The Duct Cleaning Pros

Thank you for bringing this consumer’s concerns to our attention.Any changes in the performance of this consumer's rental property and search results are most likely due to a new and improved search result system called Best MatchThis system is designed so travelers see more relevant listings when they search, and owners get more relevant booking requests that result in a successful bookingBest Match affects every owner differently, and there are many factors they have control over to positively impact their performanceFor more information, see our Best Match FAQ here:https://www.homeaway.com/info/search-resultsThis change is universal to every consumer using our servicesWe hope this information helps to shed light on why we have made these improvements and how they benefit both the consumer and their travelersIf the consumer is wishing to have their subscription refunded, they should contact our Customer Support at 1-877-228-so their request can be reviewed and processed

It seems this consumer has not contacted us directly to file a complaint regarding this advertiserWe will reach out to them to begin the processTheir message states that they have contacted the advertiser but we do not see any messages on the reservation in our system where they indicate a desire to cancelWe recommend that the consumer also makes their issue clear on the reservation

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because it does not address my complaint, at all I have paid for a service, and the agreement of that service has changed wrongfully Regards, [redacted]

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attention.According to our records we did hear directly from this consumer in regards to this matter in case [redacted] We asked this consumer on January 10, to submit proof of ownership documentation for this property demonstrating that they are the rightful owner.It appears we did receive this documentation from this consumer and our legal Not Authorized to Rent department has this consumers case in queueIt will be worked shortlyThis type of issue is not handled over the phone, it is all handled via email.The listing in question [redacted] was removed from our site back on 1/10/as well

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:Dear Sherrie,I want to respond to Homeaway's response.When I booked the reservation on their website, they advertised "Book with confidence guarantee"In the fine print of this guarantee, states, if the property owner/manager cancels your reservation, they will find you another place to stayI was notified by [redacted] ***, the property owner, that he gave away our first night reservation, when I was within hours of reaching the destinationI contacted VRBO/Homeaway to advise them of what the property owner had done and their response was to contact the owner back and it was the weekend and they couldn't do anything about itNow here I am, within hour of my destination, and I (and my daughter and grandchildren) have nowhere stayHOW WAS THE BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE GUARANTEE, HONORED?? Yes VRBO/HOMEAWAY IS RESPONSIBLEThis is why I want my money back, because they and [redacted] ruined my vacation.Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Thank you for bringing this consumer’s concerns to our attention.We are sorry to hear about your experience with this property and appreciate the time and effort made to communicate this unfortunate situation.According to our complaint process, we have taken the following actions: We recorded your report as a formal complaint on this vacation rental owner's or property manager's account We forwarded the details of this complaint to the owner or property manager in order to give them an opportunity to respond.When we receive complaints, we encourage both parties to work toward a mutual resolutionPer our Terms of Use, we are an online marketplace that brings owners and travelers togetherOur procedure is to note both sides of the situation and offer support to travelers through our Book with Confidence Guarantee™ from HomeAway in case no resolution can be found.To benefit from the Book with Confidence Guarantee™ the steps to follow are: Contact the vacation rental owner or property manager directly regarding the issueBe sure to document all attempts you make to contact the owner or property manager (phone, email, letters) in writing If you are still unable to gain assistance from the owner or property manager, please contact the payment provider you used for payment to inquire about options for the return of your fundsIf your payment provider cannot provide assistance with reimbursement, they will need to provide you with a written statement If no mutual resolution is found and your payment provider is not able to return your funds, please contact our Trust & Security Department and reference case [redacted] so that we may help you open a claim for possible reimbursement We encourage you to review the terms and conditions of the Book with Confidence Guarantee™ from HomeAway® to determine if your circumstance qualifies: [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:I did not agree to pay the fee and was not notified there would be a fee. I do not see anywhere when you make a reservation that it tells you they are charging you this fee.I could have booked straight through with the rental agency if I had known there was a fee to use their web site.I understand them charging the rental agency to advertise on their web site but do not understand why I should pay extra to make a reservation on their web site when I could save that money and book with the owner or agency directly which is what I have done before. Regards, [redacted]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Regards, [redacted]

Thank you for your additional concernsWe certainly do apologize for any frustration that this issue may have caused themWe apologize for not making this clearer to this consumer in our earlier responseThe owners or advertisers of the properties listed with us have the option to set up online payments through with our partner, VacationRentPayment (VRP) which is a third party credit card processing companyHomeAway does not receive any credit card funds processed for the rental feesThe owner elects to use this service on our site, and the funds are processed through the merchant of record VRPThe funds go directly from our site to the owner and the owners bank account in which they have set up with VRP.If a traveler has any issue with their payment they should work with the owner of the property, they are the ones who received those funds, not HomeAwayWe simply have them put HomeAway on the billing charge so that travelers will recognize the name, as VRP is again as we mentioned a third party vendor

This consumer contacted us back on 11/16/2015 in case# [redacted] , and our representative did work with this consumer with updating his calendar as his listing was inactive due to his calendar not being updated to since June 21st. Our representative Instructed consumer on how to update his calendar so... that his listing will be shown in the search results when dates are entered.The representative also extended his subscription for two months at the time of this contact. Please let us know if there are any further issues.

We encourage consumers using our site as a traveler to post reviews about their experiences following their stay However, those reviews must meet the content and eligibility guidelines that we set out and we reserve the right to remove any reviews that do not meet them.We see that this consumer has contacted us to ensure that their review meets the necessary guidelines and a review that they have submitted is currently in moderation with our team As part of that process the advertiser is given an opportunity to read the review before it is posted and provide a response if they choose They are not able to edit the review in any way If approved, it may take up to a week for the consumer's review to appear on the site

This complaint is not against HomeAway Inc We cannot comment on this consumer/traveler’s complaint, because it appears that this complaint is not with our online advertising service, but appears to be the result of a marketplace transaction between this consumer and the owner or manager of an individual vacation home rented by that owner or manager to the publicWe are in no way a party to the agreement or contract between this consumer traveler and the owner manager, and cannot solve this consumer’s complaintOur advertising service is an online site for owners to advertise and travelers to find vacation homes to rent, but we are never involved in the transaction between the traveler/consumer and the landlord/property managerSee the Terms and Conditions below that the consumer/traveler and landlord/property manager agreed to about our role hereTherefore, this complaint is incorrectly being associated with HomeAway Inc, and it should be associated with the landlord/property manager Section of our Terms and Conditions http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/legal/terms-conditions: “The Site is a Venue and We are Not a Party to any Rental Transaction We urge all users to be responsible about their use of this Site and any transaction entered into as a result of either listing a property or renting a property We do not own or manage, nor can we contract for, any vacation rental property listed on a SiteHomeAway.com and other Sites act as a venue to allow homeowners and property managers who advertise on the Site (each, a “member”) to offer for rent in a variety of pricing formats, a specific vacation or short term rental property to potential renters or renters (each, a “traveler” and, collectively with a member, the “users”)"Members" may also include property owners or managers who originally advertised their properties on another website and their listings have been redistributed on the SiteWe also may offer online booking or other tools or services to allow users to communicate with each other and enter into rental agreements or other transactions We are not a party to any rental or other agreement between users This is true even if the Site allows you to book a rental or provides other ancillary products or services, as the Site may facilitate booking a rental or other tools, services or products, but we are not a party to any rental or other agreement between usersAs a result, any part of an actual or potential transaction between a traveler and a member, including the quality, condition, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any review relating to any property), the ability of members to rent a vacation property or the ability of travelers to contract for properties are solely the responsibility of each userYou acknowledge and agree that you may be required to enter into one or more separate agreements, waivers or terms and conditions prior to making a booking or purchasing a product or service and may place additional restrictions on your booking, product or service While we do take certain measures with a goal to assist users to avoid potentially fraudulent or other illegal activity of which we become aware, we assume no liability or obligation to take any such measures or actions When we provide warnings or messages to users about any such activity, we do not warrant that such messages are accurate or that such messages will reach any or all users they should have reached in a timely manner or at all or that such messages or measures will prevent any harm or otherwise have any impact." We encourage this consumer to contact us directly to file a formal property complaint against this advertiserAs part of that formal complaint process we reach out to the advertiser on behalf of this consumer in order to try to get the two parties to settle their disputeWe however do NOT mediate; we simply try our best to put the two parties together to work the situation out if possible We also closely monitor accounts that have had formal property complaints filedOur policy is to carefully document both sides of a dispute, and keep track of all complaints submittedWhen a pattern clearly develops where an advertiser is causing problems for our travelers, we do not hesitate to remove that member from our site

We apologize to this consumer for their experience We will review the contact with Customer Support and provide coaching where needed Our records indicate that we have contacted this consumer directly and offered assistance for this issue

HomeAway.com strives to provide a secure online marketplace for owners to advertise their vacation rental properties and for travelers to research an extensive catalog of rental optionsHomeAway has invested in trust & security technology, people and processes to help protect consumers against criminal activity on our sites.This consumer/traveler unfortunately has been the victim of what is referred to as phishingPhishers are individuals, or small groups, who execute phishing schemes in an attempt to steal identities or information for monetary gainThe advertiser/vacation rental owner or property manager’s personal email account or HomeAway account credentials had been phished.When we learn of a phish attempt of our advertiser/vacation rental owner or property manager’s email account or their HomeAway account our Trust & Security team takes immediate action by temporarily deactivating their vacation rental listing(s) locking their account down and putting them through a security process by which they must update all of their account detailsWe also immediately send out messaging to any travelers who may have inquired on their listings to protect any travelers from falling prey to a phisherPhishing is one of the most common internet scams; HomeAway, Incbeing an internet based business has both programs and educational materials in place for our site users to protect themselves against phishingWe strive to inform and encourage our travelers to protect themselves in various waysUpon inquiring each traveler receives instruction on the safest payment methods to useThey also are instructed to call the advertiser prior to sending any moniesTravelers also are encouraged to buy the HomeAway Carefree Rental Guarantee.Terms & Conditions of the HomeAway Carefree Rental Guarantee: http://www.homeaway.com/guarantee/tac.html.We also direct each inquirer to learn more about renting safely from our Security Center at:http://www.homeaway.com/info/security?OwnersIn the event that a traveler has fallen victim to phishing and has not protected themselves we do have a program in place called the Basic Rental GuaranteeThis program will reimburse an unprotected traveler up to $of their lost funds.According to our records this consumer does qualify for the Basic Rental GuaranteeThis consumer was sent the necessary information on 8/20/to file for reimbursement under the Terms of the Basic Rental Guarantee in case# [redacted] To review the Terms and Conditions of the Basic Rental Guarantee please visit this link:http://www.homeaway.com/info/about-us/legal/terms-conditions/basic_rental_g...⇄ we are so sorry to hear that this consumer was affected by this most unfortunate situation

Thank you for bringing this consumers addtional concerns to our attentionSince each traveler and search is unique, search results vary for each travelerWithin subscription levels, search placement is dynamicThis hasn’t always been the way search has worked on HomeAway, and we believe it’s left too many bookings unserved - either because travelers were overwhelmed by how long it took to find the right property, or owners were receiving too many inquiries that they could not accommodateThat waste of time on both sides of the booking is what HomeAway is dramatically reducing with dynamic searchBest match provides a more efficient experience for both owners, property managers, and travelers.Best match is the combination of traveler preferences and the booking experience a listing providesBest match will turn more lookers into bookers for our owners, and keep travelers coming back to HomeAway for each future trip, ensuring our entire shared marketplace thrives Our philosophy for determining search results: We use the information travelers enter into the search box, such as date and location, and take into account any filters selected, including map viewsFor basic searches, the results (listings) are ordered into subscription levels: Platinum to ClassicThe higher your subscription level, the higher you will appear in search results overallHowever, subscription levels may not determine sort order in some specific cases, such as when travelers apply specific filters (price high to low, etc.), or if we are running specific testsRelevant pay-per-booking listings are sorted and included in search results based on best matchSome appear alongside subscription listings, although they are not guaranteed to always be included in search results HomeAway enables a variety of search options and features designed to help travelers easily find what they are looking for, which in turn also drives qualified inquiries and bookings to our owners and property managers Travelers have a variety of options where listings will appear based on the traveler’s choices or preferences, like filtering by price or searching by mapThese results will not always appear in order of subscription level For example, when a traveler adjusts the search from high to low price or number of bedrooms; these are traveler selections that result in an order relevant to those selectionsFor owners with listings relevant to the selections of the travelers, these search results should result in more qualified booking requests When a traveler searches for a location, properties in that search are determined based on the location searched for and may also include relevant surrounding locationsFor example, if a traveler searches for Miami, the results may also include listings from Miami Beach To enable continuous improvements, HomeAway runs ongoing tests The tests produce various results that may not factor in subscription levels in whole or partA testing methodology helps us make decisions about future optimizations to search results that drive more bookings and generate more value to customersTests typically run for a short period of time and/or on a small percentage of site trafficRest assured: Listings in higher subscription levels will ultimately receive better performance and more views in search results when compared to other listings with lower subscription levels Different promotions and programs run to help attract travelers to book across the different properties advertised on the sitesThese promotional search results are determined based on the promotion and differ from traditional search resultsThe way search results are created is regularly tested to help us drive the maximum number of bookings and inquiries by showing the most relevant listingsWe may adjust the best match criteria often and customize the algorithm for each traveler or searchThis means search results use a flexible, ever-changing mix of factors

Thank you bringing this consumers additional concerns to our attentionWe have had our Claims specialist review this consumers case ( [redacted] ) in further detail and they will be reaching out directly to this consumer again for the additional documentation of the resort feesThis actually may be something that we will be able to compensate for under the guidelines of the Book with Confidence Guarantee, however that determination and discussion will be made directly between the consumer and our Claims team

We thank the consumer for his comments and his business The service fee is a fee charged to the traveler and is calculated on a sliding scale of 4% to 10% of the total bookingThe charge applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $The service fee helps cover the cost of running the HomeAway websites, including features such as 24/customer support and marketing efforts to ensure a quality experience on our sites for both travelers and ownersTravelers pay the service fee by credit card through the checkout flow or payment request, no matter how they pay the ownerThe service fee is charged to the card once the booking has been accepted.If the reservation is cancelled in full by the owner through the Dashboard, the service fee will be automatically refunded to the travelerIf the reservation is outside of the owner’s cancellation policy and they do not refund the entire amount to the traveler, the service fee will not be refunded.The service fee is visible as a line item to the traveler in the price quote on your listing and in the checkout processOwners can see when the service fee was charged, if applicable, in the payments section of the reservationHomeAway is responsible for the service fee funds and the associated credit card processing fee; owners will not receive the service fee funds in their accountOwners may choose to charge similar fees which often cover the cost of cleaning or maintaining the unitThe service fee does not change the ability of the owner to control their own rental ratesWe do recommend, however, that owners provide a name for their fee that differs from service fee to avoid confusion.Additionally, owners do not pay taxes on the service feeSales and Use Taxes and Transient Occupancy Taxes are only due on the amount paid to the property owner related to the rental of the accommodationsThe service fee is a charge paid by the traveler to HomeAway for HomeAway's servicesIt is not paid to the owner for the rental of the accommodation and the owner has no obligation to collect or remit taxes on the service fee

We appreciate this consumer's comments and their business.Our #goal at HomeAway is to drive more bookings to our owners and property managersYour success is our success, as it has always been in this business The vacation rentals industry is shifting and they are now considered a mainstream travel optionAs a consequence, travelers are expecting more.The service fee is a fee charged to the traveler and is calculated on a sliding scale of 4% to 9% of the rental amount, excluding the deposit or taxesThe charge applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $The service fee helps cover the cost of running the HomeAway websites, including features such as 24/customer support and marketing efforts to ensure a quality experience on our sites for both travelers and owners.Additionally, travelers that book and pay through HomeAway are eligible for the Book with Confidence Guarantee.More information about the fee can be found at these links:https://help.homeaway.com/articles/What-is-the-service-fee-and-how-does-it...⇄ are sold to run the full months and refunds are generally not available We hope this consumer can see the benefits and continues to advertise with us

As stated in our initial response, this situation does not fall into our definition of fraud and as such is not covered by our Basic Rental Guarantee. This is a dispute between the consumer and the advertiser of the property. We recommend that this consumer continue to try to work with the advertiser to come to some resolution.

Due to a Revdex.com system issue, we were not provided with these complaints until over a year after the consumer registered the complaint.Based on the information provided by Mr [redacted] his complaint seems to be a request to opt out of our marketing.In the course of doing business with HomeAway, one will receive two types of emails from us."Operational" emails include notices about traveler booking inquiries and confirmations, subscription renewals, payment receipts, monthly statements, and other operational communications about using our sites or important updatesIt is not possible to opt-out of these communications since they are essential to doing business with us."Marketing" emails include promotional opportunities and similar offersHe may change his email preferences and stop receiving marketing emails; however, we recommend he keep these enabled so that he does not miss out on valuable offers.Should he wish to stop receiving marketing emails, please visit [redacted] or follow the instructions below:Click Unsubscribe at the bottom of the marketing emailClick the appropriate brandEnter your email addressSelect Unsubscribe to Marketing CommunicationsClick Submit.Should he wish to start receiving marketing emails, please visit [redacted] or contact our Customer Support team and provide the email address you wish to opt in to marketing communications from usYour request will be processed within two business days.If you do not currently receive communications from HomeAway at this time, including your monthly statement, contact our Customer Support team.We apologize this traveler became frustrated Our customer service agents are available to remedy situations like this 24/at [redacted]