HomeAwayReviews 1,748

I have used HomeAway several times with success. However my current experience is completely unsatisfactory. I inquired about a property in Barcelona and received no response initially. Finally received a response that it was unavailable, although the calendar (which was updated that day, according to the listing) as well as HomeAway itself, said the apt was available. Then pending charges were placed on my credit card twice and have not been removed four days later. I tried another apartment and the exact same thing happened. I now have four substantial holds on my credit card and no confirmed booking. Called HomeAway and was told I needed to contact the host. Host did not give a phone number and did not answer emails.

Warning to anyone who is thinking of using Homeaway or Owners Direct (one and the same company) to book holiday accommodation.
Did you know that despite paying a large deposit to "secure" your accommodation (which you forfeit if you cancel the holiday at anytime) the owners can cancel whenever they like? They have to return your deposit but if (like us) you paid in euros and the exchange rate goes against you, you may find that you have paid (in our case nearly 40 pounds) to NOT have any accommodation in the resort that your friends are going to which is now completely full...
Oh and don't expect to be able to speak to anyone to get help despite the assurances that your holiday is secure...

I have come to understand that HomeAway and VRBO function merely as third parties who connect renters with owners - they do not protect either party, and ask that each purchase their own insurance in the case of any problems that may occur; however, in my most recent attempt to work with them, I had a rude awakening. My booking was confirmed and my card charged (for over $2 thousand dollars) and then I recieved a message stating that due to a "system error" Home Away had submitted the wrong dates for my stay and the wrong dates were confirmed by the owner. They told me to reach out to the owner to correct this. Unfortunately, the owner refused to refund me. So what was HomeAways error become my nightmare. I have wasted hours communicating with HomeAway and the owner, only to have to file a dispute with my credit card company. Beware - I would never have expected this treatment from a company so large and with so much to lose.

Having been a subscriber for many years to the HomeAway.co.uk, managing several properties. I have been shocked at how little Expedia (the new owners) value their home owners on whom the business model was founded. The site won't function without us!
Few points:
SERVICE FEE - upto 10% charged to site users should you enable their "Book Now" facility. Users can't contact owner until card details are entered and the design is such that users are unaware of this fee. Therefore we're seeing unhappy users cancelling and them taking days to refund the fee.
SEARCH RESULTS - we are in Kinsale, and the results are serving properties up to 30km away ahead of legitimate Kinsale homes. Try this on a smart phone - users have no idea that houses aren't in Kinsale!
NEW SUBSCRIPTION FEE - As of 12 January 2017, they are introducing some new changes: the annual subscription will cost £249 +VAT for listings that have Online Booking enabled and £399 +VAT for listings that do not offer Online Booking. Forcing the hands of owners.
KILLING A FAB WEBSITE - Expedia, you are killing off an fantastic website. We know you paid 3.9 billion for it, and are therefore grabbing back the bucks where you can, but the site won't work if we all pull our homes from the service!

I wasted my time searching houses in homeaway! Making first a list of desirables. When I went to "inquire" ask seriously to the owner for a booking during the dates I was searching (available in thw website from homeaway) begon my journey through a list of "unavailable" houses! How is it possible... Just a scam... I´m very angry...

I "inquired" about a few dozen vacation rental listings per HomeAway's instructions that their web site said were available during the dates i wanted, but EVERY SINGLE ONE actually ended up being already booked. I wasted a lot of time on completely false listings. This site is deporable at best.

I have been a HomeAway user for the past six (6) years. I have always had a great experience until the recent changes to the site and the fees that they now charge... The page is very difficult to maneuver and there is no direct contact with your guests. This makes for a very time consuming process whenever one tries to book a stay... There must be alternative sites out there to migrate to... I will start looking today - HomeAway is the absolute worst vacation rental site at this time..

I am an owner and used VRBO for one year with excellent results until it implemented new policies and search algorithms. It is no longer a site focused on renting but focused on money only. They are now charging extra fees per rental. The searching is much more difficult due to the wide area they give even though you give a particular city or lake. No phone # or email for renter or owner for renter to ask questions they may have. Since Expedia has changed the whole format my rental inquiries have dropped significantly. They claimed all these changes would bring more inquiries but this has not been case for me or apparently many others.

I currently have a property listed on Homeway.co.uk and all I can say is stay away! They charge holiday makers ridiculous fees which I was not informed of when paying hundreds of euros to list my property.
They also charge VAT on my rental? Surely this is my income and they have no right to impose VAT on money which has nothing to do with them?
On a rental worth 900, a customer is charged over 110 extra in fees, 25.30 of that is credit card fees alone!
I had been diverting customers on to another site which I use, as there are no hidden fees on that one, but I received a stern email from homeaway to say that if I did not start accepting bookings on their site, they would take my property off line!
I must certainly will NOT be renewing my listing, would NEVER book with them for my own holidays and can only advise other to do the same.

I've been using Homeaway.com for about 6 years. The guests have been good so far. But I do my own research on them and ask for my own rental contract to be signed.

The company will do nothing to investigate a crime in progress. I was contact by a convicted criminal through Homeaway.com trying to do a lease scam on me this time. I contacted Homeaway.com and sent them his policy report from where he was arrested before for this crime. This is part of their response: Thank you for contacting HomeAway Trust & Security. I understand you investigated your traveler Sean Downing and you found a record on him. I do not however understand what your question is. We do not block people from our site due to their past... If Homeaway.com won't block a convicted criminal perpetrating lease scams, then how are they calling themselves the Trust and Security Department.

They have penalized me for speaking out about their policies. I complained openly because they started charging travelers a fee in addition to the annual fees owners already pay. They offer no services for these fees. It's just greed. As a result, they closed my account. Eventually, they reopened it when I apologized and took down my complaint of these greedy practices, but they didn't reinstate quickly. I had to contact them three different times. No credit back to me of course.

I gave them two stars because the idea of Homeaway.com is good. But this is a company that puts profits before your safety and security.

I am owner and used homeaway and vrob for years. It is now no longer a site focused on renting but focused on money only. They are now charging both owners up front and per rental along with charging the renter. The searching is much more difficult due to the wide area they give even though you give a particular city or lake. No phone # or email for renter or owner for renter to ask questions they may have. Since Expidia has changed the whole formate my rental inquiries have dropped significantly. They claimed all these changes would bring more inquiries but this has not been case for me or apparently many others.