r/vrbo

First time using the platform - I had to cancel a reservation I made 3 days after I initially requested it. The host agreed to the cancellation and vrbo confirmed and said the refund is on its way back. I waited TWO weeks and still didn’t get my money back. When I called them, they said they had already refunded me which is complete BS because I wouldn’t be calling them if that was the case. I ended up having to file a dispute with my credit card. Still trying to get my money back. Never using vrbo again, I’d rather pay double and stick with Airbnb, Booking.com or Expedia. Filthy liars and scammers, disgusting shady business and terrible customer service. Don’t get them a single cent or penny 😠

VRBO claims that they cannot separate their fees and my cleaning fee from my base price in the search and it shows the higher price when looking for my booking. Yet I can “book” other places with their base price shown and then fees are added. How do I get rid of my fees showing up on the initial search?

Each booked, partial payment about 6 months in advance. Both cancelled with "property no longer available" about a month prior to start. Twice left scrambling with limited availability and much higher prices. Once Sorrento, now also Berlin. I have done about 20 previous rentals without issue. What is going on at VRBO?

We booked a property in WA state near an active wildfire zone and sent an email and documentation to VRBO support two weeks ago asking for a refund. Anyone have any idea what could be taking so long with their decision?

I’ve been sent a VRBO booking and payment link. The agent has one name (though I can’t find a physical address for the agent) but the bank account wants Euros transfer into a different name UK bank account.

Cancellation can be done until end November, but the payment choices are either to a bank transfer directly, or using Xoom and a credit card (but with PayPal terms and conditions) to the same bank account.

I am UK based.

I have never used VRBO before but this seems really dodgy and if the booking gets cancelled by the owner or I wanted to use the cance option myself, I guess there is no way to get the money back despite using a credit card, because it is PayPal bank transfer?

Or am I jumping at imaginary red flags?

I posted 2x and they weren’t removed right away, making me think an actual human is reading the posts? Nothing violated the guidelines, I had issues with this Vrbo, the host, and also with Vrbo the company itself. I was trying to get some more opinions and possible solutions - mods, please tell me why it got removed? I even messaged and no one responds. Is someone from Vrbo or maybe the host somehow found my post (even tho they said they don’t understand English)?

I am looking at this Villa and I'm confused as to why using the same dates in 2027 it's £8500 but in 2028 it's £4700.

If i book the £4700 will they cancel it?

Jay

We've rented 3 houses in the last 6 months with pools. They all had steps without handrails. As I'm a little older and unsteady on my feet this makes it hard to get in and out without help. So why does so many pools in area not have handrails?

I booked a Vrbo property in April 2026 for Coachella weekend, April 16–18, 2027 — almost a full year in advance.

When I originally requested the booking in April, I also received confirmation directly from the property owner/manager that the reservation was accepted and the dates were available. So as far as I knew, this was a fully confirmed booking.

Today, someone claiming to be the timeshare owner called me and said the property was actually not available for those dates and asked me to cancel the reservation myself. I contacted Vrbo instead of canceling it.

Vrbo ultimately refunded me and gave me a list of other available properties, but basically told me there was nothing else they could do.

What makes this even stranger is that those same dates are now showing as unavailable for that property on Vrbo. I obviously can't prove what happened, but it makes me wonder whether the owner/manager may have decided to rent or sell those dates to someone else after already confirming my reservation.

I find this completely unacceptable. I booked this far in advance specifically because accommodations around Coachella become extremely expensive and difficult to find. Now, months later, finding a comparable place at the same price is much harder.

I've also tried requesting to book about four other properties on Vrbo that are shown as available for April 16–18, but the hosts declined my requests and told me the properties are actually unavailable for those dates.

If these properties aren't available, why are they still being shown as available on Vrbo? Shouldn't Vrbo require hosts to keep their calendars accurate or take action against listings that repeatedly advertise dates that can't actually be booked?

I spoke with a Vrbo supervisor and asked to escalate the issue. He told me there was no further escalation path and that Vrbo wasn't responsible beyond refunding me.

Has anyone dealt with something similar?

Is there another department at Vrbo I can escalate this to? Is there any realistic way to get Vrbo to cover at least part of the difference for a comparable replacement, or investigate whether the original host canceled my confirmed reservation in order to give those dates to someone else?

At this point, I'm not upset about simply getting my money back. The issue is that I had a confirmed reservation, including direct confirmation from the owner/manager, nearly a year in advance, and now I'm being left to absorb the much higher cost of finding a replacement during one of the most expensive weekends of the year.

https://preview.redd.it/ca0jdjadifjh1.png?width=1802&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c5c5f69da754f7205b97bf09ce42b27a58462ea

How can I find what we are looking for without wasting anyone's time and patience? I have spent so much time looking at listings that have said pets welcome, but gave no specifics on fees, or limits.​

We just want a cabin, on water, maybe with some Kayaks that will accept our dogs. We leash, harness, crate, all of the above we even have a travel invisible fence if needed.

I know hosts get annoyed with constant messages about thier pet policies and then not getting a booking. I don't want to do that obviously. How can we filter out the "one pet, 20 lbs only" listings?

First time booking through Vrbo. Booked a 2-night weekend stay for an "Entire Place / Private Retreat" with outdoor amenities (fire pit, deck/patio) and paid a pet fee to bring our two dogs. One of our dogs is a rescue foster and strictly cannot have interactions with unfamiliar animals due to rescue protocols.

​Upon arrival, we discovered several major material omissions:

​Undisclosed On-Site Host: The listing never mentions the rental is an apartment over a detached garage sitting roughly 30 feet below the owner’s primary home on the hillside.

​Undisclosed Resident Dog: The host was outside with an off-leash dog that immediately approached our vehicle to greet our dogs upon arrival. The host didn't disclose a resident animal on-site in a listing marketed as pet-friendly.

​Overlooked Amenities / Zero Privacy: The advertised fire pit sits at the base of the slope with a direct, unobstructed line of sight onto the host's raised personal deck, making the outdoor grounds unusable without being in full view of their living quarters.

​We contacted Vrbo support immediately. The frontline agent and supervisor both brushed us off, claiming that as long as the host doesn't share an interior bathroom or bedroom, it doesn't violate their shared-space policy—ignoring Vrbo's written rule that shared outdoor grounds, on-site owner presence, and resident pets must be disclosed in the description.

​Because it was already Friday evening and finding last-minute dog-friendly lodging wasn't feasible without risking the entire cost, we've decided to treat the rental strictly as an indoor basecamp for the weekend and deal with the dispute after checkout.

​For those who have navigated Vrbo misrepresentation disputes:

​What is the most effective escalation path once checked out (e.g., specific executive contacts, social escalation, or filing directly with credit card for services not as described)?

​How have you successfully framed "loss of advertised amenities" and listing omissions to get partial refunds or pet fee waivers after frontline support stonewalled?

​Any advice on navigating the post-stay claim or timing the public review so it doesn't get removed is appreciated.

My friend and I stayed at a VRBO and it was mostly fine. There were some things I would have liked to have known before booking like the air conditioning being a tiny unit that did not cool the entire listing, and some small check-in things. However the biggest issue was at checkout. Roughly 20 minutes before the listed checkout time, someone entered the property without prior notification and also did not announce themselves or let us know who they were. Upon seeing us packing up, she said it was ok we were still there but she wanted to start laundry so she was going to grab the sheets and proceeded to do so. When she came in, I was about to take bags to the car, while my friend was about to change. Her coming in delayed everything and made us very uncomfortable, especially because it was before checkout and the fact that their check out procedure was for us to send a text saying we had left and we hadn't done that. She also took my friend's expensive new underwear that was still on the bed because she was about to change. The washer is not on site so she took them and left the property. I let the property know and they sent a nice email, but we are wondering if we should ask for a refund on the item of clothing. We are laughing about this but it was expensive underwear and she took it after barging in before checkout! Secondly, while they were nice in their response, should I still add the intrusion and the other small things in the review, or let it go?

TL;Dr: property worker came in unannounced before checkout and took sheets and my friends expensive underwear in the process. Should we ask for underwear refund and leave honest review?

I booked a property and a few hours later the host contacted me on my personal cell phone to ask if I would like to sign an off vrbo rental agreement so that I can pay less for the rental. It made me suspicious, so I searched the host and to me, it looks like the host is a scam. Fake instagram, with AI pics. Link to a management company without a functioning website. Vrbo says i cant cancel. What do i do? Is it a scam? Do I reply to the person off vrbo?

I booked a house and paid the initial deposit. Now the balance is due and the owner is asking me to pay through their portal and not through VRBO. I have never been asked to do this, and I have rented numerous times through VRBO.

Is this normal?

I am looking for advice or people who can share similiar experiences and how they protected themselves.

We rented a house for two weeks around the time of the eclipse in Spain. Day 1 check in we see that clothes washing machine in the listing we counted on having is not present.

We called the host he said it was "out for repairs" and it would be delivered later. That took 4 days and the first time we run the machine the pipe behind it starts leaking sewer water into the room. Contacted the host again and he said we must of broke it. No idea how that is possible, I washed some socks (it's a little machine) so I ask him to send a plumber to come check it. The host says maybe someone can come out later the next week, basically when we are almost done with our time. Until then he said don't use the machine, I could wash clothes by hand.

I contacted VRBO customer service to ask what my options were. They opened a ticket and contacted the host, who is now raging that we ruined his reputation with VRBO.

He has now sent me a message in the app saying he noticed we had 5 people in the house, and that was not agreed on so he is going to open a ticket against me too for lying about who was staying at the house. My reservation confirmation email shows the stay is for 5 people so there is nothing wrong there, he is just mad and trying to make trouble.

What can I do at checkout to cover him dreaming up more ways to save face with VRBO by blaming us for things? VRBO already has photos of the flooding.

With his change in attitude I am concerned he will say we did damages, like stole the glass tray out of the microwave or something equally stupid.

I have a bit of an urgent question- I have a one night stay in Verona tomorrow (August 15, 2026). The place was booked through Expedia, which was then relayed to Verbo (without my knowledge, but that’s a different issue..). The booking on Expedia stated that payment was due on my arrival day. The owner of the property contacted me and asked for the money wired to them or cash on the day. I agreed tentatively to pay cash (but haven’t paid anything yet) and in return they provided the full information for self check-in, including details on how to arrive at the property, access code for the house etc and asked that I send them photos of our passports when we arrive (which is normal for self checkin in Italy).

should I proceed with the cash payment? Will Expedia/Verbo charge me automatically (and therefore I will be double charged)? My wife thinks we should just stay and refuse to pay cash and tell them to sort it out with Expedia/Verbo, but I am hesitant because we’ve communicated to paying cash. What should I do?

I stayed at a VRBO the other weekend, and it was a poor experience. Not the worst I've had, but I ended up having a guest leave because she didn't have anywhere comfortable to sleep. The listing said there were two sleeper sofas and bedding for all beds. There was an air mattress and a slippery leather couch. We could have been fine with the air mattress, but there was no extra bedding in the home. One of my guests used towels to sleep the first night, but said she couldn't do it a second night, so she went home.

There were a lot of little things that went wrong, but nothing detrimental. They said AC would be on when we got there, and of course, it wasn't. They said it would take two hours for the house to cool down, but it took five hours. We didn't complain because ultimately it was fine. The wifi didn't work, so no TVs in the home worked. We didn't complain about it since we had plenty of other things to do. But then they had additional guests in their back house and kept calling us to fix the wifi for them. It never worked, and it took hours out of our day.

Ultimately, I hate leaving bad reviews, but I sort of think we should get some money back because the guest couldn't stay. I have another VRBO booked in October, and I'm afraid that if I leave a bad review or ask for money back, I'll get a bad review back from the host, and it will impact my stay in October. I followed all the rules and was a good guest, but I did stop responding to the wifi after two hours. Is it a mistake to say something or ask for money back for that one guest?