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For anyone who has gone this route, is it unusual for the owner to ask for half the rent upon booking, and the balance paid in full, two weeks before our arrival?
The reason I’m asking is that other VRBOs ask for payment in full (and a separate refundable deposit) upon arrival.
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Not sure what you’re asking. I own VRBO rentals. Owners require payment in a variety of ways.
It sounds like the first Owner is requiring half rent upon book, and then the balance (which included security/damage deposit and maybe cleaning fee), two weeks before arrival.
It sounds like the second Owner is asking for all the rent/taxes/(maybe) cleaning at the time of reservation, but is letting you pay the damage deposit upon arrival.
Neither of those ways are strange. There are a variety of ways to pay…much can depend on how far in advance you made the reservation…also could depend on the Owner’s cancellation policy.
OK, thanks. I booked and sent half the rent two months to arrival. I’m a little apprehensive sending full payment for something which I haven’t seen, or occupied. I have to trust in the process, I guess.
I, too, have seen a variety of payment scenarios in years of renting through VRBO. There have been many places we’ve rented that have required the full amount before arrival. I agree it can be scary, but it’s a method used by a lot of owners.
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OK, thanks. I booked and sent half the rent two months to arrival. I’m a little apprehensive sending full payment for something which I haven’t seen, or occupied. I have to trust in the process, I guess.
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I always require full payment before arrival. Why would I take the risk that the people would pull a “no show” and then I’m out the rent. It just throws everything out of whack…I would then have to call the housekeeper and cancel her scheduled date to come and clean after departure. None of this is good. We need to keep our housekeeper happy. Paying in advance is really the way that is most fair to everyone in the long run.
It’s very unlikely that I could rerent a property when someone doesn’t arrive that afternoon. It’s also unlikely that I could rerent the property if they told me they had to cancel a few days before…simply because people who use short-term rentals typically make their plans 1-6+ months in advance.
Keep in mind, these aren’t hotels, and we don’t have housekeepers “on staff” (how I wish!). Travelers who want to rent short-term rentals need to move from “hotel thinking” to understanding that an Owner with 1-5 properties (which is most typical) can’t “stay in the black” if people can “no show” and not pay.
The listings should have adequate pictures of the kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathrooms. There should also be recent and positive reviews. If not, then choose another property.
I just rented out my entire house for the first time through AirBNB for two nights this fall for a football weekend. We’re getting $3,000. I’m going to put some of our valuables in storage. We’re going to stay with my father-in-law. If I can get one more rental it’s enough for a nice little vacation. Or we can just pay bills.
Is it really worth all the work to lock stuff away, clean up after guests, have potential damage to your home…for a few thousand dollars?
I ask because we gave it some consideration, but know most people don’t treat rental properties like their own, and it would be difficult to live with a nick in the kitchen cabinet, or some other obscure damage that we didn’t create. And we’d have to lock away a lot of stuff!
@sophocles - Not unusual at all. For our vacation rental in the Adirondacks we want 50% to hold the reservation and then 25% 3 months prior to arrival and the last 25% + damage deposit one month prior.
I would think it would be VERY hard to rent out one’s own home. You have stuff in your closets, stuff in your drawers, stuff in your fridge, stuff in your pantry, etc. The thought of people being able to rummage thru your non-valuables seems a bit creepy.
Renting out condos/homes that aren’t anybody’s home is much easier. …empty drawers, empty closets, empty fridge, etc.
Thank you, all, for your input and reassurance. As I mentioned, this will be our first VRBO experience. Photos and reviews on the website are lovely, and I understand that our experience may or may not be the same as others. It was particularly helpful to get feedback from VRBO owners’ perspective. I guess my nightmare would be to pay in full, only to later have a non-existent owner or apartment, especially one we’re renting overseas. I did a Google map search, as well as the owner, and everything seems to check out.
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guess my nightmare would be to pay in full, only to later have a non-existent owner or apartment,
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Yes, that would be a nightmare. You did pay by CC, right? If that were to happen, you would challenge the charge on your CC.
That said, if the property has reviews, then you shouldn’t have to worry.
I’m trying to remember what the process was when I listed my properties… The addresses had to be real, but I don’t remember having to prove that I am the Owner because sometimes Property Mgrs also list properties.
That said, I wouldn’t rent a short-term rental thru Craigs List. Those can be scams. What scammers do is “steal” pics from legit sites, and steal the verbiage, and then post a CL add with their own phone number…and they’ll take money thru checks or Paypal. These scammers sometimes make themselves look more “legit” by putting the VRBO listing number (which will have the true owner’s number) on their CL add.
I once got a horrifying phone call from people who had arrived in town and suddenly the phone number they had been using thru Craigs List was not answering. So, they went to the VRBO listing mentioned in the CL listing (it was one of my listings). They called me up and I quickly learned that they thought that they had rented one of my rentals for that weekend (they had already arrived in town and were in their car. They were supposed to meet their contact person (scammer) who would then give them “the key” and condo unit number). This was for an extremely popular weekend. My heart sank for them. I was able to go onto hotels.com and find them a hotel room, and they eventually did get their money back from Paypal, but the whole experience was horrible for them.
A “few” thousand dollars is a lot of money. Most people report good results with AirBNB, but I won’t deny I have a little nervousness. My rental contract states that I will probably check in once during the rental period just to make sure everything is okay, and we do get the right to choose our tenants.
I’m really only locking away a small amount of valuables. The silver, obviously, plus my wife’s jewelry, and that type of thing. I’ve put a lock on my closet door, and some things can go in there. Some other things can go in a storage building we have. If there is some small damage, well $3,000 ought to fix it.
You can rent out your home for up to 14 nights per year without having to pay any taxes, and if I did so we essentially wouldn’t have a house payment. I don’t think we will, but my guess is that my first renter is going to really like the place. It’s nice and big, and certainly a lot cheaper than trying to get four hotel rooms at $350 per night, which is what they go for on football weekends.
So I think it will be well worth the effort and will give us an incentive to get the place cleaned up. We’re going to give both of the children $100 to compensate them for the hassle of having to straighten their rooms and make way for strangers.
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We’re going to give both of the children $100 to compensate them for the hassle of having to straighten their rooms and make way for strangers.
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Oh my! You have kids living in your home. What about their things? I realize that they’ll take some of their most prized possessions with them, but what about stuff in their drawers and closets?
I “lived” in one of my out-of-town rentals for a couple of months while remodeling/updating it …getting it ready. So, I was "sort of " moved in during that time…stuff in the fridge, stuff in drawers, etc. Even with those limited items, I couldn’t imagine not having everything cleared out for guests.
Are you going to empty your fridge and pantry?
While I agree that the potential for a good bit of money is possible, I think there will be more to this than you think. This isn’t like having family/friends stay at your home while visiting you.
We have used Homeaway and VRBO for years. At this point I have lost count of in how many states. Only one place was sketchy and I knew it was likely to be since we booked at last minute. We are spoiled by having a house, condo or apt and much prefer it over hotels.
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We are spoiled by having a house, condo or apt and much prefer it over hotels.
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This is what I hear time and time again. Surprisingly enough, even from single travelers.
When 2 or more are traveling, it doesn’t surprise me to hear women report that they appreciate a place with more than one bathroom. And, it doesn’t surprise me to hear from men report that they appreciate having a room away from the kids and not having to share a TV! lol
