HomeAway is now Vrbo Reviews 

was good company before Expedia took them over.....used to love there company but now problem after problem for guest and owner.

In September 2020 I booked both a Villa and non returnable flights for a holiday in Crete in September 2021. Without any prior notification VRBO have cancelled the accommodation today stating that as a result of being closed for a year ( I would suggest part of a year) the property will not be available in September as it may need some remedial work to restore it to its required standard. ( 6 months work)
I am now left with no accommodation along with non refundable flights as a consequence. VRBO ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED, AVOID AT ALL COSTS

I was scheduled to rent a property on South Rehoboth Beach, DE. Property ID is 259294 November 25-29, 2020. However, I had to cancel the reservation because of COVID-19 rules imposed by the state of DE. VRBO cancelled the reservation and said my damage deposit would be refunded no later than December 13, 2020. As of January 8, 2021, I have not received the deposit. I have contacted the property manager for this property twice concerning the refund. However, I have yet to hear from her. On the web site for this property, it states the property owner has refunded the deposit. To whom she returned the deposit, I don't know. Did the deposit go to the property manager? VRBO? I would appreciate any assistance you might provide. Thank you

No help whatsoever in being able to get a refund back despite a "book with confidence guarantee". Do not use!!!

VRBO does not stand behind the rental customers and after 5 long phone calls and being lied to I never will use their service again and do not recommend it to anyone.

This company is a scam do not use.
i booked with Expedia home and away with free cancellation,
we then had to cancel so contacted the owner and informed them, tried to inform vrbo who have now taken over our booking, but would not let me cancel online so contacted them on so called live chat, no one ever replies.
The owner gave us our deposit back the very next day however vrbo still have our booking fees.

VRBO/Homeaway - Never use them!!!!

Homeaway have been taken over by VRBO and there is an obvious scam going on with not paying cancellation monies back to customers

I booked a break in Orlando and had to cancel in plenty of time to get my full payments back. Multyiple calls and promises and nothing. Getting on for 6 weeks now.

DO NOT USE THESE COMPANIES EVER!!!!!

I have been an owner member of HomeAway for twenty years plus. One of their original members. Until recently I have never had a complaint but someone booked us online for one night the other week with instant booking for six people. For one nighters I charge be the rooms required so three double rooms were made available. This man turned up with eight people and wanted our fourth bedroom. He said he would pay online to HomeAway. Despite three requests he never paid. He then telephoned various friends who turned up in their cars for an all night party with BBQ, drinks and possibly drugs with pool used and lights blazing all night long. I telephoned HomeAway who said if I threw him out I could jeapardise any future bookings. As it was they all cleaned up very well and left the villa midday the following day. The situation could have been nasty but we treated them politely and their response to us was the same. Most friends having left in the early hours of the morning. Alas we discovered a broken toilet seat which was good quality and fairly new and a broken new tapin a bathroom. I phoned HA and asked if I could claim on my £500 damage security bond. They told me to send them the plumbers bills and photos online for the claim. This we did within the week and they told me that they could deduct the claim from this mans card. Eager to show our sincerity and honesty I spoke five times with HomeAway but each time one speaks the agents are different involving many hours waiting on the phone whilst they look up details. Each agent told me what to do to make this claim and all information was the same. I was told the money would be transferred to my account within three weeks. It never arrived so I telephoned again only to be told that we had not made the claim correctly so it could not be paid out. Each time one telephones this company there is no consistency for speaking with the same person. This was never like this untilHomeAway became part of VRBO. I feel they now prevaricate. They told me that they own our business's and Ihave to comply with their running of it. All we want is the advert. After twenty years we understand clients and the trust that needs to exist between client and owner. Now we cannot ask or answer questions as our answers are blocked if we ever disclose personal details etc before the client has committed themselves by paying HA or VRBO first. Normally we have never accepted visitors to our Villa until their money is in our bank. This has always been standard procedure over twenty years plus. Now HA keepthe money and only pay out after seven days they tell me and it could take longer. We have visitors arriving this Friday having paid HA online. If the money is not in our bank do we turn them away? They could theoretically loot the villa, murder us in our beds, claim their money back from HA with a bad review and leave happy within a few days. Of course this is the worst scenario but even so, we feel that HA no longer have control of their company and our money is kept in their bank for as long as possible to gather interest for them.
When trying to put this point to HomeAway they prevaricated and rang off. Owners often spend a fair amount preparing the villa for guests using their own money in the hope that they will be recompensed soon but this no longer happens as interest is being gained by these firms at owners expense. When asking to speak with a senior person or Director that is not allowed. These businesses, as with Trip Advisor have become, to us, no longer straightforward with owners and clients mere pawns within their enterprise.

A company that my husband and I have been with for many years as an owner have turned into one of the worst on the market. Guests and Owners both get penalised by their continually changing Terms and Conditions. There is only one beneficiary to these changes and that is HomeAway (VRBO and Expedia) not their customers be they Owners or Guests. Their policy now is a simple one. "Lets hold on to everyone's money for as long as possible, to make as much interest as we can out of everyone and we will charge you both (more) for the privilege" What a shame it used to be so good.

Their latest email is quite clear.

"The refund that the guest has received is the money paid toward lodging tax, it was paid to HomeAway who in this instance have refunded it as the booking is cancelled. As stated previously, we do not dispute that the reservation is cancelled, the item being disputed is the date you receive payment for a cancelled booking.

For this booking you had agreed a check-in date of January 1st 2021, as you were on the check-in payment service at the time, it was confirmed that payment for the booking would be released at the date of check-in. The fact that the booking is cancelled does not change the agreed upon date that the funds would be released"

Incidentally they continually change their T&C's and I did not agree to this they imposed it upon us. So they want to hold on to my money for a cancelled booking with no sign of it being returned until a mythical check that will not happen. Draw your own conclusions but for me they are scamming owners and guests. I have had separate dialogue with the guests about their refund as I do not trust HomeAway or VRBO any longer. That is why I won't publish my name or listing for fear of being penalised still further.

First, my family of 15 got doubled booked on a house. So, less than a month out, we are all trying to find another house that we all could fit. By the grace of God we found one. I was still waiting for my refund from the other house, so I put a deposit of $600, which was on a Friday. The very next Tuesday they tried to take out the remainder of the payment, which I was totally fine with, but we hadn’t gotten our refund from the other house. So, we almost lost the new house. I called them on Tuesday morning, and told them, that I hadn’t gotten our money back on my card, they wouldn’t tell me why it wasn’t on there when they guaranteed it would be in 3 to 5 days. So, I had to use another card because we were going to lose this house too. Grrr 😡 So, I paid it in FULL. They waited 10 days before all 15 of us are suppose to be there, to send me an email saying, That they have to cancel, yet another house, that I would be getting a full refund!! So again, here we are hustling to find yet another house with NO HELP from them! Everything was booked, for the same dates our family took off of work, to enjoy a family vacation. But as of this past Wednesday 6-17-20, we had to get TWO different condos to fit all 15 of us!! 🤬 Thanks Vrbo and Turnkey vacation rentals for ruining our family vacation and splitting us all up and making us spend more money for two condos!!

Stay away from booking through Vrbo!!! We have cancelled before the deadline and now Vrbo is holding back our money even though we are allegible to get 100% refund. Their excuse is that the owner has to accept our cancellation, however, the owner is smart enough not to accept the cancellation as he also wants to keep some of the money. Vrbo is a scam company - stay away!

Concert in Nashville was cancelled on Mar 6th. Attempted to cancel the condo same day, before any stay at home orders were given. Technically we were just past the date eligible for cancellation under normal circumstances.

All would have been good if they would have just offered flexible dates. They would not, so I pursued a refund for the two night stay which cost $950.

I was only given the refundable damage deposit and $82 service fee back. Then, to add further insult the $150 cleaning fee was not refunded. We weren’t able to stay so there’s nothing to clean!

I called Vrbo so many times. Every time I had to start the story over again. Every time I was given a case number and told that a representative from Vrbo would follow up. They never did. Every time they told me to contact the property owner at one of the two phone numbers they gave me. Every time I would tell them that both numbers go directly to voicemail, and the voicemail boxes are full, which also led me to be concerned about the validity of the listing. The property owner never once responded to the direct emails I sent.

I have never been more frustrated with a company. I know I am fortunate to be able to take a few vacations every year...Never again will I book with Vrbo.

I wish I would have used AirBnB.

VRBO offers no protection if the renter does not represent the property correctly. They will allow them to place pictures that are not the actual house you will be renting. In my case we rented Property
#1591612 in Weeki Wachee, FL for 13 nights. When we arrived the house was not what the pictures showed of the exterior. You could tell the house had been flooded previously and smelled of mold and mildew. Roaches greeted us as we entered the house and walked along the spongy leaning floor and upon entering the bathroom the tub was covered in mold. Initially, the owner stated she would refund our stay, but after we departed she changed her mind and stated she would only refund what VRBO required to her refund. After speaking with Robert the supervisor at VRBO, it was clear that VRBO does not have the best interest of the renter/customer as its priority. They stated they have no protection mechanism in place to provide a refund and that only the owner can make a refund.

I have 7 cabins advertised through VRBO and HomeAway. During the CoVid crisis I have been giving my guests full refunds.

Today VRBO/HomeAway told me they don't have the money to process my guests refunds anymore.

I said...BUT...You took it from my bank account.

They said, "Yes, but we don't have any left to pay guests".

I asked when they would have money again and they did not have an answer.

Are they going BK?

I stayed in a VRBO home for two months in Santa Barbara, California, 1720 San Andres Street, owned by Mr. Cameron Porter. The accommodation began literally disintegrating the evening I arrived: the tub shower stopped up, backing up in the kitchen sink and requiring three hours of bailing into an adjacent sink, this after a full day's travel plus grocery shopping. The following evening, the shower curtain rod collapsed on my head. In rapid succession, the gas stove failed to ignite and there were no matches available, the dishwasher broke down and again flooded the sinks, the bed linens were stained and the mattress lumpy with old springs, the bedroom curtain rod fell off the wall ( I was being extremely careful in every movement I made by this time), the pillows were stinky, lumpy and looked like Dollar Store rejects, the accommodation was dirty and had to be recleaned, the steps to this apartment, on the second floor, were steep, narrow and slippery in the continuous rain that greeted my first three weeks. One previous occupant had slipped and had to go to hospital. Two palm trees banged continuously on the wall behind my bed headboard during the rain and wind storms, the garbage bins were on the property of the renters below me and not directly accessible. On-street parking was difficult to find much of the time, requiring long walks from adjacent streets carrying purchases. Three stations comprise the tv options. Kitchen equipment is old, dangerous (badly dented and scratched non-stick surfaces), with few of the most useful and common pieces of kitchen equipment. The excuse for all of this was that "most people don't stay as long as you are and wouldn't notice"! Beware.

If I could give ZERO rating I would ...

With the announcement of COVID19 I contacted the Property Owner Jonathan Braun for the accommodation that I booked for the 1st week of Coachella (April 9th to April 13th) at the Indian Palms Country Club Indio | 48276 Garbo Dr, Indio,CA 92201 United States | Stayz Property ID 631593 to cancel the group booking.

Jonathan Braun's informed me that for all his late cancellations, he is refunding 50% of the rental paid in a 'matter of fact' tone that insinuated that he was doing me a favour!

Indio | Palm Springs occupants are in the high risk group due to the fact that the majority are elderly - even if our group were allowed to fly it would be extremely insensitive not to mention morally unethical as we are travelling from a country of high risk, Australia.

I called VRBO for assistance as there website states that they encourage all Property Owners to supply a full refund. The owner is paying no attention to this advice and has stated that he is losing revenue and does not have the opportunity to get full price rental for the period cancelled due to the short notice given (I cancelled 30 days in advance to arrival). This is a disgusting attitude to adapt as he is being an opportunist at a time of great concern for each other's safety and well being.

I am also extremely disappointed with VRBO who have not followed the example of other accommodation platforms | service providers who have provided a full refund without delay or ongoing justification. They are Air BnB in Santa Monica & West Hollywood | Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and Qantas Airlines. VRBO would not allow me to provide a review on this experience against the Property saying that it cannot be done as the booking was cancelled. I call BS on this as they can easily activate this and it only confirms my suspicions that VRBO or the Property Owner review the received Property Reviews and only post the positive ones.

In future I will not be booking any accommodation hosted by VRBO being HomeAway | Stayz or Vacation Rentals and will also be placing this review on all traveller websites (trip advisor | lonely planet | national geographic etc) and additional social platforms.

Air BnB you have done the right thing and shown that you are a brand that cares! I will only be booking accommodation on your platform ... thank you for being kind ...

Word of mouth is an effective form of advertising and with this verified frustration I will reach a larger audience.

VRBO you will lose customers as well as brand confidence in not doing the right thing - GOOD LUCK with that!

Book a rental in Gatlinburg TN thru VRBO- checked in on 2/13/2020- no lights over the stairwell that worked- Jacuzzi tub- did not work- and was advertised- pool table leg fell off and had to hold pooltable up to put let back on table- furniture too close to the pool table- hit my toe and broke it- the final straw- came back on 2/14/20 at noon- to find a pickup truck in the drive- a man went under the unit and apparently sprayed bleach which made my wife sick and we had to leave the rental for a while to try to help get the fumes out. Contacted Kim and Britt King who owned the property- they NEVER were concerned with the bleach being sprayed. Their comment- "We apologize for the inconvenience!"- they tried to act like they didn't know anything about him spraying- he works for the King's - this was verified by Gatlinburg Falls resort. Called VRBO- that was useless- very disappointed by this experience- thought VRBO would protect us, but that did not happen! Told VRBO the cabin was misrepresented by the advertisement of the property!

Vrbo/HomeAway had prior knowledge a property was dangerous. Vrbo then accepted a $5004.00 prepayment from us. Upon the property owner's disclosing the property would not be safe for our critically ill (non contagious) daughter Vrbo refused to refund our money stating we must provide photographic proof. Upon our providing photographic proof, Vrbo again failed to refund our money. Vrbo/HomeAway's Book with Confidence Guarantee is a deceptive trade practice! We complained to the BBB. Despite our email reservation coming from HomeAway and Vrbo, HomeAway claimed our complaint had nothing to do with them and so did Vrbo. The BBB dropped the claim for them. Never trust Vrbo/HomeAway.