VRBO/HomeAway Booking

We've been using VRBO for years and only had this scenario one time. We were a short-term stay (three nights) and it's my belief they had someone who wanted a longer stay and chose to take that renter. They offered us two of our three nights at a reduced rate or a full refund. We took the refund and I was able to find another place on short notice. Not fun but, considering all the good experiences we've had, not a deal breaker for me. I'm still using the site.

We use VRBO a lot and have never had this problem. I have heard of it once (well twice, ow, including Janet’s experience) with VRBO but have heard of it many times with Airbnb. If it happened to me, I would report the owner to VRBO. One other caution: never communicate with the owner or manager outside of the VRBO app. It can void the guarantee.

We've had excellent luck using vrbo, homeaway, and Airbnb. They have worked well for us in Orlando, the Smoky Mountains (we rented a gorgeous mountainside cabin), and most recently last summer in Europe. We were very pleased - 3 nights in the Cotswolds in England, 3 nights in York, 3 nights in Edinburgh, 5 nights in London, and 4 nights in Paris. All were as advertised. We did have a couple issues, but in each case the owner quickly resolved the problems (wifi issues and a problem with the front door lock). We would definitely not hesitate to book again through any of those companies.

We have been renting through VRBO for years in Maui. It just so happens that we actually rent from the VRBO owner of the condominium. Fortunately we've never had any problems.

I was curious about the "guarantee" Laurel mentioned, so went to VRBO.com to see. In addition to other guarantees, I see do they offer emergency rebooking assistance: "Find another vacation rental should your booking be cancelled by an owner or manager at the last minute." I hadn't paid attention to that before! Thanks, Laurel.

Here is a nightmare story I read recently about a VRBO owner that was operating outside of the rules and a “gotcha” in the guarantee. https://www.elliott.org/advice/vrbo-shared-rentals-forbidden-rental-nightmare/#more-80811

I was always a fan of VRBO, but I've found that AirBnB has a better selection in most of the European cities I am visiting. We basically live in AirBnB now and haven't had any cancellations. AirBnB generates automatic reviews that show if an owner cancels, including how far in advance. Sometimes, a property will have several of these "reviews," and I don't bother to look any further. One caution is that some places aren't able to book so far in advance, especially when the place is the owner's home.