VRBOReviews 2,004

We used VRBO for the first time believing that they are big enough to have excellent customer service. We paid $7,500 as a deposit on an apartment in Cape Town and two weeks before we arrived we discovered that the advertiser was part of a fraud gang operating in SA and the he did not own the property. We learnt that some people who had rented via VRBO arrived to find their money had been paid over to the fraud gang without proof that they owned the property and they had to return home without accommodation. According to VRBO policy we were guaranteed our money back. NOT SO. They have told us to claim via our card provider (VISA) and yet they still have our money in their account. We have been passed to several different people holding on the phone for hours and still no money back. They should be avoided like the plague!

Go to the Consumer Affairs website and you will see many, many complaints similar to yours. It happened to me as well. Buyer beware. Your reservations are NOT secure through VRBO/HomeAway, even after you have paid a a sizable deposit or in full. Property owners can and do routinely cancel reservations for any reason (but usually if they can find someone to pay more) leaving people with no place to go. It's fraud. They are making millions by taking advantage of people. Someone needs to start a class action lawsuit.

VRBO - HOME AWAY - No value at all - Go with the local rental company - SO bad - Terrible customer service - Renter beware.

You may think you are getting support if you have an issue - really, no. We booked and rented a house via VRBO/HomeAway and it was not only falsely advertised, there were massive sewage issues which kept us from using the property. I tried to call them to see about a refund - they offered no support - like none. I am having to deal with the local company for the refund. Ironically, I found the same property on a the local home rental site for $200 less. If this ever happens to you, know that VRBO/HomeAway offers no support - they put it all on You to get your money back from the local company who manages the property or local owner. Save yourself time and money - book with the local rental company.

We reserved and paid full price for a rental property in Florida on 15 November. WE did not realize that VRBO was taking 100% of the money, we thought it would be a deposit!
The property owner canceled our reservation on 17 Jan by text and we got our official cancellation notice via email on 22 Jan. The property owner stated he would refund the moneys within 5 - 7 business days.

We filed a complaint with VRBO on 17 Jan and they said they would help us find another place to stay. Remember, the property manager said he would refund our monies within 5 - 7 business days.

Neither happened and by 2 Feb we booked another location. Take in mind we were told VRBO would help us fine another room. They did not respond to any emails they were very sorry this happened and were very concerned on the telephone but that was the extent of VRBO's assistance.

I will say, we did get 1 email from them about re booking about 1 week before our vacation started on the 15th. We responded within a few hours of getting their email about "helping us find a accommodation's" but that was it.

When we called back after our vacation, they stated we would have to fine a complaint (even though I had a complain number and emails from 22 Jan) and they were very sorry and rest asserted they were working on resolving this.

We called the payment processing company and they could not process a refund. They stated the payment has to be canceled/refunded by either VRBO or the property manager!

We believe that VRBO is taking their time because the payment has been processed not to them, but to the property owner. They would then have to get they money back from him! We talked to our credit card company and they said there is a time limit on disputing payments and it seems like VRBO is stalling! We could be wrong, it could be a misunderstanding however we have followed every step VRBO ask us to and we still have not received payment - after 35 days! We will let the credit card company process this and get the money from VRBO!

Hate to write a bad review but please be careful using VRBO! They are real heavy on promises and real slim on the follow through.

VRBO service fees tend to jump upwards for no reason when booking. Looks like gouging once you have shown interest in property.
Used last month at 5.5% service fee.
Looked at same property for about same $ rental for next year and it again showed 5.5% service fee.
Contacted owner to request discount as repeat customer.
Delay of 48 hours as we agreed to discount amount.
Booked to find that slight discount on rental had jumped VRBO service fee to 8.7%.
Hour on phone being passed around from rep to rep only to be told that they can vary fees at their discretion AVOID this company

BEWARE! The service fee that is charged is anywhere from 6-12% according to the customer service rep I spoke with and it's like playing a slot machine--you ever know what you're gonna get!
I recently booked through VRBO for a rental on Oahu 07/11-07/17 and was charged a service fee of $422 for a 6 night stay. I considered moving the vacation dates a few days after I booked and put in the next 6 days to check availability and noticed the service fee was only $282--same place, same number of nights! I called VRBO to ask them why and ask them to honor this lower price on my reservation. I was told no and that the computer randomly picks a percentage between 6-12% and because it was computer generated there was nothing they could do about it. Also on a hunch I went back onto the VRBO website this morning and put in the 07/17-07/23 dates and lo and behold the service fee is up to $422. Imagine that?! But if I chose dates 08/01-08/07 it's only $282. So what additional service am I getting paying $140 more than the family coming in the 6 days after me? That would be none.
Charge a service fee--I get it, this is a business. But make it the same for everyone on the same rental for the same number of night. Simple. Period.

Coming from Australia, we booked a room at the Waikiki Beach towers in October. Had to put credit card details in for instant booking. Never heard from owner so assumed we did not get place. Went through a reputable booking agency in Waikiki only to hear from the manager a week out from the rental as to our arrival details. We were already in Hawaii at this stage. Said as I had not heard from him we had booked somewhere else. Claimed we gave him wrong email address and only just figured it out even though he had our phone number. Told us to cancel booking which would have allowed him 50% of the stay. Had already taken $1600. Tried to negotiate with him and VRBO and no resolutions. This guy is a crook. Trying to take legal action with VRBO but all they give you is a generic email address. Shame on VRBO and Ben Chapman the manager of Waikiki Beach towers. When is something going to be done to stop this company? Will never use this company again to book anything.

Let's lay this all out for everyone to understand.

Owners pay to list on VRBO
They HAVE to offer a book on line or book now feature or they can't advertise with VRBO.
This means VRBO gets a service fee of 6-13% from every guest
They are now collecting damage deposits and charging tax on it!
Guests rarely get this large damage deposit amount back.

What are these service fee's you ask?
Well according to VRBO its for 24/7 customer care service REALLY! LOL LOL
They say if an owner cancels even up to a day before a vacation they will find equal or better accommodations for the guests! Really! OMG! Lie How do they do that in an area that has NO vacancies
If guests cancel as per the cancel procedure outlined, guests loose their money! Or have a BIG fight to get it back

Owners get absolutely NO money what so ever when guests book, no reservation deposits, fee's, nothing!
Apparently they get it 5-7 business days after a guest checks in! Also charged 3% for processing the payment from guests!

I've booked for 2020 and VRBO took a deposit of 2500. 00, What are they doing with it?
It sits in an escrow! Where is the damage deposits? IN escrow

When asked how they submit tax on an owner's behalf, they say "we do"
Please elaborate on that.
You don't have any of my tax information so how is that possible?! Ma'am "we do"
Smells fishy to me!

Guests think its owners that are doing this stuff. ITS NOT! Everyone is getting screwed.
VRBO cancels reservations or double books so they can get more money!

So the sooner someone starts a lawsuit and the sooner owners and guests stop using VRBO, the better the vacation industry will be

I guess for now cancel all bookings so guests can get their money back, block all remaining dates so they can't get anymore money? Suggestions anyone?

They cancelled my holiday home with no explanation after it was paid, no response to my communication about why. They did refund me but they told the owner I used a stolen credit card! This was weird as it wasn't, and transaction processed on my card 4 days before the credit,
The fact they refused to communicate was the worst!
Outcome - booked SAME house, SAME dates, through another site and actually saved $700 for one week booking! The new site communicated perfectly and were friendly and helpful.
So very very poor service and they were also ripping me off!

I advertised my property on VRBO for many years with no problem. Then they made changes including hiring a 3rd party to handle payouts.
You cannot check the actual status of your payout on their website and they don't tell you that you need to submit documents in order to get paid.
Once you submit the documents they request and verify by phone that payment is coming your way, they'll contact you a week later claiming that they need some other document or that there's some other problem. They're obviously trying to hold on to vast sums of money for as long as possible. I suspect the (? 3rd party: Rent Me / Yapstone) is associated with a payday loan company or some other entity that's putting these funds to use for their own purposes..

Going to celebrate our 50th Anniversary in Desert Hot Springs #*******. A sickness in family.(resulting in death). Our dates were Dec. 28th for 2 nights. 30 day cancellation policy for full refund. I cancelled Nov. 28 at 1:30 AM. Denied our full refund stating we needed to have cancelled by midnight on 27th. 1 1/2 hrs prior. Regardless of their twist we did have a full 30 day notice. We are now bringing this to the attention of a TV news station a friend works for. $1131 loss for a 97 yr. Old is what they are trying to do. If anyone else has had a similar experience please leave another review. And I will let you know how to contact me.

As a B&B owner, I used to love this website and received lots of guests until Jun 7,2018, when Expedia listed all the B&Bs on the Big Island of Hawaii as "sold out" for years to come. They said they were putting us on a new platform, but they really just wanted us to go away and not be competition for THEM. We have never recovered. Expedia buys up chunks of rooms in large hotel chains and sells them! B&Bs are just in their way. Now, they won't talk to you unless you have more than 10 rooms. They now dominate 70% of the marketplace and have TERRIBLE business practices, even listing B&Bs that don't want to be listed, only to steal their customers by answering the phone. Class action lawsuit against Expedia by Innkeepers in California. More to come!

We booked a beach cottage with this site for our vacation and I received an email stating the reservation was confirmed. Five days later I received another email stating the reservation was cancelled by the Innkeeper because of various reasons, but it could be because our credit card info was not correct (this was untrue). I contacted the Innkeeper directly and they stated not only are they not affiliated with BedandBreakfast.com but they do not rent out for the amount of days we required. They also lie and say they are not charging you at this time when in fact they put a hold on your account for the full amount. Even after THEY sent the email stating the reservation was cancelled I had to fight to get my money back. AVOID THIS SITE AT ALL COSTS!