HomeAwayReviews 1,748

My husband and I thought about renting an apartment in NYC through Homeaway. After weeks of searching, we started to get a really bad feeling about the properties. We never got a response from a contact person who was an owner, only managers. There were often (apparent) multiple units available in a building, but you couldn't tell if the descriptions and/or pictures matched any of them. When we tried to ask a question, suddenly the apartments weren't available anymore. Then we discovered that NYC had passed an ordinance in 2012 prohibiting short term rentals. We know Homeaway maintains that it is only a conduit between the property owners and possible renters and their terms and conditions maintain they are not responsible to determine whether a homeowner is compliant with licensing and zoning laws. But how would you feel if you booked a rental through Homeaway (or its affiliates) and found out you either couldn't stay there legally and/or safely OR the place was a dump because Homeaway has no mechanism to insure that what an owner says about their property is true? (As an aside, owners violating a prohibition against short term rentals in Asheville, NC, had to cancel reservations when the city shut down the illegal renting.) You think you can trust the listings on Homeaway? Renters, beware!

My family paid a $500 deposit on a house for a vacation this summer. The owner sold the house, the new owner isn't honoring the contract (they already booked someone else for the same dates) and nobody is returning the $500 deposit. HomeAway refuses to help and says their guarantee does not apply. We paid $500 and are not receiving the product/service paid for! I understand the owner is to blame but HomeAway should take some responsibility and at least assist us in pushing the owners to do the right thing.

I list my vacation rental on VRBO and an appalled at the fees they are charging the customers who wish to rent through the site. I posed as a renter, and the least I was quoted as a "service fee" was $400. When I tried to book for a seasonal rental, the amount was $499. This is very disturbing, since the owners pay $349 and up to advertise on the site, and then if a credit card is used VRBO charges the owners anywhere from 2.5 to 3% fee for the service. I have already paid the advertising fee for the year, but I will turn off the auto renew for next year and find another rental site. The other annoying thing is that they listed our condo as being in a different condo complex and I couldn"t change that. I had to contact customer service. I must say I did get an email response within 36 hours and was satisfied with that since they claimed they corrected the issue. What other sites are homeowners looking at to place their listings? I just noticed that Tripping.com does not charge any addtional fees after the listing fee. Sounds good to me white it lasts!
Oh, and just to add one last comment, I have not received one inquiry since this new implementation began! By By VRBO! Update: I have just listed another condo I own with vacationhomerentals.com a Trip Advisor site... check it out!

VRBO/HomeAway was a great place for regular home owners to contact and rent out their properties to other like minded individuals and travelers. I paid up in advance several hundred dollars to list my property without extra fees added. Suddenly, without more than a 25 day notice an added 9% service fee is added to my customers total bill for the privilege of using the site to find a vacation home to rent. Our long time customers will be given the same treatment. VRBO has done nothing to earn this money from them. It's the conscientious home owners who provide clean and affordable private vacation home accommodations that made this company. HomeAway - now purchased by Expedia - needs to realize that these same owners can also bring the company down. Many of us homeowners who loved using this site are now looking for new alternatives. Why did you have to get greedy? You already are making good money on our listing fees and almost forcing us to accept your credit card processing to be seen on the site. This last 9% fee is the straw that broke the camels back. As soon as I can find a site like VRBO used to be, I along with many others will be switching. In the mean time I HAVE ADDED A NOTE TO MY VRBO/HOMEAWAY LISTING SUGGESTING POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS DEAL WITH ME PERSONALLY TO AVOID THE EXORBITANT FEES, I ENCOURAGE OTHER OWNERS DO THE SAME. MAYBE THIS WILL GIVE VRBO A WAKE UP CALL. Also, this is not a hotel site, we are renting our personal vacation homes. Some of the new booking regulations are practically forcing us to accept guests without the time to do a background check. We owners have everything to lose if we rent to irresponsible guests. VRBO can collect all these new fees with no value added to anyone but themselves and take on virtually no liability for themselves. VRBO was a great company and idea, I'm so sad it's breaking down...

I have been advertising on Homeaway and VRBO for over 10 years. They used to place your ad in the list depending on your number. If you were with them for a long time, you had a low number and were higher on the list. Now it goes by how much you pay and whether or not you allow them to hold the money. If you dont, then you are lower on the list. In addition, they block out the phone number and email address. You have to go on the owner site to get this information which takes time.

I recently signed up for vacationhomerentals.com. I am getting good inquiries and bookings from that site! We need to all leave VRBO and Homeaway! They are NOT the only game in town!

I'm and ownner that rents our home. I started with VRBO and they were acquirred by HomeAway. The model has always been; pay for annual subscription and you get a website with functionalatily to book your vacation rental, it's been great. Well in Februray of 2016 HomeAway has started charging fees to renters that range from 4 to 9%, this is very frustrating and a poor way to do business. Any inquiry I have had in February has refused to pay the fees. Be aware that booking through HomeAway sites results in additional service fees.

As an owner of two properties on VRBO (aka Home Away), we are enraged by their recent policy to start charging our guests a commission, without adding any benefits to them or the owners. They continue to charge us an annual fee, which is what we used to pay for the website service. With Air bnb, we receive homeowner protection, but no discernable benefit from homeaway. They claim that the additional service we get is more advertising. We have not noticed any difference in increased inquiries, but have noticed a deterioration of service via longer wait times to speak to a technician. We would love to see a company continue the old policy of VRBO (annual fee and no fees) and there will be a mass exodus to this new company.

I have several vacation rental properties and have previously enjoyed a great relationship with HomeAway. However, since HomeAway was acquired by Expedia... it has turned into an absolute nightmare. They charge a bogus "Service Fee" which has no added value what-so-ever. Let's just call it what it is... a 9% Rip Off Fee disguised as a "Service Fee". However, as a renter, when you call, they put you on hold for 20 minutes or more and there is really nothing they can do for you if something goes wrong with the property--that is the owner/manager's responsibility. We don't need a middleman in there mucking things up. What they are offering is a false sense of security and nothing more.

A very unhappy advertiser!

We rented the house at 516 Henley circle, davenport, fl.(outside kissiminee, fl.
DON'T DO IT!
Here are just SOME of the things that are wrong with this unit
Shower is sooooo loud it wakes up people in the other part of the house
The pool was cloudy and buggy
The beds are so bad we had to put the mattress on the floor; every time a person moves, The noise from the box springs under the KING bed wakes up your partner when ever you move
Other bed are as HARD as sleeping on the floor
No face cloths for washing
No dish cloths
No lock on the screen door to the patio
No lock on the pool screen door
Large burner on the stove, not operating
Cannot get the patio fan to operate

HomeAway is VRBO parent Company. Check this out. I planned a trip to Maui with my wife after being together for 30 years over and over Veteran's Day 2015. I am 100% disabled Veteran and chose a 5 Star listing with VRBO and when we got to Maui the place was severely misrepresented, being full of Jumbo Cockroaches, Bed Bugs and an assortment of just plain filth. We couldn't stay the night, we had to get another clean place to stay which we did and the A**holes at HomeAway and VRBO offered me nothing! NOTHING! Then they would not let us post a review, the one's we did post they took down and it only cost us $ 1800. 00 that was our lost on the rental and then we had to get another place, certainly not a nice way to treat anyone yet a 68 year old disabled VET, $1800 F#&%$#@ D*^#$@
So anyhow if your gonna get a Fu%#in you should at least get a Kiss, "just sayin"

How I can get the warranty back from Homeaway Portugal? The owner got a mail saying will be pay at the end of February, nobody contact me or pay? He has no complain at all.
I paid it 1 month before the renting time and now HomeAway is taking another month. Financial compensation? What can happen to the properties one month before or after the renting time and be my responsibility. I used the service in Hilton Head (October 2015) Portugal (February 2015) Orleans and Normandie (September 2014) April 2014 (Hilton Head) etc. etc.

Well, to be more accurate, the meddling of HomeAway as an intermediary between us Owners and our guests has ruined both the Owner and Travel experience!

All of the changes to VRBO have ruined a once great site.

Many of them were done under the guise of "security enhancements" (required due to HomeAways ineptitude when they first acquired VRBO).

They also implemented side-channel advertising (that displayed ads for competing products on the same page as my *paid* ad), year-over-year usury increased fees to owners, "enhancements" to the site that, frankly, almost nobody wanted (except the mythical, magical, and unsubstantiated people that HA purportedly surveyed). The list goes on!

Now, they have the audacity to triple dip! For travelers this means a 13% increase in the rental cost (10% booking fee + 3% credit card fees) for absolutely zero value!

They claim a "care-free" guarantee but, if you read the fine print, what they really offer is encouragement for travelers to do a charge-back on their credit-cards to recover funds. They have absolutely no obligation under the terms of the "guarantee" to do *anything*. It is a straight, plain-old money grab. A tax on owners and travelers.

If you're a traveler and you are concerned, buy travel insurance which will provide you much more protection than the fake HomeAway "Care Free" guarantee or, easier, use your existing credit card coverage and pay the owner using a service like PayPal.

I encourage all of our guests to book directly with us and save the 13+% fees.

Do HomeAway and VRBO suck? YES, they do.
Do the properties listed on HomeAway and VRBO suck? NO, they don't -- find us another way, save money, and get a personalized Owner booking experience!

The 3 Best Alternatives to HomeAway and VRBO
Ingrid Genest is a travel blogger specializing in alternative lodging trends, marketing, and advertising including Vacation Rentals, Inns, B & B's, private rooms, and sublets.

With the recent acquisition of HomeAway by travel giant Expedia, which also includes flagship sister sites VRBO and VacationRentals.com, comes a slew of changes that has vacation rental advertisers seriously questioning value. Here is a glimpse at just a few of the problems at HomeAway leaving owners and property managers scratching their heads for viable alternatives:

- Expensive pay-for-positioning packages that do not convert to increased inquiries and bookings

- The heavy-handed push toward a "one-size-fits-all" booking and quotable rates model (think hotel)

- Mandatory traveler booking fees offering no particular benefit for Owners or their Guests

- Ever changing search algorithms forcing advertisers to play by HomeAway's rules, or risk having their listings pushed to the bottom of the pile

I have 2 properties on HomeAway and have barely been booking for the summer season!
Because of their greed, renters are turned off, and I as an owner will definitely NOT sign on
With them again! First it was taking the damage protection out of my hands ( I am the owner after all) and now imposing a ridiculous fee on our renters! I am looking for alternative sites or maybe one of us can be creative, begin a new and more honest
Business!