<p>I have a vacation rental property and use VRBO. I accept checks or CC through Paypal. I do charge a small fee for CC to make up the service charge and I probably get checks 80% of the time. I’ve also used VRBO to rent myself and never had a problem. </p>
<p>I just booked a Hawaii property through VRBO but I paid using credit card. I rather loose a few % than real check. Never paid for any insurance.</p>
<p>Used VRBO in La Jolla, California as well as in Florida and Barbados. I never took out the insurance and never had problem with any of the rentals. If you do your research, it is great value for the money. </p>
<p>We’ve used VRBO several times without a problem, including paying by check at least once. I’d recommend reading the entire listing carefully, including the reviews, and contacting the owner and asking a few questions, either by phone or email or both. You can get a better feel for the situation that way. I tend to over research, and will also look on google satellite or street view, and find the listing on as many websites as I can looking for other reviews. The places we have ended up booking have all been better than advertised and the owners have been easy to work with.</p>
<p>"Mom2college kids, what city is your rental in, if I may ask?</p>
<p>Mine isnt a “vacation destination” lol…mine is in Tuscaloosa and is used for Game Day Weekends, campus visits, Bama Bound Orientations, Move in/Move out, etc It is rented continually… It has been so successful that I just bought another two weeks ago and now I’m figuring out the remodel to have it ready by August. I have super guests. </p>
<p>I do not charge a fee for CC use. Personally, I think that leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. I do encourage the use of echecks, since I dont pay a fee that way. I also let people pay in 3 payments, no interest, if they book far enough in advance and it’s a pricy game day weekend where 2 nights is $2000. since people book the popular games and graduation a year in advance, they appreciate the payment plan. </p>
<p>I think the desire for insurance is mostly for those who need to cancel at the last minute where otherwise they’d lose their money.</p>
<p>Have used VRBO several times in various cities. One time an owner lost my check and I had to stop payment and write another one. That was the only problem I’ve had. I do choose the properties that have at least several good reviews.</p>
<p>Just chiming in to say I’ve used both VRBO and Airbnb with no problems and never got insurance. Used Airbnb for a week of college visits in Boston - worked out great!</p>
<p>I really don’t think people need to buy the insurance out of fear that the rental will be awful or something. From what I read on the owners forum, owners really try to keep their places very nice.</p>
<p>In my experience, those who want the insurance, want it because they have an elderly sick parent that might pass at any time or something else that might cause them to suddenly cancel their trip. </p>
<p>We’ve also used VRBO without problems. I never took out insurance but I typically don’t for vacations. I’ve paid by check and others by Paypal and others by credit card. I gauge reliability (before I commit) by how quickly the owner responds, how organized the owner is about giving me information, what the owner’s process is regarding key exchange or lockbox and parking information and other people’s reviews.</p>
<p>I have rented through VRBO probably a dozen times, in Hawaii & NYC. Never had a problem, and have almost always paid with a CC, although on my upcoming trip, the renter has asked me to have a cashier’s check written to her management company. Not a problem for me. I have not taken the insurance, and have not had a negative experience. That said, I require (for my own satisfaction) at least one phone conversation with the renter, where I ask somewhat general questions about the neighborhood and apartment (stuff like, where’s the best bagel in the neighborhood, how close is…) to get a feel of whether or not they are “real” or not - you know, minor chit-chat, and I don’t even request a quote or information for any space that has zero reviews (I don’t care that someone has to be the first renter, it’s not going to be me!). I prefer to use a CC (through PayPal) because I get points, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. </p>
<p>OP - please come back at the end of your trip & let us know how things went.</p>
<p>I’ve used VRBO several times. I’ve learned to be careful that I am actually dealing with the owner, and not an agency. Lately, agencies are listing their rentals on VRBO also, and then you’ll stuck with a whole lot of additional fees.</p>
<p>I start an email correspondence with the owner, and you can soon tell what kind of individual they are by the way they handle the conversation. There was one time I didn’t book a place, even though it was gorgeous, because something just didn’t seem right. I had even had a phone conversation with that particular owner, and something was just off.</p>
<p>I ask a lot of questions, and make sure we have a least one phone conversation before I book the place. I haven’t used it for any place out of the US, but I feel very comfortable with the website.</p>
<p>I’ve always paid with check. I’ve never been offered insurance, and wonder if you are actually renting through an agency that listed on VRBO.</p>
<p>^^^
Agree 100% with the feeling or vibe you get from correspondence and conversation with the owner of the rental. My husbands laughs as the idea that I can get a “read” on someone from emails and one conversation. But I can, I have only been wrong once!</p>
<p>OP here. Thanks for all the info. I did have a conversation with the owner, and several emails. It seems legit. I will report back, but we are not going for close to a year. It’s amazing how early some places book up. </p>
<p>I have a cautionary tale. You may or may not know that HomeAway, Inc. owns HomeAway, VRBO, and VacationRentals. My family has used VRBO and HomeAway many times for vacation rentals. All our experiences were wonderful, with one exception that was HORRIBLE.</p>
<p>Two years ago, I used HomeAway to book a large, expensive house on the west coast for a big family reunion. The house had 15 stellar reviews on the HomeAway website. The booking was made six months in advance of our trip, and I had a heck of a time finding a house large enough to accommodate 16 people. All of us lived on the east coast at the time, so we all had to make cross country flight reservations. Before booking the house, I exchanged a number of cordial e-mails with the property owner. He seemed very nice and accommodating of our needs. Because the rental was very expensive and the deposit was so large (>$2500), I googled the property owner and found out he was a college law professor. I even called his father, who was the custodian of the property, to confirm that everything was legit. The property owner asked that I use PayPal for the deposit, and I complied. However - thankfully! - I used my credit card on PayPal. I did not take out trip insurance.</p>
<p>About a month before our trip, I e-mailed the property owner to ask when he wanted the second installment of our payment. I heard nothing back for a couple of days, so I e-mailed him again. Nothing. At that point I tried to call the property owner and his father, but my calls went to voicemail. I then called the property owner at his university phone number and left a message, but he didn’t return my call. After about a week of e-mails and unanswered phone calls, I finally sent an e-mail to the property owner saying I planned to report him to HomeAway, as our trip was imminent. I IMMEDIATELY got back an e-mail saying he was sorry, the house was double booked, blah blah blah, would I like to reschedule for another time? Are you kidding me? He wanted 16 people with vacations scheduled at work and flights already booked to reschedule?</p>
<p>I scrambled to make alternative reservations, which were extremely difficult because of the size of our group. At the same time, I demanded a refund of our deposit from the property owner because we needed it to book alternative accommodations. The property owner hemmed and hawed for days, and we still didn’t have our deposit refund over a month later. To make a very long story short, I finally got a chargeback of my deposit about a month after filing a dispute with my credit card company. The property owner also refunded my deposit at the same time, which meant the property owner refunded my deposit twice (I asked my credit card company to reverse the chargeback, but it took a week.) The property owner was POed big time that I filed a dispute, but karma is a b****.</p>
<p>To make a bad situation even worse, HomeAway wouldn’t allow me to post a negative review because we hadn’t actually stayed in the property. It makes my blood boil to see all the 5-star reviews for this property today.</p>
<p>As a result of this experience, I have two recommendations when using VRBO or HomeAway: Always, always use a credit card to book a property and take the reviews with a very, very large grain of salt. </p>
<p>^^^^
Do you think it was an honest double booking “mistake” or that someone else offered him more money for the time frame you had booked? I would have fought tooth and nail to get your review published. The integrity of the owner who is taking your payment is equally as important as the quality of the rental property. Your story does make me think less of HomeAway - am assuming the property owners take precedence over the renters because they pay to list their rentals on the site.</p>
<p>HM, you hit the nail on the head with your last statement. </p>
<p>Based on my correspondence with the property owner, I don’t think it was an honest mistake. My relatives and I believe the property owner double booked the property because he was having financial difficulties and our deposit provided cash flow. We think he had every intention to refund our deposit, but at his convenience. I still see red every time I think about it.</p>
<p><<<Do you think it was an honest double booking “mistake” or that someone else offered him more money for the time frame you had booked? I would have fought tooth and nail to get your review published. </p>
<br>
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<p>You absolutely cannot post a review without staying on the property. I agree that in this situation, its unfortunate. However, there would be too much craziness if people who hadn’t stayed could post. </p>
<p>Double booking happens when people do not sync their calendars when using more than one advertising venue or when they don’t use the reservation manager that the site provides (I don’t understand why people don’t use that service, it does most of the work for you)</p>
<p>I dont take reservations by phone, only thru the sites because I’m scared of putting in the wrong dates. I make the guests put in their dates on the site so that they are responsible for what they’ve selected.</p>
<p>I’ve used VRBO probably for a decade now (Hawaiian islands , mainland US & Paris). I’ve paid by check, credit card and Paypal. I’ve never had a problem. The fact that I rent thru VRBO as opposed to a hotel does not influence my decision to purchase insurance, which I usually purchase if I purchase non-refundable airfare and/or if the total trip cost is over $1500. Travelling with 3 kids, Colorado weather, and other unknowns, I have learned that things you don’t expect to come up sometimes do. So, if it were me, I would pay the $160. Travel Guard usually has the best pricing, and kids’ insurance if free.</p>
<p>I’ve used VRBO probably for a decade now (Hawaiian islands , mainland US & Paris). I’ve paid by check, credit card and Paypal. I’ve never had a problem. The fact that I rent thru VRBO as opposed to a hotel does not influence my decision to purchase insurance, which I usually purchase if I purchase non-refundable airfare and/or if the total trip cost is over $1500. Travelling with 3 kids, Colorado weather, and other unknowns, I have learned that things you don’t expect to come up sometimes do. So, if it were me, I would pay the $160. Travel Guard usually has the best pricing, and kids’ insurance if free.</p>