VRBO.com

Hi [redacted]
Our Formal Reply to the attached complaint:
According to our records this consumer [redacted] was dismissed from our site due to excessive property complaints back in 2012. The HomeAway Trust & Security Global Manager, [redacted] worked closely with this...

consumer and we did actually allow him to come back and market his properties on our sites with the condition that they would be represented by a property management team. This issue was resolved last year in 21012. 
[redacted] | Trust & Security Lead

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 options. HomeAway 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 phishing. Phishers are individuals, or small groups, who execute phishing schemes in an attempt to steal identities or information for monetary gain. The advertiser/vacation rental owner or property manager’s 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 details. We also immediately send out messaging to any travelers who may have inquired on their listings to protect any travelers from falling prey to a phisher. Phishing is one of the most common internet scams; HomeAway, Inc. being an internet based business has both programs and educational materials in place for our site users to protect themselves against phishing. We strive to inform and encourage our travelers to protect themselves in various ways. Upon inquiring each traveler receives instruction on the safest payment methods to use. They also are instructed to call the advertiser prior to sending any monies. Travelers 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 Guarantee. This program will reimburse an unprotected traveler up to $1000 of their lost funds.According to our records this consumer does qualify for the Basic Rental Guarantee. This consumer was sent the necessary information to file for reimbursement under the Terms of the Basic Rental Guarantee in our internal 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.

Reviews are an important part of a listing and help travelers make informed decisions about the property and the booking experience the owner provides. All content related to reviews must meet our Content Guidelines. These guidelines expressly prohibit extorting owners/managers or...

travelers for money or any other consideration.Under these guidelines, the following are true:Travelers cannot threaten to use a review against an owner to obtain refunds or additional compensation.This consumer did not meet our Content Guidelines.

We arrived at one of the houses that VRBO rents out in St. Augustine on June 13th. We discovered that the floors were very dirty. Our feet were black when we walked barefoot. The coffee pot had old grounds throughout it and had to be scrubbed. Same with the blender. The microwave didn't work at all. The king bed mattress was very uncomfortable that the middle was pushed up. The pool key was supposed to be left by the previous renter on a hook in the kitchen. We never found it. Put a call into VRBO on June 14 and had to leave a message. Called again on Monday June 15 and finally spoke to a live person. Gave her a list and especially concerning the pool key. She said the owner will be by, but it would probably be Wednesday. He finally came by and took the broken microwave and said he will talk to the previous renters. He finally had another key made and dropped it by on Thursday. 5 days after we reported it missing!!! Now the really funny part to this whole ugly mess, is they're charging us for the missing pool key. I called the Friday the 19th to ask why $87.42 was taken out of my account. The guy said he thinks it was a balance due. I told him we received a 10% discount and that everything was paid in full. He said he would pass the info on to his supervisor and it would take a few business days to reimbursed. On Wednesday the 24th, I called them again and spoke to a different guy and had to go through the story again and he said he would make sure the supervisor got the note. On the 26th, one more time and this time spoke to a woman and she said there was nothing in the system of any problems. WOW!!! She said the supervisor was out, but she would have her call me on Monday. Since I didn't get a call on Monday, I called them again on Tuesday the 30th. Again, nothing in the system except they said the charge was for us losing the pool key. I asked to speak to the supervisor and needless to say, they're simply crooks!! If they would simply enter things into the system as well as record the conversations, none of this [redacted] would have to happen. I now I can't hurt them too much, but I will make sure that all my relatives and friends never use them.

I/we own property for which we chose VRBO to assist with rentals. Prior to HomeAway's acquisition of VRBO, we were delighted with the service and performance. However, since HomeAway acquired VRBO, we have been extremely disappointed.
While I will gladly share specifics re my opinion with anyone who has an interest, let me simply say we/I have filed an FTC restraint of trade/monooply complaint against HomeAway and I am currently exploring my legal options to pursue damages from this firm.

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 public. We 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 complaint. Our 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 manager. See the Terms and Conditions below that the consumer/traveler and landlord/property manager agreed to about our role here. Therefore, this complaint is incorrectly being associated with HomeAway Inc, and it should be associated with the landlord/property manager.   Section 1 of our Terms and Conditions http://[redacted]   “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 Site. [redacted].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 Site. We 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 users. As 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 user. You 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."   According to our records this consumer also filed a formal property complaint against this advertiser (case# [redacted]). As part of that formal complaint process we did reach out to the advertiser on behalf of this consumer in order to try to get the two parties to settle their dispute. We 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 filed. Our policy is to carefully document both sides of a dispute, and keep track of all complaints submitted. When a pattern clearly develops where an advertiser is causing problems for our travelers, we do not hesitate to remove that member from our site. I assure you we have taken the appropriate action in regards to this complaint.

We tried to rent a property that was listed on VRBO and the quoted one price with availability for our time.After speaking with the owner we were advised to make a reservation through the PALM BAY CLUB and then the price was quoted al most $1000 more for the month.Is this a scam?Why are the owners allowed to post one price and change the terms?

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 public. We 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 complaint. Our 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 manager. See the Terms and Conditions below that the consumer/traveler and landlord/property manager agreed to about our role here. Therefore, this complaint is incorrectly being associated with HomeAway Inc, and it should be associated with the landlord/property manager.Section 1 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 Site. HomeAway.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 Site. We 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 users. As 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 user. You 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."According to our records this consumer also filed a formal property complaint against this advertiser (case#[redacted]). As part of that formal complaint process we did reach out to the advertiser on behalf of this consumer in order to try to get the two parties to settle their dispute. We 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 filed. Our policy is to carefully document both sides of a dispute, and keep track of all complaints submitted. When a pattern clearly develops where an advertiser is causing problems for our travelers, we do not hesitate to remove that member from our site. I assure you we have taken the appropriate action in regards to this complaint.Thanks [redacted] Trust & Security Lead | HomeAway, Inc.[redacted]  | o: [redacted] | m: 3[redacted] | Skype: [redacted]

Thank you for bringing this consumers additional concerns to our attention.As we have previously explained this consumer entered into a contract with the owner of this property. The complaint of their payment not being refunded is between those two parties - the consumer and the owner of this property. We HomeAway do not collect any rental fees on behalf of owners. We are not involved in the monetary dealings between the two parties.However we also are not in the business of allowing owners to advertise on our site that are causing our travelers to have a poor experience using our site. We have a very strict property complaint procedure. Therefore we did file a formal written complaint with this advertiser and are closely monitoring this account based on this consumers report.In regards to their personal check (funds) we do advise that they continue to work with the advertiser for the return of those funds, and if they are unable to get the advertiser to return funds we advise they seek legal recommendations.

VRBO is the worst site ever. They don't let hosts review guests so since there's no qualifying who's staying at your house, our first guest was a woman who traded sex for the fare with her taxi cab driver as she had no money. They also accidentally booked her in for a longer period of time than she paid for. They synced my calendar with the wrong property, so they had space blocked out on my one listing instead of the correct listing. We have a bedroom suite and they won't let you list the pricing separately so every quote they send out for a booking is incorrect. I edited the quote they sent tonight and they figured their commission wrong. I called to question it and the rep said it was a "rarity in the algorithim" that computed it incorrectly and couldn't be fixed. They can't figure 10% incorrectly? And of course, it's in their favor. Their mobile site is worthless, it won't let you access anything other than your calendar and your inbox. They cancelled a request because they said I didn't respond, the email chain shows I responded with 4 hours. When you pull up the dashboard, it shows you the listing number, not the property name, because I have 3 properties listed, I never know which is which. And, they keep your money for 30 days on the first booking. Airbnb is the only way to go!

Unfair practices and breech of contract. Owners being bullied with property being downgraded "this owner accepts fewer rentals than normal" because I'm
Obeying local occupancy laws! Unfair! Outrageous service fees (inquiries & bookings down because of fed as high as$499!) scare tactics Frighten travelers all the while they will want you to have Visa handle claim first if any issues. What kind of insurance is that? Worst / poorly managed business transition I have ever seen. Sign me up for Class action law suit

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: Joel of their Customer Resolution Department contacted me and alleged they never charged my card and tried to convince me I was not on their site.  During the end of the conversation, he indicated a credit was made to my account on June 24 by VBRO of $86.80 their fee for service at the same time my card was charged the $710.00.  At that point it became clear, I was on their site and had gotten the customer service number from the site at the time the charge was made to my credit card.  When I spoke with VBRO customer service on two occasions, they could not show a reservation for me yet I was charged a fee and the first half of the rental cost even though I did not following through, nor accept the rental charges that ultimately included over $500 in additional fees more than the original rental price.  After going around and around for many minutes, it became clear VBRO was not taking responsibility and I ended the go-around saying there was no agreement.  This company is not just a conduit for the owners.  Thank heavens the real estate agent was instrumental in getting the credit for my account, cancelling the "non-existing" reservation as well as confirming no additional charges would be made for this rental.
VBRO customer resolution representatives are slick in their attempts to disallow what happened, but this one slipped up at the end when he told me about the credit to my account for their fee (for a reservation confirmed by their own customer service department as being a non-existing reservation).  If I was still after my credit, I am confident the struggle would still be going on.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dealing with this consumer's second issue first, we apologize that they found it difficult to contact us.  We try to provide answers to common questions in the help section of the website.  We understand that isn't always satisfactory and at the bottom of each page in the help section is a...

'Contact Us' button.  Through this button a visitor to the site can either send us an email or be provided a phone number to call and speak with us.The advertisers on our site are the ones responsible for determining how they handle the damage deposit.  In the case of the advertiser of the property that this consumer stayed at, it appears they have the damage deposit set up to automatically refund 14 days after check out.  Our records show that the deposit was refunded, as scheduled, on 3/17/16.  The funds are returned to the credit card used to make the payment and how long that takes is down the specific card provider.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
I replied to their noreply email and had no response. I tried to use the help process and received phishing. I don't know why they deal with
people like [redacted] who lie and run a poor rental unit.
ken hall
Regards,
[redacted]

We appreciate this consumer's comments and their business. Our #1 goal at HomeAway is to drive more bookings to our owners and property managers. Your 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 option. As 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 taxes. The charge applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $499. The service fee helps cover the cost of running the HomeAway websites, including features such as 24/7 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-work https://www.homeaway.com/info/service-fee-update We hope this consumer can see the benefits and continues to advertise with us.

Rented through VRBO. We were looking to get away on a mini-vacation retreat and wanted to go to a secluded remote area to get away the stresses of everyday life.

This property owner of the unit ended up "scamming" us out of $2,000.00

Owner was NOT forthcoming with information about his property. Nowhere on the property listing on the VRBO website does it state that there are surveillance cameras INSIDE and outside the property! A mini vacation in a secluded area to get away was set, at least that's what we thought, until we found out "BIG BROTHER" would be monitoring our every move!

Once property owner received the payment in FULL ($2,000.00) information in regards to the cameras INSIDE and outside the property was disclosed.

Property owner does not see an issue with the cameras, that he stated he uses to monitor the guests. What he does with the footage who knows; uploads it online?; uses it for sexual gratification?!?!...who knows.

After discussing concerns with property owner, the owner agreed to issue a "partial" refund. However, the property owner then recanted and is refusing to issue a refund.

Terrible customer service. Property owner is difficult to engage with and is not trust worthy. Potential renters be warned!

Then, we escalated the issue to VRBO for assistance. However, VRBO does not see the issue with the surveillance camera's and how it is an invasion of privacy. If the camera information was disclosed on the listing or prior to payment we would have never entered into an agreement to rent. VRBO stated that they would be unable to assist us further in resolving this concern.

We purchased "trip protection insurance" through the VRBO website for $80.00. After contacting the insurance we were told that the "reason" we canceled is not covered under the trip protection insurance. The insurance stated that they are unable to assist us further in resolving this issue.

After everything we paid $2,080.00 for a trip that never happened and no kind of support from VRBO, the trip protection insurance, or from the property owner. There is currently no kind of resolution being offered and we are still out $2,080.00. Very dissatisfied. We paid for a service we never received.

We have used Homeaway and VRBO several times over the last several years for different cities and have always been happy with the dealings with owners. Since Homeaway and VRBO advertise no booking fees I'm very unhappy with the fact that a company such as Vacasa advertises low rental rates but then the quote can be over $100 more than a reasonable overage for cleaning and taxes, because they DO charge a fee. I feel they should not be allowed to advertise on your websites. I have looked for a place to send Homeaway or VRBO a message directly but could not find anything.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted]

Thank you for contacting us regarding this most unfortunate matter. It sounds like this consumer had a bad experience with a renter. We are so sorry to hear about this.Although this is after the fact of this consumers terrible experience, we do want this consumer to know that extensive...

property damage to a rental is an extremely rare occurrence. Smaller damage, such as a scuffed piece of furniture or a stained linen does happen from time to time. Since this consumer uses HomeAway Payments, going forward they can include Property Damage Protection in the quote which will protect their rental from accidental damage. Property Damage Protection provides up to $5,000 in coverage for accidental damage to the vacation rental. Plans start at just $59 (for $1,500 in coverage) and with no deductible and a quick online claims process, it protects against accidental damages including broken lamps and windows, damaged doors, walls and furniture, stained bedding, towels, or linens, and lost or stolen keys including re-keying costs.Since this consumer uses HomeAway Payments and chooses to include a damage deposit, they can select a combination of 2 methods mentioned below within the rates section of their listing: Property Damage Protection: With this option, the consumer can provide guests a choice between a low cost property damage policy that covers accidental damages, where they will be the beneficiary, or a refundable damage deposit that's equivalent to the full policy coverage amount that they select.To learn more about Property Damage Deposit and the different policy coverage options, please refer to this link: http://www.propertydamageprotection.com/Refundable Damage Deposit:This is the amount that a consumer would require for a refundable damage deposit. They can set this to be any value they choose. It can be used separately or in conjunction with Property Damage Protection option mentioned above.  This consumer should absolutely require travelers to sign a legal rental agreement before arriving at the property. Proper rental agreements can be used to communicate exactly how owners or managers wish their properties to be treated. They can address smoking rules, pet preferences, and additional fees such as cleaning. It is also imperative for an owner to screen their potential guests. In this unfortunate circumstance since the credit card used was different then the renter, we always advise the renter to obtain a copy of the credit card holders identification as well as a copy of the credit card being used to avoid a potential unauthorized charge situation. We do have a Owners Community that has a wealth of information on how to screen potential guests here: https://community.homeaway.com/welcome

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Travelers have started to request discounts from owners with much higher frquency than before. Travelers do not just accept owner's rate the way they "accept" hotel rates.
HomeAway fees to guests are an increase to the overall payment by guests and untimely HomeAway is driving the market to an increase profit on yourside, vs. lesser profit to owners. I am very disappointed at the fact that you continue this fee, which ultimately only benefits you as a multinational corporation, not the owners or guests. I guess you have become the new Walmart of tourism.
Regards,
[redacted]