We have an upcoming stay this weekend, it was for a birthday. However the one with the birthday was admitted to the hospital for a brain bleed. What is the best way to receive a refund? The cancellation policy is full within 14days but we are out of that.
ETA: I am quite aware that I am not entitled to a refund and that it is not the host of the VRBO’s fault!
We booked a VRBO for the night of the 3rd and the 4th, when we got there the upstairs where our parents and kids would have slept the AC wasn't working. We messaged the host thru the app and they sent someone out to check it out and it turned out to be an issue that can't be fixed during our stay. It's 95° where we are at and it was unbearable and unable to sleep upstairs because of how hot it is, the company the host uses to manage the cabin brought us a box fan but that's all the compensation we received. How should I go about a refund of some sort? We ended up having to book a local hotel room just for family to sleep.
I rented a small house for two nights. When we arrived the house AC was off, not broken, off. The thermostat registered at 89 degrees. For other context it was 98 outside. We had 2 pups with us and honestly we should have just left, but we didn't. I sent a message to the host stating the above.
They apologized and I then asked for a partial refund. They asked what I thought was fair and I said 30%. Example: I paid 100 total so I wanted 30 refunded. Using my above numbers, they offered 14.50 because the 2nd night wouldn't be affected and the cleaning/VRBO fees are not something they get. Basically they offered around 30% of a single night, excluding the various fees.
In my POV, the place was not fit for habitation and only became so after the ac cooled the house to around 78. When we went to bed at 11, the house was still at 82.
Thoughts?
Staying at a VRBO outside Chicago. It’s a 2 level apartment with garage on the bottom floor. The building has 6 units, we are in the 2nd unit. There have been heavy storms the last several days. I took this video today when we pulled into the garage. Runoff running down the wall, around the electrical box and onto the floor.
This seems pretty concerning to me, but maybe I am off base?
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1710370576239604838
Large house on bayshore. Advertised with pool and game room. $800/night including fees
The pool was filthy, the game room was locked.
Attached are some pics of the pool.
Do not book here
A new one for me. I decided to fulfill a bucket list item and spend Jan and Feb in Ft. Myers, Fla. After one option was “rented” right after I selected it, I found my second choice was still available. Worried about losing out on it, I immediately booked and paid a down payment. What I missed, I learned, after receiving the short term lease agreement from the host, under the “Administrative Fee” was $917 for electrical usage. Is this common? I have stayed at many VRBO homes and have never been charged for electricity usage, before I even use it. It seems like a gray area in the VRBO rules.
TL;DR: VRBO is making it extremely difficult to receive reimbursement that they promised.
Pic is the body of an email that VRBO sent us during this process.
On March 9, we booked and paid for a beach house in Gulf Shores, AL for 5 couples for the nights of June 25-27. This is an annual trip for the group. The day prior to departure we had not received check-in instructions, so we contacted VRBO Customer Service. Customer Service said they would try to contact the host and get back to us.
We left the next morning and headed to the beach anticipating a 2 PM check in. A little after 1 PM on check-in day, VRBO customer service called us and said they couldn't contact the host. They said they were going to find us equivalent (5 bedrooms) alternate accommodations and that we would be reimbursed for the difference if the alternate accommodations were more expensive than what we had originally booked. VRBO was unable to find alternate accommodations for the first night. They told us that we needed to find our own lodging, and if the group stayed in a hotel, it had to be paid for by the person that made the original booking and had to show that it was for 10 total people, just like the original canceled reservation. We were told we had to reserve and pay for the alternate beach house for the final two nights through the VRBO app, which we did.
We booked 5 rooms at the Embassy Suites in Gulf Shores (Excellent hotel!) and charged everything to a single card. After some extended discussions with the hotel, they were able to provide us with the documentation that VRBO required.
We were also told that it was up to us to dispute the charge for the original reservation with our credit card company. We did that and Capital One was great! With one phone call they credited our account without requiring any additional documentation.
Between the hotel charge, and the charge for the replacement house, the alternate accommodations were roughly $1900 more than our original reservation. We weren't worried about this because we had been assured that VRBO would cover the difference.
We submitted all requested documentation on Monday, June 29 and after multiple phone calls totaling around 5 hours, we still have not been able to secure our reimbursement. We have asked for escalation, supervisors, all of it. I just wish we could talk to someone that could actually help.
Not to mention the trouble of having to unload, load, and unload again and having a period of 5 hours between hotel checkout and being able to get in the alternate house where we didn't have a place to land.
Any suggestions on how to proceed?
VRBO needs to learn from Capital One and Embassy Suites how real customer service works.
VRBO wouldn’t allow me to leave a review for this host for some reason. He has umpteen cameras recording which are not disclosed in his listing. He had one of his biker friends stop by unannounced to check on things which was very unsettling. When I confronted the host he told me that he was within his rights to do whatever he wanted. He accused me of sneaking my dog into his pet friendly home and sent me a request for payment for $300 as a cleaning fee. When I booked I paid a $250 cleaning fee. We left a day early and I expressed my concerns. A few days later I was sent a $400 request for payment. $200 to sign into his fire stick again which is free and $200 for excessive shedding. I told him we have a hypoallergenic shih tzu that barely sheds and I already paid him $550 to clean his tiny home. He wanted to make it $750. I told him I had no intention of paying his bogus fees and a few hours later he deleted his requests for payment which I did not ask him to do. He left me a 1 star review to retaliate and threatened to sue me if I left a review somewhere else. Well this is my review of this garbage human. He told me he has video recordings and photos of my family which is beyond creepy. All this because I criticized our stay. Location is Mississauga Ontario Canada. The home is tiny, cluttered, dirty and overlooks a busy highway. Not the palace he thinks it is. His hurt feelings made him go nuts. Hosts name is Richard. Avoid.
Short story: Acute sudden injury forced us to cancel our trip. We‘re outside of the cancellation window on the VRBO.
I ask the PMC if there’s anyway they could attempt to rebook the place and offer us either a refund or a voucher for next year if they can sell it to someone else. They decline 100% nada, but now (have the audacity) to ask me to cancel the reservation on VRBO so they can, quote “free up the calendar“. ????
I’ve inclined to tell them to pound sand. You’re not doing anything for me so why should I return the favor? Of course they are looking to double dip and make double the $$$.
I booked a VRBO for the end of the month back in April. I messaged the owner with a question for our stay later this month, then got a text offering to book directly with the owner to save the fees. The name of the VRBO host and the person who messaged me back through the site are different, but they did get my number and there is a legit website for the house. How likely is it that I'm being scammed somehow? We have a whole plan and I'd hate to ruin the trip by canceling the booking and then being caught up in a scam, OTOH saving $500 sounds great. Any thoughts or insight would be appreciated! (I was scammed early this year by StubHub and am a little skittish because of it ...)
We got here late last night. Just kinda threw everything in and went to bed. This morning I got my toddler dressed and she followed me from the bedroom to the kitchen and then from the kitchen to the master bedroom. I picked her up to put shoes on and this is what her socks looked like. I made three swipes on the floor with a baby wipe and it turned black.
I found a mop and bucket in the closet and the water was still like chocolate milk just from the kitchen and entryway after three water changes 🙃
Not pictured: urine splatter all around the toilet on the floor, pancake syrup (?) fossilized under the table, bathroom and kitchen rugs matted down. Etc.
I don’t want to complain or over react because everything else has been clean, but I’d be livid if I had a crawler!
So, this sucks. Zero mention of an ADU in the listing, but when we arrived we found instructions that said if packages were delivered please leave them on the porch because they are for the person living in the ADU on the property. WHAT?! It turns out that they basically put up a fence to split the property in 2 and there is someone living in the original garage. Unfortunately, they access their “unit” by walking through “shared grounds” which basically means a path that runs literally past our bedroom windows.
We’re now creeped out and annoyed, but we checked VRBO and there’s nothing available in the area except 2 places that are 2x the cost.😭
I’m absolutely stunned that no other reviews mentioned this?!
Vrbo host texted us today to say they were cancelling (for a stay in 4 days) becuase they charged us X$ 5 months ago and think it is too cheap.
They told us vrbo suggested the cancellation and we need to find a new place.
Do we have any recourse? We booked in advance to save $$- now we have to spend and additional $300/ night in a hotel.
I booked a trip place to stay in FL in feb. our trip was one June; pictures were not the same as it was shown on the booking site. There were dead and alive cockroaches all over the place. The smoke alarm wasn’t even attached in the main bedroom !
VRBO support has been all talk but no action. I finally got an email back from
Them they no refund will be offered. However, they are investigating the host for trying to get me
To rescind a bad review in exchange for a refund. I guess it’s against the policy.
Has anyone had to deal with this before and after their trips ? It was my first time using VRBO, and wasn’t aware that I could just ask to be moved to another building. It sucks and lost out on a refund, their customer service is a joke, the host was a joke. Ughhh
Just venting !!!
They specifically booked this unit because it stated Air Con in both the description and the listed amenities. Not even sure what else there’s to do other than get a hotel and deal with this later. Support took 3 hours to respond. It’s 10PM in the UK. She just spent 20+ hours traveling and now this whopper.
I booked a Paris Airbnb months ago with AC listed.
Two days ago, I checked the listing and AC is gone from the listing. I know it was there because I texted my friend the link specifically mentioning it had AC, and I used Airbnb's share feature, which had "amenities facilities=air conditioning" right in the URL. Unfortunately, I didn't screenshot the listing as proof because why would I?!
The host hasn't responded in 48 hours. I contacted VRBO, who also couldn't reach them. When I followed up a day later, their manager told me they have no way of knowing if a host removed an amenit, which is complete BS. They clearly have access to listing change logs. After I showed them the URL with the AC filter, they reached out to the host again.
Their solution? If the host doesn't respond before I arrive in 4 days, I should just show up, check for AC myself, and then call them to find a replacement. I'm not spending 2-3 hours on the phone hunting for a place to stay in Paris with no backup plan.
I threatened a chargeback and suddenly they got slightly more helpful. They're supposed to contact me today with a "resolution" (their word, said very vaguely and would not tell me what it meant), assuming they don't hear from the host.
Any advice on dealing with this? The entire reason we booked this place was that it had AC and we definitely paid a premium for it.
I use VRBO several times a year, and never had this happen. Ad says sleeps up to 6 (2 bedrooms and a pullout couch). I have a family of 4, teenagers need/want their own bed(room) I booked for Nov, and the host contacted me and asked for the ages of the kids. Then sends a request for $40 ($10 a day per extra persons). Host says the rental is for 2 people. It never specifically says this on the site. There is wording for fees may apply for extra persons. I thought that might mean above the listed 6 people.
Is this a new thing, or just a quirky owner.
When I reached out she said it was for cleaning the extra linens, electricity, and water. Wtf?!?!
Edit: Thanks for responding. I always put the number of people in the search, and never knew it would be adjusted. But not sure why the owner is charging more. Have been communicating with owner.