VRBO.COM VACATION

VRBO stands for "Vacation Rental By Owner." It's not a rental agency but a listing service. You're dealing directly with the apartment owner, not with VRBO.com itself at this point. It's not unusual to wire money to the owner for a deposit, but I can't say whether your particular landlord is better or worse than any other. Hope that helps clarify.

I have probably stayed in about 50 places in Europe in the last 10 years (110 nights) and I have never been asked for a deposit. If someone asks for one, go somewhere else.

And another thing - STOP SCREAMING.

I have rented places through vrbo.com both in the U.S. and in Paris. As it was explained, you are renting from an individual, not an agency. If you feel uncomfortable with what they are asking I suggest you find another place. If your gut instinct is that you are being scammed there are plenty of other places you can rent. I think that there not being a phone number is a red flag you should pay attention to.

Two weeks ago I wired my payment in full for 4 nights (to Switzerland) & security deposit for a rental in Nice. Today I received in the US mail my contract, which I sign & mail back. Sometimes you need to go with your gut & hope for the best. No I did not buy insurance. Can I buy it after I paid?

I've rented twice through VRBO and paid a deposit both times, through Paypal, which gives you a degree of protection.

As everyone has stated, when you rent from VRBO you are renting directly from the owner, so they set the conditions. Requesting an advance deposit of around 50% by wire transfer or other means is probably the norm. You have to decide if you trust the person before you go ahead. We have never had any problems with this, and in fact having paid a deposit we feel more secure that the paartment is truly reserved for us.

Even though they may take credit cards for payment when you are there, I can understand why they may not accept it for the deposit. None of my banks (I have credit cards from 3) will pay a charge from Italy unless I personally authorize it with a phone call. I think many Italian hotelkeepers and property owners are aware of this skittishness on the part of US banks, and take credit cards for payment only once you are there in person. I know of one very popular hotel in Venice that requires an advance deposoit by check, even though you can pay the balance with a credit card when you leave.

Also, some people are reluctant to send their credit card number off to Italy in cyberspace.

We are currently holding 3 reservations I made through VRBO. One, for a place in the US, required 50% payment in advance by check. She cashed the check and has the payment. One, in Italy, wanted a check in the amount of one night for an apartment we are renting in Lucca. He will hold the check and cash it only if we fail to show up. When we arrive, we will pay the full amount in euro and he will tear up the check. Another, also in Italy, did not ask for any dpeosit; he operates "on trust" but that is very unusual.

I do try to avoid ones that want a wire transfer for the deposit. We did that once, but it was quite expensive--an extra $40, on top of the bank's fee for converting the money to pounds (this was for the UK). But Europeans are very comfortable with the wire transfers, and it is an accepted way to do business there

I've rented through VRBO a number of times, both in the US and in Europe. More times than not I've been asked to send in a deposit. I've never had a problem.

The owners often don't take VISA/MC because (1) they don't have that type of account set up with a bank, and/or (2) they don't want to give up the 3-4% fee that the bank will charge on each transaction. Some owners will take VISA/MC but add a percentage to cover the bank charge.

What concerns me more than the deposit question is the fact that there is no phone number. You want to be able to contact the owner if you have questions or problems.