Vrbo Reviews 119,042

if it were possible to give no stars that's what I would have done.
I booked an apartment in Paris 2 months in advance and VRBO not only charged over $1,000 CAD damage deposit as well as the rent but they cashed the damage deposit immediately.
upon arrival the entryway was filthy and smelled of urine.
the apartment had not been cleaned, there was dust on the shelves, the floor had not been swept or vacuumed and there were visible dirty fingerprints on the cupboards and smears on the kitchen counter.
I immediately contacted VRBO and asked to be relocated which they did not do, asking for photos which I had taken and sent.
my sister and I did not feel safe or comfortable staying in that smelly, dirty apartment and when VRBO didn't relocate us we had to book another apartment paying a premium for a last minute booking.
therein has followed over a week of exchanges with my VRBO contact but no action just 'sorry you feel that way' type response so I escalated to VRBO complaint, still no action.
my credit card company is looking into the matter and hopefully will get my money back.
we think it's hilarious a damage deposit was requested as it would be hard to tell if there were any damage.
never, ever, book with VRBO because unlike their ads - they don't do anything to help and they keep your money!

i am shocked by the low ratings on this site . i was using VRBO for the last 10 years, this year we had an issue with a host that cancelled a 12 month reservation 3 days before our trip. vrbo was able to get get us rebooked at a superior place at an extra 50% cost that vrbo care totally covered within 10 days of submitting paperwork. i will always use vrbo and they stand behind their guarantee !!!

I purchased the protection plan and I was never reimbursed for my 1 night stay, they ignored me after several calls and acted like they did not know what I was talking about even after I showed them their own email that said I would be refunded

VRBO is the least user friendly app I’ve ever used as a property owner. I have been listed on Airbnb for years and they are leaps and bounds ahead of VRBO. VRBO’s calendar won’t communicate with other platforms allowing customers to still book on VRBO’s platform even when they aren’t available. VRBO then FINES the owner for having to cancel due to their own mistake. No customer service, no ownership taken. Just a worthless website that scams its owners. Never, ever use this website.

Host misrepresented the property. Vrbo when showed by pictures did nothing to penalize or get her to change. Host took 2 months after money was taken to send contract so the time to cancel had already lapsed before telling all guests manditory to sign waiver stating anything were to happen based on THEIR gross negligence they were not to be held accountable along with everyones phone number and drivers liscence to do a backgrpund checkwhich also was not on website. All kitchen dishes had to be washed prior to use and house that did not allow pets smelled of cat urnine. Wanted to write a review but not being the person who paid but a registered guest that had to sign away my rights and send government id vrbo platform does not allow

As a host their system is horrible. I had a co-host and needed to move the listing to my account. Vrbo support said they will fix it but did nothing for 3 days. Now I cant even communicate with the guest to give them the code for entering let alone see anything about the listing itself. Airbnb is waaaaaaay better.

Beware: We booked 2 weeks through VRBO. Book That Condo (their approved partner) sends their 9-page Rental Agreement AFTER your credit card will be charged.

Their agreement is 100% pro them, leaving the renter in an exposed position to any fee that is indisputable.

Of course, we cancelled, they agreed to refund 100%, but short of the exchange rate so our attempted vacation transaction = 10 hours of stress, half-answered questions, no budging on the rental agreement even though my credit card was already charged, it cost us $125 for this nightmare.

They say VRBO is responsible.
No. Both of you are responsible for transparency, making that contract available on the listing, BEFORE TAKING OUR MONEY.

The host was dishonest and their photos did not show the true structure of the house we rented. It ended up being unsafe, cracking as we were in it, and ended up costing me becuse we had to leave due to safety.
Vrbo was slow to help, difficult to get a hold of, and there is little effort to resolve issues.

Vrbo ! 4 months i am awaiting a refund on the "glitch" booking that never existed but took my money !

i see now in the review that i am not the only one this happened to ! so please act on this and refund your customer !

Marriotts Ocean Pointe - 2 Bedroom

Only had us down for 2 night stay though we booked 4 nights. Marriott couldn’t do anything, VRBO somehow did the booking, some other company did the reservation and yet another company received our complaint, Was finally straightened out after many phone calls, lots of aggravation and wasted vacation time.

Day after I booked host said he forgot to increase fee for NFL draft so he wanted more money. I was not happy, but I said ok, then he tried to add more money on the second payment.

THEN he tried to charge me $200 deposit. I called VRBO And they talked to the host and assured me the host would fix price and not cancel. Host sent me messages repeatedly to cancel - I didn't . Next day he cancelled on me.

I spent over 7 hours on phone calls with VRBO, but he is allowed to relist AND with the higher price. He simply paid a 10% penalty.

Vrbo will not give me anywhere close to enough reimbursement to get a comparable place. 3 of us took off work and already spent money on tickets and reservations. As a customer that got ripped off, I got nothing but an I feel for you. Absolutely sickened by this whole experience.

awful customer support for their website and they try to force you to download their app and don't allow you to work on the browser

Been waiting 15 days for a fully refundable cancellation and now have to wait another 7 business days, WORST SERVICE EVER FROM both VRBO and STAYZ.

Beware!! Very distrustful company.
Canceled my vacation on time,owner returned funds and VRBO gave me a fight over returning their fees.
Reported to BBB and then the escrowed money was returned.
They count on you forgetting their fees are refundable as well as host if you cancel by stated date.

Beware booking anything on or connected to Vrbo! I tried to book a property on a third party site and received a "this property is not available" error. I thought nothing of it and moved on. Fast forward two months, and I get a random email from Vrbo about our "upcoming trip." I log in to the app, and they billed us $655.72 for that glitched booking. When I contacted support, I was on the phone for over two hours only to find out that booking didn't actually exist on my side or the host's side. I have now spent almost two weeks continually arguing and sending documentation to their support through Messenger and email and STILL do not have a refund. I am now disputing the charge through our bank. This is the worst customer support we have ever experienced!

I booked a vacation rental on Molokai for the first week of February. Online photos made it look beautiful, spacious, secluded. Slept four! We were given the phone number and email address of a "guest contact" who would assist us if needed.

First surprise was that the unit was part of a huge condo village with no cell service. No map to locate it. With the assistance of a passerby, we found the unit, but the lockbox code we were given didn't work.

Drove a few miles to where we could make a call. "Guest contact" didn't answer. Didn't respond to texts. We tried emailing only to discover the email address we were given was no good. Bounced. (Even when we got a text from the "guest contact" the next day, the lockbox code she gave us was also no good.)

Late late late that first night, Vrbo got us a lockbox code that worked — and we discovered the place was a pigsty. Filthy. Tiny. If it "slept four persons" at least two of them would be sleeping on the floor. So crammed with other people's clothes and belongings there was no place to unpack. Coffeemaker had a big sign, "BROKEN"; the only kettle on the premises was rusted out at the bottom. The place stunk to high heaven. The photos taken of the place were shot in a mirrored wall to made the place look larger. We had booked five days and five nights but left immediately in the morning. The place was uninhabitable.

I complained to Vrbo, requesting in fairness only a partial refund, less than half the $1400+ we'd paid upfront. Vrbo issued a tiny refund, not even the cost of one night's stay, and told me if I was unhappy, I should take it up with the owner. Which I tried; the owner conceded the cleaning service had quit, and the unit may have been broken into by squatters, but she decided to keep the full five days' rental fee anyway.

I tried to pursue it. But when I email Vrbo, all I get is a response saying "We're no longer monitoring this email." Meaning *any* email from me. Owner told me she's no longer renting the unit, meaning I was their crowning patsy, ripped off for over $1200.

Never again. Wouldn't stay in a Vrbo property if it was the last place standing on Earth post-apocalypse.

I booked a home that was listed on airbnb which I have used often. But the booking was redirected through Vrbo. The airbnb listing stated the listed prices include all fees. But was then charged a Cleaning Fee, Stay Tax and Service Fee through vrbo which jacked up the price considerably!

We trusted the brand and all I can tell you is renter BEWARE! The house we rented was the worse experience EVER…it was filthy, nothing worked, the pool was not swimmable, the best was when you tried to use the blow dryer, the ceiling light turned on which otherwise did not work…so a bit scary when using any electricity. Did I mention the gang across the street ~

Their website was built by a second grader and their agents have a first grade education. As owner of a property listed on VRBO for 15 years, everytime I call they don't recognize me. They finally told me it's because they had one letter in my first name misspelled. This frustrating issue where they would not speak to me because the had misspelled my first name is the least of the issues they have.

I booked a house in a city for over 2 weeks because my son had major surgery in that city, and we needed a place for him to stay during the surgery and recovery period that was close to his surgeon. I chose a property that advertised very specific things that we needed: private parking, full private access to a washer and dryer, a full kitchen with all items for cooking meals, a usable bath tub (as in not just a shower, but a tub for filling and bathing) and renting the full house, with no tenants or other parts of the home rented to others. I chose this property because we needed privacy and quiet for my son’s post-surgery recovery.

When we arrived, the property was far from ideal. We initially had no access to the washer and dryer, as it was in the basement, which we were told not to access under any circumstances, and which was behind a deadbolted door for which we had no key. We also arrived to find that there is a downstairs tenant. This was just the beginning of the nightmare.

The owner responded to my concerns by telling me we could use the washer and dryer, but only during restricted hours, and that it is shared with the tenant. We still didn’t have the key, and he finally told us where this was 3 days after we arrived.

I was extremely uncomfortable having to go down into someone else’s space to access the machines, and uncomfortable leaving my belongings where someone else has access to them, but we have no other choice. I have tried 3 times so far to use the machines and they have been occupied all 3 times.

The downstairs tenant is extremely loud. We can hear their conversations and laughing way into the night. When I expressed this to the owner, he told me “they will go to work, no worries.” Except the tenant (or maybe multiple people?) has been here 100% of the time, and we are on day 4 of being here.

The kitchen is a whole other nightmare. There are 3 pots/pans, all unusable. The dishwasher was full of dishes that had been washed but left there, as a pan in there was rusted and dripped rusty water everywhere when I emptied the dishwasher. There are zero cooking utensils. I had to purchase a set of pots and pans and kitchen implements to use while here, which cost me $65.

The bath tub won’t hold water- the drain stopper is not functional. So, I had to purchase a drain cover to make that usable.

Our second night here, I plugged in a space heater that was provided in one of the bedrooms, and it blew a breaker. Every overhead light in the house went out, as well as all power in the bathroom, and the microwave in the kitchen. Apparently these are all on one single circuit, which is illegal and hazardous. Of course the circuit breaker box was in the locked basement. I notified the owner, and it took multiple messages and a phone call and more than an hour to get this resolved.

And there are several other issues. The dishwasher is not properly attached to the counter and tips out when you open it fully and try to load it. The “game room” advertised is a shed in the backyard that the owner set up for the ad photo and then threw a bunch of junk into and shut, so it is certainly not a “game room.” The desk light in one room falls over when you try to use it, because it is in disrepair.

I reported all of the above to Vrbo within the first 24 hours of being here. They contacted the owner, and he denied it all, so Vrbo closed my case. I reopened it, they re-closed it. I reopened it and they sent me an email asking for all of the details again, but they sent it on the day of my son’s surgery, and I didn’t see it until the next day, when they sent me another email telling me I didn’t respond quickly enough, so they were closing my case again.

The owner is refusing to return any of my money at all. Vrbo says they can’t do anything. This is beyond unacceptable.