Vacation Rentals by Owner, commercially known as VRBO, is an online rental marketplace where people can either book or advertise accommodations.
Sites like VRBO, benefit both hosts and travelers. It is an alternative for property owners to profit from that extra space. As for travelers, they can benefit from VRBO rentals, which are more economical than the average hotel fees. Plus, travelers get to enjoy more spacious and aesthetically pleasing accommodations than what hotels can offer.
Naturally, whether you are renting or booking, the daunting doubt arrives on how reliable and safe is VRBO as a third party dealer. In short, it is a company you can place your full trust in; here is why:
What Makes VRBO Safe?
Whether you are booking or offering your home, VRBO’s policies and services work in your best interest.
Travelers
When you are away from home, you want to make sure to book a safe place to spend the night. This is why VRBO created the following policies:
Book with Confidence Guarantee
The guarantee assures travelers to have a fair and reliable booking process. For your safety, it includes the next regulations:
- Fraud Screening. To prevent fraud, VRBO conducts account verification and background checks of members engaging with their services.
- Assistance. In the case of last-minute cancellations, VRBO specialists assist travelers to find a place that suits their previous requirements. Also, if you cannot have access to the property or such was portrayed with unrealistic expectations online, you can get a re-accommodation by filing a report within the first 12 hours.
- Damage Deposit. VRBO steps up in the case of property owners withholding wrongfully the damage deposit.
Secure Payment Forms
VRBO is PCI-DSS certified. This guarantees that your payment information is protected. Also, VRBO offers protection against fraudulent actions.
Users paying through HomeAway become automatically covered by the Book with Confidence Guarantee.
Beyond this, VRBO’s help center is available for any doubts or issues that you might have throughout the whole booking process.
Property Damage Protection
This is an insurance that covers travelers from paying fees caused by accidental damage to the property, such as damage in home accessories, electronics, or furniture. Sometimes this might seem like an unnecessary purchase, which is why the insurance is highly recommended for clients traveling with kids or pets.
The insurance is not included in the property fee. Users can purchase it here.
Property Managers
VRBO aims to create a safe accommodation-sharing community for both travelers and hosts. Here are some of the safety measures that hosts can take advantage of:
Rental Agreement
Rental agreements serve as a protection safeguard document for property managers. The agreement consists of a series of guidelines and rules that are expected to be followed by the guests. The document is shown along with the property advertisement at VRBO.
ID Verification
To become a verified traveler, VRBO asks for travelers to confirm their identity. This enables trust and increases the chances of having their booking request approved. Nevertheless, VRBO values the privacy of all of its users, which is why sensitive-personal information is not disclosed with property managers.
Extra Safety Tips for Using VRBO
As safe as they can be, users should be wary of any site that requires sensible information like billing or credit card details. While we assure VRBO is an honest and safe site, to avoid any scamming we recommend to take the next precautions:
Do a phone carrier lookup
This will reassure you the given phone number is valid. Fraud attempts often use VoIP (voice over internet protocol), which allows people to make phone calls through an internet connection and without the need for hiring a phone carrier.
Beware of Fake Emails
Whether you are hosting or traveling, check the email address from the user.
Direct Communication
As convenient texting and emailing can be, make sure to have a proper phone conversation before doing any payments. A phone call will give you a clearer insight into what to expect from the host/traveler.
Avoid Paying Directly From Credit Cards
Take advantage of paying methods like PayPal. In case of any claims or misunderstandings, you will be able to file a complaint firstly through PayPal. If you are unsatisfied with your complaint, you still have the option to make arrangements with your bank or with VRBO.
How Is VRBO Reliable?
After reviewing the safety measurements for booking with VRBO, we can assure you that it is a reliable accommodation booking site.
The interface is very user-friendly, allowing you to easily find all kinds of accommodation offers. From luxury apartments to modest and affordable rooms, VRBO helps you find your ideal traveling accommodation. The booking process is simple, users just have to set up the arrival and departure dates, desired destination, and the number of people staying in the property.
Customers Reviews
VRBO is well aware of the importance of customer reviews, and how such play a big role in the company’s and property manager’s credibility. Through reviews, there is an opportunity for further communication, hence an improvement in the services provided.
At the bottom page of every property advertised on VRBO, users can see a five-star rating feedback commentary section. Beyond having direct communication with the property manager, reviews will allow travelers to know what truly expect from booking a property.
Besides their feedback, review sites like TrustPilot, have given a four-and-a-half out of five stars rating to VRBO. Here is what real customers are saying:
“It was easy to read reviews, pick dates, and confirm our reservation. I like that it has lots of pictures and specific details about the homes and their locations.” — David, December 2019
“Easy to use and appreciate the follow-up emails communicating stay details.” — Lyners, December 2019
. . .
VRBO has created a platform to enable trust between hosts and travelers. The booking process is simple, reliable, and safe to use. Visit VRBO today to find out more about our great accommodation deals for your trip!
All I can say is that my experience with VRBO has been a nightmare. Do not rent with them! They canceled by room reservation 48hours prior to me traveling with my daughter to St. Thomas. I spent hours on the phone with them to help get me another room, they did nothing. I questioned their “guarantee ” and kept telling me they understand my frustration and are “escalating “the issue. They did nothing had to try on my own hours before my arrival to get a room. Paid double for the room since it was Sunday of presidents week..do not book eith them!!!!!
VRBO protects the owner of the home, but not the renter. I booked a place in NC in mid-March, meanwhile, the owner also put the property up for sale two weeks earlier. Property sold and he cancelled the reservation in June and I can no longer find a reasonable place on the lake in August. We had to cancel the whole trip including flights. I called VRBO multiple times and they were zero help. I won’t be using VRBO again.
Hello
Did you get a refund from Vrbo? We in a similar situation
Nightmare …..they have taken tbe booming money of both clients now and will not pay us ..
Goung to the FBO to report it avoid or yoy could end up like us ..Guests sittung in your home for Free
My experience has been a nightmare too, I booked a property which I needed to cancel because of Covid restrictions, the owner have not refunded me even though I cancelled 7 weeks before the agreed cut off date for cancellation and ignored contact from VRBO requesting the refund. VRBO have told me I need to go to my bank to get the money back despite saying you can book with confidence and will refund you if the owner doesn’t.
They are STILL listing the property knowing full well that the owner is a scammer leaving others vulnerable, this is disgusting and illegal practice to actively promote and sell a known scam. I now am unable to go on holiday this year because my money is tied up, I had planned to book a UK property through VRBO but now would not recommend them to my worst enemy, I would never book with them again as they are happy to let people get scammed as long as they get their cut
VRBO says they give a full refund on some properties if you cancel 4 weeks before your booking, some properties even shorter time period. We cancelled 6 months before and received NO refund. Beware of this. When I challenged this, I was told we could only get a refund if we had paid the full amount, not a deposit. Doesn’t say this in the fine print. BEWARE!
Don’t use VRBO! I used them and I would never use them again. Their customer service guarantee is BS. You call and all they do is transfer you from one to the other back and forth and hang up on you I’ve got 6 hours in phone calls now and nothing done.
Never again. We booked a stay with them in august. After some research we didn’t trust the place and contacted vrbo. They assured is that everything was fine. we arrived and saw that the place het new owners since 2017. We contacted vrbo en lost 200€ cause we had to make an international phone call to them(croatia to Ireland). It was a national holiday in Croatia at that time and they did not have any places available. They told us that we could book with any other company and they would reimburse for at least our first night. Mind you that it was already 10 o’clock in the evening. We did not find any stay’s so we had to sleep in our rental car. For the rest of our vacation we had to find places all over Croatia so we could stay somewhere. We contacted them again, they promised to look into our situation and see what they could do for us. We did not hear from them again during our stay. Afterwards we tried to get our money back. It took more than 6 months for us to get the final answer from them. They can’t give our money back. Not for the first night, nights afterwards or for the phonecall. Their reason was: we did not book a new stay through their company… They did not have any options on their or Expedia’s site and explicitly told us to book anywhere we want. Very unfriendly customer service. Never book with them. Look for a decent company… If they keep this up they will be out of business soon
What responsibility does VRBO have when a host lies about their posting and charges extra money for something they are not proving? They won’t do a thing and they don’t post the bad review to warn others. We stayed in a place that advertised new furniture, bedding; etc. of course, that implies that the place is going to be clean. We were in a place with all mattresses stained with poo, pee or vomit and we don’t even know if it was human. The carpets were the same and the whole house was a mess (no one bother to clean, but we were charged for that). We reported the incident to Vrbo and provided pictures. We got a repose saying the property was a little dirty and that there was nothing they would do. Case closed. The review doesn’t even appear in the listing and the property has a 4.5-star review (which I am sure are posted by the friends of the host). We did not get what we paid for and apparently, we have no recourse thorough Vrbo. The host also requested a pet deposit right before she released the keys to us and will not return it after over a month telling us she will, but never does. This people are scammers and there is no way for us to warn others because our review is not showing.
I booked an apartment with Vrbo this Christmas. I have paid and had all the confirmations and guarantees one month before the trip. And just one day before our arrival the owner said that didn’t receive any booking. I’m trying to resolve this issue and just spending time with different agents that are just lying. This website is a SCAM DON’T NEVER USE THIS SITE.
I made a weekend booking through them which was confirmed, then owner messaged me saying they no longer rent out, i have emailed vbro several times requesting refund as i didnt cancel not had one reply or refund
What a disgrace. Rented a house in Wildwood Crest. Nothing about the place was legitimate. For starters it wasn’t really a house. More like the upstairs of someone’s house. No kitchen!! 4 single beds doesn’t really sleep a family of 8 people. No AC !!No washer and dryer! No TV!! Yes it was necessary to rent a hotel room for everyone to sleep. It took until the week before the vacation to get a response from VRBO and the owner. They had no problem charging my CC 3,800. on 3/1/22. A total scam. You can’t cancel ahead of time if they don’t give you a booking reference number. Spent hours just trying to get VRBO to answer a phone to put me on hold for hours. Then they give me the phone # in Mexico to call. NEVER AGAIN!!!! How do they consider the place handycap accessible? People in wheelchairs don’t rent second floor houses. Not worth taking a chance.
Similar experience to all those others here. DO NOT USE VRBO!! Airbnb is great!!