VRBO - how do you know??

I would never rent a place with only one review, not because they might not be a "legitimate rental", but because they might be leaving out some important information in their description (e.g. street noise, on top of a McDonald's, etc.).

I agree with Michael to avoid rentals with no reviews or only one or two reviews. I like to read through several reviews of people who were there in different seasons, or with kids, or who tried using the washing machine, or who found the bus routes convenient near the apartment. I'm sure there are many nice apartments that no one has reviewed, but why take a chance? We rented a nice apartment in Dorsoduro in June on a quiet campiello, which sleeps 4. We found it on HomeAway.com. Send me a message if you want the link.

The first apartment I rented in Europe, using VRBO, was in Paris. It had no reviews. That particular apartment now accepts credit cards, but did not when I rented about 4 years ago. The owner lives about 100 miles from me, and I spoke to her by phone and communicated by email several times before committing to the place. I had to send her a check for half of the rental amount. I made sure I wrote on the check that it was for the rental and the dates. I sent the check to a P.O. Box, which made me a little nervous. The other half had to be paid 30 days before the rental period started. I decided to meet her at her home to pay the balance, as I am in the fraud business and tend to be a bit suspicious. It turned out she lives on her boat, hence the P.O. Box. She was lovely and a pleasure to work with. Her friend met us in Paris and the apartment was fantastic and just as pictured on VRBO. It could have turned out differently though. If you have the address you might want to google it to see if it actually exists. Check out the street view of the area. Google to VRBO# to see if anyone has discussed it online. You might have a level of safety using a credit card. Last fall I stayed in another Paris apartment with great reviews. It was horrible!! Good luck and have a great trip!

I also search other rental sights (summerinitaly or tripadvisor) to see if the house is available and has additional reviews. Often holiday houses are rented through more than one website and if a certain website gets more traffic (i.e. tripadvisor) then it may have more reviews. But beware, the same rental can have different names on each website, so comparing pictures may be the only way to know.

We rent from VRBO alot and would never rent without a review. We also email the owners and ask lots of questions. If I an spot it on google maps I will look at it there. By the way sometimes the apartment might be on VRBO with no reviews but on another site with reveiws. Ask lots of questions. Also most want deposits which is unavoidable. Some want some money in a kind of escrow in case there is damage. We have never had an issue with getting money back. It just can take awhile. All in all, our experience with VRBO has been great.

Thank you all, I will do further research.

I own six rental properties which are listed on VRBO. Did you notice one of the previous posters said they stayed at a place that had great reviews and it was horrible. I am not surprised. I discovered several years ago many reviews on my competitors VRBO listings were fraudulent. They make up fake emails and then post "reviews". Places listed on trip advisor do the same thing. Look at how old the listing is by scrolling down to the bottom of the page, the older the better. Also, do they have their own website and how old is the site? Finally, when I stay at other VRBO's I make sure the Owners Profile is filled out in great detail. No owners profile, I don't book it. My advice is go with your gut. If it looks to good to be true, it is. The best thing to do is email or call and ask detailed and specific questions. A good landlord will happily answer them all and have a professional contract for you. A scam artist will only want your money. Best of luck in your search!

After having had great luck with VRBO on many occasions, we had a negative experience last year when we rented an apartment in Switzerland. The apartment was as depicted on the website - lovely, but in an awful location - right next to a very busy road. The noise from the traffic kept us from using the balcony. When I contacted VRBO after returning from our trip, I wrote what I thought was an objective review, praising the apartment itself, but made mention of the traffic noise. Both VRBO and the owners kept that review off the web-site. So, I would also recommend that you check when the last review was posted - in this case more than 2 years ago. HMG

@Petra - I find it interesting that they didn't post your review on VRBO. The apartment I didn't like in Paris was listed on VRBO and Home Away. The negative review I wrote was posted, and the landlord wrote a rebuttal where he lied about what had transpired. Soon after he was no longer on VRBO and when I recently checked I couldn't find the apartment on Home Away either. I stayed there just last October.

I have used VRBO in many countries and it has worked out. Some were good and some just did the job. I do use google maps and also try to get the address from them. Then I google the address and they may pop up on another rental site including a foreign one that I wouldn't have known about. I have even found a few on tripadvisor. A few hotels do have apartments as well. Good luck

Hi Debbie
We rented an apartment thru homeaway.com in the san polo district. was a studio with two beds (we asked them to do it that way, with bathroom, kitchen, washer, large living room. paid a deposit thru email and cash euros upon arrival for about 400 euros on arrival, which we bought the euros in the states. was a great place and owners were fabulous and let us keep our luggage there until later that afternoon. on 3rd floor with elevator and loved it.homeaway.co freereservation.com beehive.com booking.com venere.com are a few sites to check. i sent emails and found out more about places and was very happy with what we got. do your homework and have a great time, enjoy and have fun

I just returned from European vacation that included 3 nights in a fabulous apartment in Venice. It was 2 bedroom/2 baths in a perfect location, very clean, the owner is American and lives upstairs. It was ideal - canal outside the dining room window with gondolas passing by, very clean, wonderful owner. It is called the Chimney Sweep Well apartment and is on HomeAway. 185 E/night