VRBO.com

We arrived at one of the houses that VRBO rents out in StAugustine on June 13thWe discovered that the floors were very dirtyOur feet were black when we walked barefootThe coffee pot had old grounds throughout it and had to be scrubbedSame with the blenderThe microwave didn't work at allThe king bed mattress was very uncomfortable that the middle was pushed upThe pool key was supposed to be left by the previous renter on a hook in the kitchenWe never found itPut a call into VRBO on June and had to leave a messageCalled again on Monday June and finally spoke to a live personGave her a list and especially concerning the pool keyShe said the owner will be by, but it would probably be WednesdayHe finally came by and took the broken microwave and said he will talk to the previous rentersHe finally had another key made and dropped it by on Thursdaydays after we reported it missing!!! Now the really funny part to this whole ugly mess, is they're charging us for the missing pool keyI called the Friday the 19th to ask why $was taken out of my accountThe guy said he thinks it was a balance dueI told him we received a 10% discount and that everything was paid in fullHe said he would pass the info on to his supervisor and it would take a few business days to reimbursedOn 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 noteOn the 26th, one more time and this time spoke to a woman and she said there was nothing in the system of any problemsWOW!!! She said the supervisor was out, but she would have her call me on MondaySince I didn't get a call on Monday, I called them again on Tuesday the 30thAgain, nothing in the system except they said the charge was for us losing the pool keyI 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 happenI now I can't hurt them too much, but I will make sure that all my relatives and friends never use them

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:I placed pictures for a 750sqft condo and back then I could not find any more pictures to post which would make any difference If posting the same pictures would make any diffence then I would but it would not This is just a reason to reject a refund policy it seems like they no longer do this program since they do not offer refunds anyway and use these none sense reasons to reject refundsThis should work with the company motoAlso back then I could not open the link but they are claiming that the link was working do they have a proof of this? I am not happy with their service and I am still requesting the refund Regards, [redacted]

Here is our formal response: Revdex.com complaint [redacted] was filed on 6/21/It was assigned the internal VRBO.com case# [redacted] Our billing team was actively working with this consumer just prior to this date of the Revdex.com complaint under our internal case# [redacted] However a response from the Revdex.com came through for this same consumer under complaint # [redacted] (see attached) We marked the Revdex.com complaint # [redacted] resolved based on the reply we received referencing Revdex.com Complaint # [redacted] thinking one was a duplicate I think that is where the confusion happenedWe also received positive feedback from this consumer thanking us for helping us resolve this issue back on 6/14/Please let us know if you need any additional documentation we would be happy to provide it Thank you, [redacted] | Trust & Security Lead [redacted]

This consumer contacted us (case# [redacted] ) This consumer is asking us to remove or delete her account with usAccording to the Terms & Conditions that this consumer agreed to when enlisting with our website we will not be able to do thatBelow is a link to our Terms and Conditions of advertising and using our site:http://www.vrbo.com/info/termsandconditions : Your E-mail Address and Data; Our Privacy Policy; Data Transmittal.When you provide your e-mail address, name or other information to us in connection with your use or access to the Site, any service or tool provided on the Site or otherwise, you agree to allow the Site and its affiliated websites to add your e-mail address, name or other information provided to our database of usersYou may receive one or more promotional e-mails from either the Site or a website of one of HomeAway’s affiliatesYou are welcome to opt not to receive such promotional e-mails from the Site or such affiliates’ websites at any timePlease review our Privacy Policy for more information regarding our email and other data collection practices and safeguards, and how to opt not to receive such emailsYour use of the Site signifies your acknowledgment of, and agreement, with our Privacy Policy Each user acknowledges and agrees that, regardless of such user’s physical location, we may store and process any data transmitted to the Site from such user at locations both within and outside of the United States.In the event that you use any of our tools that we may from time to time offer that integrate in any way with a third party website to which you have provided data or information, you acknowledge and agree that such third party website shall be responsible for how the data or information you have provided to such website is handled [redacted] Lastly we also recommend that this consumer contact Yapstone / Vacation Rent Payment (VRP) in regards to the recent breach of its consumers personal information and if they were impactedWe have previously supplied this information to this consumer

My husband and I have used VRBO several times through the past 3-4 years and have always been extremely satisfied with them. Until now. Our vacation was cancelled just 2 days prior to our arrival date by the owner. It took hours on the phone along with numerous texts and emails to get a full refund. We were given a partial refund twice before getting the full amount. Essentially, VRBO was sorry, but could not help with a new place unless we wanted to pay full price for it. That would have been seriously crazy as we had yet to get our money back from the prior reservation.

To clarify when a credit card is used on our site for a booking the charge will show as HomeAway HomeAway offers a service to our vacation rental owners or managers to accept credit cards though a third party credit card processing company VacationRentPayment (VRP) HomeAwayHomeAway is not the merchant of recordHowever so that travelers will clearly recognize they booked a property they found on the HomeAway site, a travelers credit card statement will show HomeAway, since the consumer may not recognize the name VacationRentPayment (VRP)According to our Terms and Conditions:The Site is a Venue and We are Not a Party to any Rental Agreement or other Transaction Between Users of the Site.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 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 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.Responsibility for applicable laws, rules and regulations: Users agree that they are responsible for, and agree to abide by, all laws, rules and regulations applicable to their use of the Site, their use of any tool, service or product offered on the Site and any transaction they enter into on the Site or in connection with their use of the Site

The notifications this consumer has been receiving are not "threatening" in nature, simply to inform this consumer that our system has noticed a low performance turn over from inquiries to bookingsAlso Pay-per-booking listings are required to use our payment platform for all bookings of the property.The activity associated with the account (phone and email inquiries, quote requests, booking requests compared to confirmed bookings) is below the performance standards for the listing areaThis indicates bookings are being made offline or that the listing is not of a quality comparable to similar listings in your area and is not attracting bookings.When the consumer signed up for the Pay-per-booking listing model they agreed to the terms of this program outlined within our Terms and Conditions:http://www.vrbo.com/info/termsandconditions"To the fullest extent legally permissible, Members who list their properties in a pay-per-booking listing, agree to rent such properties through such listing and not through any other means"According to our records we have been trying to work with this consumer in our internal case# [redacted] and actually today one of our escalation agents tried to call this consumer but was not able to get a hold of them, they did send a follow up email as wellPlease simply call us back at 877- [redacted] and our staff will be happy to help you with this issue

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

As a Host, I can honestly say VRBO/HomeAway is the most unfair and unethical company I have ever been associated with. As a Host, they failed to support me in their own refund policy. Without due process, the sided with the guest and withdrew my money from my account to refund the guest. They chose to refund the guest with my money not theirs, without my approval or my side of the story. They were the judge and jury for guests refunds and they also restricted my account without considering the my rights as a host. Because of this unethical practice, I no longer want to be associated with HomeAway/VRBO. So, I requested that my account be deleted, because I don't want them to withdraw money out of my account whenever they feel like it. Their response was, we can't delete your account because it has been restricted, which they did on their behalf, without considering my rights or my side of the story. Do not Host with HomeAway/VRBO. I highly recommend you to Host with Airbnb. Their fair, ethical, and they don't charge Host unnecessary fees.

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: The response from HomeAway/VBRO is false! My Capital credit card statement shows charges from HomeAway, so they are involved in monetary transactionsHomeaway booking agent specifically suggested the purchase of Trip Cancellation policy as method to get around the homeowner cancellation policy, which was not clear to begin withThis company is in the business of selling extra policies, and don't provide any legitimate customer service or supportThis can be verified through the Capital One agent that was on a conference call with me, when we contacted both HomeAway and CSAWill never do business with this company and will recommend to everyone on Social Medial and elsewhere to stay away Regards, [redacted] ***

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:Business is like always not reading my previous msg They are just finding ficticious reasons to deny the claim for a 750sqft condo I had pictures IT is more than enough to show every detail in this small bedroom condo I have a bath, kitchen, bedroom and living room this is more than pictures for each location and every inch of this condo is shown in these pictures Like I said they are just finding a reason to reject the refund They discountinued this program which makes sense since they do not give refund to anyone from what I can see from Consumer Affairs website anyways also they are still failing to prove that the refund link was working back in June when I first contacted them this is not working currently and I could not open this link back then either see attached Regards, [redacted]

I am an owner of a property that for years VRBO was acceptable to use. Since they got acquired by Expedia I have had nothing but problems. First they no longer give a prospective customer"s phone or email until they book through them. I complained and their response was that they were protecting me from scams. The real reason is they are trying to control MY customer, not their customer. This went further when they collected funds and charge an admin fee of $499 . THis is a waste of customer money. From there they went to a third party for collection and charge a fee to deposit money as received. I receive deposits when reservation made and balance 60 days prior to arrival. For a fee I can receive the advance deposit. I agreed reluctantly and just found out they cancelled this service without notification to me.
I recommend any owner to obtain the prospect's contact information and deal with them directly.
These customers are not the property of VRBO and they should not control any part of this connection. I pay $499/year to use their site for advertising only. They are not worth any more.

Dealing with this consumer's second issue first, the reviews for this listing are for the person or persons advertising it on our website Although the consumer states that ownership of the property has changed, the person advertising it has not so the reviews are still valid.Regarding the first issue, in line with our Terms and Conditions, it is the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure that the advertisement is accurate "...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."If the consumer has a specific preference for whether they rent from a homeowner or a property manager we recommend that they address this directly with the advertiser during the inquiry process

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I am already paying for the space that VRBO is allowing Google to use to direct my potential renters to my competitiorsEssentially what VRBO is doing is the equivalent of renting a house to someone and them letting someone else rent the same houseThey are getting paid twice for the same house, in that analogyIt is completely corrupt and unacceptableFurthermore, I have already emailed them screen shots on at least two separate occasions of competitors who VRBO allows to advertise on MY webpageThey refused to remove them citing the same 1% statistic that they gave the Revdex.com and responded with a snark, condescending responseI no longer want to do business with this company and I want a refund of my money on a prorated basis dating back to the date of my original complaint Regards, [redacted]

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

cellpadding="0"> This complaint is not against HomeAway IncWe 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 managerSection of our Terms and Conditions http:// [redacted] “The Site is a Venue and We are Not a Party to any Rental TransactionWe 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 propertyWe do not own or manage, nor can we contract for, any vacation rental property listed on the SiteInstead, the Site acts as a venue to allow homeowners and property managers who advertise on our Site (each, a “member”) to offer for rent in a variety of pricing formats, a specific vacation rental property to potential renters (each, a “traveler” and, collectively with a member, the “users”)We are not involved in any transaction between travelers and members even though we may from time to time provide tools that relate to a booking, such as a tool to enable a traveler to enter into a transaction to lease a specific property directly from a memberAs a result, any part of an actual or potential transaction between a traveler and a member, including the quality, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any property or guest book review), the ability of members to rent a vacation property or the ability of travelers to pay for vacation rental properties are solely the responsibility of each userWe are also not responsible for the condition of the vacation rental properties listed on our Site or the compliance with laws, rules or regulations that may be applicable to any vacation rental property in any jurisdiction Finally, 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 actionsIn the event we do provide warnings or messages to users about any such activity, we do not warrant that such messages or 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, result or action." 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 disputeWe however do NOT mediate; we simply try our best to put the two parties together to work the situation out if possibleWe 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 siteI assure you we have taken the appropriate action in regards to this complaint [redacted] Trust and Security Senior Agent | HomeAway,Inc [redacted] This electronic communication (including any attachment) is confidential If you are not an intended recipient of this communication, please be advised that any disclosure, dissemination, distribution, copying or other use of this communication or any attachment is strictly prohibited If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and promptly destroy all electronic and printed copies of this communication and any attachment

For the past six years, I have used VRBO/homeaway to book my luxury log cabins in Luray, VirginiaMy cabins enjoy a average review out of starsLast week, I had a disgruntled client who rated my cabin at a and I accepted the rating with a polite response for future clients to help them understand the reviewShortly thereafter the client's spouse posted a second review with a star rating disparaging me personallyThe VRBO customer service team, Gloria, recommended that I offer to refund more money to the clientI refused and asked to speak to the executive communication team, where Michael removed the star rating and let the star stand with my polite rebuttalThe very next day, VRBO switched the ratings out and posted the star with the disparaging remarks in place of the starI wrote a letter to the VRBO CEO and Jennifer from his executive communication team called me to support the posting of the star reviewTom H [redacted] a senior manager at VRBO sent me an email empathizing with me but sticking by the tenant and not me the owner who paid the $platinum subscription not to mention the exorbitant service fees that VRBO is now chargingI asked Tom for my money back and he said he would support my requestToday, Jude from the VRBO executive communication team called to tell me that in spite of Tom H***'s support, VRBO would not refund my platinum subscription, that VRBO would not remove the star review even though they coached the client on how to switch it from a star rating and if I contacted the CEO via mail or email again, that VRBO would not communicate with me on the issue againFor the past three days, my cabin has been hidden because of the 1-star rating and Flipkey and AirBnB have sent me new and impressive leadsMy cabin continues to book and VRBO continues to lose moneyFinally, as a 100% service disabled veteran, I rely on these cabins for routine income so to hide my cabin from the VRBO site is a bold move as I had to rely on Flipkey/TripAdvisor and AirBnB but the principal is important to meI am disappointed that VRBO/homeaway seems anti-property owner, anti-veteran and generally anti-customer serviceIf you own a property and post it on VRBO/homeaway, be ready to pay excessive costs and fees and be ready to have the customer service/management routinely side with the tenantAs a property owner, you are a 2nd-class citizen to VRBO/homeaway and as a military veteran, you are behind thatPLEASE GET SMART AND AVOID VRBO/HOMEAWAY at all costsThey are a company that is doomed with lousy customer service, deceptive personnel working for them and exceptionally poor business personsSTAY AWAY!

Thank you for bringing this consumers concerns to our attentionThe service fee is paid by the traveler when booking through the HomeAway websitesThis went into effect February This fee covers the cost of providing 24/customer support, enhanced site and mobile features for both owner and travelers, plus expanded marketing efforts to generate more exposure to global audiencesAdditionally, when a traveler books and pays through HomeAway, they are eligible for the Book with Confidence GuaranteePaying the fee: Travelers pay the service fee by credit card when paying through the secure HomeAway checkout processThe service fee is only charged to the card once the booking has been acceptedThe service fee is calculated on a sliding scale of 4% to 9% of the rental amount, excluding the deposit or taxesThe service fee only applies to the cost of the rental and will not exceed $499.Please note, if the reservation is cancelled and refunded by the owner in full, 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.According to our records this consumers booking was applicable for the service fee as it was booked after February 2016, there is no applicable refund

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 listingWe 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 hours When you pull up the dashboard, it shows you the listing number, not the property name, because I have properties listed, I never know which is which And, they keep your money for days on the first booking Airbnb is the only way to go!

When using the VRBO app I attempted to book a home. After inputting my credit card I received an error message that stated something to the effect of “Something went wrong. Try again later. Upon trying again the home was no longer available. I told my wife that the house was no longer available and went to bed for the night. She proceeded to arrange another property through VRBO.
When I awoke the next morning and checked my email I found a confirmation email stating that I had some how booked the property when I had originally received an error message. I immediately picked up the phone and called the customer service phone number and told them the story. They apologized and told me that both properties had a zero refund policy and it was my failure because I hadn’t check my email for a confirmation email after receiving the error message. After calling several times and insisting on speaking to a supervisor only then did they tell me that the only way to get a refund was to cancel my reservation and hope that someone else rebooks the property through VRBO. I sent the owner a message through the app and he said the same thing. I questioned both VRBO and the owner, “What if he books the property through AirBNB and it doesn’t show up in VRBOs records as being rebooked? Then how am I guaranteed a refund?” The owner has since stopped replying to messages and VRBO could not give me a straight answer.
As of right now VRBO has not taken any responsibility or accountability of the error on their app. And the owner is not planning on refunding my money.
The only hope I have is that I have filed a dispute with America Express on the charge.
We will never use VRBO again.