RealJoy Vacations Customer Reviews 17
Pros and Cons of RealJoy Vacations: A Review Breakdown
RealJoy Vacations is a reputable vacation rental management company that has been providing exceptional services to vacationers in the Florida Panhandle for many years. Our company has received numerous positive reviews from satisfied customers who have had a memorable vacation experience with us.
Our guests have been pleased with the variety of vacation rental options we offer, from cozy beach cabins to luxurious oceanfront condos. They have also appreciated the exceptional customer service provided by our dedicated and friendly staff who are always ready and willing to help with any issues that may arise during the stay.
Many of our customers have praised the cleanliness and maintenance of our properties, stating that everything is well-cared for and in excellent condition. Our guests also appreciate the convenience and accessibility of our vacation rentals, which are located in some of the most popular and well-loved areas in the Florida Panhandle.
We take great pride in providing a seamless and stress-free vacation rental experience for our customers, and it shows in the positive reviews we have received. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of quality and service, and we are confident that our guests will continue to have memorable vacations with us.
refund for home i never stayed in
I had a terrible experience with this company. I was charged twice for a rental property and i only stayed at one property. While traveling i received an email saying that my card was declined and i need to update my card information. I submitted my card information not knowing i was booked for a 2nd property. Once i got home i discovered i was charged twice for a property i never stepped foot on. Once i got back home i called Home to go and RealJoy. I was told that they cannot refund my money due to them paying property owners. Sam and Tina are very rude they never tried to find a solution or tried to get my money back for rental property i never stayed in. I need to speak with someone over the billing department asap. This is bad business honest mistakes happen all of the time. BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY. They steal your money and when you call back for your money they say that they already paid the owners and there is nothing they can do. Sam Lidgard, Tina, Lisa are very rude they have horrible customer service and they hang up in your face. WARNING DO NOT RENT HERE DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE.
Kill joy vacations
Wish I could rate with no stars! This is a horrible company! More like "No Joy Vacations." My family and I rented a property managed by Real Joy Vacations for a small family reunion at 121 Moonlight Dr in Panama City FL this past weekend. As soon as we arrived the kitchen sink was clogged and the dishwasher pushed sewer (brown water) into the sink which caused it to overflow all over the kitchen floor and dining room floor. This was a foul situation as you can imagine. We spent a great deal of time mopping and cleaning up the water with the few towels they provided in the home. When we brought this to the attention of Airbnb and "Kill Joy Vacations" they refused to find another rental property for us. Having paid over $4000 for 4 days at the rental and spending $700 on food from the grocery store that we were unable to cook due to not having access to a functioning kitchen sink or dishwasher, we spent even more money on eating out with our family of 11. Real Joy Vacations and Airbnb decided that a reimbursement of $508 was enough for our troubles. It was not. Our "relaxing family vacation" turned into a stressful and even more expensive event. The sink nor the dishwasher was fixed during our entire stay. Whatever you do, do not rent a property through Real Joy Vacations! Airbnb was no help either and backed this property management company even though we provided plenty of proof. Unfortunately I am not able to upload my videos below. Take my word for it...this company is worthless and Airbnb will not hold them accountable. My family and I will be going with VRBO and Vacasa from now on.
Evidence
Clogged a leaking kitchen sink
Beware of owner hidden dunes 601
A group of 11 of us arrived on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 pm to Hidden Dunes 601. At around 8:30 pm after just arriving 4 hours prior, we received a knock on our door from 2 of the front desk girls. They said to pack our bags because we are being evicted immediatly. The owner saw my husband on the ring doorbell with a cigar in his mouth. The owner was watching our every move since arriving. Even though we explained to them we just arrived and did not know all the rules, and the cigar was only smoked outside, they still said it didn't matter. We couldn't believe we were at least not given a warning first before receiving such excessive punishment. We pleaded with them to let us speak with the owner. The owner refused to speak with us. It was getting late and between the two families we had 7 children with us. It's spring break and we knew almost all hotels would be booked. We had nowhere to go with exhausted children. The girls said they would speak with the owner again and explain our situation with having 7 children. Once again, we were told to leave. We were so desperate that we offered to pay a $1,000 fine if she would agree to let us stay. Her counteroffer was that she would allow everyone to stay, but my husband was still being evicted.
My husband and I walked down to the office to try and figure out our next steps. He was offered to stay a mile down the road at another RealJoy location. After just paying the fine that we couldn't even afford, we refused the offer for him to go elsewhere and pay more money for another condo until we could speak to management in the morning. My credit card was immediately charged. So, that night as humiliating as it was, he packed his bags and slept in our van.
There was no one on site as far as management goes at Hidden Dunes to speak in person with about our situation the next morning. Our only option was to call the 800 number for RealJoy. We were told nothing would be done for us and that the ower was rather a "big deal." I've never spoken to someone from management with such a rude, condescending attitude before.
Emily at the front desk was so angry about our situation, that it finally it reached the HOA president of Hidden Dunes. I give the front desk girls the biggest praise. They were only doing what the owner was demanding them to do, even though they didn't agree with it. We were brought into Becky's office and were told the owner overstepped her boundary and that he was allowed back into the condo. The owner questioned what kind of person sleeps in their car. This was just another example of her character. My husband refused to leave his family because that's the kind of person he is. This was after 3 nights of sleeping in our van and having cold showers.
Finally, on the day we arrived home from this nightmare, Robert called and we were given our full $1,000 back and 10% off a future stay if we chose to give RealJoy another chance. After what we endured, we refuse to give this company another dime. The 10% offer is a slap in the face. We should have at least been compensated for the 3 days he was evicted. Management didn't even know what policies and procedures were supposed to happen when sometihng like this arises. We were told multiple times how unfair and excessive our punishment was, how extremly strict and unfair the owner was, but yet it took 3 nights of sleeping in a van for anyone to step up and do anything about it. That's 3 days we can't get back as a family. A 10% discount for a future stay means nothing to us because we refuse to ever stay again. It was completely ruined by a power/money hungry owner and a company that doesn't even know their own policy. Do yourself a favor and never rent Hidden Dunes 601 or any property from RealJoy.
I booked directly with Real Joy last year to spend time in one of their properties in Destin FL in April
I booked directly with Real Joy last year to spend time in one of their properties in Destin FL in April . This company refused to give a refund even though most states have a shelter in place order due to Covid -19. I rebooked for another time since that was my only choice. I had to book by June 1st and must take vacation by the end of 2020 at the same property. Upon rebooking I notices the fees were lower for this time period and asked if I could at least get a refund for the decrease in price. They refused to provide a refund. I then responded to see if in lieu of a refund if I could check out late. They responded to let me know that late check is not something they could offer due to cleaning and unit inspection. Check out time is 10am so I not sure why they could not have just extended it few hours. I will not use this company again in the future and I do not recommend them as well.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
R.
Went on vacation hoping to have a relaxing time, my family and I had saved to be able to go together. The house picture and the description on line was deceiving, it was no where near the beach, nothing like the picture, there was noisy construction all around the house (next to, behind, and port a potties in the lot right outside bedroom). The house at first looked clean, however there were many things that were dirty. Most of all the BEDS my bedroom had Blood on the comforter, and animal hair, as did all the other beds. Some of the beds the SHEETS AND PILLOW CASES NEVER CHANGED. It looked like someone had been living in there with an animal and all the beds were used.There was animal hair everywhere, and the smell was awful. Even all the furniture on the front porch was cover with animal hair, you could not even sit on it. There was something in the house that caused breathing problems and one of the ladies it even caused a nose bleed. I have asthma and could not breath right. Unfortunately we had arrived late in the day on arrival, we had traveled many long hours to get there, which forced us to spend the first nigh in the house. We called and tried to get our money back and go somewhere else, however this company was very rude and gave us an argument, saying they were going to clean the house. Now let me ask you after saving for a year to go on this vacation, and looking forward to going to (what we though was going to be a beautiful,RESTFUL, PEACEFUL time) that turned out to be a nightmare, would you settle for less that getting your money refunded and going somewhere CLEAN and PEACEFUL?
I would not recommend dealing with Realjoy Vac. because there was nothing that was joyful about this trip, we were all stressed out and very very disappointed and dissatisfied at the house and the Realjoy office on how they handled this whole situation. If there were a negative minus zero that would be what I would rate them. Save your money and go with a more reliable and Honest company. They need to do the right thing and return our money, since we had a horrible experience.
They canceled our reservations after charging us in full. We booked through VRBO, and they refunded their fee within 24 hours. RealJoy has had our money for over a week and have yet to refund it. It should not take this long to issue a refund, especially when RealJoy was the party that canceled it. Very disappointed in their customer service. They have our full payment.
I wouldn't recommend booking with RealJoy. Our issues started at check in when the condo didn't have a copy of our reservation (despite everything being finalized a month prior and confirming our check in time). The lady at the front desk of the condo was able to handle everything and it wasn't a big deal other than a waste of time.
Next, we head to the room with our luggage and find out they hadn't even started cleaning. The lady told me it would be 20 min (to clean the entire condo.. hmmm) but she didn't even have a key to access the property! I called RealJoy to see what was going on and the girl I spoke with apologized but said we should leave the condo and go have a nice dinner (supposedly on them). I explained to her that we were standing outside with 2 full luggage carts and already had dinner plans so that wasn't an option. She then suggested we leave our personal belongings in the condo and someone would contact us once it's clean. I NEVER received a call, text, or e-mail.. we happened to walk back to the condo about 45 min later and they had finished "cleaning".
Third issue, I read a review about not being able to bring personal umbrellas to the beach but I couldn't find this stated anywhere else. I contacted RealJoy about personal umbrellas and tents and they informed me that both were allowed. Fast forward to setting up our umbrella on the beach.. we were told we had to take it down because the condo banned them 16 years ago!
Lastly, maintenance and cleaning are clearly an afterthought. The floors were still dirty, the extra blankets had stains on them, the washer had mold in it, and I found someone else's garbage under the nightstand table. The property also needed some minor maintenance - for example, the kitchen faucet wasn't secured to the counter so you needed 2 hands to turn it on.. one to hold the faucet in place and another to turn the water on (otherwise it spins 360 deg). RealJoy ended up giving us a $100 visa card but it wasn't worth everything we dealt with.. I recommend giving your business to someone else.
I read the reviews regarding the town house we were interested in
I read the reviews regarding the town house we were interested in. I felt that surely the previous negative comments would have been resolved 1 month later when we would arrive. How wrong I was. I notified them of the plaster in the bathroom ceiling falling down. Hoping it would be repaired before it got worse. ALL of the previous complaints had not been addressed. The appliances were not in working order. The outside grills, one of several worked at times. My daughter saw bed bugs coming out of her headboard during the night. Yes, she had several bites and became increasingly worse. It got so bad that she felt miserable and embarrassed to go outside. It did look horrible. ( this was a complaint from the previous guests) She needed to see a dermatologist when we got home. As luck would have it, yes they came home in her suitcase. The response we received after several notifications was a form letter and that they had investigated the complaint and found nothing. Very dissatisfied with the management of their properties.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
They stole our money. Like others on here, we were told we could rebook our vacation because the place closed over COVID. We were told that we had until 2021. Went to rebook and was told that we missed the date to rebook. They are liars and thieves. IF YOU OWN PROPERTY AND USE THEM, JUST KNOW THAT MANY OF US WILL NEVER GO TO A PROPERTY THAT THEY FACILITATE. This business should have a class action law suit against them.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I can tell you along with 3 others there was no JOY in using REALJOY Vacations. Oh it was real alright, a REAL nightmare...and we have many pictures to prove it ! On May 1st we pulled up after a 6 hour drive to start our long awaited vaca and the first thing I said was wheres the beach and what the heck is this... the surprise construction taking place approximately 2ft from the house, men walking past the windows and the noise it was ridiculous and aggravating, and there was no sign of the " walking distance to the beach" We went inside the first thing you notice is the air it was stale and there was definitely some type of irritant we started coughing. Then came all the other REAL joy findings... Hair all over the beds and unmade Dust on furniture etc Blood droplets on covers Wine fridge dirty Dirty finger prints on doors Outside porch dirt and mold Extra stored pillows in with the air conditioner that had dust and dirt all over it. I could keep going and like I said we have pictures to prove it. This company is NOT honest, does not back up their words and is not willing to help turn your vacation into any real joy ! It was a nightmare one we had to leave and never again will I reccomend nor use this company. ***Real joy you are dishonest and your company does not care for the consumer I DO NOT RECCOMEND THIS COMPANY.
We also had our late-April vacation plans affected by covid-19
We also had our late-April vacation plans affected by covid-19. After a lot of frustration (over several weeks) in trying to get anyone to reply to us, we finally were rescheduled to another date (and yes, they charged us more which doesn't seem right). The problem that still exists today is that they charged the 70% balance AFTER we specifically told them (multiple times) that they were not authorized to do so in March (it was still well outside of the 30 days at that time). After several more attempts to contact them, we were told on April 20 they would refund the money and collect when it is 30 days prior to our new date. It is now JUNE 4 and we are still paying finance charges on our credit card (no small amount) because they have not refunded it as promised. There has been no contact from them since April 20 even though I have attempted to contact them. I am a patient person but am at a loss as to how to get their attention and have this resolved. I am not one to give bad reviews even when I get bad service. So, you can imagine how my patience has waned.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
I am shocked at how rude, uncaring,money hungry and unprofessional this company is! My husband and I were scheduled to stay at SeaOats condo #302. Unfortunately the day we were supposed to leave, (flying in from Michigan for our vacation) my husband woke up extremely ill &throwing up. Had had to cancel our reservation and was hoping to get some type of a refund, or a credit, or anything! They were so rude! Basically just told me "no, sorry but our cancellation policy is very strict." If that's not bad enough, I then decided that at least my adult daughter could stay there for the last four nights that were already paid for, but They would not even allow that! They said that it was already canceled and she couldn't stay there. There is not a person I've told this story to, who doesn't think that's the least they could've done! I'm spreading the word about "RealJoy" vacations. BAD news! There are so many reputable companies! Please do yourself a favor & do not give your business to this company!
I can't wait to go back! We stayed in Fins Up and it was beautiful. We booked online and received our door codes and instructions before check in. During times like these, the hands off check in process was exactly what we needed. The house was amazing and clean! We will be back!
We had a great time at our rental home in Sandestin, FL. The home was clean and the neighborhood was quiet. It was perfect for our family vacation. We would definitely book through RealJoy again!
Everything was great - easy to reserve with quick confirmation and instructions on what to expect. Everything afterward happened automatically with periodic updates along the way, and then the door code arrived as promised on the day of arrival and we were in! The property was a great location and clean and well-stocked. Definitely open to rent with Real Joy again!
DO NOT GO THROUGH REALJOY vacation rentals!
DO NOT GO THROUGH REALJOY vacation rentals! They are absolutely horrible! I beg you to book with someone else! Every other place we looked to had a flexible cancellation policy! We booked our vacation when there was NO restrictions and things were looking more positive. Of course our governor deemed Florida as a "hotspot" and is mandating a two week quarantine when back of traveling to Florida. Of course we have saved up for this vacation and can't afford to take a 2 week unpaid quarantine after already being gone for a week! We kindly asked to have our reservation changed to a different date and pay more, but they refused and continue to tell us to look at their policy! This situation is 100% out of our control and they continue to send us automative responses or read from a script When we call! I beg you to not take the chance and go through someone else! If you are a homeowner and got through RealJoy, I beg you to Please take your business elsewhere! There is NOWAY they have 4 stars! They must have their peons writing fake reviews because this company SUCKS!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
Very disappointed with the service. With the current state of the country and more with the state of Florida this company needs to review their practices. I originally booked our vacation in April. We were able to rebook for a different time but Florida is one of the largest numbers of covid. I called to ask for a refund or maybe rescheduling in 2021. I was told that there are no exceptions being made because the beaches are open. But I am seeing Realjoy response to some people that they are allowing customers to reschedule for next year. If that's what is being done why was I told something different?
We had a great time in our real joy rental! Everything was better than expected. The staff was very easy to work with and extremely helpful. Our rental was very clean!
We have been waiting for over 6 weeks on a refund
We have been waiting for over 6 weeks on a refund. Every time I call it takes over 30 minutes to even get someone on the phone. Then I have talked to VERY UNPROFESSIONAL employees who acted like they did not know what they were doing. I was told they couldn't refund my money because there was no card on file but I sent through PayPal as a protection. I have also received PayPal refunds. Unsure why they couldn't refund my card. I then was told 2-3 weeks. So I waited patiently. Next i was told 4-6 weeks. So I waited patiently again. NOW today they have told me that the check possibly has not been sent. I have also been told that I would receive an email. Yet to receive one with confirmations, tracking numbers or anything. I am fed up. If I do not receive something in the next day I will he taking this into legal action. This is NO WAY to treat customers. Also I was very upset they even let me book to begin with during the pandemic but then cancelled. Seems very fishy and very unprofessional. I have no clue when I call if they are blowing smoke or actually giving me accurate details.
We had a reservation for the end of May; I tried canceling in March due to the COVID-19 but they told me I would lose my deposit or they could
We had a reservation for the end of May; I tried canceling in March due to the COVID-19 but they told me I would lose my deposit or they could push out my reservation. I pushed out the reservation but now with everything going on who knows "if" or "when" we will be able to take a reservation. I called back to the property today and was still told that I could not get a refund. All that I can say is WOW, so many people out of work and they need their money back. They didn't care about that, just that it was policy and no refund. I will never use VBRO or Real Joy again and we vacation in Destin every year. Beware of this company because they do not have any cares for the people that rent from them. I also told them I would leave a review and any where else that I can to let people know what you are getting into. I know that big companies really don't care about bad reviews because it is always a person that is mad that leaves them but this is for the person that is looking for a place a reservation, don't do it! I had to leave a star review or it wouldn't let me post my review; 1 star because they did return my call.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
DO NOT USE this management company
DO NOT USE this management company. They are very unprofessional and they DO NOT address issues in their units. The condo was advertised as a luxury unit and they charged a premium fee. The condo was anything but a luxurious. We arrived at midnight to find dried blood on our comforter ( which they did replace the next morning) . The next day we find mold in the shower, dishwasher had standing water and hair in the bottom ( it wasn't attached to the cabinet) dryer wouldn't spin, sink in another bathroom wouldn't drain, door to the condo wouldn't lock from the inside or outside, furniture was stained, walls were beat to death and patch painted. Condo was one of the dirtiest units I have EVER been in. We called and sent messages and they never responded. While we were on vacation we had to go get cleaning supplies to clean a condo that they charged us a $323 cleaning fee for. They NEVER offered to fix anything or refund any of the cleaning fee they charged us. Do yourself and your family and friends a favor and save them the headache and NEVER let them rent from Real Joy. I have made it a point to try and save people the same horrible experience I had while on vacation. There are to many other better options while renting vacation properties. Enjoy your vacation and stay Far Far Far Away from RealJoy vacation rentals.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I can tell you along with 3 others there was no JOY in using REALJOY Vacations
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I can tell you along with 3 others there was no JOY in using REALJOY Vacations. Oh it was real alright, a REAL nightmare...and we have many pictures to prove it ! On May 1st we pulled up after a 6 hour drive to start our long awaited vaca and the first thing I said was wheres the beach and what the heck is this... the surprise construction taking place approximately 2ft from the house, men walking past the windows and the noise it was ridiculous and aggravating, and there was no sign of the " walking distance to the beach" We went inside the first thing you notice is the air it was stale and there was definitely some type of irritant we started coughing. Then came all the other REAL joy findings... Hair all over the beds and unmade Dust on furniture etc Blood droplets on covers Wine fridge dirty Dirty finger prints on doors Outside porch dirt and mold Extra stored pillows in with the air conditioner that had dust and dirt all over it. I could keep going and like I said we have pictures to prove it. This company is NOT honest, does not back up their words and is not willing to help turn your vacation into any real joy ! It was a nightmare one we had to leave and never again will I reccomend nor use this company. ***Real joy you are dishonest and your company does not care for the consumer I DO NOT RECCOMEND THIS COMPANY.
I booked a rental from Real Joy through VRBO
I booked a rental from Real Joy through VRBO. Based on my experience, they are taking advantage of customers during the COVID-19 crisis. I contacted Real Joy in mid-March to cancel a reservation due to family safety concerns related to COVID-19. Real Joy said I could cancel without a refund or reschedule for the same property later in the year. As someone who lives far from Destin and does not frequent the area, rescheduling was not an ideal option. I inquired as to whether a refund would be issued if I canceled and Real Joy was able to re-rent the space and be made whole, and was told there was no guarantee of any refund regardless of circumstance. Since cancellation was effectively forfeiting my money, I had limited choice but to reschedule. The property subsequently re-rented for the same period I'd originally booked, and I immediately contacted Real Joy to see if they would change their decision since they had been made whole, and was told via email I would have received a refund if I had cancelled (which is directly opposite of what they shared in my prior conversation) but was no longer eligible. I've made multiple requests to speak with the CEO, ***, to explain the circumstances and have been repeatedly ignored. I'm sympathetic to the challenges of a small business during COVID-19, but their practices should not extend to profiting off customers after they have been made whole. I would strongly encourage everyone looking for rentals in Florida to avoid Real Joy.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
My family and I were looking forward to the vacation home rental last March (when Covid really hit)
My family and I were looking forward to the vacation home rental last March (when Covid really hit). Obviously everything was shut down and we contacted Real Joy and asked if we could reschedule or get our money back as most rental properties were doing this. We were thankful to hear that we could reschedule our vacation anytime in 2021. We quickly booked our spring break time in March. It wasn't until August when we found out the exciting news that we were pregnant and due right around our spring break date of 2021 for our vacation. Again, we had to call Real Joy to see if we could pick another date. Thankfully they said we could! When we went to actually book another date, the representatives went back on their word and told us they no longer could change the date and that we were stuck with the spring break date (which would be so easy to sell, that is a hot time). After many conversations and emails with representatives (they never allowed us to talk to management), they said there was nothing we could do. We were stuck with that date. This vacation rental property was not cheap and my husband, kids and I were very disappointed to not be able to go here and enjoy some much needed family time. All of these circumstances were not expected, yet Real Joy didn't seem to care. Maybe they should think about changing their name, as my family and I were very upset. I don't usually leave reviews, in fact if I do, I only leave positive ones, but in this case I had to let people know about this company and how they handle things.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
VRBO was generous in returning their Service fees and this was greatly appreciated!
VRBO was generous in returning their Service fees and this was greatly appreciated! I hope VRBO will look into Realjoy's policy and remove Realjoy from the rental program, as they are a business and completely acting like a business (they probably applied for the small business PPP Loan) In January, the 15th to be exact, I booked 2 units through Realjoy for 5 nights 5/13-5/18, I did read the cancellation policy "no refunds under any circumstances" and took the chance as we would not be cancelling our vacation. I lost the 30% deposit for 2 units as I canceled prior to the 30 days, I did read their offer for full credit for a future date but the time frame to request this offer did not take place until after the 30 days prior to of my stay date (you had to accept the credit offer but could not doing anything until 21 days prior to your stay date). So to be sure I would not lose the full amount charged for the 2 units, as they were going to charge my on the 12 of April, I cancelled on April 3rd. I felt the loss of the 30% deposit per unit was better than trying to figure out futures dates and losing the full amount. I decided with the acknowledgment of my fellow travelers that cancelling would be better as we had no idea of when we would be able to reschedule as a group. I feel Realjoy (they should change their name) under the covid circumstances as a business would at least take 1/2 of the loss as that is part of doing business (a full refund of the 30% deposit would be better) but at least something is better than nothing! Our loss their gain! *** S
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
Booked this reservation to coincide with the Panama City Thunder at the Beach bike week in April/May
Booked this reservation to coincide with the Panama City Thunder at the Beach bike week in April/May . Booking was confirmed and deposit was paid January 28. Covid19 Crisis forced the cancellation of the Motorcycle Rally, restaurants and bars were closed by Florida state Mandate and then all PC Beaches were closed. Contacted RealJoy about this reservation on March 30 and after much discussion with the RealJoy representative and even some misinformation, this reservation was cancelled. However, RealJoy refuses to reimburse 100% of the reservation cost despite the current pandemic situation. I understand that typically cancelling within 30 days of the arrival date would cost me 30% of my reservation, however in the current Pandemic situation, this policy seems to be unreasonable. I was told by the representative on the phone that the reason they refused to reimburse the entire cost was because they are doing "whatever they can to keep the business afloat". So, I am involuntarily contributing 30% of my reservation cost, so they can keep their business afloat? A "forced" donation to their cause? While I have much sympathy for everyone in the current situation, I would think that a Government Mandated "no travel" situation would force them to reimburse 100% of fees and charges. Even if such a reimbursement is not required by the State or Local Government, it would just seem like a good business practice. I can't imagine that quite literally "taking" my money is a way to "keep their business afloat". Some day all this will be over and I will not use or recommend Realjoy for any of my vacation or booking needs.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
*** R
R.
Went on vacation hoping to have a relaxing time, my family and I had saved to be able to go together. The house picture and the description on line was deceiving, it was no where near the beach, nothing like the picture, there was noisy construction all around the house (next to, behind, and port a potties in the lot right outside bedroom). The house at first looked clean, however there were many things that were dirty. Most of all the BEDS my bedroom had Blood on the comforter, and animal hair, as did all the other beds. Some of the beds the SHEETS AND PILLOW CASES NEVER CHANGED. It looked like someone had been living in there with an animal and all the beds were used.There was animal hair everywhere, and the smell was awful. Even all the furniture on the front porch was cover with animal hair, you could not even sit on it. There was something in the house that caused breathing problems and one of the ladies it even caused a nose bleed. I have asthma and could not breath right. Unfortunately we had arrived late in the day on arrival, we had traveled many long hours to get there, which forced us to spend the first nigh in the house. We called and tried to get our money back and go somewhere else, however this company was very rude and gave us an argument, saying they were going to clean the house. Now let me ask you after saving for a year to go on this vacation, and looking forward to going to (what we though was going to be a beautiful,RESTFUL, PEACEFUL time) that turned out to be a nightmare, would you settle for less that getting your money refunded and going somewhere CLEAN and PEACEFUL?
I would not recommend dealing with Realjoy Vac. because there was nothing that was joyful about this trip, we were all stressed out and very very disappointed and dissatisfied at the house and the Realjoy office on how they handled this whole situation. If there were a negative minus zero that would be what I would rate them. Save your money and go with a more reliable and Honest company. They need to do the right thing and return our money, since we had a horrible experience.
Here is an explanation in my own words as to why I'am leaving RealJoy Vacations a negative reviews
Here is an explanation in my own words as to why I'am leaving RealJoy Vacations a negative reviews. There are two major issues:
ISSUE #1:
We booked a home on RealJoy.com to rent, to go away on vacation to celebrate my birthday. We arrived On my birthday, May 1st, at *** Grayton Blvd, Santa Rosa Beach, FL around 5:30pm, after a 6 1/2 hour drive.
Upon our arrival, we hear and see loud construction going on literally two feet from the back and sides of the house. There were several pick up trucks and about 15 men still doing construction, banging, and playing their loud music till 6:45pm... I called RealJoy and spoke with Kris at 5:37pm letting her know how loud it was and she told me "we have no control over the loudness of the construction, we will call the HOA because the workers should have stopped by 5:00PM, but that she has no control over what they do". Then I said to her that no where in the listing does it mention "construction" going on. She told me that it was in the listing", I told her, "the three of us saw the listing and none of us saw where it mentioned "construction". If it had, we would have never book the property. Being a Travel Agent for over 8 years, this is something I make sure I look for and I promise it was not there, I believe they added it after we booked and paid for the home. When I booked the property back in March, it was NOT mentioned. Now if you go out there and "fish" for it there is a little tiny notation about it (deceiving I say). Not to mention the pictures they show on the page (they are enclosed), no where around the house does it show ANY CONSTRUCTION! Even if there was construction going on, this should be listed in big BOLD print and RealJoy should have said that the construction that is going on is literally 2 feet from the windows in the back bedrooms, on the side of the house and 25 ft across from the home. According to the neighbor I went and spoke too who lives across the street, I asked him, "when does the construction begin and end during the day?" And he said "too early and too late".
Since I wasn't happy with the customer service rep, Kris, I called back Real Joy Vacations again at 5:43pm and got another customer service rep on the phone, his name was Logan. I told Logan the situation and he was extremely sympathetic. I asked him if we were able to move to a different place, since they do have over 800 homes they manage, but he said "I would have to talk to my manager, his name is John". Logan did look to see if they had another place to move us, but he did not have the authority to do so, so he told me, "His Manager wasn't in, but he would talk to give me a call first thing in the morning".
ISSUE #2 AND THE WORST!
If that wasn't bad enough, we head up to bed around 11:01pm and the bedroom that I was planning on staying in (the house had 4 bedrooms), I noticed a stain on the white coverlet, so I decided to draw the sheets back and what did my eyes see, but a bed that the sheets were never changed, it looked like it had been slept in. I also found "hairs"and some stains on the sheets. Then I decided to take a further look around and check out all the bedsheets in each bedroom and the other coverlets to make sure there was not bed bugs, stains, etc, so I started in the upstairs Master bedroom where my mom was going to sleep. The White coverlet had several pieces of air, and also a some blood stains. I drew the covers back and saw more hair on the sheets. The closet where the A/C unit was, was located on the second floor right near the bedrooms. The door was dripping with dust, and inside the A/C unit is where they stored the pillows people sleep on. The baseboards were all dusty and I found several pieces of hair all over and the wine cooler had Never been wiped out from the previous renter.
RealJoy advertises "high touch surface safety" for COVID right on their homepage about how good they clean. Well, finding other peoples hair, blood stains and sheets that were never cleaned is definitely not up to anyones standards and surely not mine. Since it was 11pm at night we had no choice but to stay the night, so I threw my blanket down on top of the coverlet and tired to fall asleep.
In the morning of May 2nd, at 8:04am, I Calle RealJoy back again and spoke to Logan, and informed him about the situation with the beds and the sheets and to let them know that I was leaving the house and I expected a full refund. He said, "ok, Mrs ***, I'm soooo sorry, this is not up to our standards, we PRIDE ourselves on how clean our homes are" and I said, "well someone dropped the ball on this one and unfortunately we, my sister, my mother and my friend, are the ones that had to endure the extreme disappointment". I asked him if his manager was in yet and he said, "he is not in yet, but when he comes in, I will talk to him and have him called you back. I so wish that there was something else I could do to help you, I feel so bad this all has happened, I don't blame you for being so upset and not wanting to stay. If that happened to me and my family I would do exactly what you are doing". I told him, "Logan, I'm expecting a full refund", he said "my manager will have to call you back to discuss what can be done".
At 9:19am, Jonathan, the manger, at the Destin office of RealJoy, Called me back. I proceeded to tell him how disheartened I was with everything that has happened with our short stay, that we were all packed and ready to head out the door and that I expect a full refund for my rental. I expressed to him that it was my birthday on May 1, that I booked this vacation to come away with my family to get away from the stress of life and all I've had since I pulled up in the driveway was stress. He said, "well Mrs ***, I can not offer you a refund, but I can call my cleaning company back and have them clean the unit. I will also wave the cleaning charges and give you a gift card to go to lunch while they clean, but I will not give you a refund". I then appealed to him to just move us then to a different unit then. I told him that I'm not comfortable staying here, that the unit should have been checked over before I even arrived, yet he refused. He said, "we don't do that, we cant take money from one owner and give it to another". I again appealed to him to PLEASE do the right thing. I asked him, "would you stay here if you just went through this? How would you feel if you just drove over 6 1/2 hours to get to your destination, you are tired and this is what you walk into not to mention the banging of the construction which by the way will continue to go on everyday we are here". He responded with, "I'm sorry you are so disappointed". I expressed to him how upset I was, that being a Travel Agent, yes, this has happened to me before and EVERY TIME the different companies have always gone above and beyond to please the customer. He did not care, he stuck to his guns and said, "I'm sorry we don't do that here". I told him that I would have to talk to the rest of the girls and call him back on what we were going to do. Last thing I asked him, "why don't you put in our place Jonathan, how would you feel if this was you going through this" and all he said was "I'm sorry Mrs.", I believe I've done all I can do to compensate you and your choosing not to stay, so there is nothing else I can do ".
At 10:17am, I called Jonathan back and told him that we discussed it and since we did not like the options he offered, that he left me with no other choice then to dispute the charge with my American Express. He said, "I'm sorry you are disappointed, hope you have a better rest of your birthday trip", I said, "I would if you did the right thing". Then I asked him, "Jonathan, who is your boss?" And he said, "I am the boss, there is no one above me". I said, "interesting, so that is why you have no accountability. Have a nice day, good bye".
No one should ever, especially is this time of COVID be having to worry about the cleanliness of a home! I told him that I would go to the board of health with my findings if he did not refund my money, but that did not seem to phase him in the slightest.
My sister went out to ComplaintsBoard.com online and they have many negative reviews of this company not giving people their money back when it rightfully should be done.
We talked with a lady named ***, at *** Golf Resort, she is in the reservation office and when we told her what had happened, she said, "they have been known to not take care of their units and that they are not accommodating to their customers with refunds.
The stress of now not having to place to stay threw us all over the top. And this manager not even willing to bend was beyond hurtful! My sister who has many health issues saved up for a few years to be able to come on this trip and she sat int he car in tears because now we had to turn around and go back home. In her 60 years she has never been on vacation. What we went through is more than anyone should have to endure. There is enough stress going on in this world, no one should ever be subjected to more stress while on vacation.
By the way, at 7:15AM, the construction workers were back to the location on a Sunday, a Sunday...
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
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