VRBO

Dear Mr. Xuereb,

" Let Me Name the Ways"

In most cases, a title like this would usually lead to great accolades, but certainly not in this case!

We are world travelers and have rented owners homes and apts in many countries.

Our recent rental was Apartment 7, Triq Sant Agata Sliema, SLM 1013, was fraudulently misrepresented in photos and description.

Great photo examples are attached showing wonderful ocean views from a bedroom window, and the balcony compared to the actual views of old buildings and current construction shown in our photos.

The two bedrooms were staged, with wonderful bedding and pillows in the web photos vs mattresses without covers, one sheet, and duvets also without covers. (Photos attached). The described K in bed size is the frame only, double-size mattresses were provided. One mattress was terribly stained along with its duvet cover!

We rented the apt for two weeks period, there was no fresh linen supplied until requested. The towels were worn-out, and none were bath size, no beach towels were provided, . there was however pool use rules provided with no pool onsite!

Apt security was nonexistent, the sliding balcony door could not be locked, an available lockable drawer was broken, and there was no safe.

Kitchen: a nonworking electric kettle was supplied along with, half of a toaster, The TV never functioned even after two repair visits, and the use of the elevator was restricted by a misfunctioning call button. The hair dryer often overheated and shut down!

In professionally managed rentals, we have always found an owner's welcome book which included among other things useful information as well as instructions for appliance use, TV, A.C., etc. There were always a few recommendations on local grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants. There were no pamphlets whatsoever on bus and boat services. If not supplying any of these how easy would have it been to provide a list of appropriate websites?

Regretfully the experience in renting this apt was overall very disappointing and we fully intend to warn others of the deceptions in its rental advertising.

Regards

JM Snell

Canada

[protected]@shaw.ca

9/7/22-I had made reservation to stay at the Stone County, Mo. lodges/cabins on 9/14-9/16. Driving up from Jonesboro, AR. My husband got food poisoning from eating at Zaxby's and was extremely sick late Sunday and early Monday (9/11-9/12). I contacted the host Steve & Shanda Moore and asked first if they had any other reservations later in the week since he was sick. I was told then that they were booked up and next available dates would be Oct. 14-16 or Nov 1 & 2. I explained how sick my husband was and still now knowing for sure if we were going to be able to make the trip. Steve advised me to go into the VRBO website and cancel the reservation. Which I did and it sent me a notification at 9:42am ib Monday. It also stated that it would notify the host/home owners of the cancellation and also a refund should be done within the next 5 business days. 6 days had passed and hadn't gotten anything, so I reach out to VRBO customer service line and explained the situation and they called the Host and got Steve. Steve told them that they would have to reach Shanda since she took care of it. The representative said that he tried to call, but couldn't reach her so he gave me the number. I called and left her a voice message on Saturday at 3:30pm 9/17. Sunday at 4:00 9/18, still had not heard anything so called the customer service VRBO again. This time I was told, that I didn't call in enough time to be given a refund and I should have gotten the insurance to help pay for things that come up. The insurance was more than my 2 day stay and I called within 32 hrs. of us leaving to come to Branson, 9/14. Then VRBO said they would reach out to host and see if something else could get worked out. I finally got an email from Shanda and she said that I could make a future reservation sometime and they would put my money toward that. But then she added that they were booked up until after Jan. 23. I told her that I wanted a refund and expected it ASAP. They are still billing me a service charge and a cleaning fee even though we weren't there. This place is a sham and have all of these loop holes that they hope that you do not catch. Still trying to get my 352.14 back

I am 82 years old and have several debilitating medical conditions which classify me as handicapped. My lady is three years younger than me. We rented a studio in a home at 52 Standish St., Weymouth, MA [protected] from 7-15-22 to 7-18-22 to visit the area. Upon arrival we found that the bathroom was one story up from the studio and accessible only by climbing very steep and slippery stairs. From what I have been able to determine a private home owner needs to comply with the state and federal handicap laws if they operate a bed and breakfast type of facility out of their home. This property was not compliant. A warning against this property is suggested.

I am an owner and have waited over 40 days for disbursement of my last rental June 1 to June 6.

This has been a recurring problem and I thought was corrected orginally only to find out it still exists.

VRBO customer service is horrible, I can not get any representative on line or even via chat. There is no recourse for correction, and I am lost at next steps.

I will be deleting my property from your service at the end of the year.

Bob

My complaint is not with the owner of the property, but with VRBO directly. My husband and I booked a rental in San Jose, Costa Rica for 6/13 for a week. We booked it according to the pictures we saw. The cancellation policy doesn't make any sense. We could only cancel the rental until the 10th. If you've never been to an area and are going on just the pictures of the rental, how can you really know what the place looks like and what the area around the rental is like. When we got to the rental, we were very disappointed with not the unit itself, but the area. It was clearly an industrial area and we did not feel safe staying there. We were in contact with the owner and he was very nice, but no one would refund our money. We could not stay there. I believe VRBO should change their cancellation policy and require owners to put 360 degree videos of the surrounding area. If you get to a place and it's not acceptable, and you choose not to stay, you lose maybe one night, not the whole weeks rental. I will never use VRBO again. We paid almost $500 for a rental we did not stay at.

We originally booked the unit for one week. The charge for this rental was $981.79. We subsequently booked an additional day. The charge for this additional rental day was $109.00. These two charges total 1090.79

We originally were concerned about this rental because the address we were provided was not accurate. It wasn’t until February 23, 2022 (three days before check in), that VRBO released the address for the rental unit. When we tried to map the address, we discovered it was incorrect – it was in the middle of an intersection in a commercial area. In an attempt to get the correct address, we tried to call VRBO 26 times over 2 days, but it never answered. We tried to reach VRBO on Facebook, but got no response. Finally, we were able to reach VRBO on twitter. VRBO responded on twitter and stated there was nothing that it could do, it was up to the property owner to cancel the reservation, and the property owner would not agree to do so. However, due to the inconvenience VRBO agreed to issue us a refund of $97 for the VRBO fees. On February 25, 2022, the owner finally provided VRBO the correct address.

VRBO is a rental site and it is entirely the property owner’s responsibility to ensure the proper address is listed with VRBO. If we would not have looked up the address in advance and would have arrived in the evening, we would have been without accommodations. Despite the owner’s last-minute correction of the address, this turned out to be early evidence of the owner’s fraudulent and misleading listing.

We arrived at the rental unit sometime around 8 p.m. on February 26, 2022. At that time the temperatures in Houston were in the 40s, with low temperatures just above freezing. Upon entering the rental unit we discovered that there was no heat in the unit. The heat was clearly not even at a minimal level in the unit, and the temperature in the unit was close to the outdoor temperature. We were unable to get the two small heaters in the unit to operate.

4. In addition to the problems described above, our major complaint is that the property was not as described on the VRBO website. We were traveling with our two mid-size dogs. One of the main reasons we chose this rental unit was because it was advertised as having a large yard which would allow us to safely walk our dogs in the yard, without venturing into an unknown neighborhood. The VRBO website shows pictures of the large yard. The pictures of the property show the entire yard available and that is how the property was advertised. We have pictures from the website that we can provide, however, your instructions said your system cannot accept photographs. However, upon arriving there was not a yard, just a small fenced-in area around the landing at the bottom of the stairs leading to the unit. We have pictures of the actual yard that we can provide, however, your instructions said your system cannot accept photographs. The advertisement of this unit with a large yard was a misleading and fraudulent representation of the unit.

5. Furthermore, the small fenced-in area available to us was full of litter, particularly under the stairs. With all the litter, we could not safely allow our dogs to use this area.

6. On February 26, 2022, we contacted VRBO by phone at 8:13 p.m. That discussion lasted 24 minutes, and we expressed our concerns about the lack of heat and the misleading description of the size of the yard. During that discussion VRBO put us on hold and tried to reach the owner, but was unable to reach him. VRBO left him messages at all of the numbers it had on file for the owner. As we were about to leave, the owner responded on the VRBO platform and made suggestions for things to do to get the heat working. Those suggestions did not result in successful operation of the heating units. The unit was not safe for occupation. The owner offered to try to have a maintenance person come out later that evening, but we informed the owner that would not be necessary because we had decided not to go forward with the rental. This was because we considered the unit unsafe because of the heating problems, and because of the concerns addressed in paragraphs 1 through 5 above. VRBO advised us that there was not anything it could do because the owner had to agree to the cancellation and had not so agreed

7. At 9:09 p.m. on February 26, 2022, we called Citi. In a 19-minute conversation we expressed our concerns. The Citi phone representative stated that they could not make decisions on contested charges over the phone, but said that not having heat was a valid reason for contesting the charge. However, the credit card contestation was denied because of the "contract" with VRBO stating we did not cancel in time.

In Feb 2022 booked condo for 3 nights in early July. Schedule changed and so I wanted to change the dates (and saw that the condo was free on my requested dates). Sent multiple messages through the VRBO platform. Also called the owner who said he would call me back. Called VRBO customer service when I didn't hear back from the owner. VRBO website says owner has 24-48 hours to respond. Owner never responded to me.

Husband got worried that we wouldn't have a place to stay so he booked another condo (same owner). Sent messages to owner about that unit. No response.

I contact VRBO customer service about 8 times over the course of 10 days. Agents said a supervisor would call me. No one ever did.

Had to cancel the original reservation while I could still get my money back. Paid way too much for the second reservation. Would like VRBO to refund the difference I paid (per night) for the second condo.

We rented a place for Memorial Day weekend for 3 nights (this is after the original rental we confirmed was cancelled by VRBO for no reason). We arrived and called the phone number provided. An individual answered and we told him we were trying to check in. “Check in to what”? Is what we got back. We told him the VRBO….he told us to hold on a second. After rummaging through whatever he was doing, he hung up on us. We called him back. Nothing. Left a voicemail with the phone number. Nothing. We went to the property manager to see if they could help us. They were not able to. So now we start calling VRBO. 30-45 minute wait every time. And they are hanging up on us after waiting. We have been unable to get ahold of any living creature to help us out. Last time we use VRBO.

We rented a vacation home through VRBO. There was no rental agreement provided. The home owner was not responsive in a timely matter. Guests were denied access into gated property. Home access code was not provided prior to arrival. Home was missing furniture. Home was filthy. Pool was not functioning properly. Belongings from previous owner or renters were left inside home. Belongings included clothing, food, party decorations. We had to purchase light bulbs for lamps and batteries for all TV remotes. I can provide photos upon request.

RESERVATION made to condo in Myrtle Beach in large hotel, condo privately owned. On 4/2/2022, arrived to condo @ 4pm as written in information. Front desk stated that owner should have provided parking permit in the room. Hotel, dirty looking, aged, greasy surfaces, door of our unit, lock lose. Unable to reset code for lock as directed to new confidential code. Large bag of garbage outside of room. Surface of everything in room had "oil-like residue". Previous client clothes left in drawers. Filthy appearance. Opened kitchen drawers and cock roach feces in drawers. Left room, attempted to sign into site later, unable to log into site. Reached owner on Sunday 4/3/2022. Various phone calls to VRBO, stating that owner must refund monies. Back and forth emails to owner. Unable to reach owner by phone, even though I requested him to call.

This condo is not as represented in pictures. Miniature compared to pictures. Hotel not as seen in pictures. Cockroach feces unacceptable. Please help me.

The stress from this occurrence led to hospitalization during my vacation.

Date: May 12, 2022

Renters playing loud music in back yard that has very repetitious, annoying drum beat. Noise can be heard inside my neighboring house with all doors and windows closed. Trying to sleep with ear plugs and can still hear music. First noted at 10:30pm and still going at 11:13pm. Awaiting response by Mesa Police Dept. for noise ordinance violation.

Rental house is in quiet residential neighborhood and this is very disrespectful of the neighboring property owners who live here. No hotel rental permits such noise.

Moderation

CASE # [protected]

VRBO

Janice texas

Guests who OWE MONEY for a stay should not be able to leave a review unless they have settled and paid any claim against them.

It goes to say…the guest is OBVIOUSLY not happy & will leave a bad review!

I demand satisfaction.

I demand VRBO implement a rule That prevents guests from giving a review until their stay is PAID for in its entirety.

VRBO Case # [protected]

Moderation 

CASE # [protected]

VRBO

Janice texas

Guests who OWE MONEY for a stay should not be able to leave a review unless they have settled and paid any claim against them.

It goes to say…the guest is OBVIOUSLY not happy & will leave a bad review!

I demand satisfaction. 

I demand VRBO implement a rule That prevents guests from giving a review until their stay is PAID for in its entirety.

VRBO Case # [protected]

I have a reservation for a house in Bend, Oregon. The dates are May 11-May 15, 2022. I have paid all of the fees. One of our guests broke their hip and was not going to be able to make the trip. I began requesting a change of dates before the deadline. I sent 3 messages over the week with no response. I contacted VRBO and told them the situation. They sent an email no response. Then when I called the agent said she would call them, please hold on the line. I held for 30 minutes then was disconnected. No one every called me back. I called about 5 days later and spoke to someone again. They told me I should call the property management company. I did and the number is not a working number. I believe this is a fraudulent rental. I called again and the agent called verifying the number is not a working number. The agent is telling me that I will have to request a refund from the property owner. How am I supposed to do that when it is a fraudulent ad? Then the agent told me I should make the 10 hour drive to Bend, Oregon and go to the place to see if it is available. If not they will find me a place to stay. You have got to be kidding. I am beyond frustrated and angry. I am told I am not eligible for a refund. If fraud is not a reason for a refund what is? Isn't this why we use VRBO for the safety of it? Please Help!

VRBO will not help the renter,they are only concerned with the house owner,

as that is who pays them. DO NOT use this site.

In May of 2021, VRBO listed and rented my property in Kelowna BC. Since then, they have refused to pay any of the amounts owed to me. In my complaint to the BBB, they falsely claimed that they were working on my account, that there were computer problems they had to work out, and even that they were going to promptly look after payment to me. None of this has occurred. They made other false statements to the renters to cover the actual situation. They originally stalled by providing me with false information and failing to provide appropriate contact information to the departments causing the problem. Their last word to the BBB was that they would not make payment because they had not received disputed monies for another rental from years ago where VRBO owed me monies (again). When the legalities of that situation was explained, they essentially indicated that they were not interested in the law, and that they had my money.

No refund from vrbo we will never do business with vrbo due to case#[protected], did everything according to what was on vrbo site but they used a secondary site hotel connect and no refund. We have tried since Dec. 2021 till date, March 16, 2022. Watch what refund system that they use we got caught.

This is the second complaint on this site...

James & Kathlene

Vrbo gave us a false address for our rental unit. Because I arrived at 9:00 pm I had no choice but to sleep in my car. The following day I recieved the correct address from Vrbo and was able to access the unit . No apology, no offer of compensation from Vrbo. Sleeping in my car aggravated my back condition which basically ruined my vacation.

During our stay the unit owner allowed access to an 'inspector' while we were not there . After this 'inspection' I noticed 500 $ missing from my bag .

Upon our return home Vrbo informed us of an extra 200 $ ' cleaning ' charge .

The unit was an absolute disgrace, dirty smelly and almost nothing worked, lights fans etc .

Vrbo has not responded to any of our complaints .

Cancelled reservations Dec. 7,2021 and as of March 5th, 2022 no refund.

Cancelled before no refund date Jan 28, 2022 and should get 80% back but got $281.00 of the $855.06. Followed all procedures as requested and a total of over 60 emails back and forth and no refund. I sent bank statements, and all information requested but still no refund. Called customer service many times on phone 1-2hrs with no results only escalated to next level and unable to talk to

who is the next level. My wife and myself have lost all trust in VRBO.

The reason we did cancel was due to my wife health problem.

This is under comp# [protected] (VRBO)

I have been a premier host consecutively for three years with all five star reviews and hundreds of bookings. Someone in a department, no one will see the name, decided to deactivate my account. No doubt, mistakenly. I have been working for a month with customer support to correct their err. Nobody will allow me to speak with Management, not even customer support’s own management! I am simply told, and every single host out there may relate, that they must be the ones to escalate the concern to the other department that you have zero access to. They do not respond to emails, customer supports claims, anything. You are given no reason and no response to why your listing has been deactivated and no one is allowed to reactivate you except for this particular department that I know no name of.

AirBNB is even worse. Be forewarned of both VRBO and AirBNB!

I booked a rental with VRBO and paid the fees associated with the booking. However, within a week, we realized that our trip plans had to be changed and I requested a cancellation of our reservation. I received a refund from the host within 1 day of the request, but 15 days later I still have not been refunded the fee which VRBO charges for the booking. This all transpired well within the cancellation dates listed on the rental site. I contacted VRBO by phone and spoke with a representative who explained that they had not received a cancellation, although my trip page on their site listed the rental status as "cancellation pending". I was told to send confirmation of the cancellation either by screen shot or photo of the owner's agent's email confirming that the booking had been cancelled. VRBO took my payment without hesitation, yet I have to

work to receive a refund which is rightfully mine.