Vrbo Reviews 

Disappointed that VRBO did not follow through with VrboCare™ guarantee. The home we rented did not have all the pet restrictions listed in the description and was further than stated from the airport. The rental company would not refund our deposit. VRBO sided with the company who owned the house, not with us as guaranteed even though the listing was incorrect.

Honestly, there is no support for hosts. I need to change my bank details for payouts and it is just impossible, been waiting two weeks for billing dept to call me back and they claim they cannot reach me...I am a pro host, my phone is always in my hand.

Overall, the user interface for hosts is a total shambles, Airbnb has an amazing interface in comparison. I would not recommend VRBO to any other hosts.

This was my first experience using VRBO and unfortunately it was extremely disappointing.

I booked a property in Paris for three nights for my wife, our two-year-old child, and myself. After a 10-hour drive from Switzerland, we arrived expecting to rest and enjoy our holiday. Instead, we found a property that was materially different from the listing and, in our view, unsuitable for a family stay.

The property had a strong unpleasant odour throughout. There was visible mould in multiple locations, including around door frames, walls, the washing machine area, and the bathroom. The bathroom itself was in poor condition, with signs of dampness, mould, and poor maintenance. We also found spiders inside the property.

One of the most shocking issues was the sofa. It was not simply old or worn—it was broken and had collapsed in the middle, making it unusable. This was completely different from what was shown in the listing photographs.

The property also advertised parking, yet we were only informed on the day of arrival that no parking was actually available. Had we known this before travelling, it would have influenced our booking decision.

I contacted VRBO immediately upon arrival and spent almost two hours on the phone providing photographs and evidence. Rather than offering relocation assistance or a practical solution, I was repeatedly directed back to the host and property manager. Their proposed solution was to clean the property the following day, despite the fact that many of the issues were not cleaning-related. Cleaning would not fix mould, damp odours, broken furniture, or the overall condition of the accommodation.

Communication with the property manager, Conciergerie Alliance FR, was equally frustrating. At one stage I felt dismissed entirely, and meaningful communication effectively stopped.

With a young child and no confidence in the property's condition, we had no choice but to leave. Late that evening I informed them that I was returning the keys and booked alternative accommodation through Airbnb approximately 30 km away. We eventually arrived around midnight after an already exhausting day of travel.

The replacement host was welcoming, helpful, and understanding. The contrast in customer service was remarkable.

What disappointed me most was not just the condition of the property, but the lack of support when a serious issue was reported immediately upon arrival. When travellers arrive late at night with children, they expect the booking platform to help resolve the situation. Instead, we were left to find and pay for alternative accommodation ourselves.

A partial refund was eventually issued, but that does not change the stress, inconvenience, additional expense, and lost holiday time that my family experienced.

Based on this experience, I would not use VRBO again and would encourage travellers to carefully consider what support they may actually receive if a property turns out to be significantly different from what was advertised.

I recently booked a property in Edinburgh Scotland via VRBO.

The property manager is called The Edinburgh Address. The property ID is 1873807 and the listing title is "Stunning view of Edinburgh Castle for a memorable stay in the City Centre."

The payment was split into two tranches (£2,338.88 paid on March 12, 2026 and £7,016.62 due on July 14).

The written cancellation policy on the VRBO site for the subject property says: "75% refund of amount PAYABLE [all caps for emphasis only] if you cancel by Jul 15, 2026. No refund if you cancel after July 15, 2026. Cancel by 11:59pm (property's local time) on the date listed to qualify for the refund amount."

Doing the math, 75% of the full £9,355.50 payable is £7,016.62. But that would clearly not be fair to the Host since I only actually paid £2,338.88 so far.

Side note to VRBO: I think you butchered the true meaning/terms of the written cancellation policy by shortening it too much.

In any case, I cancelled on June 1, 2026. So, well ahead of July 15th.

I reached out to the host and said that despite the written policy's clear plain text meaning, I was willing to accept a refund of 75% of the £2,338.88 already ACTUALLY PAID instead of 75% of the full £9,355.50 payable value at the time of booking.

But they are trying funny math (and English interpretation) to incorrectly claim that I am only entitled to 25% of the full amount, which equals about what I paid in the first tranche. They are also mischaracterizing the first tranche as a "deposit."

So in other words, despite my trying to be fair and reasonable under the circumstances, they are refusing to honour the written cancellation policy and refund me anything beyond a small amount (£111.38 for the visitor levy portion of my booking).

Their position is clearly illogical and seems to be a thinly veiled attempt at misleading/cheating people.

But VRBO customer service has been completely unhelpful. On the phone, they insisted that the policy was 75% of the amount PAYABLE instead of 75% of the amount PAYED. On the surface, that is clearly in my favour. But it's ultimately up to the host and VRBO now seems to be trying to wash their hands of it. The c/s person on the phone even refused to provide me an address to serve legal papers if i decided to go the court route.

I have trusted and booked through VRBO several times in the past. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

Zero support - Despite their exorbitant fees I have been waiting almost 4 weeks for Vrbo tech support to correct the information about our property...If they bother to reply to this review it will just be the usual spivvy reply pretending they don't know what they are talking about (rather reminds me of Sadiq Khan being questioned on grooming gangs) "We understand the importance of concern to be addressed. We are trying all ways to resolve this for our partners. We have requested to share the information however we have not received it. Therefore, we are requesting you to connect with our 24/7 Customer Support for further discussion." Vrbo I have contacted your "support"so many. times the last few weeks - the replies are all about how it important it is to you - clearly from all these reviews customer service or support means nothing to you...and here is the reply "You may reach our 24/7 Customer Support for further discussion." How many times do they expect someone to reach out before they resolve???

My experience with VRBO customer service was extremely disappointing.

On the day of check-in, my travel companion and I encountered what we believed to be an attempted robbery while trying to locate our rental property. Several men approached us and came uncomfortably close, and a local resident warned us that the area was unsafe. While waiting for the check-in representative, I also discovered a recent guest review reporting a mugging near the property. The owner had acknowledged the incident in a public response but had never disclosed it before our cancellation deadline.

Concerned for our safety, I immediately contacted VRBO and asked for assistance canceling the reservation and finding alternative accommodations. The first representative placed me on hold for several minutes before returning to say that nothing could be done. I then requested a supervisor and explained the situation again. The supervisor reviewed both my messages with the owner, including the owner's statement that it was not safe to stand outside the property, and the recent guest review describing a mugging nearby.

Despite acknowledging these facts, VRBO's response was simply that the cancellation deadline had passed. No assistance with alternative accommodations was offered, no exception was considered, and no meaningful effort was made to address the safety concerns we were experiencing in real time.

When travelers contact customer service because they genuinely fear for their safety, they expect more than a rigid recitation of policy. Unfortunately, VRBO's handling of this situation left me feeling unsupported and unwilling to use the platform again.

Consumer experience warning:

I recently booked a vacation rental through VRBO and canceled the reservation shortly afterward. Based on communications I received, I believed a refund would be processed, but the matter remains unresolved and approximately $5,335 is still in dispute.

Over the past several months, I have spent significant time attempting to resolve the issue through customer service channels. My purpose in sharing this experience is not to attack anyone, but to encourage consumers to carefully review cancellation policies and retain all written communications regarding refunds.

If you've had similar experiences with vacation rental platforms, I'd be interested in hearing how you resolved them.

Vrbo does not show true cost of rental. Some host charge money for extra guest and pets and some don’t. The fees should be in property description. You should not have to start booking cost to find out what actual cost are. It’s a waste of time and very misleading.

Vrbo should make host list their charges for additional under property description.

Just drove 8 hours to vacation to find out I owe them 230.00 for 2 dogs that I told them about 3 months ago. Scam

They are terrible. I booked a cottage through Expedia but Vrbo took over. The web site didn't mention two other companies were involved. I had a lot of problems over paying. After an hour talking to Vrbo customer service no resolución. Endless emails which were utter gibberish I still don't know what is going on. Despite saying no more phone calls they keep calling just recieved 2 at 22.40 UK time Which I declined
Will totaly avoid this company in future and stop using Expedia who until they joined with Vrbo I found great.

Both agent and supervisor spoken to only provided already known information and ultimately lacked any ability to understand our issue to achievea resolution. Their complete lack of understanding was the most frustrating.
We received immediate resolution simply by reaching out to the host.
Ridiculous how incompetent the customer service center is.

Very terrible, we booked 4-5 days ago and when it’s time for the check in day. We got to know that the house is already sold. Now for refund, they give us cancel and refund, now there is nothing. We trust it but at the day, it made us nowhere. I want my refund full back and no humanity. Poor very poor.

VRBO accidentally introduced me to a new hobby: repeatedly explaining the same problem to different customer service representatives.

I booked a property for my parents. They arrived to find broken glass in the front door held together with painter's tape, dirty towels, used soap in the shower, a filthy oven, and a rusted grill. Apparently "vacation rental" now includes a scavenger hunt for basic cleanliness.

The host eventually agreed to a 25% refund but wanted to mail me a personal check because he "didn't know how" to issue a refund through the platform. Sure. Weaponized incompetence. Love that.

Then came the VRBO customer service experience.

Seven phone calls.

SEVEN.

Each lasting 15-20 minutes. Each representative putting me on hold to "review the notes." Each representative somehow unable to locate whatever groundbreaking work the previous representative had supposedly completed.

At various points I was told the host was being contacted, deadlines had been established, and payment requests had been sent. Based on the results, I can only assume these messages were delivered by carrier pigeon with a poor sense of direction.

After hours of effort, I finally recovered about $600.

The money wasn't the problem. The process was.

If everything goes perfectly, VRBO is probably fine. But if something goes wrong, be prepared to invest enough time to earn an honorary degree in Customer Service Follow-Up Studies.

Very negative experience with Vrbo. We booked a stay and because I was bringing a dog with me I booked accidental damages insurance. The house was so old with all the pans covered in fat and half broken and one of the handles came off when we picked a pan up. We didn’t worry because accidental damages were covered. To our surprise we got charged 200 pounds by the host for the pan and a microwave (???) that we didn’t use. I let the host know that this was not acceptable and we had accidental damage insurance anyway. I got in touch with customer service after 50 pounds got taken off my account to understand what was going on. It’s been more than a month with emails from Vrbo saying that it’s up to the host’s discretion (??? Is that how insurance works?). Now they are sending me emails saying that I need to provide them with information but not specifying what information they need. I’ve replied multiple times asking what they need me to provide with so far no response only another email that I have 7 days to provide the information. At this stage I’m quite confident that the insurance is a scam and Vrbo is a fraudulent company. Don’t book, sanity is more important.

P.s. I tried to write a review for the host/property and they wrote me an email saying I need to edit it but never answered when I asked what would they not agree with in my review. And I am able to provide screenshots of everything I am writing about. The £200 pound charge that I refused to pay, the insurance payment and the £50 pounds that got taken off my account and still not returned.

Absolutely terrible experience with VRBO. I booked a house in London for myself and a friend, and everything seemed confirmed. My friend travelled all the way from Glasgow to London, while I was still preparing to leave — only for the host to call me ON THE DAY of our trip to say that a bug on VRBO's website had allowed double bookings, and as a result, our booking was being cancelled.

My friend was left stranded in London for hours with nowhere to go while we desperately scrambled to find alternative accommodation through another platform. The stress, wasted travel costs, and sheer inconvenience this caused was unacceptable.

This is not a minor glitch — this is a fundamental failure of VRBO's platform. A confirmed booking should mean exactly that. If their system cannot prevent double bookings, travellers cannot trust it. I will not be using VRBO again and would strongly caution anyone else to think twice before relying on them for travel plans.

I recently booked a rental that was not updated and ultimately doubled booked. I was refunded without incident but then enrolled in vrbocare and offered reimbursement. Before rebooking I called to speak with a supervisor or someone on the reimbursement team to confirm my offer. After spending hours on the line I was told that somehow all the supervisors were busy and I should go ahead and rebook. I explained that I was hesitant and needed confirmation and explanation. I was told it might take hours to get someone on the line. I rebooked as I am short on time, but only to find out i wasn't going to receive the maximum reimbursement offered. After sending multiple emails of complaints, I have only received AI generated responses apologizing for my "inconvenience ". I will never use this company or refer them to anyone else. Their Customer service is the worst.

Just an update. Not sure what i was hoping for, but I just received a voicemail instructing me to reread the email regarding the reimbursement process (already done) and if I need to I can reply to said email( again already done).
All of this hindsight rereading doesn't resolve the grievance of not providing "policy information " prior to booking. Again, zero stars!!

WILL NEVER USE VRBO AGAIN!

The nightmare began when I booked a spot in Osaka Japan and the host did no respond for several months. Silly me, I thought Vrbo would have decent customer service but boy was I wrong. The agent we spoke with and their manager was no empathic to the situstion as we had to find other accomodations on the same day as check in. Vrbo also is very disorganized or the agents were not willing to help since they have a date of transaction snd my payment but still wanted a bank statement copy.....

Booked a room in February for July 4 weekend and received an email from the host a month later that they wanted to Reno their condo and asked if I was ok to be without a washer, dryer or refrigerator. I said we’d purchase a plug in cooler and make it work and the host agreed to a discounted rate. I never received a discount and got back in touch with the host who let me know that the renovations had begun so I was out. No cancellation, no message. I get in touch with the “customer support team” who let me know I can have a credit for a new place at equal value to what we’d spent. Book a new place - no discount. Today I spent I HOUR of my time on the phone to get a $150- curtesy credit. In a room that’s not 1200- because it’s so close to the holiday weekend. I canceled and went with another company. Never again. Notice how even here the replies are copy/paste? AVOID VRBO.

Eventually

Written previous review on how bad customer service is with this company. We booked accommodation in Falmouth, Bell Chapel. The host cancelled and we wanted a full refund.
After much phoning, emailing, time wasting, etc we have now received our full refund.
As business people why can they not make it very easy on their websites to cancel or receive a refund immediately. They get their money immediately! Another huge problem is contact. It is a minefield to actually deal with someone who can help..... all I know is never again.

I am extremely disappointed with VRBO and the complete lack of support we received during our recent booking issues. This was actually the second major problem we experienced using VRBO for this trip.

Our first booking had apparently already been sold and should have been removed from the platform before we booked it. Because of that mistake, I had to spend time on the phone with VRBO customer service FIVE separate times, totaling nearly 6 hours, just trying to get our $730 refunded. The process was exhausting, stressful, and far more difficult than it should have been for an error that was not our fault.

Then, after finally securing another rental, we were contacted at 2:00 PM on the day of check-in — while already nearly 3 hours into our drive — and told the AC had stopped working only 2 hours before check-in.

Again, VRBO offered little meaningful help. What was especially frustrating was VRBO attempting to use their “VRBO Care” program to pressure another homeowner into accepting a deeply discounted “cheaper rate” booking instead of properly taking responsibility for the situation themselves. It felt unfair to both us as guests and to the homeowner they were trying to make absorb the loss.

At every stage of this experience, VRBO failed to provide the support, accountability, and customer service you would expect from a company people trust to book vacations. Instead of feeling protected booking through VRBO, we felt completely on our own dealing with repeated problems caused by their platform.

This entire experience turned what should have been an enjoyable trip into an incredibly stressful ordeal, and based on how everything was handled, I would seriously reconsider using VRBO again.

I am a host that uses both Airbnb and VRBO. Their calendars are supposed to synchronize to prevent any double bookings. Both sites were set to do so. However, they did not and I ended up with a double booking for unknown reasons, a technical failure. One booking was made at night through VRBO, the other by Airbnb in the morning. I happened to see the Airbnb booking first and confirmed it with the guest. Unfortunately I had to then decline the VRBO guest even though they booked for longer and produced more income. VRBO is taking off me a cancellation fee and suspending my account for 7 days even though there was another guest about to book within that time. They offer a cancellation fee waiver if it was "beyond your control", which this certainly was. It was actually the Airbnb calendar that didn't synch, and given they are a competitor, "no cancellation waiver for you!", contradicting their stated policy. If you are a host on both platforms, beware VRBO!