VRBOReviews 2,004

We booked a villa in Las Terrenas, DR for our honeymoon on Oct. 24 and the property manager now tells us our reservation was not booked. We called customer service and a woman told us she'd 'get back to us,' but hasn't. Our flights are already booked to the DR for Christmas day. We have no place to stay, and VRBO and the property owner have our money. This is our first time booking with VRBO and we didn't realize they are owned by Expedia. On our last trip to the DR, our car rental reserved through Expedia was also overbooked so there was no car at the airport. We had to pay almost three times as much to another company on site. We filed a BBB complaint and found there were over 100 before us for a variety of reasons. Stay far far away.

Don't trust this company. I booked accommodation through them and the owner contacted me saying his villa wasn't available and offered me a villa of a lot lower standard. He also said he wouldn't refund me, I contacted company on their help number only to be told there was nothing they could do to cancel the booking and get me a refund, even with the accommodation not even being available and the proof I had, I lost a lot of money over scam. BEWARE!

Published review 10/23/19
I signed up oct 21 2019, I just sold my house moved to bnb in the area for 2 weeks while looking for a place, I have 2 kids that still go to school in the same area. The bnb I was in wasn't available for longer so I found a property in vrbo that is comfortable enough and close to the school with enough rooms and parking. I submitted the request wrote the letter to the owner about us and that I needed for 11 days total cost 2,614.00$. They accepted I was charged, money withdrawn and then right after the owner texted that oops the driveway was just redone and I won't be able to park, so I asked will be street parking be an issue, she was honest and said yes and we had 2 vehicles and possibly my older son vehicle, so looking for parking every time we come back wasn't an option. Owner canceled but the refund won't come back till 5-7 days. I need a place in 4 days I was on the phone for few calls as expected, absolutely no compensation noo solution I asked them to book me something and charge me in few days. I asked them to stop the refund Anything because not everyone can replace 2,614.84 in a minute, but nop nothing they one of the representatives literally said I have to figure it out on my own all they can do is refund. I did everything right and when they messed up no compensation whatsoever. I actually have to figure it out I didn't have any choices or even suggestions Even though they fool with their Confidence guarantee and so called protection HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE

Vrbo boldly boasts a "book with confidence guarantee" designed to give consumers comfort that if a host cancels at the last moment, Vrbo will resolve the problem. This happened to me on a reservation I had for seven months that was cancelled two days beforehand which caused great damage. I couldn't get Vrbo to pick up the phone, nevermind do anything about it once I did get a hold of them. They have stood behind legal jargon saying that they have nothing to do with the agreement of property and consumer and won't even acknowledge the 'guarantee' plastered on their website.

We vacation in the outer banks every year and decided to try a VRBO this time. What a mistake! The house had several annoying maintenance issues like the door knob falling off, broken bed frame, broken storm door and inoperable gas fireplace. The more concerning issue was the gas oven that would only function in broiler mode and occasionally shot surges of fire. This was not only a huge inconvenience but posed a safety issue as well.

We contacted the management company Surf or Sound Realty numerous times for the fireplace and oven but received their daily mantra "someone will be out today or tomorrow". Finally an appliance repairman came the sixth day of our seven day vacation and told us the oven would not be fixed, then promptly left. No one ever came for the fireplace.

When we expressed our anger about not having a working oven for our entire stay the service manager, Chris said she could pick up our dinner that night, take it to her house, bake it and bring it back to us. I was a bit shocked at this ludicrous solution. We paid a lot of money for this vacation property with the expectation that it had working appliances.

All of the maintenance issues were present when we arrived and should have been addressed after the previous renters and prior to our entry. If a necessary appliance is not working and could not be repaired in a reasonable time, we should have received an apology and some sort of compensation for the inconvenience. Instead, they did not seem to care at all.

With a beach rental property it is important to have a good management company handling things. This is vital from the owner's and renter's perspectives. As a renter, I would never waste my money on a property managed by Surf or Sound Realty again. If I owned this property, I would be looking for another management company immediately.

I have booked with VRBO/home away more times than I can count. My family and friends use them as well. All experiences have been good ones. As a loyal customer, I expect loyalty in return if something were to go wrong. In September of 2019 I booked a property for November 19. It was a home in Las Vegas for a half marathon race and mini family vacation. As always, I paid up front in full. In October of 2019 I was notified by VRBO via email that there was "possibly an issue with my upcoming booking" and to contact the owner. I did as they said and was upset by the owners response. He stated that VRBO had taken everything from him, shut down all his properties and left him bankrupt. He then notified me that not only was my booking cancelled but he had no funds to refund me my money for a trip that was more than a month away. I wasn't too panicked at this time because I knew VRBO would take care of me with their "Book with confidence guarantee". After all, it's that what booking though a site like this is for? For security? Boy was I wrong. I first responded to VRBO's initial email in which prompted me to a 1-800 number. I called this number and was lead through the ringer. They could not help me at this time. The lady said the owner had received a "serious complaint" and as a result had to be shut down. That is all she could tell me. She said she would expedite my case and I would receive a call I about 24hrs. 24hrs later, no call but another email... stating that VRBO could not help me (with no explanation given) and that I needed to dispute the charge with my credit card company. I called VrBO 2 more times after this looking for answers... no one could give me any information other than "This is a unique situation" and I was finally told to stop contacting them. I am appalled to say the least. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY. Airbnb provides a much better service with a guarantee they actually stick with.

We have rented 5 listings in Chattanooga through VRBO for the past 7 years. We have consistently had a great experience with them up until they decided to change their payment system. I understand that Air BnB does their payment system the same way, but having the company do it in the middle of the year and still making the users pay when they book seems unethical.
It has completely ruined our book keeping as well as our pay roll. How are we supposed to pay the property manager an administrative fee in a way that is fair without draining our bank account?

We are in desperate need of a company that encompasses the good things of both air bnb and vrbo so that we can drop this company completely and go back to how things were.

If anyone has any idea of such a company please let us know!
Were at a loss as for what to do, since we do get so much business through them.

I have listed on VRBO and Homeaway for over 10 years, with as many as seven listings at a time. All that you read in the reviews by owners is correct concerning how this company has deteriorated since it was acquired by Expedia. The fees they charge guests to book are now shameful. You pay nothing like that amount of fees if you use Airbnb. Also, from the owners standpoint, the service has become worse and worse, more and more expensive, and produces fewer and fewer bookings. Expedia is ruining what was once an excellent company. They do not deserve to remain in business. Use Airbnb

Sunshine Hopkins home in Silver Sands Country Club off Portola in Palm Desert. Address of ******* Sterling Drive / Palm Desert, CA ******* and gate code 1999# is a scammer with loads of experience and knows what she is doing.

The property is listed as the entire home with a pool. Be aware... she props up a partition in the hallway and remains in the home while you are there, which is against Home Away/VRBO policy. The entire house has camera surveillance which is a little daunting. She indicated she was trying this process out but her bio clearly indicates she has experience doing this in foreign countries and Los Angeles. You will share the home with her and whomever else is behind the partition.

We told her we were not comfortable with the arrangement and that she specifically said in an email, which I still have, that this was not a shared house. She checked us in and then cancelled the reservation which then removed our opportunity to leave a scathing review on the Home Away/VRBO site. She kept the money and would not refund anything.

There is one review on her site and the person is a relative with the same last name.

Stay away from Sunshine Hopkins and this house.

This is the third time I have attempted to rent a place on VRBO and gotten the old bait and switch. I found a house for rent, it was listed at $234/ngt. When I went to book it there came a message that I had to contact the property manager to get a "quote". So when I emailed the manager they changed the price to $285/night plus $425 in fees! Apparently VRBO is using wild west tactics to rip people off. It would seem that this behavior would be against the law!

I rented a house in Cocoa Beach Florida for a weeks vacation with my husband and 4 children. Long story short, we left because the place was infested with bugs! Property manager only refunded me for 1/2 of my fee. VRBO says it is up to the property manager. I filed a claim with my credit card, VRBO took the money away from the house we rebooked at and is telling me they can't do anything to fix it. Never Again!

I booked through VRBO, payment is processed through another company yapstone, but VRBO has zero control over the money issues?!?!?! I have spent more time on the phone with my Credot card company and VRBO and yapstone then I did on vacation. NEVER AGAIN!

I included photos of the bugs in my son's medicine organizer and on the box of donuts so you can see, I am not lying about the bugs.

I am a property owner who has used vrbo for years. My opinion of this company has gone from a 9 to a 1 over the past year. They have focused on increasing profits while foregoing customer service. They charge renters a service fee and can't tell owners how the fee is determined. In my opinion the fee keeps increasing. They now hold owners money until a day after the renter checks in which of course makes them more money. I understand companies exist for profit but if they only focus on profit they may find competitors will seize the opportunity to offer a better option. For over a decade I happily used only vrbo to market my property. This year I am utilizing other options. Renters, look at the service fee vrbo charges!

We have listed our beautiful lakefront cottage on VRBO/ Homeaway for at least 10 years. Initially, it was expensive to list, but we connected with wonderful families, many of who keep coming back summer after summer. In recent years, however, VRBO has taken more and more control over our property to the point that I feel I'm just a pawn in their money-grubbing game. First, if you didn't let them do your booking, they moved you way down the list. Next, they started charging our renters a fee to use the service and they used a third party "bank" which charged us a percent. Then, they told us the third party bank (Yapstone) was going to start charging an extra 3% to continue to send us our money in a timely manner. So... they told us to switch over to their new "banking" system to save the extra percentage. If we didn't, we'd move down the list! We switched and as soon as we did, they told us after reviewing our listing, we did not qualify for early pay-outs, and they'd be holding OUR money until the day after our guests check-in! WHAT? This is not only Bait and Switch, but a form of blackmail. We just received a booking for a week in August 2021 and VRBO is holding $1500 of ours until then! Is this legal? Please, PLEASE will another listing company step up to the plate so we can all switch over to you? I'm so over VRBO/Homeaway/Expedia's manipulation. Enough is enough!