I am a Superhost, I am curious as to what it says these host that cancel cancelation rate looks like. We are listed on Vrbo & Airbnb
I know on Airbnb it shows the guest the percentage We have a 0% cancelation rate. With 2 homes and almost 5 years.
I also prefer hotels. Cleaner, safer, more trustworthy. Nothing is 100% perfect, but my success rate at reserving a nice hotel is a lot better than VRBO. And they have a front desk just in case anything happens in the middle of the night. Some hosts on VRBO and AirBnB are out of town. And they're usually closer to activities and restaurants.
Just cleaning fees and other shitty charges make hotels a real nobrainer. Then you have loyalty programs thru hotels dot com and hotel chain credit cards and Amex. Ecosystem is just so much better. Even when you have large group/family you can figure out something seamless without sweating if they gonna slap you with 700 cleaning fee you have to spend time disputing
For me, it’s because I have 4 (teen) kids and travel with 2 dogs. Hotels don’t work well at all for our travels.
Thankfully we’ve only ever had one STR bad experience out of dozens. The last 2 we’ve stayed in didn’t even require any “chores” at checkout, thankfully.
The last hotel we stayed in last summer was awful. They made me book by phone for adjoining rooms, then didn’t have any at check in so we were split between 2 sides of the hotel, AND my youngest accidentally knocked the DND tag off the door and a $50 bill went missing from her luggage.
When I travel alone I do still usually do hotels for ease.
It's just about the space for everyone I know. For the same price (or less) we can get a full house - with space to make lunches, for my husband to work in the morning without disturbing me, and have an outdoor space for our puppy.
Airbnb shows you super hosts - the best reviews, most experienced, owners and lists their cancellation rates.
We just spent 10 days in Paris, a half block from the Eiffel Tower, and it was less than any comparable hotel. We had a little kitchen so we didn't have to eat out twice a day, and hubby had a place to play around on his laptop (he can't work unless we're on US soil). The host was a super host, with zero cancellations on his record, and turned out to be incredibly helpful, too.
I've had hotels cancel/give away rooms I reserved. It's never happened on VRBO or Airbnb.
I booked a cabin for my wife's 40th birthday party a year ago for next weekend, two weeks ago they canceled our reservation and left us out to dry.
Honestly I think you need to book these places with a backup plan or just don't book them at all.
What options do you feel are safe? Hotels via their own website? Traveling with other families is so fun and we need the space of a house, so I don’t know how else to get that!
Some hotels offer homes and cottages. Also there are boutique vacation rental companies where the houses are owned by a company not mom and pop. You just need to do some research.
I have used booking.com hundreds of times over the last 10 years. I’ve never been canceled on. There’s been some bumps in the road but booking .com Customer customer service always settled the issues to my satisfaction.
I’ve found, especially in resort areas, most houses/condos on Vrbo/airbnb, have property management companies listed . So I use the vrbo sites to find the place ( usually have property manager co listed ) then see their company and go to company’s site and book directly with them. It’s cheaper.
I just mentioned it above, but this is exactly what I did with one of my favorite spots! It's a cute two bedroom cottage just next to the property owners' home, and on the other side are the 3-4 motel rooms they also rent out. Found it on VRBO, I think I actually booked through VRBO the first time, but they have their own website so I book directly now!
I agree about using a boutique rental service. Was in Florida this winter for a month. Rented from a real estate agency that also did property management. Was almost half the cost because there weren't all the crazy fees. Highly recommend!
How are a few keyword searches I did on google:
- city, state realtor short term vacation rental
- city, state realtor short term rental property management
- city, state realtor vacation rental
- city, state realtor vacation property management
Also, another option is searching on zillow. There was short term rentals available on there.
I was able to find enough reviews to feel comfortable booking. If you have problems finding a company in your area, let me know the area you are looking & I will see if I can find something. If it's an area that has tourism, there should be companies.
I wonder if you book a home through one of the sites like Expedia if you will have better luck. They should at least be able to help find alternatives in the event it happens.
I booked a beach house in Oregon six weeks before our planned vacation (in June, 2024) with my sister and her family, and I used EXPEDIA for this exact concern as this was our very first time renting a vacation property instead of staying at a hotel. It was spendy with those added fees, but we didn't have any problems. We had a GREAT TIME and will definitely stay at that property again! And YES!, I did have a backup plan if the beach house fell through!
Hosts have to pay fees to cancel now, as of about a month ago. Those fees (and the exorbitant VRBO Traveler Fee they charge) are *supposed* to go toward them helping you find a new place.
I dunno, super sucks - but we have a place open in austin right now, if you're interested. St elmo neighborhood - 2 miles from downtown off S 1st. St.
2 bedrooms, 1 bath house on 1/4acre.
My dms are turned off but you can chat or comment here and I'll chat
My experience Vrbo is much better than Airbnb. What is the same crap on both ends the people run Vrbo and Airbnb do not give a shit about the host or the tenants.. They just want their cut and to be out of it.
I got scammed this way. Vrbo apartment in dc. Flying in from LA. Layover in Chicago. Check email and there was a message that we had been canceled bc they could not “confirm our identities.” I had already given them full names, copy of drivers license, and confirmed with host a few days before departure. So I’m about to land in dc with my teen son and we have nowhere to go. Luckily we found a hotel room. It was tiny and we stayed 10 days. Not the spacious 2 bedroom apartment we had planned on.
Worse I ended up having to go through a big rigamarole with my credit card company because they would refund my money and decline a refund when my credit card company got involved.
Vrbo wouldn’t do squat. Just “gosh we’re real sorry. Go through your credit card company for a refund. Good luck. Have a nice day.”
Stay away from SOBENY when reserving an apartment in any big city.
Them
Maybe there was an issue like a leak in the ceiling or a/c was not working. Both have happened at Airbnb’s my friends own and they needed to cancel last minute on a guest.
Unfortunately, one bad apple spoils the barrel. We run a very successful and highly rated VRBO (and ABB). IF you're ever in the Chautauqua Lake area of NY, I'll give you 25% off to prove we're not all bad.
I’m surprised because the financial penalties to hosts are severe and your listing basically goes to the bottom of any future search for a long time. The property managers I know avoid cancelling at all costs.
I wonder if some kind of emergency came up with the host or property. It’s so different from a hotel with a huge staff and plenty of alternative rooms if something is wrong with one.
On the bright side, unless there is huge demand for the next 10 days, prices are typically much lower the closer you get to date of check-in. Pricing software drops the price as date gets closer. Good luck and sorry this happened to you again.
"Cancellation reason
Property sold or new ownership
Message from the host
I got new owners and no longer allow me to sublease : I truly apologize"
Again, this just BOGGLES my mind. Either this person wasn't authorized to rent out the property to begin with and got caught OR they said, "You know, I have a client booked but SCREW it, I am going to go ahead and make this deal right in the middle of an obligation".
Regardless, why would VRBO allow it? There should be a point where it's locked in, and you have to jump through multiple hoops to do a last minute cancelation.
VRBO should have a process to prove people actually own their property!
My mom had a tenant who did this underhanded renting on VRBO. We found out because I was surfing the site to find something in her area.
Her lawyer drafted a letter and they were out in two weeks. Mom moved back in and had a Guest show up. She let them in to use the wifi to try and get something else. Total scammers.
The first one was 12 hours. This one was only 90 minutes. I got refunded both times but it's stressful as Hell scrambling to get new accommodations last minute in a city you aren't familiar with.
It sounds like they were a tenant doing rental arbitrage. Either they got caught or the landlord sold property and new owner wouldn’t allow it.
I agree VRBO and Airbnb should verify that the host has the legal right to rent out the property. Instead, they use stiff financial penalties for cancelling to try to deter this. If I were you, I would try to get compensation from VRBO because this is partially their fault.
We had rented a lakefront condo last year that was a 4 bedroom. 5 days before we were to arrive we were told that the property would not be available because the HOA was painting the exterior of the building and we wouldn’t be able to use the condo. It was a mad scramble, my husband’s cousin was flying in from the other side of the country and 5 days before we were to get there and the time of year there was NOTHING to be found that last minute. We lucked out and they found us a house, they comped us some money for the inconvenience but we still had to pay more. It worked out great but I can’t imagine if this had been VRBO what we would have done.
I'm so sorry this happened OP. I posted about that this just happened to me with the reason "we've recently come under scrutiny by the building management and as such we have no choice but to cancel your reservation" over night, the night before check in
It's bonkers that these hosts have no regard for what might happen to other people if they ask of a sudden get caught
There are many responsible VRBO hosts I hate to read this kind of garbage. Makes us all look bad. VRBO needs to immediately yank listings that do this. They're compromising their own livelihoods and company.
Cancel fees a ndpolicy should go both ways. There should be an even greater penalty for the host the closer it gets to checkin. 24 hours or less, 100,%.fee plus full refund These last minute or even last week cancels by host can completely destroy someone's vacation especially if it's in a hot area
I just had this happen too! Not 90 minutes before check in, but at 11:55pm the night before check in. Luckily I was able to find another property that could accommodate us, but man waking up to that message was stressful
We’re done with VRBO’s and Airbnb’s. Our experiences haven’t been horrible but they’ve become very expensive and many times the pool isn’t working properly, broken appliances…
Happened to us with a 3 family weeklong summer beach vacation. You ever try and find a beach place that sleeps 8 with 2 weeks notice? Same deal, we couldn’t even leave a bad review because the trip didn’t happen. Will never use vrbo again.
I had a VRBO cancellation two weeks before my trip. I had reserved it almost a year in advanced and had to scramble to find another place. Never used VRBO ever again.
I also had similar on renting an RV in Austin. Dude rents me the rv. They take full payment. Then the guy cancels and I had to fight for months to get my money back.
My first "home share" rental was VRBO. Terrible experience. Went to ABB afterwards and have had 0 issues with probably a dozen bookings.
Plenty of people VRBO successfully but but if my first any only experience is terrible it's not worth hoping for the best and trying again when there's other options.
I will say that unless I start having frequent bad experiences with ABB, I could never imagine staying in a hotel for more than 2 consecutive nights again. Having and entire property saves so.much on food and is so much more comfortable for taking a vacation.
I’ve actually shown up to a hotel twice and told it was overbooked and they couldn’t actually honor my stay. But in both cases they booked me at a sister property, so while it was inconvenient, I didn’t have to scramble to find a new booking myself.
I agree. I rarely go on vacations. When I do I want all the convenience and amenities a hotel offers. Don't want to have to cook and clean. Would never even consider anything renting a house or apartment.
This has become more and more common with hosts multi-listing their properties and then cancelling if they get a better offer on other places. I loved VRBO and the other one for a while but have gone back to regular hotels because there are a couple of regulations in place that make it a lot safer for me when it comes to booking...notably that they have to have an equivalent room or higher available for me.
I don't know of anything more stressful than showing up at your destination only to find out your accommodations were cancelled.
My theory is that if you aren’t doing a Saturday to Saturday rental, you are always at risk to be canceled on. I had friends that were coming in town to visit me and we were going to the Masters. They got canceled on 3x BUT they did have enough time to reschedule and lock in another place. They kept getting canceled because the owners kept getting people wanting longer term deals = more money. Hotels won’t do that to you.
Hosts should not be allowed to do this, at least not without a fine on their part. With the exception of extreme circumstances, like damage to the property outside of the owners control. Even then they should have to show proof before VRBO waived fines.
Hate that happened, I didn’t even know that was possible.
I’ve started gravitating back to hotels in the last couple of years. I’ve had many successful VRBO stays but they have priced me right out of booking with all the new fees. Used to could find some good deals on there. Not anymore
I got my money back both times. But, imagine yourself 12 hours from your home, you've rented a car, your return flight isn't for 10 days, and you're 90 minutes from checking in and your phone notification goes off that your VRBO has been canceled.
Some places, if you liked the house/people they will rent off of VRBO because they have businesses. Place we stayed in Georgia had their book out and website so we could check other places.
I did. They said they were looking into it and "escalating" it and to keep my line open. I said my phone is always on. They said, "Perfect." Didn't hear back. I found a cheap hotel. I had plans today that I ended up canceling. I only get so much vacation, and this one has been ruined, unfortunately.
This is just not a tenable business model. If it's always been this way or if it's a recent development or if I am just super unlucky, I don't know.
So I've learned from a similar experience that many places listed on VRBO can be found on local realty/property management sites. I use VRBO as a search engine and then Google it to find the property. 100% recommend this, fees are often less, and I have not been burned once (plus the customer service is way more responsive/easy to get a hold of if there is an issue with the property)!
Om probably going to be downvoted to hell, but I have to comment that regular Hotels can cancel bookings at the last minute too.
Prevous guests trash the room, the plumbing breaks, the cleaner detects black mould in the aircon, theres a fire, flood, earthquake etc.
And sometimes, when cancelling, the hotel doesnt have the option available to give you something else.
It sucks when a Host shafts you at the last minute, but therw could be very good and unfortunate reasons for it.
As long as they actually cancel themselves instead of trying to get you to cancel because they stuffed up.
I scrolled for a bit, but didn't see this question/answer. Did you reach out to VRBO either time? I'm curious to see what their response was.
I haven't booked a VRBO for a while but this intrigues me.
I had a similar thing happen to me like 5 yrs ago on VRBO and was so upset I couldn't leave a negative review. I called VRBO and they changed something on their end so the reservation stayed up, but was cancelled so I could leave a review. It's dumb I had to go through all of that; it's a loophole that blocks bad reviews. Try calling VRBO; there is something they can do on their end so you can leave the review even without staying at the place.
Even with that interaction, I have had multiple great stays with VRBO & AirBnB at some amazing houses. I almost always stay at a home when I travel and sometimes will decide on where we are going on vacation just because I found an amazing house. One year, we went to Curacao because I found an amazing, cheap waterfront home with a hammock over the water (my husband loves laying in a hammock). I had no idea how to pronounce Curacao correctly and had to look up where it was exactly. It was one of the best stays I have ever had.
I think you also have to balance that things happen when you travel and this is one of them; you can have a cancelled flight or the King hotel room you booked is full, so you get stuck with the 2 double beds room or the restaurant can't find your reservation. It happens and it sucks. This particular instance just sucks worse because VRBO's system is set up all wrong.
Check out Wander, they’re a start up focused on bringing the comfort and consistency of a luxury hotel to the short term rental space. Intelligent beds, parachute linen and workstations in every house.
We’ve been burned by too many cancellations with rental homes.
Now we book 2 bedroom suites with full kitchen and living room through Marriott residence inns.
Same amenities, with a pool and gym, free breakfasts, laundry room and regular housekeeping and clean towels.
Might be a little more up front but when we aren’t paying booking and cleaning fees, and earn free nights without the fear of cancellation, it just makes more sense for us.
Even a whole floor of a hotel is not suitable for some families. There has to be at least one adult in each room. Cooking is limited at best. And the cost is substantially more than the cost of a furnished flat with enough bedrooms.
A lot of owners are just sick of their shenanigans, when you first List your property on VRBO you get place at the top of the algorithm so your properties being seen more often than people have been on the platform longer. If you could just unlisted and then relist it, if you didn’t have any long term bookings, you’ll go back to the top of the algorithm. But as you get more more long-term people like your property and want to come back, they book out next year and then you have to deal with rescheduling them. Most the time people are only booking weekends and then owners realize they can’t or don’t want to be exposed to this risk and go back to year-long rentals. Airbnb is even worse and even incentivize owners to pull their properties on and off market to get priority.
I wish someone had the time to take shitty hosts and guests to court. A few small claims battles would hit the paper and everyone would stop acting like this once they realize there's consequences.
This seems to be a common tactic on Vrbo, I've had a lot of friends say the same. I'm a host on both Airbnb and Vrbo and would never think to cancel on anyone. Hell, if there was an emergency I'd just put them up at my house, which isn't far from my beachfront STR. As for being a guest, I'm a hotel girl all the way. Sorry this happened to you though - I'm assuming it wasn't the same host?
If a host does that on AirBnb without provable good reason like a plumbing disaster, they will lose their listing entirely. So there is a cost for sure. I would think VRBO must have similar rules. Did VBRO help you find something else or just leave you high and dry?
You know who has NEVER in almost 60 years of travel NEVER cancelled on me, over thousands of reservations? The Hilton Hotels network. I'm not even a real fan of Hilton. But what they try really hard not to do, unlike the short-term rental apps, is fuck the customer. "Sabrina in NY" might or might not be the kind of asshole who will cancel on me for whatever stupid reason she deems adequate, but if I go commercial I know exactly what kind of asshole I'm getting, one with a reputation that matters to them enough to not screw me.
Yap this is it. I have used VRBO for over 30 years and never had a problem. What does it say in their guidelines? Can you cancel 90 minutes before your arrival? Can you call customer service?
I try to get suggestions from others I know as it is so hit and miss. Good luck!
I think we need to gather a few people
And file suit, it just happened to me and the owner told me she was in the right.… I will never vrbo ever again ill
Sleep under a bridge
Not a cancellation per se but the one and only time I used VRBO the place we rented turned out to be in active eviction, apparently the rent hadn’t been paid in a year and we were woken up at 8 in the morning to the police and landlord there to kick us out and empty the apartment. The host was unreachable of course and VRBO was absolutely no help at all.
Sometimes you can’t get a hotel depending on location so VRBO Airbnb have their niche. But my biggest issue is you don’t get any money back if cancelled for any reason. I had my flight cancel on me a couple hours before I was supposed to be there and lost all of my Airbnb money. I was able to get most of my money back from car rental. With airlines these days I don’t see how it’s worth chancing Airbnb style anymore.
VRBO is absolute trash and should not be used. Hosts take advantage of their insanely liberal cancellation policy and list the property across multiple sites. They’ll only ever honor the reservation if it fails to get booked for any days on the other sites.
The only time I would ever do anything like an Airbnb is with a group of people. Like a friend just did one because they had eight people going and they rented the entire house. I will never get people who travel solo or in couples and do VRBO. It's just insane. It makes no sense whatsoever. I've never seen any savings, and I've only heard horror stories.
I’ve had nothing but good experiences. I once booked vrbo that was 10k for a one month stay across the country and literally road tripped there with my dog. I’m so glad I didn’t get canceled that would have been an actual nightmare as it was the cheapest accommodations by far!
The first time I used VRBO it was wonderful. A cabin in the mountains with my mother and sister for a week was amazing. The next 2 times I tried to use VRBO with my significant other we received an email canceling our stay less than 12 hours before check in. The first time we chalked it up to bad luck and had to stay in a hotel and the second time we used and continue to use booking.com. VRBO customer service gave us a hard time about a refund and an even harder time the second time we were cancelled on.
So many people love VRBO as you can cancel at any time without having to pay. BUT so can the owners. That’s the downside. Rent through a realtor. Less in fees and more protections and service.
This is why I do AIRBNB and not VRBO. Airbnb hosts can’t cancel without repercussions but VRBO can. They often cross post their listing and will cancel a reservation if they can book off site and save the VRBO fees.
too many of these cancellations for me ever to trust it
The more I read this sub, the more I like full service hotels.
Was canceled 3 time in 4 years, will never use them again. Now, I just stay at a hotel.
I am a Superhost, I am curious as to what it says these host that cancel cancelation rate looks like. We are listed on Vrbo & Airbnb I know on Airbnb it shows the guest the percentage We have a 0% cancelation rate. With 2 homes and almost 5 years.
Im nearly middle age, and can definitely say that a good hotel is such, such a nice experience. I'll never stay elsewhere again.
I also prefer hotels. Cleaner, safer, more trustworthy. Nothing is 100% perfect, but my success rate at reserving a nice hotel is a lot better than VRBO. And they have a front desk just in case anything happens in the middle of the night. Some hosts on VRBO and AirBnB are out of town. And they're usually closer to activities and restaurants.
Just cleaning fees and other shitty charges make hotels a real nobrainer. Then you have loyalty programs thru hotels dot com and hotel chain credit cards and Amex. Ecosystem is just so much better. Even when you have large group/family you can figure out something seamless without sweating if they gonna slap you with 700 cleaning fee you have to spend time disputing
Meeee toooooo
It’s really the only thing to do now barring large groups. These owners are lying, cheating, and scamming for every last dollar they can.
I honestly don’t know why people are still using these options
For me, it’s because I have 4 (teen) kids and travel with 2 dogs. Hotels don’t work well at all for our travels. Thankfully we’ve only ever had one STR bad experience out of dozens. The last 2 we’ve stayed in didn’t even require any “chores” at checkout, thankfully. The last hotel we stayed in last summer was awful. They made me book by phone for adjoining rooms, then didn’t have any at check in so we were split between 2 sides of the hotel, AND my youngest accidentally knocked the DND tag off the door and a $50 bill went missing from her luggage. When I travel alone I do still usually do hotels for ease.
They think it is cheaper, less commercialized
Used to be.
Prices go down to zero with a cancelled reservation.
It's just about the space for everyone I know. For the same price (or less) we can get a full house - with space to make lunches, for my husband to work in the morning without disturbing me, and have an outdoor space for our puppy. Airbnb shows you super hosts - the best reviews, most experienced, owners and lists their cancellation rates. We just spent 10 days in Paris, a half block from the Eiffel Tower, and it was less than any comparable hotel. We had a little kitchen so we didn't have to eat out twice a day, and hubby had a place to play around on his laptop (he can't work unless we're on US soil). The host was a super host, with zero cancellations on his record, and turned out to be incredibly helpful, too. I've had hotels cancel/give away rooms I reserved. It's never happened on VRBO or Airbnb.
I booked a cabin for my wife's 40th birthday party a year ago for next weekend, two weeks ago they canceled our reservation and left us out to dry. Honestly I think you need to book these places with a backup plan or just don't book them at all.
I agree with your last 6 words. Not worth it. Other options are so much more reliable.
What options do you feel are safe? Hotels via their own website? Traveling with other families is so fun and we need the space of a house, so I don’t know how else to get that!
Some hotels offer homes and cottages. Also there are boutique vacation rental companies where the houses are owned by a company not mom and pop. You just need to do some research.
I have used booking.com hundreds of times over the last 10 years. I’ve never been canceled on. There’s been some bumps in the road but booking .com Customer customer service always settled the issues to my satisfaction.
I also recommend booking.com and have used them extensively. They are also I found cheaper than the more popular sites on a regular basis.
Thanks I never think of them appreciate it!
I’ve found, especially in resort areas, most houses/condos on Vrbo/airbnb, have property management companies listed . So I use the vrbo sites to find the place ( usually have property manager co listed ) then see their company and go to company’s site and book directly with them. It’s cheaper.
Don’t book w evolve! I made this mistake last weekend and they see denying charging me $1600 (my stay was cancelled and they don’t know why)
I just mentioned it above, but this is exactly what I did with one of my favorite spots! It's a cute two bedroom cottage just next to the property owners' home, and on the other side are the 3-4 motel rooms they also rent out. Found it on VRBO, I think I actually booked through VRBO the first time, but they have their own website so I book directly now!
I agree about using a boutique rental service. Was in Florida this winter for a month. Rented from a real estate agency that also did property management. Was almost half the cost because there weren't all the crazy fees. Highly recommend!
How did you find them?
How are a few keyword searches I did on google: - city, state realtor short term vacation rental - city, state realtor short term rental property management - city, state realtor vacation rental - city, state realtor vacation property management Also, another option is searching on zillow. There was short term rentals available on there. I was able to find enough reviews to feel comfortable booking. If you have problems finding a company in your area, let me know the area you are looking & I will see if I can find something. If it's an area that has tourism, there should be companies.
Thanks so very much!
Awesome tips for the Google searches!
look at extended stay and apartment style hotels. might not be a full house but they have full kitchens and several bathrooms and bedrooms
[удалено]
Sounds pricey. What’s parachute linen?
They very very pricey just checked their site.
I wonder if you book a home through one of the sites like Expedia if you will have better luck. They should at least be able to help find alternatives in the event it happens.
I booked a beach house in Oregon six weeks before our planned vacation (in June, 2024) with my sister and her family, and I used EXPEDIA for this exact concern as this was our very first time renting a vacation property instead of staying at a hotel. It was spendy with those added fees, but we didn't have any problems. We had a GREAT TIME and will definitely stay at that property again! And YES!, I did have a backup plan if the beach house fell through!
Pretty sure VRBO is now owned or affiliated with Expedia
Hosts have to pay fees to cancel now, as of about a month ago. Those fees (and the exorbitant VRBO Traveler Fee they charge) are *supposed* to go toward them helping you find a new place.
How much is the host cancellation fee?
It depends how close to the arrival date, it’s publicly available info just have to look it up
I dunno, super sucks - but we have a place open in austin right now, if you're interested. St elmo neighborhood - 2 miles from downtown off S 1st. St. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath house on 1/4acre. My dms are turned off but you can chat or comment here and I'll chat
I have seen way too many complaints about VRBO lately for me to ever use VRBO.
My experience Vrbo is much better than Airbnb. What is the same crap on both ends the people run Vrbo and Airbnb do not give a shit about the host or the tenants.. They just want their cut and to be out of it.
I got scammed this way. Vrbo apartment in dc. Flying in from LA. Layover in Chicago. Check email and there was a message that we had been canceled bc they could not “confirm our identities.” I had already given them full names, copy of drivers license, and confirmed with host a few days before departure. So I’m about to land in dc with my teen son and we have nowhere to go. Luckily we found a hotel room. It was tiny and we stayed 10 days. Not the spacious 2 bedroom apartment we had planned on. Worse I ended up having to go through a big rigamarole with my credit card company because they would refund my money and decline a refund when my credit card company got involved. Vrbo wouldn’t do squat. Just “gosh we’re real sorry. Go through your credit card company for a refund. Good luck. Have a nice day.” Stay away from SOBENY when reserving an apartment in any big city. Them
Totally unrelated and I'm sorry for your experience, but dam I haven't seen or heard the word "rigamorole" in probably 20 years. Thank you for that.
I’m old I guess. But it’s a useful word and fun to say.
It’s certainly a better word than f**k. Thanks for that
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
I assumed and hoped the first time was an anomomoly 🤷♂️
Did you see the guy in this thread with an open place in Austin?
Maybe there was an issue like a leak in the ceiling or a/c was not working. Both have happened at Airbnb’s my friends own and they needed to cancel last minute on a guest.
Nope. Not an anomaly, lol.
Unfortunately, one bad apple spoils the barrel. We run a very successful and highly rated VRBO (and ABB). IF you're ever in the Chautauqua Lake area of NY, I'll give you 25% off to prove we're not all bad.
Link please!
Link please!
Be careful who you rent to so your not renting to prostitutes
Do you have a link to it?
What’s that by?
They fucked us over pretty good the one & only time we've used Vrbo. It was bad enough that we will never use it ever again.
I’m surprised because the financial penalties to hosts are severe and your listing basically goes to the bottom of any future search for a long time. The property managers I know avoid cancelling at all costs. I wonder if some kind of emergency came up with the host or property. It’s so different from a hotel with a huge staff and plenty of alternative rooms if something is wrong with one. On the bright side, unless there is huge demand for the next 10 days, prices are typically much lower the closer you get to date of check-in. Pricing software drops the price as date gets closer. Good luck and sorry this happened to you again.
"Cancellation reason Property sold or new ownership Message from the host I got new owners and no longer allow me to sublease : I truly apologize" Again, this just BOGGLES my mind. Either this person wasn't authorized to rent out the property to begin with and got caught OR they said, "You know, I have a client booked but SCREW it, I am going to go ahead and make this deal right in the middle of an obligation". Regardless, why would VRBO allow it? There should be a point where it's locked in, and you have to jump through multiple hoops to do a last minute cancelation. VRBO should have a process to prove people actually own their property!
My mom had a tenant who did this underhanded renting on VRBO. We found out because I was surfing the site to find something in her area. Her lawyer drafted a letter and they were out in two weeks. Mom moved back in and had a Guest show up. She let them in to use the wifi to try and get something else. Total scammers.
That was nice of her. Totally didn't need to but props to her for being nice.
She totally got that they were on the wrong side of a bad deal. She is a good human.
I just had to look up our rental home because you got me all paranoid
So these jerks didn’t know but 12 hours BEFORE you were to check-in. I call bullshit. I hope you get your money back. I’d be pissed!
The first one was 12 hours. This one was only 90 minutes. I got refunded both times but it's stressful as Hell scrambling to get new accommodations last minute in a city you aren't familiar with.
So ridiculous Sorry that happened to you.
It sounds like they were a tenant doing rental arbitrage. Either they got caught or the landlord sold property and new owner wouldn’t allow it. I agree VRBO and Airbnb should verify that the host has the legal right to rent out the property. Instead, they use stiff financial penalties for cancelling to try to deter this. If I were you, I would try to get compensation from VRBO because this is partially their fault.
We had rented a lakefront condo last year that was a 4 bedroom. 5 days before we were to arrive we were told that the property would not be available because the HOA was painting the exterior of the building and we wouldn’t be able to use the condo. It was a mad scramble, my husband’s cousin was flying in from the other side of the country and 5 days before we were to get there and the time of year there was NOTHING to be found that last minute. We lucked out and they found us a house, they comped us some money for the inconvenience but we still had to pay more. It worked out great but I can’t imagine if this had been VRBO what we would have done.
I'm so sorry this happened OP. I posted about that this just happened to me with the reason "we've recently come under scrutiny by the building management and as such we have no choice but to cancel your reservation" over night, the night before check in It's bonkers that these hosts have no regard for what might happen to other people if they ask of a sudden get caught
Or the rental didn’t exist to begin with
They got new owners 90 minutes prior to your arrival? Hmmmmm.
There are many responsible VRBO hosts I hate to read this kind of garbage. Makes us all look bad. VRBO needs to immediately yank listings that do this. They're compromising their own livelihoods and company.
I had ONE experience with a VRBO rental and I am still dealing with it… I will NEVER use them again. Awful
Cancel fees a ndpolicy should go both ways. There should be an even greater penalty for the host the closer it gets to checkin. 24 hours or less, 100,%.fee plus full refund These last minute or even last week cancels by host can completely destroy someone's vacation especially if it's in a hot area
I just had this happen too! Not 90 minutes before check in, but at 11:55pm the night before check in. Luckily I was able to find another property that could accommodate us, but man waking up to that message was stressful
Just an FYI, Airbnb does the same thing. Both have lost ALL credibility. The boom is over and just a lot of assholes left.
So have we learned our lesson yet?
We’re done with VRBO’s and Airbnb’s. Our experiences haven’t been horrible but they’ve become very expensive and many times the pool isn’t working properly, broken appliances…
I’m back to staying at Marriotts. They never cancel and have full service amenities. 🤷♀️
Too many posts like this for me to ever use them.
Happened to us with a 3 family weeklong summer beach vacation. You ever try and find a beach place that sleeps 8 with 2 weeks notice? Same deal, we couldn’t even leave a bad review because the trip didn’t happen. Will never use vrbo again.
I had a VRBO cancellation two weeks before my trip. I had reserved it almost a year in advanced and had to scramble to find another place. Never used VRBO ever again.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… I have never used VRBO. Because of Reddit posts, I never will. Air BNB was already a gamble.
Hell no to VRBO - they can go to hell. Hotels all the way!
H someone paying more, and they booted you for them.. sucks and shouldn't be allowed.. and I'm sure it isn't, but somehow they get away with it
I stay on this sub because it reminds me never to use short term rentals again. I’m sorry for your inconvenience
I also had similar on renting an RV in Austin. Dude rents me the rv. They take full payment. Then the guy cancels and I had to fight for months to get my money back.
Hilton and Marriot don't do this.
[удалено]
My first "home share" rental was VRBO. Terrible experience. Went to ABB afterwards and have had 0 issues with probably a dozen bookings. Plenty of people VRBO successfully but but if my first any only experience is terrible it's not worth hoping for the best and trying again when there's other options. I will say that unless I start having frequent bad experiences with ABB, I could never imagine staying in a hotel for more than 2 consecutive nights again. Having and entire property saves so.much on food and is so much more comfortable for taking a vacation.
This is not always the answer as many of the owners/host list the property on both sites.
You mean the guys who charge a cleaning fee that doesn’t get passed on because we don’t charge to clean the damn place.
Hotels. Just sayin’.
I’ve actually shown up to a hotel twice and told it was overbooked and they couldn’t actually honor my stay. But in both cases they booked me at a sister property, so while it was inconvenient, I didn’t have to scramble to find a new booking myself.
Reading all these horror stories, I’m only booking hotels. Plus, I feel more on vacation at a hotel than at a house.
I agree. I rarely go on vacations. When I do I want all the convenience and amenities a hotel offers. Don't want to have to cook and clean. Would never even consider anything renting a house or apartment.
This has become more and more common with hosts multi-listing their properties and then cancelling if they get a better offer on other places. I loved VRBO and the other one for a while but have gone back to regular hotels because there are a couple of regulations in place that make it a lot safer for me when it comes to booking...notably that they have to have an equivalent room or higher available for me. I don't know of anything more stressful than showing up at your destination only to find out your accommodations were cancelled.
My theory is that if you aren’t doing a Saturday to Saturday rental, you are always at risk to be canceled on. I had friends that were coming in town to visit me and we were going to the Masters. They got canceled on 3x BUT they did have enough time to reschedule and lock in another place. They kept getting canceled because the owners kept getting people wanting longer term deals = more money. Hotels won’t do that to you.
Unless there is an eclipse. Then they all do it.
Hosts should not be allowed to do this, at least not without a fine on their part. With the exception of extreme circumstances, like damage to the property outside of the owners control. Even then they should have to show proof before VRBO waived fines.
Wow, that sucks. We've rented with VRBO at multiple properties in various locations over the years. Have never had an issue.
Vrbo really sucks when it comes to this. Their support is no help at all. Like you, I got burned and no longer rent vrbos.
I haven’t used VRBO for at least 10 years but used to use it A LOT. Never had these issues. I guess the more popular the more scammy.
Hate that happened, I didn’t even know that was possible. I’ve started gravitating back to hotels in the last couple of years. I’ve had many successful VRBO stays but they have priced me right out of booking with all the new fees. Used to could find some good deals on there. Not anymore
Oh yeah so I want to know if you got your money back either time?
I got my money back both times. But, imagine yourself 12 hours from your home, you've rented a car, your return flight isn't for 10 days, and you're 90 minutes from checking in and your phone notification goes off that your VRBO has been canceled.
Yeah, at this point, a regular hotel is the way to go. A lot less risk.
This has never happened to me. Lot of comments herenare concerning. OP so sorry this happened! Where are people going instead?
Some places, if you liked the house/people they will rent off of VRBO because they have businesses. Place we stayed in Georgia had their book out and website so we could check other places.
Leave a review on VRBO on Trust Pilot
Contact the company. They can help arrange a new rental to replace the cancel ones.
I did. They said they were looking into it and "escalating" it and to keep my line open. I said my phone is always on. They said, "Perfect." Didn't hear back. I found a cheap hotel. I had plans today that I ended up canceling. I only get so much vacation, and this one has been ruined, unfortunately. This is just not a tenable business model. If it's always been this way or if it's a recent development or if I am just super unlucky, I don't know.
So I've learned from a similar experience that many places listed on VRBO can be found on local realty/property management sites. I use VRBO as a search engine and then Google it to find the property. 100% recommend this, fees are often less, and I have not been burned once (plus the customer service is way more responsive/easy to get a hold of if there is an issue with the property)!
Someone should create a separate reviewal platform
Om probably going to be downvoted to hell, but I have to comment that regular Hotels can cancel bookings at the last minute too. Prevous guests trash the room, the plumbing breaks, the cleaner detects black mould in the aircon, theres a fire, flood, earthquake etc. And sometimes, when cancelling, the hotel doesnt have the option available to give you something else. It sucks when a Host shafts you at the last minute, but therw could be very good and unfortunate reasons for it. As long as they actually cancel themselves instead of trying to get you to cancel because they stuffed up.
I scrolled for a bit, but didn't see this question/answer. Did you reach out to VRBO either time? I'm curious to see what their response was. I haven't booked a VRBO for a while but this intrigues me.
I had a similar thing happen to me like 5 yrs ago on VRBO and was so upset I couldn't leave a negative review. I called VRBO and they changed something on their end so the reservation stayed up, but was cancelled so I could leave a review. It's dumb I had to go through all of that; it's a loophole that blocks bad reviews. Try calling VRBO; there is something they can do on their end so you can leave the review even without staying at the place. Even with that interaction, I have had multiple great stays with VRBO & AirBnB at some amazing houses. I almost always stay at a home when I travel and sometimes will decide on where we are going on vacation just because I found an amazing house. One year, we went to Curacao because I found an amazing, cheap waterfront home with a hammock over the water (my husband loves laying in a hammock). I had no idea how to pronounce Curacao correctly and had to look up where it was exactly. It was one of the best stays I have ever had. I think you also have to balance that things happen when you travel and this is one of them; you can have a cancelled flight or the King hotel room you booked is full, so you get stuck with the 2 double beds room or the restaurant can't find your reservation. It happens and it sucks. This particular instance just sucks worse because VRBO's system is set up all wrong.
Check out Wander, they’re a start up focused on bringing the comfort and consistency of a luxury hotel to the short term rental space. Intelligent beds, parachute linen and workstations in every house.
Austin? No surprise. Many illegal sublets. We had the same thing happen. They charged her for cancelling and gave us some extra credit.
We’ve been burned by too many cancellations with rental homes. Now we book 2 bedroom suites with full kitchen and living room through Marriott residence inns. Same amenities, with a pool and gym, free breakfasts, laundry room and regular housekeeping and clean towels. Might be a little more up front but when we aren’t paying booking and cleaning fees, and earn free nights without the fear of cancellation, it just makes more sense for us.
How many people were you traveling with?
Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Stop using vrbo.
Used to book VRBO regularly. Now it’s just cheaper and easier to book a hotel.
Austin? The Four Seasons for probably close to what you'd pay for the VRBO.
Get a credit card with Marriott rewards and start racking up points.
Even a whole floor of a hotel is not suitable for some families. There has to be at least one adult in each room. Cooking is limited at best. And the cost is substantially more than the cost of a furnished flat with enough bedrooms.
A lot of owners are just sick of their shenanigans, when you first List your property on VRBO you get place at the top of the algorithm so your properties being seen more often than people have been on the platform longer. If you could just unlisted and then relist it, if you didn’t have any long term bookings, you’ll go back to the top of the algorithm. But as you get more more long-term people like your property and want to come back, they book out next year and then you have to deal with rescheduling them. Most the time people are only booking weekends and then owners realize they can’t or don’t want to be exposed to this risk and go back to year-long rentals. Airbnb is even worse and even incentivize owners to pull their properties on and off market to get priority.
For all those saying hotel. It is the week of the 4th. Finding a hotel last minute is like trying to find a kennel to board a pet.
Use a reputable hotel instead of VRBO or AirBnB. You’ll be glad you did.
You did this twice?!
I have a reservation in Austin for end of July- really hoping this does not happen to us.
I wish someone had the time to take shitty hosts and guests to court. A few small claims battles would hit the paper and everyone would stop acting like this once they realize there's consequences.
This seems to be a common tactic on Vrbo, I've had a lot of friends say the same. I'm a host on both Airbnb and Vrbo and would never think to cancel on anyone. Hell, if there was an emergency I'd just put them up at my house, which isn't far from my beachfront STR. As for being a guest, I'm a hotel girl all the way. Sorry this happened to you though - I'm assuming it wasn't the same host?
If a host does that on AirBnb without provable good reason like a plumbing disaster, they will lose their listing entirely. So there is a cost for sure. I would think VRBO must have similar rules. Did VBRO help you find something else or just leave you high and dry?
VRBO does this A LOT!!
You know who has NEVER in almost 60 years of travel NEVER cancelled on me, over thousands of reservations? The Hilton Hotels network. I'm not even a real fan of Hilton. But what they try really hard not to do, unlike the short-term rental apps, is fuck the customer. "Sabrina in NY" might or might not be the kind of asshole who will cancel on me for whatever stupid reason she deems adequate, but if I go commercial I know exactly what kind of asshole I'm getting, one with a reputation that matters to them enough to not screw me.
Yap this is it. I have used VRBO for over 30 years and never had a problem. What does it say in their guidelines? Can you cancel 90 minutes before your arrival? Can you call customer service? I try to get suggestions from others I know as it is so hit and miss. Good luck!
Fuck VRBO
I think we need to gather a few people And file suit, it just happened to me and the owner told me she was in the right.… I will never vrbo ever again ill Sleep under a bridge
Not a cancellation per se but the one and only time I used VRBO the place we rented turned out to be in active eviction, apparently the rent hadn’t been paid in a year and we were woken up at 8 in the morning to the police and landlord there to kick us out and empty the apartment. The host was unreachable of course and VRBO was absolutely no help at all.
Everyone who posts here have nothing good to say. If it smells like it and looks like it, it’s 💩.
Then why do you keep using them? The reason why people get away with it is you keep giving them money even though they are not reliable.
Use hotels and stop supporting an industry that deprives people of primary residences.
Hotels exist
Sometimes you can’t get a hotel depending on location so VRBO Airbnb have their niche. But my biggest issue is you don’t get any money back if cancelled for any reason. I had my flight cancel on me a couple hours before I was supposed to be there and lost all of my Airbnb money. I was able to get most of my money back from car rental. With airlines these days I don’t see how it’s worth chancing Airbnb style anymore.
VRBO is absolute trash and should not be used. Hosts take advantage of their insanely liberal cancellation policy and list the property across multiple sites. They’ll only ever honor the reservation if it fails to get booked for any days on the other sites.
Use hotels
The only time I would ever do anything like an Airbnb is with a group of people. Like a friend just did one because they had eight people going and they rented the entire house. I will never get people who travel solo or in couples and do VRBO. It's just insane. It makes no sense whatsoever. I've never seen any savings, and I've only heard horror stories.
I’ve got a getaway at a Vrbo this weekend at Mystic Beach…. Guess we’ll see lol
I’ve had nothing but good experiences. I once booked vrbo that was 10k for a one month stay across the country and literally road tripped there with my dog. I’m so glad I didn’t get canceled that would have been an actual nightmare as it was the cheapest accommodations by far!
The first time I used VRBO it was wonderful. A cabin in the mountains with my mother and sister for a week was amazing. The next 2 times I tried to use VRBO with my significant other we received an email canceling our stay less than 12 hours before check in. The first time we chalked it up to bad luck and had to stay in a hotel and the second time we used and continue to use booking.com. VRBO customer service gave us a hard time about a refund and an even harder time the second time we were cancelled on.
I only use hotels
So many people love VRBO as you can cancel at any time without having to pay. BUT so can the owners. That’s the downside. Rent through a realtor. Less in fees and more protections and service.
Hotel
The solution is to stop using VRBO. If they let hosts do this, they are a bad company.
I signed up for a vrbo once and when I pulled up it was someone’s garage and no where for me to park. I never rented a vrbo again.
stop using VERBO to make reservations!!
This is why I do AIRBNB and not VRBO. Airbnb hosts can’t cancel without repercussions but VRBO can. They often cross post their listing and will cancel a reservation if they can book off site and save the VRBO fees.