we entered the condo, we noticed black mold everywhere around the window to the floor and was in the carpet. We contacted the owner and Seascape and took pictures of the mess. We never did hear from the owner, but 2-days later someone from Seascape came over and agreed we had a mold problem. I Take medication for allergies and sleeping 4 feet from this growing mold was a health concern. If proper maintenence was performed on this condo the leak would have been fixed. Finally a contractor was sent out and we were told that the work would take five days. We never were offered accomadations by Seascape or Steve. We vacated the property and after 5-days and many unanswered e-mails, Cathy from seascape sent us an e-mail that the repairs were much more extensive than thought and will take longer to complete. The drywall from the inside and the siding from the outside had to be removed, as well as rotted structural framing. We finally got ahold of Steve, all he had to say is that we could stay at his studio condo in Sandestin while the repairs were being made. We had an agreement to stay at a condo in Miramar Beach not Sandestin. We were cheated out of the condo we paid up front for 2 of the 8 weeks that we were there, not to mention any of the possible health consequences from being exposed to the growing mold for 22-days. We asked the owner (Steve) for a refund of $500.00 and he refused. We feel we are owed this amout as again we were out of the condo for two weeks. We recommend that you do not rent #127 at Seascape.

When I arrived at the Sevierville TN cabin. It was very dirty. Bathrooms, jucuzzis, hot tub filthy. Towels on the tolit brush instead of towel rack.I immediately called the housekeeper. He said he hadn't been contacted until that morning by the owner to let him know we would be there.He was rude and still didn't get things clean.. so I called the cabin owner(elaine foster). She of course didn't answer and still hasn't called me back after 2 1/2 weeks. Through email- She claims I broke a basketball game while I was there (which was already broken, I assumed she knew since it's suppose to be checked after each guest) and will not refund my $200 deposit. Also my mother's finger got cut on the very sharp banister coming up the stairs. Not safe. If I broke something I'd admit it...because I don't like liars or thieves.

Although I like what VRBO does for my rentals bottom line it is unfortunate they are allowing Brokers to advertise and lie about the location. My rental is located on Anna Maria island which includes 3 towns in it. Bradenton Beach, Holmes beach and the small town of Anna Maria. The most desirable is the town of Anna Maria. So the brokers lie and say thier rental is located in the town of Anna Maria instead of Bradenton Beach or Holmes beach because they know it is more desirable. Unfortunately they have overloaded the Anna Maria page with these false listings.

It is a shame that VRBO has allowed these broker to lie to the public with the false assumption that they are dealing with the owner but it is more disapointing that they are allowed to mislead us into thinking the property is located somewhere it is NOT.
If VRBO is so greedy that they need the money so bad and then don't care what is posted this site will dissolve in time because the public will be fed up with being lied to and the honest owners that have followed the rules of proper location will be lost in the shuffle.

VRBO check your listings 50% of them listed for the town of Anna Maria are false.

Susan Henderson of VRBO Merritt Island Vacation Rental Properties was reported fraudulently withholding deposits from customers. (Banana River)
Vacation Scam Susan Henderson Banana River Vrbo
Not as advertised. Worst place on VRBO ever! The pictures are lovely (must have been taken years ago, but the description is not accurate regarding the location, or amenities. I should have known this was a scam property from the onset because once we signed the contract, she wanted ALL the money right away even though our vacation was not for another 5 months. The house is not walkable to anywhere besides a gas station. You must have a car. The rental was substandard, dingy, dark, old furniture, and everything was cheap and low quality. There was no rudimentary kitchen appliances like a can opener or garlic press. There is no large sauce pan so you will have to cook large meals in multiple pots. The dishwasher was broken. No proper dining chairs for 12 people to dine together--the chairs were horrible--you were either too high from the table or too low to the table. There was dog crap at the front of the steps walking into the property. DISGUSTING! The house is full of inferior cheap items that broke very easily--you will be nickel and dimed for everything. If you leave a cup away from the kitchen cupboard, she will charge you $5. RIDICULOUS! You have to make your own beds when you get there, and you have to get on your knees and scrub every single inch of the place before you leave. They do not wash the comforters and blankets so you might be sleeping on the crud from a previous guest. GROSS! I found a red hair that was NOT mine in the bed...NASTY! They are too cheap to pay for housekeeping but will charge you for a 'cleaning fee'. There was no tissue paper, garbage bags or paper towels provided. There is no king bed--that's a lie, it's a queen bed only. The owners are more concerned with getting your money and once they have it, they will ignore your requests to fix or take care of something. There is a laundry list of regulations, and if you don't arrange the dishes in the exact order as they want it, you get charged--what a scam! This place is HORRENDOUS! They will look for every excuse and will not return your security deposit. They are not helpful and accommodating. The pool had duck crap all in it and you have to spend at least 30 minutes cleaning the swimming pool BEFORE you get in-Yuck. This was the worst vacation spot that I have ever used. It is not near the beach, that was false as well. For the price you are paying, you would be better off going with another property or a hotel that is right on the beach. Be warned, this place is a nightmare!

Rental Property Address:
Sea Shell Drive
Merritt Island Florida 32952
Name of Landlord: Susan Henderson
Property/Unit
#257845 - "Banana River Waterfront with Pool and Boat Dock"

In June 2011 we made an initial payment on a beach house rental posted by VRBO under listing # 322472 for 12/23-12/30/2011. We followed up with the final payment 0n 11/08/2011, per the rental contract, and were looking forward to being away from home during our first Christmas without one of our sons who had passed away earlier this year. On 12/09/2011 we were notified by the rental agent that the house had been sold and that he had been advised the previous night that the new owner would not honor our contract. In addition, the rental agent also advised that he could not comply with the section of the contract requiring him to provide "an alternate rental property of similar quality" We are now left trying to locate another five bedroom beach front rental property that will meet our needs less than two weeks before our arrival in Florida during the Christmas season. Good luck with that. Not only will we not be renting through VRBO again there is also no chance we would ever recommend VRBO to anyone.

BEWARE! The owners & operates of this property Dickson & Erica Gill are the most ###ed up A-Holes you could ever come across! They are making money hand over fist on the previous operators BLOOD! They stole $75k worth of decor, art, furniture and more from the previous property manager! And then proceeded to rob her off her life! Let me tell you the "owners" live right next door, and their house is elevated from this one and they will watch you like a hawk! So, if you want eyes on you at all times, you'll love this place! They are also total greed-mongers, so, if one thing is out of place or if they wanna feel like you broke it, expect a big bill against your security deposit! These are the most "Dirtiest Dealing" ### Las Vegas has to offer! STAY AWAY!

If you don't believe me, type in "The Jungle & Beach Estate" Las Vegas, there are still a couple of pictures left from the Jungle & Beach Estate, and then you'll probably see all the horrible things these people say about the previous property manager, all of which these owners caused while they were nice and smiling to her face and taking her money, and at the same time they were planning how best to ruin that girls life! They will stop at nothing! Then pull up their Surf & Safari Estate. They stole that girls dreams, spirit, life...she made that property what it is and then they stole it and bought a 24 ft pontoon boat with her life! These people are absolutely FAKE, PHONY, EVIL, GREEDY and INSIDEOUS!

Stayed 36 hrs and the place had dirty floors, worn appliances with rust on the side of the fridge, uncomfortable beds.. called the owner and she agreed to a partial return but once we were out of the unit she claims we caused damage and wont return calls or emails... has now kept the whole amount plus deposit..
would never trust her or VRBO again I then put up a poor review and she responded with lies! sated we stayed 4 nights and told her we wanted to explore the area, we checked into a hotel 5 minutes away for the remainder of the vacation on the 2nd day... and I did report to her that the stand she had on the back of the toilet hit my sons arm in the night when it fell as he flushed the toilet.. should have called her at that time...

we rented a condo from the Merritts's, security deposit of 100 was held for any damages, just returned from vacation 5 days ago and this morning the security deposit was taken out of my bank acct without warning from the owners, the reason for taking my security deposit: excessive dirt on the sheets and towels! I was told that it looked like feces on the towels, really? I think one of the towels was used to clean up a spill from my two yr old. The sheet had coffee spilled on it, an easy thing to do. I was never told that if the towels or sheets were found to be dirtier than normal that my security deposit would be held. I also received an email from the owners the Merritts that further payment would be expected if the dry cleaners couldnt the coffee stain out of the sheets and she had to purchase new sheets. Im not sure what kind of sheets she uses but to keep my 100 deposit for this is unthinkable. If she is this picky about her linens then she needs to state it in her contract, and probably ask that no children can stay in her condo. Never rent from these people, I am trying to let everyone know how we were treated over dirty towels and sheets. VRBO #295422, it is at coral beach resort in myrtle beach, number 1154. Stay away from this condo!

I paid money to rent a vacation home for a week for my wedding & thanks to the ACTUAL OWNERS of the house I was able to have my wedding. Now my problem is with my $1000 deposit. I left the house in AMAZING shape. I'm talking spotless. Some b.s. happen a few days after we had checked out with SOME OTHER RENTER AFTER US (2 DAYS after we checked out) & now all of a sudden Kris can not pay us our deposit. She says she owes it to us, but she can't pay it. Now her partner Shaw Wen who is on my contract & who I put half of my full rental money into his account said he was going to mail me out a check and has not. Its been over a month since I checked out. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH SHAW WEN INC (realitor), KRISTA FRIEDMAN AKA KRIS GREVEN OR HOMEAWAY! U WILL GET SCREWED OUT OF YOU MONEY!

I contacted owner by e-mail to rent the unit.The owner said it was available. The calendar showed availability and I responded back asking them to send rental agreement and to tell me how to make my payment to reserve the unit. After 1-1/2 days of no response, I called and the voicemail was full. I e-mailed with phone numbers to respond due to time getting close and got an e-mail saying the unit was rented, sorry. This was very unprofessional. Don't put a listing in and tell someone the unit is available and then rent it out from under them without so much as a phone call. I've rented with many other VRBO units and this is the worst treatment I've had. Beware if you are depending on the unit to be available.

Be aware before you rent this apartment. The site shows a lovely view of the town, but the view from the apartment looks down on roof tops and TV antennas, not the beautiful town or Tuscan countryside we expected. There are bell towers one block away which dong every half hour and on the hour. You'll get used to sleeping through them about the time you leave. Very small quaint town, but not much to do there. You must have a car and parking is difficult. Make sure you notify the owner on arrival of ALL preexisting maintenance and housekeeping issues, even if minor. The owner tried to charge us an additional 200 Euro for "repairs and cleaning"! The owner, Victori Florea, was very difficult for us to work with and we found her very aggravating. We should have been more aware there might be issues. For a property to be rented since 2001, and only showing four reviews, quite widely spaced in time, of which one was submitted by the owner, we should have known better. Be aware.

We rented a vacation home in Eze, France trough VRBO/Homeaway and purchased the "Care free Vacation Insurance" they advertise. 2 days after we were told everything was completed and had transferred $6500.00, we were told that we were the victim of an internet scam. When we finally were able to contact the owner of the home she indicated that this had happened 6 months ago as well through VRBO/Homeaway. What bothers me is that the insurance company was able to tell us we were scammed in 2 days, why could that not have been checked before we sent the money? We have have called multiple times and sent registered letters and VRBO/Homeaway has never responded back to us. Great customer service - NOT.
Sue SB

Beware of this owner! Good Luck on getting your deposit back. Owner said there was drywall damage next to the fireplace after two weeks of unanswered phone calls and emails. After reviewing pictures of the fireplace that I took during my stay, I could see that the damage to the fireplace was repaired prior to our visit. When I finally got the owner on the phone he changed his location of damage to stratches by the stairs. This is a clear indication that the owner is dishonest. Owner cussed at me for 20 minutes on the phone and called me unspeakable terms. I would not reccommend that anyone rents from this owner.

a complete refusal to return security deposit of $500 US because od damages to a condo unit in ajijic mexico. all a total fabrication of how we left the unit. be cautious about giving secirity deposits like this. the owner is canadian and initially said she didnt receive the $1000 deposit on rent until i faxed her a copy of the canceled bank draft...then she "found it" beware beware beware of norah bird hamilton