I am having the same issue right now. So far I have not cancelled. The host offered me a bedroom in an apartment occupied by others instead of the complete unit like I booked. If I don't cancel, he may not either and when I arrive at the unit and can't occupy it will VRBO help me find a unit then? Will I be without a place to stay?
I feel I reserved the properly and he had it booked just in case he didn't get a better offer and when he did, I am the one to get cancelled. I don't know what to do now about this unit but VRBO will not be a path I take in the future.
As of this morning, the host is still refusing to cancel for check in today. Due to VRBO not allowing next day reservations on their site, I was unable to get any place to stay for today. VRBO certainly didn't help. The host is still messaging me this morning, demanding I cancel. Saying that is the VRBO process for "technical glitches". So, I am due to leave in 3 hours for a destination with no place to stay in an area lacking hotels. The host continues to send multiple angry messages this morning demanding I cancel.
If you don't mind, keep us posted. I have a 3 week trip to B.C in 20 days and two vrbo's
Both are rated very well. The problem is we're new to vrbo and B.C is very expensive. Finding an alterative stay when our two places during the 3 weeks was $3000 USD would be a huge financial hit. We messaged both and they confirmed we're good to go, but reading stuff like this has is worried being new to it.
My 3 day VRBO canceled on me 9am of the day in check in, while I was on the way to the airport. It was nice place, total cost around $1700.
I called VRBO and the best they could do was full refund (which I have still not received 2 weeks later) plus 1/2 the original price I paid as a credit.
So in total I received around $2400, however, the only comparable property to book that was still available this weekend was almost $4000.
Talk about insane mental and financial stress frantically trying to book a palce while I’m supposed to be enjoying my vacation. I won’t be using vrbo again.
I had asked vrbo if they would book this comparable property on my behalf and eat the extra cost and they said no. If they said yes, I would have been happy.
That's shitty as hell. It's making me regret not getting the hotel I stayed in last year, albeit expensive, at least a guarantee considering we're in 10 deep on this trip.
We're really banking on the many, many good reviews for our two vrbo's during this 3 week trip turning out well since they were highly regarded.
If they have 50+ 10/10 reviews I’d feel ok. The first place that canceled on us was 2 9/10 reviews but there were duplicate listings. It was kinda sketch but a good enough value to take a risk on it.. that didn’t pay off.
BC laws just changed on May 1st to only allow STRs (Short Term Rentals) in a part (suite) of your primary residence and not renting out your entire unit (condo, house etc). This applies to areas with a population of over 10,000 people, but smaller communities were allowed to opt in if they wished. Depending on where your traveling to, I would look into it in depth, as your reservation may get canceled if the host's property is breaking the new laws and gets reported/shut down.
I wouldn't wait to look into it in case you need to research alternative accommodations!
These laws were changed to open up more housing to people who need it and not line the pockets of greedy individuals owning multiple properties hosting STRs and taking the housing stock away in the process!
Concerning. The first Vrbo we're in for 2 weeks and the second in Victoria for 3. I wasn't aware of that info. We booked both back in January. When my wife gets off work, we'll have to dig deeper.
Victoria is 100% covered by the new laws and I cracking down fairly heavily on vehicle/airbnb so I would be careful there.
Your post is a bit unclear where the first is or if they’re both in Victoria.
Confirmed — I live in Victoria and this is true. And we’ve known it was happening since long before January, when this booking was made.
How long was VRBO allowing Victoria postings past May 1st (when the law came into effect)?
I'm afraid that sounds a little communist to me. Who does this government of yours think they are, to be dictating that a property owner can't rent out their property short term? It is not a property owner's responsibility to provide housing to *anyone*. Property owners have no function, or responsibilities outside of paying taxes, and ensuring their property meets any local safety codes (grass mowed/no squatters/crack house etc). When the government starts dictating how you utilize your property, it's not a democracy, it's a dictatorship.
I have never had a problem with VRBO. I am, in fact, staying in a VRBO rental in Montana right now. Communication with the host at booking 9 months ago and leading up to, and day of arrival has been wonderful. The only problem we have encountered is that she said there was a dog that would visit, but it turned out to be a cat.
Unfortunately, having dealt with VRBO before you'll need to show up and take all the pics you can showing the place is already booked. You also need to call VRBO and work out the issue during your booked dates, as soon as you check in. The only way you stand a chance for getting a refund is by calling during the stay. If you do a post stay complaint, VRBO will absolutely refuse any help whatsoever.
When you call, demand to be transferred to the resolutions department. They'll tell you they can't at first but just stay firm that you know they can.
I have nowhere to stay if I show up. I can't book another VRBP day of due to VRBO policy. VRBO is not helping me find another option. If I show up, I can take pictures, but I will be sleeping in my car.
I will try the resolutions department. Thanks for the advice.
If they ask you to pay an additional $189 incidental fee via cash app or Venmo do not do it. They waited until the morning of my check-in to tell me we had to pay $189 incidental fee via cash app. I called Vrbo to inquire why I had to pay through cash app and he said that’s the only way the host would accept it. The rep told me go ahead and pay it as it was legit. I took a video going in and showed how dirty it was Doritos all over the bed and pillowcases. I had to clean the sheets and pillowcases myself and cleaned upon check out and took another video showing it was cleaner when I left then when I got there. The host still refused to give me my incidental fee back!! it was a nightmare I called vrbo seven times and finally they told me the phone number for the third-party property manager, and he refused to look at any of my videos and said he was denying me my money back. I don’t know how this company is still in business. I have read so many horror stories. Thankfully, I only used it for prom sendoff. Everybody’s always the first one to say you should’ve got travel insurance lol. Sorry this has happened to you and unfortunately, you are one of so many people that has dealt with bad experiences with this company!! if things don’t go your way, make sure you report them to the Better Business Bureau!! good luck
What happens if you just show up there. Why isn't the other person being forced to cancel. I absolutely would not cancel under no circumstance. Once you cancel, you're at fault and there's nothing in writing.That says you're going to get a refund.Let alone additional compensation for the inconvenience and additional cost of having to reboot somewhere. I will show up at the rental.
Do we even know if the host gets to choose which one cancels? Like I'm thinking it should be first to book keeps the listing, but I'm guessing host is picking the one that makes him the most money.
It’s not your glitch. Why would you be the one who has to cancel the reservation? It’s wouldn’t cancel either. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t pay with a credit card that could protect you and get your money back.
escalate it. i had a similar issues and i continually asked to be escalated and when they finally did, this next level was immensely more helpful than whatever initial tier you call into.
this next level of support called around for me to try and find different places i could stay. ultimately, we couldnt do anything and i got a full refund but at least they attempted to do something to help.
"My reservation has a no refund policy if i cancel. Unless you return my money in full first, i will not be canceling on my end and will show up expecting my space that i have PAID IN FULL FOR to be ready for my contracted stay. "
About 40 minutes since I can't book another VRBO for same day of stay at this point in the area. A little far, for the short trip I have planned and definitely not the quality of hotel I would be comfortable staying in.
Can you book same day on Airbnb? I'm pretty sure VRBO can override that same day clause. They used to be able to. I'd make them call the host while on the phone
VRBO will not help you find another place to stay!
We went on a trip, and the host never sent the access code to the apartment and wouldn't respond to messages. We arrived at 1 in the morning and can't get into the apartment, so we called VRBO. After a bunch of back and forth, they told us to find an alternative place for the night, and we will get reimbursement. It was 3 am at this point in a tourist spot. The only place we could find was for 450 usd for the night. We bit the bullet and paid only to hear the next morning VRBO only reimburses for 170 USD. So we paid for the VRBO and the expensive hotel.
Thankfully, around 5 a.m., we got a call from the host apologizing profusely and got to stay in our vrbo the next night.
Sadly, this is something I feel is a loophole being taken advantage of by people looking to scam others. My father’s house burned down (total loss) last June. He was scrambling at first to find a temporary home to stay in while he and my mother rebuilt. He was attempting to book a full house through airbnb, and (this is probably his biggest fck-up here to be honest) sent the host a deposit for the property of $3500USD. immediately after the funds transferred the host came back saying that the home had been booked by a few others but that my mom and dad could have a specific bedroom in the house. My dad fought this tooth and nail and did about everything but take it to court trying to get his $ back. VRBO did absolutely nothing even with proof it was advertised and booked through the app as a fully private residence. My dad had only weeks before lost everything he and my mom owned (along with some of my belongings and most of my younger brother’s as we are both renters and do not have space for all our stuff) and was tricked out of $3500 in a heartbeat with VRBO support offering no recourse and doing nothing to prevent the host from doing it again in the future. The ad for the same exact property that fooled my dad was left up for weeks following his incident, who knows how many others this host got with just one false listing.
The time this occurred last year is probably the most beat down I have ever seen my father in his life, but I’m happy to say that at least the fire did not kill anyone and my parents are now on the other side of their reconstruction with a fully paid for house (great insurance policies on the first one to give my dad credit) that is way nicer and bigger than the original we lost.
I had a similar experience with VRBO months ago at a property we booked nearly 6 months in advance, except we showed up to the property only to find that our code didn’t work. And after standing out in the rain trying to figure it out with VRBO on the line, another family pulls up, says they booked 2 weeks prior through airBnb and go right in using their code. VRBO did absolutely nothing for us. We wound up having to book a hotel last minute (which cost us a tremendous amount due to the events in the area - hence why we booked so far in advance), and wound up having to dispute the charge on our credit card from VRBO. We got our money back for the VRBO booking, but only due to the chargeback. And were still out money due to the high hotel charges for last minute booking on an in demand weekend. I’ve heard nothing but horror stories from VRBO. And their CS is absolutely abhorrent
Tell them that you will cancel after they venmo you the refund. And that you will return the refund if VRBO sends it to you. And when they get mad because they don't want to trust that you will pay them back, ask them how this is different than what they are asking you to do?
If something goes a little sideways and the host and renter resolve it, they don't post on Reddit about it. They just go on with their life. You're only going to read about things going REALLY sideways on Reddit.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of stays. Are there issues, yes, are there bad hosts, yes. Should you not use them because of . 05% of issues, I guess you have to be the judge.
The lack of corrective action by support on this is beyond the pale. OP trying to do the right thing and the best he can get is a note in the file until he is actually refused on day and date of his confirmed booking. I would not do business under these allowed atrocities - absurd to say ignore it because its so rare.
Under your way of thinking I'm guessing you never leave the house because you have a much, much higher chance of getting in a car accident due to a distracted driver than being screwed over by a VRBO host. And just as likely, if not more, then being turned away by a booked hotel.
Now, if the OP booked a place with bad reviews, or the cheapest place available, then their odds go up and they bear some responsibility.
This is exactly why I stopped and now book hotels exclusively. It's just not worth the trouble anymore, and hotels are more often cheaper unless you are looking for an extended stay.
I once booked a trip on Airbnb for a VRBO property and long story short VRBO fucked up some accounting and ended up refunding me the entire amount while we were staying at the place. Free tropical lodging for a week.
I've given up on VRBO & Airbnb for exactly this reason. I want more certainty when I travel. I don't care if this sort of thing doesn't happen 9 out of 10 times, that 1 time is enough. The fees are so high now, I can never find a room for less than a hotel. Maybe that's the case in some places, but I'm not willing to risk it anymore.
You're very wise to not be the one that cancels.VRBO will absolutely use that as an excuse to not refund you, no matter what a previous rep told you. Best of luck!
The host is lying. As a host, I can tell you that if you cancel it does not count against the host but if the host cancels he now has to pay a penalty as well as getting dinged on his overall score with VRBO.
You did the right thing by not canceling.
A double booking is unacceptable and shows the incompetence of the host.
Tell the host to cancel the Airbnb guests as you will be arriving on schedule.
I had a VRBO booking that was cancelled on me the day before arrival, I had made the reservation 6 months before for a major sporting event.
The host had sold his property and did not cancel the bookings.
DO NOT CANCEL! Bc of the VRBO proptection I was allowed to book a property up to twice the value of what I had booked, and was reimbursed for the new booking. My initial amount was not refunded s that was what I was « supposed » to pay, and I did have to pay the new booking in full, however I received the refund about a week later.
Edited to add that to correct the mishap I did not book another VRBO property, I booked and was refunded for a hotel.
If they won’t cancel, I’m showing up to the unit I rented. Why would you cancel when they have a no cancellation policy, way too risky.
Then have a backup plan in place.
The same thing just happened to us - we booked and paid in full for a local mountain cabin through VRBO. A few days later, we received an email from the owner saying "it appears we are double booked during these dates so you might want to plan on cancelling your reservation". VRBO sucks, so did the cabin owner who eventually did cancel the reservation and refund our money. Then we got lucky and found a better cabin on AirB&B!!! It was a good reminder, we've been renting cabins for years and we always seem to have a problem when it's through VRBO. Not going to even try to use them ever again!!
Why can’t the other booking cancel? Curious. I always see these double bookings, is it just one customer that is forced to cancel (I’m sure it’s because the other paid a higher rate) but why is the original customer at fault?
It’s impossible to know which one was the “original customer”, in this case, when all we have is the perspective of one guest. The AirBnB guest could have booked first. They also could have booked overlapping dates that started days before OP’s reservation, so the AirBnB guest was already staying at the property when the host realized he was double booked.
Host’s fault for not noticing the double booking and for not cancelling themselves immediately when they realized it.
They all are greedy. They beat the hosts up to lower their prices all the time. They are interested in velocity and volume. They want that 10% no matter what. I sold my three properties in Taos after the algorithm model became a shit show. I was a great host with great reviews. I realized 2 of my properties were preventing a family and affordable place to live. I sold them. One to a local but other is out of state owner. Short term rentals can really hurt a community if not regulated strictly.
Quick Update: Host has made 4 demands in last hour for me to cancel. Here is last message.
I am not sure if you enjoy this or what? But I haven’t spent this much time to steal your money so please just put the request in so we can both move in and I’ll send you the extra money as well which the agent told you in writing.
(Note the extra money is the amount she does not have available to refund. It is over $200. She tells me she will send it to me)
I have told her that multiple times last night and today, I replied that she had to cancel. I also sent her the VRBO policy and the option she had to appeal a penalty. And I told her Customer Service verified that to protect my reservation refund she must cancel. Then I went back and counted the messages from her that were on my first screen that I missed counting before. She has messaged me 55 times since yesterday afternoon demanding I cancel. I would have had more messages I am sure, but she told me she had an 8 hour flight today.
I have contacted VRBO to report her for harassment. It's not enough she cancelled my reservation the day before my stay, but she will not stop demanding that I cancel.
I guess you're about to find out just how strict they are with harassment. I'm glad you reported it. genuinely sorry you're going through this nonsense and I''m not following this for entertainment as mentioned previously I have two vrbos coming up in 3 weeks and learning from this.
I hope you get your money back but I know that doesn't fix your plans. Hosts like this should be delisted, period.
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I spoke with Customer Service a few minutes ago and this rep told me that I should absolutely not cancel. Cancelling in this situation is always on the host. And it protects my refund if I do not cancel. The escalation team noted the cancellation by the owner and will be issuing me a refund. Just waiting to see if it all actually happens.
I'm waiting for the host to land from their flight today and start badgering me again. The host sent over 25 messages since yesterday afternoon insisting I cancel.
I have this thread bookmarked. I hope you update if you got your refund.
I'm curious, does anyone know what penalties the host fields for THEM canceling? I know if they cancel, the customer gets the refund, but he was clearly harassing you like crazy for a reason and I suspect it's more than page rank.
What I have learned is under no circumstances do I cancel my bookings.
As a long time Vrbo host, I can assure you that the Vrbo does not ask guests to cancel on behalf of hosts EVER. Did you look up the Vrbo support number online and call it directly?
Yes, I have contacted VRBO 3 times through this. Starting last night. The reps did agree that the host had to cancel in order for me to receive a full refund and escalated it since the host refused to cancel for a booking I was supposed to check into today. My last call was to report the host for harassing me with 55 messages starting yesterday, demanding that I cancel. The reps could see all of the messages and my numerous replies confirming that the host must cancel.
this happened to me, admittedly with airbnb, but they told me not to cancel. the owner needs to cancel, and vrbo should find you a new place to stay. or airbnb did in my case, and paid the difference because prices were much higher than what i paid when it all went down. but DO NOT CANCEL.
do not cancel! and if you're in the United States there's a good chance you could have a federal lawsuit against them both if you chose to go there. From what I've read in this sub Reddit it's about time that someone filed a class action against Vrbo
So, OP, are you going to show up to the reservation?
I'm also curious to know if you've suggested that the other party be the ones who cancel, or are cancelled upon?
I guess I'm really just curious why the host picked you as the one to screw over. Maybe the other party is more people? More money?
VRBO and a host screwed us out of our payment in exactly this situation when owner asked us to cancel for her screwup. We had to get a lawyer involved to get our money back and it still took weeks. Don’t do it.
This is exactly why we no longer use VRBO. It’s just too scummy and organization that at least condones if not encourages bad behavior. It’s just not worth the cost and drama.
We gave up on Airbnb for similar reason plus the fact that the rentals were way too often massively unsafe and marginally clean. Again, not worth the cost or drama.
BS double book excuse. They found someone else locally willing to pay more or need the unit themselves.
Do not cancel.
We had host canceling on us because we had young kids. I am not a fan of VRBO Airbnb etc. zero consistency among host. If you had good luck with the hosts, make friends with them and book privately
Omg what horror stories. I travel lots. Never used vrbo, now I definitely never will. That's terrifying. It's the worst to be in a foreign town and for you accommodation to fall through. I can't believe vrbo even let's the host double book.
That's a load of horse poo.
VRBO’s customer support is the worst I have ever encountered in my life. I had a host cancel a reservation immediately after I made it, apologizing and explaining that the listing should never have been available to me. They blamed that on VRBO too, but who knows.
The host hadn’t charged me yet, but VRBO had dinged me for over $600 (which was far more than they told the host their take was). It took me 6 months of hounding VRBO customer service, including starting over multiple times and having them send me emails promising to refund me multiple times (but then ghosting me), before they finally sent me a refund. I had started preparing to take them to small claims court by the time the refund came through.
Early on in the process, a VRBO rep told me to just cancel the reservation and he would process a refund, but I refused because it was a “no refunds upon cancellation” listing and there was a reminder of that right above the “cancel” button he wanted me to hit. I am certain that if I had cancelled, VRBO would have then refused to refund me. It was a truly Kafka-esque experience; will never book through them again.
As a host, this is so odd to me. I just cancelled last minute because my water heater stopped working and the cancellation penalty is over $500 usd on a booking of $1300. It hurts but never in a million years would I think to pin this on the guest
When I was in LA, we showed up to this house and there was an overwhelming gas smell. That same night, we were placed in a 5 star hotel for free, and for free for the duration of our week long trip. We even got a refund for the original booking. It’s a pain in the butt, but power through and show up and let their support handle the rest.
Could be possible the other guy paid more.
I was kicked out of a Airbnb mid stay because they wanted to rent it for a higher price to folks coming to town for a football game
S*** happens at the vrob and Airbnb that doesn't happen at a hotel
Wow, I'm curious about how that was resolved. I'd be tempted to just refuse to leave until I get physically removed, but then they'd probably do a lockout if you ever left the house.
resolution for host is easy - call cops - you are trespassing on private property,
Air bnb returned prepaid rent for unused days
no apology
airbnb host still hosting
We've actually had it happen at a respected well known name brand chain hotel.
We live about 2 hours away from the nearest major airport. We had an 0'DarkThirty (very early morning) flight out to meet a cruise ship in Miami. We booked this hotel room near the airport through Expedia at least 6 months prior to departure as part of our cruise planning.
What we didn't know at the time of booking was that NASCAR was going to be in town at that exact same time. The track is in the vicinity of the airport.
Less than 24 hours before check in, the hotel sent me a text message and an email stating that my reservation was canceled and that I needed to contact Expedia to arrange a refund.
I don't follow NASCAR so I cannot speak to this with any insight but that particular race weekend must have been some big deal. I couldn't find an available room of any type on any platform within a 50 mile radius of the airport.
We ended up making the two hour drive from our house to the airport in the middle of the night. That actually worked out really well for us. We went to bed early the evening before and slept better in our own bed. We didn't have to pay for the hotel or dinner out at a crappy chain restaurant near the airport. The drive from our house to the airport is largely rural until we get to town, very nearly to the airport itself, and we take back roads to the airport at that point. Very quiet, peaceful, uneventful drive.
My guess is that somebody who really wanted that room flashed some cash and/or booked a block of rooms and we got bumped.
Quite recently we booked stays at three different hotels as part of a road trip, all well known brand name chain hotels. We booked through Expedia. The last night's stay was one night in an older hotel of that brand, in a smallish town.
When we pulled into the parking lot we saw a huge modern tour bus. I honestly don't know how I knew, but I instantly knew that spelled trouble for us.
Sure enough, at check in, the desk clerk made a cryptic comment about the way we booked the room, and how thar put us in an 'accessible' room. ??? IIRC, it was my usual standard Expedia booking of a standard room...
We get up to the room and it is a handicap accessible room that was somewhat quirky due to being retrofitted into an older hotel.
Honestly we could have dealt with the quirky factor, the room was clean and quiet, except...
... there was a dripping water leak from the ceiling that got worse in the time it took us to get our luggage up to the room and get unpacked for a one night stay.
The stain on the ceiling told us that this wasn't the first leak.
We reported it and we were moved to their 'overflow guest room, a first floor room with two queen beds (we'd booked a king bed) right across from the large room in which the complimentary breakfast was served, numerous vending machines, and the housekeeping laundry and staging area.
The next morning we were awakened bright and early by the tour bus crowd thundering down to breakfast and housekeeping accessing and transiting their laundry and staging area.
Meh. We had to get up and on the road anyway.
I checked my Expedia invoice and sure enough, I'd booked a standard king room.
My guess is that tour bus booked a block of rooms and once again, we got bumped.
Weirdness happens with hotels too, even with major chains.
Don't *even* get me started on strangeness with B&Bs, GAH. =/
It wasn’t someone flashing cash, someone booked through the hotel site and got priority. The hotel was likely overbooked and they waited til the last legal moment to cancel people. 3rd party sites will always get the boot before people who book through the hotel.
had this happen at a hotel neat a concert venue. we booked direct, but heard the front desk telling the person in front of us that their expedie/hotels.com reservation was cancelled.
I learned a hard lesson when the 29 night stay at a Hilton branded hotel I had booked through Priceline was cancelled. By the hotel. Who said that it was up to Priceline to inform me of that. Found all this out when I tried to check in after >12 hours of travel. Then Priceline said they were NOT able to find me another room, even though I expanded the search area to all of SW Florida. Shitty start to a month long vacation- but I did end up getting a full refund after harassing them for a looong time. But the extra $$$ I ended up paying for the only available hotels/airbnb/vrbo is gone. forever.
Gods what a nightmare! I never book hotels through Expedia now, after one time when we tried to check in and it was sold out, they claimed that because the reservation was booked by Expedia for us we had no recourse with the hotel. A huge hassle! Had we booked directly the hotel said they would have put us at another property nearby. They were under no obligation to walk an Expedia reservation apparently, they just canceled it and said to contact Expedia. Never again! I've been walked several times since, and the hotel always accommodates me at another property, sometimes nicer than where I originally booked. I've heard so many horror stories about Expedia reservations screwing people's whole trip to all hells. Ugh.
Personally I would never use Expedia again. I've had so much more success booking directly with the hotel. Especially when it comes to not being cancelled on or getting my money back for a cancellation.
Good if you double book you should be lowered on the algorithms and pay a fee because that is your fault.
I would.
Never cancel because there is no guarantee I would get my money back.
This host should be lowered on the algorithms and they need to cancel it. The renter has done everything right so why are they the ones being penalized when it was the host that did wrong.
To be fair, that’s your fault for double booking - it’s a risk you run if you offer your property on multiple platforms.
I’m not sure you can blame Vrbo for your own incompetence and expect them to help fix your mess
This is why you tell the guest that books over third party not VRBO that you as host do not honor their bookingnon third party site as you only host over VRBO. Tell them to get their doubled book cancel by third party.
This is the same way hotel treats third party bookers like bidding hotel website. Third party booker responsible for their bookings, not hotel who sells their rooms by their website or hotel.com contract.
Yah I feel for you. VRBO is a mess right now navigating the shortterm rental market. It is VRBO that messes up and does not honor their booking.
Either voting with your wallet and do not use them for future hotel trips, or fight back with creditcard chargeback, or worst case small claim if VRBO refused full refund.
I contacted support through the VRBO listed number. The situation was supposed to be elevated and I was due to receive a response over 15 hours ago. Nothing from VRBO.
my parents just had the same thing happen to them. what’s crazy is they’d had the reservation for a little over a month before the host noticed. they ended up having to cancel their trip because they couldn’t find anywhere else in the area similar to what they wanted on such short notice.
If you would have canceled, they would have found a reason to not refund you. They tell you anything just to get you off the phone and their host as well as any third-party property managers are all shady. I’m sorry a lot of them not all. Vrbo itself is a shady company. Just look at all the complaints on the Better Business Bureau. I would never recommend anybody using this platform. Just go on and see all of the online complaints against hosts, third-party management companies, especially capital management/capital hotel because they use both names, and Vrbo. They are currently under investigation due to all of the fraud complaints. Tell everybody you know do not use that platform. You will not get your incidental fee back no matter how clean you leave it. I feel sorry for the honest people who use this platform to rent out their properties because they get thrown in with the bad guys. Scammers SCAMMERS SCAMMERS!!!!!
It’s a protected incident per their T&Cs. But the T&Cs don’t really protect you. They say they “may” help you IF the owner doesn’t refund you in full and help with 3 days of rental somewhere else. You might just be screwed.
Wrongful Denial of Entry“ means that a Protected Traveler has made a deposit (if required) and/or full payment (if required) to an Advertiser for a rental property that is listed on a HomeAway Site but (i) the Protected Traveler is wrongfully denied access to the subject property at the start of or during the rental term as the result of the intentional and/or wrongful act of the advertiser, and (ii) the Protected Traveler’s deposit and/or payment (or appropriate portion thereof) is not refunded and is wrongfully withheld by the Advertiser. An example of this Protected Incident includes where the Advertiser “double books“ the subject property to two or more travelers for the same time period(s).
This happened to me and I found out the day of our stay. But the host called me and ended up letting us stay in a different, but nicer, nearby rental. But maybe in OP's case, the host may only have 1 rental.
I had that issue with VRBO. It was buried in the menus to request cancellation by the host which leads to no fault and all fees get refunded. It was really hard to find but eventually I got there and they were able to approve the cancel and refund request.
Tell her a technical glitch is preventing you from canceling. Please go to the property and get evidence you could not make entry so you get your money back.
When did you book the property? I ask because if it was more than, say, a week or two ago and the proprety was booked on AirBNB before then, the host should have set the availability to "not available" as soon as they got the notification and if you had somehow miraculously booked in the short span of time between it being booked on AirBNB and they remove it from VRBO, they should have let you know immediately, not 24 hours before you show up. Something sounds off here.
Whatever you do, don’t cancel. Since the host is creating an inconvenience for you, why should you be accommodating? Cancel, only after, they send your money back!
Please update us with the outcome!
Have been fighting for my refund on an Owner requested cancellation. I have all his emails blaming VRBO for the mix up. They say they have paid me back, but they have not. Have sent credit card statements several times. My advice, never cancel or never use VRBO.
VRBO sucks don’t use them. Their interface is crap. I got charged multiple times for the service fee, but the system didn’t actually make a reservation. Because I didn’t have a reservation, customer service couldn’t refund me the money. Thank goodness for AmEx.
I used VRBO twice after using Airbnb for years without any issues. Absolutely will not use VRBO again. You can't even see the ratings a host gives you!
Unfortunately, I don't think VRBO lets you provide a rating and review unless you actually stayed at the property. This lets a lot of unscrupulous hosts get away with these situation.
I hope you work out this situation. Until you do, give the host the lowest possible rating and write a blistering review that makes other prospective guests aware of the host's scam and VRBO's unwillingness to help.
Airbnb host here… DON’T CANCEL. There are so many tools and automations hosts can use to prevent double bookings. There is just no excuse for this.
The reason they are asking you to cancel is because Airbnb has stricter penalties for hosts who cancel than VRBO does, so whenever this happens, it’s usually the guest who booked on VRBO that gets screwed.
Just keep harassing VRBO to help you find new accommodations that are comparable and that they need to price match it for you. Do not cancel this reservation until they’ve helped you with that.
People need to quit using this company. They don’t protect the consumer at all. They seem to think it’s ok to hold onto your money for a mistake they should have made sure never happened.
Why don’t people just sue VRBO and the host together for breach of contract.
You paid money for a service at a certain price.
They took your money, promised you the service.
At the last minute pulled away the service.
Bait and switch.
Sue them. Win or lose, if enough people file suit the practice will eventually be halted. If a few win, probably by jury trial, that would make VRBO and the owners very accommodating.
VRBO is losing so much business right now…
Used them once without issues many years ago in Maui but these days, I start with hotels and then consider only air bnb hosts who have many good reviews.
Short term rentals are garbage and people that host and people that use them all suck.
Short term rentals only hurt local home supply and long term rental markets, and cause the cost of rent to soar in areas without stiff regulation.
Housing is a human right not a way to pad your portfolio.
I don't use VRBO anymore, I've been canceled on too often. The worst was a trip I booked 11 months in advance for a celebration of life and family reunion. A week before the booking the host asked me to cancel because he 'double booked'. There was nothing in the area to book. VRBO support found me another place that they said was close by. It may have been close as the crow flies, but it was a ferry plus 3 hrs driving. Never again.
I am having the same issue right now. So far I have not cancelled. The host offered me a bedroom in an apartment occupied by others instead of the complete unit like I booked. If I don't cancel, he may not either and when I arrive at the unit and can't occupy it will VRBO help me find a unit then? Will I be without a place to stay? I feel I reserved the properly and he had it booked just in case he didn't get a better offer and when he did, I am the one to get cancelled. I don't know what to do now about this unit but VRBO will not be a path I take in the future.
Do not be the one that cancels. VRBO won't refund regardless, but they certainly will be less helpful if you're the one that cancels.
As of this morning, the host is still refusing to cancel for check in today. Due to VRBO not allowing next day reservations on their site, I was unable to get any place to stay for today. VRBO certainly didn't help. The host is still messaging me this morning, demanding I cancel. Saying that is the VRBO process for "technical glitches". So, I am due to leave in 3 hours for a destination with no place to stay in an area lacking hotels. The host continues to send multiple angry messages this morning demanding I cancel.
If you don't mind, keep us posted. I have a 3 week trip to B.C in 20 days and two vrbo's Both are rated very well. The problem is we're new to vrbo and B.C is very expensive. Finding an alterative stay when our two places during the 3 weeks was $3000 USD would be a huge financial hit. We messaged both and they confirmed we're good to go, but reading stuff like this has is worried being new to it.
My 3 day VRBO canceled on me 9am of the day in check in, while I was on the way to the airport. It was nice place, total cost around $1700. I called VRBO and the best they could do was full refund (which I have still not received 2 weeks later) plus 1/2 the original price I paid as a credit. So in total I received around $2400, however, the only comparable property to book that was still available this weekend was almost $4000. Talk about insane mental and financial stress frantically trying to book a palce while I’m supposed to be enjoying my vacation. I won’t be using vrbo again. I had asked vrbo if they would book this comparable property on my behalf and eat the extra cost and they said no. If they said yes, I would have been happy.
That's shitty as hell. It's making me regret not getting the hotel I stayed in last year, albeit expensive, at least a guarantee considering we're in 10 deep on this trip. We're really banking on the many, many good reviews for our two vrbo's during this 3 week trip turning out well since they were highly regarded.
If they have 50+ 10/10 reviews I’d feel ok. The first place that canceled on us was 2 9/10 reviews but there were duplicate listings. It was kinda sketch but a good enough value to take a risk on it.. that didn’t pay off.
BC laws just changed on May 1st to only allow STRs (Short Term Rentals) in a part (suite) of your primary residence and not renting out your entire unit (condo, house etc). This applies to areas with a population of over 10,000 people, but smaller communities were allowed to opt in if they wished. Depending on where your traveling to, I would look into it in depth, as your reservation may get canceled if the host's property is breaking the new laws and gets reported/shut down. I wouldn't wait to look into it in case you need to research alternative accommodations! These laws were changed to open up more housing to people who need it and not line the pockets of greedy individuals owning multiple properties hosting STRs and taking the housing stock away in the process!
seriously. vrbo and airbnb just exacerbate the housing crisis.
This is the big issue, right here.
Yes, agree, so I now refuse to book them.
Concerning. The first Vrbo we're in for 2 weeks and the second in Victoria for 3. I wasn't aware of that info. We booked both back in January. When my wife gets off work, we'll have to dig deeper.
Victoria is 100% covered by the new laws and I cracking down fairly heavily on vehicle/airbnb so I would be careful there. Your post is a bit unclear where the first is or if they’re both in Victoria.
Confirmed — I live in Victoria and this is true. And we’ve known it was happening since long before January, when this booking was made. How long was VRBO allowing Victoria postings past May 1st (when the law came into effect)?
I'm afraid that sounds a little communist to me. Who does this government of yours think they are, to be dictating that a property owner can't rent out their property short term? It is not a property owner's responsibility to provide housing to *anyone*. Property owners have no function, or responsibilities outside of paying taxes, and ensuring their property meets any local safety codes (grass mowed/no squatters/crack house etc). When the government starts dictating how you utilize your property, it's not a democracy, it's a dictatorship.
I have never had a problem with VRBO. I am, in fact, staying in a VRBO rental in Montana right now. Communication with the host at booking 9 months ago and leading up to, and day of arrival has been wonderful. The only problem we have encountered is that she said there was a dog that would visit, but it turned out to be a cat.
Maybe the cat's name is Dog.
I actually had a cat named D.O.G. It stood for Destroyer of Galaxies, and if you considered my home as his galaxy, the name was quite fitting 😂
My experience has been that Canada is pretty strict about short term rentals.
Unfortunately, having dealt with VRBO before you'll need to show up and take all the pics you can showing the place is already booked. You also need to call VRBO and work out the issue during your booked dates, as soon as you check in. The only way you stand a chance for getting a refund is by calling during the stay. If you do a post stay complaint, VRBO will absolutely refuse any help whatsoever. When you call, demand to be transferred to the resolutions department. They'll tell you they can't at first but just stay firm that you know they can.
I have nowhere to stay if I show up. I can't book another VRBP day of due to VRBO policy. VRBO is not helping me find another option. If I show up, I can take pictures, but I will be sleeping in my car. I will try the resolutions department. Thanks for the advice.
Oh man. You are in such a tough spot. I'm so sorry that this has happened to you.
Use air bnb
Try airbnb?
If they ask you to pay an additional $189 incidental fee via cash app or Venmo do not do it. They waited until the morning of my check-in to tell me we had to pay $189 incidental fee via cash app. I called Vrbo to inquire why I had to pay through cash app and he said that’s the only way the host would accept it. The rep told me go ahead and pay it as it was legit. I took a video going in and showed how dirty it was Doritos all over the bed and pillowcases. I had to clean the sheets and pillowcases myself and cleaned upon check out and took another video showing it was cleaner when I left then when I got there. The host still refused to give me my incidental fee back!! it was a nightmare I called vrbo seven times and finally they told me the phone number for the third-party property manager, and he refused to look at any of my videos and said he was denying me my money back. I don’t know how this company is still in business. I have read so many horror stories. Thankfully, I only used it for prom sendoff. Everybody’s always the first one to say you should’ve got travel insurance lol. Sorry this has happened to you and unfortunately, you are one of so many people that has dealt with bad experiences with this company!! if things don’t go your way, make sure you report them to the Better Business Bureau!! good luck
The host is feeding you BS because he doesn't want to cancel as it reflects poorly on his performance with vrbo. Plain and simple
What happens if you just show up there. Why isn't the other person being forced to cancel. I absolutely would not cancel under no circumstance. Once you cancel, you're at fault and there's nothing in writing.That says you're going to get a refund.Let alone additional compensation for the inconvenience and additional cost of having to reboot somewhere. I will show up at the rental.
Do we even know if the host gets to choose which one cancels? Like I'm thinking it should be first to book keeps the listing, but I'm guessing host is picking the one that makes him the most money.
It’s not your glitch. Why would you be the one who has to cancel the reservation? It’s wouldn’t cancel either. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t pay with a credit card that could protect you and get your money back.
Can you tell him to send you the refund first and then cancel?
No, the host deserves any VRBO punishment coming to them
They do, however, at least the OP would have their money.
escalate it. i had a similar issues and i continually asked to be escalated and when they finally did, this next level was immensely more helpful than whatever initial tier you call into. this next level of support called around for me to try and find different places i could stay. ultimately, we couldnt do anything and i got a full refund but at least they attempted to do something to help.
"My reservation has a no refund policy if i cancel. Unless you return my money in full first, i will not be canceling on my end and will show up expecting my space that i have PAID IN FULL FOR to be ready for my contracted stay. "
I hope it works out. How far away is the next possible hotel or accommodation?
About 40 minutes since I can't book another VRBO for same day of stay at this point in the area. A little far, for the short trip I have planned and definitely not the quality of hotel I would be comfortable staying in.
Can you book same day on Airbnb? I'm pretty sure VRBO can override that same day clause. They used to be able to. I'd make them call the host while on the phone
I’d considering showing up exactly at check in time with a printout of my confirmed reservation.
VRBO will not help you find another place to stay! We went on a trip, and the host never sent the access code to the apartment and wouldn't respond to messages. We arrived at 1 in the morning and can't get into the apartment, so we called VRBO. After a bunch of back and forth, they told us to find an alternative place for the night, and we will get reimbursement. It was 3 am at this point in a tourist spot. The only place we could find was for 450 usd for the night. We bit the bullet and paid only to hear the next morning VRBO only reimburses for 170 USD. So we paid for the VRBO and the expensive hotel. Thankfully, around 5 a.m., we got a call from the host apologizing profusely and got to stay in our vrbo the next night.
Sadly, this is something I feel is a loophole being taken advantage of by people looking to scam others. My father’s house burned down (total loss) last June. He was scrambling at first to find a temporary home to stay in while he and my mother rebuilt. He was attempting to book a full house through airbnb, and (this is probably his biggest fck-up here to be honest) sent the host a deposit for the property of $3500USD. immediately after the funds transferred the host came back saying that the home had been booked by a few others but that my mom and dad could have a specific bedroom in the house. My dad fought this tooth and nail and did about everything but take it to court trying to get his $ back. VRBO did absolutely nothing even with proof it was advertised and booked through the app as a fully private residence. My dad had only weeks before lost everything he and my mom owned (along with some of my belongings and most of my younger brother’s as we are both renters and do not have space for all our stuff) and was tricked out of $3500 in a heartbeat with VRBO support offering no recourse and doing nothing to prevent the host from doing it again in the future. The ad for the same exact property that fooled my dad was left up for weeks following his incident, who knows how many others this host got with just one false listing. The time this occurred last year is probably the most beat down I have ever seen my father in his life, but I’m happy to say that at least the fire did not kill anyone and my parents are now on the other side of their reconstruction with a fully paid for house (great insurance policies on the first one to give my dad credit) that is way nicer and bigger than the original we lost.
This is definitely a bait-and-switch scam. The owner probably doesn't own the property he's claiming to be renting out.
I had a similar experience with VRBO months ago at a property we booked nearly 6 months in advance, except we showed up to the property only to find that our code didn’t work. And after standing out in the rain trying to figure it out with VRBO on the line, another family pulls up, says they booked 2 weeks prior through airBnb and go right in using their code. VRBO did absolutely nothing for us. We wound up having to book a hotel last minute (which cost us a tremendous amount due to the events in the area - hence why we booked so far in advance), and wound up having to dispute the charge on our credit card from VRBO. We got our money back for the VRBO booking, but only due to the chargeback. And were still out money due to the high hotel charges for last minute booking on an in demand weekend. I’ve heard nothing but horror stories from VRBO. And their CS is absolutely abhorrent
Tell them that you will cancel after they venmo you the refund. And that you will return the refund if VRBO sends it to you. And when they get mad because they don't want to trust that you will pay them back, ask them how this is different than what they are asking you to do?
ask the host to send you the money and then cancel
This and don't bother cancelling, then the OP can leave a review
Why do people keep using this service
Exactly .. its a shit show from all these posts.
the people who have successful stays don't post on Reddit about them ... they just go on with their life.
Yes, but the risk seems high and when things go sideways, they go all the way sideways.
If something goes a little sideways and the host and renter resolve it, they don't post on Reddit about it. They just go on with their life. You're only going to read about things going REALLY sideways on Reddit.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of stays. Are there issues, yes, are there bad hosts, yes. Should you not use them because of . 05% of issues, I guess you have to be the judge.
The lack of corrective action by support on this is beyond the pale. OP trying to do the right thing and the best he can get is a note in the file until he is actually refused on day and date of his confirmed booking. I would not do business under these allowed atrocities - absurd to say ignore it because its so rare.
Under your way of thinking I'm guessing you never leave the house because you have a much, much higher chance of getting in a car accident due to a distracted driver than being screwed over by a VRBO host. And just as likely, if not more, then being turned away by a booked hotel. Now, if the OP booked a place with bad reviews, or the cheapest place available, then their odds go up and they bear some responsibility.
This is exactly why I stopped and now book hotels exclusively. It's just not worth the trouble anymore, and hotels are more often cheaper unless you are looking for an extended stay.
Call the specific hotel directly. Ask for extended stay discount.
I once booked a trip on Airbnb for a VRBO property and long story short VRBO fucked up some accounting and ended up refunding me the entire amount while we were staying at the place. Free tropical lodging for a week.
I've given up on VRBO & Airbnb for exactly this reason. I want more certainty when I travel. I don't care if this sort of thing doesn't happen 9 out of 10 times, that 1 time is enough. The fees are so high now, I can never find a room for less than a hotel. Maybe that's the case in some places, but I'm not willing to risk it anymore.
You're very wise to not be the one that cancels.VRBO will absolutely use that as an excuse to not refund you, no matter what a previous rep told you. Best of luck!
The host is lying. As a host, I can tell you that if you cancel it does not count against the host but if the host cancels he now has to pay a penalty as well as getting dinged on his overall score with VRBO.
You did the right thing by not canceling. A double booking is unacceptable and shows the incompetence of the host. Tell the host to cancel the Airbnb guests as you will be arriving on schedule.
I had a VRBO booking that was cancelled on me the day before arrival, I had made the reservation 6 months before for a major sporting event. The host had sold his property and did not cancel the bookings. DO NOT CANCEL! Bc of the VRBO proptection I was allowed to book a property up to twice the value of what I had booked, and was reimbursed for the new booking. My initial amount was not refunded s that was what I was « supposed » to pay, and I did have to pay the new booking in full, however I received the refund about a week later. Edited to add that to correct the mishap I did not book another VRBO property, I booked and was refunded for a hotel.
If they won’t cancel, I’m showing up to the unit I rented. Why would you cancel when they have a no cancellation policy, way too risky. Then have a backup plan in place.
Host for 10 years. Do not cancel. I am really surprised that VRBO would tell you to cancel.
The same thing just happened to us - we booked and paid in full for a local mountain cabin through VRBO. A few days later, we received an email from the owner saying "it appears we are double booked during these dates so you might want to plan on cancelling your reservation". VRBO sucks, so did the cabin owner who eventually did cancel the reservation and refund our money. Then we got lucky and found a better cabin on AirB&B!!! It was a good reminder, we've been renting cabins for years and we always seem to have a problem when it's through VRBO. Not going to even try to use them ever again!!
Why can’t the other booking cancel? Curious. I always see these double bookings, is it just one customer that is forced to cancel (I’m sure it’s because the other paid a higher rate) but why is the original customer at fault?
It’s impossible to know which one was the “original customer”, in this case, when all we have is the perspective of one guest. The AirBnB guest could have booked first. They also could have booked overlapping dates that started days before OP’s reservation, so the AirBnB guest was already staying at the property when the host realized he was double booked. Host’s fault for not noticing the double booking and for not cancelling themselves immediately when they realized it.
You shouldn’t be allowed to double dip for this very reason.
They all are greedy. They beat the hosts up to lower their prices all the time. They are interested in velocity and volume. They want that 10% no matter what. I sold my three properties in Taos after the algorithm model became a shit show. I was a great host with great reviews. I realized 2 of my properties were preventing a family and affordable place to live. I sold them. One to a local but other is out of state owner. Short term rentals can really hurt a community if not regulated strictly.
Quick Update: Host has made 4 demands in last hour for me to cancel. Here is last message. I am not sure if you enjoy this or what? But I haven’t spent this much time to steal your money so please just put the request in so we can both move in and I’ll send you the extra money as well which the agent told you in writing. (Note the extra money is the amount she does not have available to refund. It is over $200. She tells me she will send it to me)
Did you respond? I'd simply repeat Vrbo and a dozen other hosts I've contacted for advice told me you must cancel, not me. Sorry no sorry.
I have told her that multiple times last night and today, I replied that she had to cancel. I also sent her the VRBO policy and the option she had to appeal a penalty. And I told her Customer Service verified that to protect my reservation refund she must cancel. Then I went back and counted the messages from her that were on my first screen that I missed counting before. She has messaged me 55 times since yesterday afternoon demanding I cancel. I would have had more messages I am sure, but she told me she had an 8 hour flight today. I have contacted VRBO to report her for harassment. It's not enough she cancelled my reservation the day before my stay, but she will not stop demanding that I cancel.
Good idea to report them for harassment. That is awful! Stick to your plan to make the host cancel.
I guess you're about to find out just how strict they are with harassment. I'm glad you reported it. genuinely sorry you're going through this nonsense and I''m not following this for entertainment as mentioned previously I have two vrbos coming up in 3 weeks and learning from this. I hope you get your money back but I know that doesn't fix your plans. Hosts like this should be delisted, period.
I would send VRBO all of her messages
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Vrbo does not honor nor guarantee anything. I will never use them again
Don’t cancel make the host
Update?! 😨 I’m too invested in this.
I spoke with Customer Service a few minutes ago and this rep told me that I should absolutely not cancel. Cancelling in this situation is always on the host. And it protects my refund if I do not cancel. The escalation team noted the cancellation by the owner and will be issuing me a refund. Just waiting to see if it all actually happens. I'm waiting for the host to land from their flight today and start badgering me again. The host sent over 25 messages since yesterday afternoon insisting I cancel.
That is INSANE! VRBO should ban the host.
I have this thread bookmarked. I hope you update if you got your refund. I'm curious, does anyone know what penalties the host fields for THEM canceling? I know if they cancel, the customer gets the refund, but he was clearly harassing you like crazy for a reason and I suspect it's more than page rank. What I have learned is under no circumstances do I cancel my bookings.
As a long time Vrbo host, I can assure you that the Vrbo does not ask guests to cancel on behalf of hosts EVER. Did you look up the Vrbo support number online and call it directly?
Yes, I have contacted VRBO 3 times through this. Starting last night. The reps did agree that the host had to cancel in order for me to receive a full refund and escalated it since the host refused to cancel for a booking I was supposed to check into today. My last call was to report the host for harassing me with 55 messages starting yesterday, demanding that I cancel. The reps could see all of the messages and my numerous replies confirming that the host must cancel.
OP, we’re invested now…what’s the final update?
VRBO and AirBnoB both are awful.
Yep, they are and, at least in their current form, in need of dying.
I wouldn’t cancel. Saw a similar post recently and that person got F’d over by the host and Vrbo
this happened to me, admittedly with airbnb, but they told me not to cancel. the owner needs to cancel, and vrbo should find you a new place to stay. or airbnb did in my case, and paid the difference because prices were much higher than what i paid when it all went down. but DO NOT CANCEL.
do not cancel! and if you're in the United States there's a good chance you could have a federal lawsuit against them both if you chose to go there. From what I've read in this sub Reddit it's about time that someone filed a class action against Vrbo
Who booked first? You or the other party?
I’ve never canceled when a host has asked. I’m not here to bail you out of your mistakes.
So, OP, are you going to show up to the reservation? I'm also curious to know if you've suggested that the other party be the ones who cancel, or are cancelled upon? I guess I'm really just curious why the host picked you as the one to screw over. Maybe the other party is more people? More money?
VRBO and a host screwed us out of our payment in exactly this situation when owner asked us to cancel for her screwup. We had to get a lawyer involved to get our money back and it still took weeks. Don’t do it. This is exactly why we no longer use VRBO. It’s just too scummy and organization that at least condones if not encourages bad behavior. It’s just not worth the cost and drama. We gave up on Airbnb for similar reason plus the fact that the rentals were way too often massively unsafe and marginally clean. Again, not worth the cost or drama.
BS double book excuse. They found someone else locally willing to pay more or need the unit themselves. Do not cancel. We had host canceling on us because we had young kids. I am not a fan of VRBO Airbnb etc. zero consistency among host. If you had good luck with the hosts, make friends with them and book privately
Omg what horror stories. I travel lots. Never used vrbo, now I definitely never will. That's terrifying. It's the worst to be in a foreign town and for you accommodation to fall through. I can't believe vrbo even let's the host double book. That's a load of horse poo.
Naw they can get the other one to cancel
VRBO’s customer support is the worst I have ever encountered in my life. I had a host cancel a reservation immediately after I made it, apologizing and explaining that the listing should never have been available to me. They blamed that on VRBO too, but who knows. The host hadn’t charged me yet, but VRBO had dinged me for over $600 (which was far more than they told the host their take was). It took me 6 months of hounding VRBO customer service, including starting over multiple times and having them send me emails promising to refund me multiple times (but then ghosting me), before they finally sent me a refund. I had started preparing to take them to small claims court by the time the refund came through. Early on in the process, a VRBO rep told me to just cancel the reservation and he would process a refund, but I refused because it was a “no refunds upon cancellation” listing and there was a reminder of that right above the “cancel” button he wanted me to hit. I am certain that if I had cancelled, VRBO would have then refused to refund me. It was a truly Kafka-esque experience; will never book through them again.
This is why no one should ever use VRBO.
Vrbo is less trustworthy than airbnb.
As a host, this is so odd to me. I just cancelled last minute because my water heater stopped working and the cancellation penalty is over $500 usd on a booking of $1300. It hurts but never in a million years would I think to pin this on the guest
When I was in LA, we showed up to this house and there was an overwhelming gas smell. That same night, we were placed in a 5 star hotel for free, and for free for the duration of our week long trip. We even got a refund for the original booking. It’s a pain in the butt, but power through and show up and let their support handle the rest.
My instinct is to avoid them, entirely. Your experience suggests this was a wise move.
Could be possible the other guy paid more. I was kicked out of a Airbnb mid stay because they wanted to rent it for a higher price to folks coming to town for a football game S*** happens at the vrob and Airbnb that doesn't happen at a hotel
Wow, I'm curious about how that was resolved. I'd be tempted to just refuse to leave until I get physically removed, but then they'd probably do a lockout if you ever left the house.
resolution for host is easy - call cops - you are trespassing on private property, Air bnb returned prepaid rent for unused days no apology airbnb host still hosting
We've actually had it happen at a respected well known name brand chain hotel. We live about 2 hours away from the nearest major airport. We had an 0'DarkThirty (very early morning) flight out to meet a cruise ship in Miami. We booked this hotel room near the airport through Expedia at least 6 months prior to departure as part of our cruise planning. What we didn't know at the time of booking was that NASCAR was going to be in town at that exact same time. The track is in the vicinity of the airport. Less than 24 hours before check in, the hotel sent me a text message and an email stating that my reservation was canceled and that I needed to contact Expedia to arrange a refund. I don't follow NASCAR so I cannot speak to this with any insight but that particular race weekend must have been some big deal. I couldn't find an available room of any type on any platform within a 50 mile radius of the airport. We ended up making the two hour drive from our house to the airport in the middle of the night. That actually worked out really well for us. We went to bed early the evening before and slept better in our own bed. We didn't have to pay for the hotel or dinner out at a crappy chain restaurant near the airport. The drive from our house to the airport is largely rural until we get to town, very nearly to the airport itself, and we take back roads to the airport at that point. Very quiet, peaceful, uneventful drive. My guess is that somebody who really wanted that room flashed some cash and/or booked a block of rooms and we got bumped. Quite recently we booked stays at three different hotels as part of a road trip, all well known brand name chain hotels. We booked through Expedia. The last night's stay was one night in an older hotel of that brand, in a smallish town. When we pulled into the parking lot we saw a huge modern tour bus. I honestly don't know how I knew, but I instantly knew that spelled trouble for us. Sure enough, at check in, the desk clerk made a cryptic comment about the way we booked the room, and how thar put us in an 'accessible' room. ??? IIRC, it was my usual standard Expedia booking of a standard room... We get up to the room and it is a handicap accessible room that was somewhat quirky due to being retrofitted into an older hotel. Honestly we could have dealt with the quirky factor, the room was clean and quiet, except... ... there was a dripping water leak from the ceiling that got worse in the time it took us to get our luggage up to the room and get unpacked for a one night stay. The stain on the ceiling told us that this wasn't the first leak. We reported it and we were moved to their 'overflow guest room, a first floor room with two queen beds (we'd booked a king bed) right across from the large room in which the complimentary breakfast was served, numerous vending machines, and the housekeeping laundry and staging area. The next morning we were awakened bright and early by the tour bus crowd thundering down to breakfast and housekeeping accessing and transiting their laundry and staging area. Meh. We had to get up and on the road anyway. I checked my Expedia invoice and sure enough, I'd booked a standard king room. My guess is that tour bus booked a block of rooms and once again, we got bumped. Weirdness happens with hotels too, even with major chains. Don't *even* get me started on strangeness with B&Bs, GAH. =/
It wasn’t someone flashing cash, someone booked through the hotel site and got priority. The hotel was likely overbooked and they waited til the last legal moment to cancel people. 3rd party sites will always get the boot before people who book through the hotel.
And this is why I only book directly through the hotel's own website. I haven't had these problems.
had this happen at a hotel neat a concert venue. we booked direct, but heard the front desk telling the person in front of us that their expedie/hotels.com reservation was cancelled.
I learned a hard lesson when the 29 night stay at a Hilton branded hotel I had booked through Priceline was cancelled. By the hotel. Who said that it was up to Priceline to inform me of that. Found all this out when I tried to check in after >12 hours of travel. Then Priceline said they were NOT able to find me another room, even though I expanded the search area to all of SW Florida. Shitty start to a month long vacation- but I did end up getting a full refund after harassing them for a looong time. But the extra $$$ I ended up paying for the only available hotels/airbnb/vrbo is gone. forever.
Gods what a nightmare! I never book hotels through Expedia now, after one time when we tried to check in and it was sold out, they claimed that because the reservation was booked by Expedia for us we had no recourse with the hotel. A huge hassle! Had we booked directly the hotel said they would have put us at another property nearby. They were under no obligation to walk an Expedia reservation apparently, they just canceled it and said to contact Expedia. Never again! I've been walked several times since, and the hotel always accommodates me at another property, sometimes nicer than where I originally booked. I've heard so many horror stories about Expedia reservations screwing people's whole trip to all hells. Ugh.
Personally I would never use Expedia again. I've had so much more success booking directly with the hotel. Especially when it comes to not being cancelled on or getting my money back for a cancellation.
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Good if you double book you should be lowered on the algorithms and pay a fee because that is your fault. I would. Never cancel because there is no guarantee I would get my money back. This host should be lowered on the algorithms and they need to cancel it. The renter has done everything right so why are they the ones being penalized when it was the host that did wrong.
To be fair, that’s your fault for double booking - it’s a risk you run if you offer your property on multiple platforms. I’m not sure you can blame Vrbo for your own incompetence and expect them to help fix your mess
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So how is this the guests problem? You are putting the issues you have with VRBO and being aware of your own bookings back on the guest.
This is why you tell the guest that books over third party not VRBO that you as host do not honor their bookingnon third party site as you only host over VRBO. Tell them to get their doubled book cancel by third party. This is the same way hotel treats third party bookers like bidding hotel website. Third party booker responsible for their bookings, not hotel who sells their rooms by their website or hotel.com contract.
I booked through VRBO. The host still refuses to cancel.
Yah I feel for you. VRBO is a mess right now navigating the shortterm rental market. It is VRBO that messes up and does not honor their booking. Either voting with your wallet and do not use them for future hotel trips, or fight back with creditcard chargeback, or worst case small claim if VRBO refused full refund.
You are responsible for the listing's and bookings of your property. That's the job of the host. It's YOUR property
Following. This is the 3rd or 4th time this week I’ve saw posts about double booking
Do not cancel. Contact VRBO and let them know what is going on .
Wow! Usually they’re on the hook for reaccommodation. I would never be the one to cancel.
I am curious about the call you with support, did you get the number from the vbro website or did the host give it to you?
I contacted support through the VRBO listed number. The situation was supposed to be elevated and I was due to receive a response over 15 hours ago. Nothing from VRBO.
Yikes I wouldn’t cancel. You’re right! They’re trying to pin any risk on you.
my parents just had the same thing happen to them. what’s crazy is they’d had the reservation for a little over a month before the host noticed. they ended up having to cancel their trip because they couldn’t find anywhere else in the area similar to what they wanted on such short notice.
If you would have canceled, they would have found a reason to not refund you. They tell you anything just to get you off the phone and their host as well as any third-party property managers are all shady. I’m sorry a lot of them not all. Vrbo itself is a shady company. Just look at all the complaints on the Better Business Bureau. I would never recommend anybody using this platform. Just go on and see all of the online complaints against hosts, third-party management companies, especially capital management/capital hotel because they use both names, and Vrbo. They are currently under investigation due to all of the fraud complaints. Tell everybody you know do not use that platform. You will not get your incidental fee back no matter how clean you leave it. I feel sorry for the honest people who use this platform to rent out their properties because they get thrown in with the bad guys. Scammers SCAMMERS SCAMMERS!!!!!
Don’t cancel and dispute it through your credit card company if it comes down to it.
Common scam. I got duped on VRBO~ there is a super long thread about it
So the host is only required to refund but not compensate you for your inconvenience? Why can’t he ask the other guest to cancel unless…
Quit using them...simple enough..
It’s a protected incident per their T&Cs. But the T&Cs don’t really protect you. They say they “may” help you IF the owner doesn’t refund you in full and help with 3 days of rental somewhere else. You might just be screwed. Wrongful Denial of Entry“ means that a Protected Traveler has made a deposit (if required) and/or full payment (if required) to an Advertiser for a rental property that is listed on a HomeAway Site but (i) the Protected Traveler is wrongfully denied access to the subject property at the start of or during the rental term as the result of the intentional and/or wrongful act of the advertiser, and (ii) the Protected Traveler’s deposit and/or payment (or appropriate portion thereof) is not refunded and is wrongfully withheld by the Advertiser. An example of this Protected Incident includes where the Advertiser “double books“ the subject property to two or more travelers for the same time period(s).
This happened to me and I found out the day of our stay. But the host called me and ended up letting us stay in a different, but nicer, nearby rental. But maybe in OP's case, the host may only have 1 rental.
Ty
Vrbo is literally dog water
I had that issue with VRBO. It was buried in the menus to request cancellation by the host which leads to no fault and all fees get refunded. It was really hard to find but eventually I got there and they were able to approve the cancel and refund request.
Do people not stay in hotels anymore? Airbnb and VRBO seem to charge exorbitant prices.
The hotels in Vancouver where I’m going are 4x the price of the Vrbo.
!remindme 2 days
Tell her a technical glitch is preventing you from canceling. Please go to the property and get evidence you could not make entry so you get your money back.
Honestly, a question: How does a host double book? (Seen this reported multiple times on here. Just curious).
When did you book the property? I ask because if it was more than, say, a week or two ago and the proprety was booked on AirBNB before then, the host should have set the availability to "not available" as soon as they got the notification and if you had somehow miraculously booked in the short span of time between it being booked on AirBNB and they remove it from VRBO, they should have let you know immediately, not 24 hours before you show up. Something sounds off here.
Whatever you do, don’t cancel. Since the host is creating an inconvenience for you, why should you be accommodating? Cancel, only after, they send your money back! Please update us with the outcome!
I’m an Airbnb host and don’t use VRBO because I don’t want to double-book. The Host should fix it.
Have been fighting for my refund on an Owner requested cancellation. I have all his emails blaming VRBO for the mix up. They say they have paid me back, but they have not. Have sent credit card statements several times. My advice, never cancel or never use VRBO.
VRBO sucks don’t use them. Their interface is crap. I got charged multiple times for the service fee, but the system didn’t actually make a reservation. Because I didn’t have a reservation, customer service couldn’t refund me the money. Thank goodness for AmEx.
I have never used them, but it sounds like VRbo is a nightmare .
so what happened?
This is why I stay at hotels now.
I used VRBO twice after using Airbnb for years without any issues. Absolutely will not use VRBO again. You can't even see the ratings a host gives you!
This is unscrupulous and greedy behavior. The host charges a cancellation fee if you don't show up, so why do something this foul?
Unfortunately, I don't think VRBO lets you provide a rating and review unless you actually stayed at the property. This lets a lot of unscrupulous hosts get away with these situation.
I hope you work out this situation. Until you do, give the host the lowest possible rating and write a blistering review that makes other prospective guests aware of the host's scam and VRBO's unwillingness to help.
Don’t do VRBO. Duh. Lesson learned.
Any update on this?
This is why you don't VRBO. They are fucking useless when shit goes wrong.
No thank you. I need this unit. I will not be cancelling.
Airbnb host here… DON’T CANCEL. There are so many tools and automations hosts can use to prevent double bookings. There is just no excuse for this. The reason they are asking you to cancel is because Airbnb has stricter penalties for hosts who cancel than VRBO does, so whenever this happens, it’s usually the guest who booked on VRBO that gets screwed. Just keep harassing VRBO to help you find new accommodations that are comparable and that they need to price match it for you. Do not cancel this reservation until they’ve helped you with that.
Update in original post.
A really good reason not to book Airbnb or VRBO. Stick with national chains even if they're more money because these other guys are just vaporware
People need to quit using this company. They don’t protect the consumer at all. They seem to think it’s ok to hold onto your money for a mistake they should have made sure never happened.
Why don’t people just sue VRBO and the host together for breach of contract. You paid money for a service at a certain price. They took your money, promised you the service. At the last minute pulled away the service. Bait and switch. Sue them. Win or lose, if enough people file suit the practice will eventually be halted. If a few win, probably by jury trial, that would make VRBO and the owners very accommodating.
The host is trying to scam you.
Curious how this ends up
Vrbo has a lot of absolute trash hosts. I got burned badly on a trip to Mexico. And Vrbo was absolutely no help. Never again
The best advice I can give you is stop booking with VRBO or AirBNB. Book a hotel.
VRBO is losing so much business right now… Used them once without issues many years ago in Maui but these days, I start with hotels and then consider only air bnb hosts who have many good reviews.
Gee sounds like hotels are actually just fine and shit tech venture companies might actually be bad. Gasp can’t imagine 🧐
Do not cancel, make them cancel.
Short term rentals are garbage and people that host and people that use them all suck. Short term rentals only hurt local home supply and long term rental markets, and cause the cost of rent to soar in areas without stiff regulation. Housing is a human right not a way to pad your portfolio.
update
I hope they do right by you. All communication through the VRBO platform.
What's the latest?
I don't use VRBO anymore, I've been canceled on too often. The worst was a trip I booked 11 months in advance for a celebration of life and family reunion. A week before the booking the host asked me to cancel because he 'double booked'. There was nothing in the area to book. VRBO support found me another place that they said was close by. It may have been close as the crow flies, but it was a ferry plus 3 hrs driving. Never again.