Is Vrbo Safe? Customer Reviews Reveal the Truth

VRBO is a popular vacation rental booking platform among other companies such as Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, and HomeAway. It offers various vacation rental options, including cozy cabins in the mountains, bungalows by the beach, and stylish city apartments. 

However, amid numerous reports of travel scams, smart customers are keen to find out if they can easily cancel their VRBO reservation and get a refund.

This article answers common customer questions about VRBO, including: Is VRBO legit? What are VRBO’s cancellation and refund policies?

Number of Vrbo Reviews – 1.6K

Vrbo Rating* – 1.7⭐⭐

Claimed Losses –  $1.8M

Successful Calls – 13%/12.3K

Resolved Issues - 11

Key Insights

• Vrbo provides various vacation rental options, comprising cozy cabins in the mountains, bungalows by the beach, and stylish city apartments. 
• Vrbo cancellation policy and fees vary depending on the property and timing of the cancellation.
• When comparing Vrbo vs Airbnb reviews, both have a 1.7-star rating with similar complaints regarding poor customer service, returns, refunds, and cancellations, among other consumer issues.

What Is Vrbo and How Does It Work?

The Vrbo is a vacation rental platform where property owners can list homes for travelers to book. The company oversees the transactions and charges a commission on the rent amount and other applicable charges. Since its creation in 1995, the online marketplace quickly became popular and has since grown to list over 2 million properties in over 190 countries.

Vbro specializes solely in stand-alone vacation homes, offering a diverse range of rentals from mountain-top cabins and beachside bungalows to city apartments. It makes the platform stand out from other vacation rental companies like Airbnb.

If you ask: how does Vrbo work and help clients? The company’s Help Center provides steps for the Vrbo booking process for travelers and the listing process for property owners.

Is Vrbo Safe?

One of the top concerns for both property owners and travelers is, "Is Vrbo safe?" According to its website, Vrbo indicates that it has taken specific measures to ensure safety on its properties and for travelers.

For example, property owners are required to implement essential home safety preparedness measures. Each property should be equipped with smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, carbon monoxide detectors, deadbolt locks, etc. They are also required to disclose whether any monitoring devices are installed on the property.

Similarly, Vrbo has several safety measures for guests, including payment protection, a book with confidence guarantee, hosts' readiness for home safety, property accessibility, and cleanliness. 

However, there are numerous Vrbo complaints regarding safety, cleanliness, and misrepresentation of the property. For example, in the Vrbo review, the “book with confidence guarantee” did not offer the protection promised. The guest wrote:

My six-month prior, paid in full reservation, was abruptly canceled by the host less than 24 hours before check-in due to a double booking by VRBO/Host.

Even more frustrating for the customer, the cancellation left them and 13 other out-of-state guests without alternative accommodation or compensation for the inconvenience.

How to Cancel a Vrbo Reservation?

Can you cancel Vrbo within 24 hours of booking? If you do, will you get a Vrbo fee refund? We looked into the Vrbo cancellation terms and conditions to answer these questions.

There is no one standard Vrbo cancellation policy. Rather, they vary from one property to another as set by the property owner or manager. Therefore, refer to the property’s cancellation policy when booking.

In general, to cancel a VRBO reservation, customers may have the following options:

• No refund: There is no refund offered regardless of the reason for cancellation or the timeframe.
• Strict: Full refund for bookings canceled at least 60 days before the start of your stay.
• Firm: Full refund for bookings canceled at least 60 days before the start of your stay and 50% refund for bookings canceled at least 30 days before the start of your stay.
• Moderate: Full refund for bookings canceled at least 30 days before the start of your stay and 50% refund for bookings canceled at least 15 days before the start of your stay.
• Relaxed: Full refund for bookings canceled at least 14 days before the start of your stay and 50% refund for bookings canceled at least 7 days before the start of your stay.
• Custom: Host provides specific terms of cancellation that can be seen on the property page. If not indicated, contact the host directly to ask about their cancellation terms.

Despite the clearly stipulated cancellation terms, there are numerous Vrbo complaints regarding how to cancel the service. For example, in one review, the customer complained that they could not get a refund on their booking even though they had purchased cancellation insurance:

My Cancellation Insurance through VRBO protects against quarantine; however, they denied my claim. VRBO has done nothing.

What’s more, according to a Homeaway/VRBO video review on PissedConsumer, it is frustrating that travelers who have had their reservations canceled unexpectedly and without any reason from the property owner cannot post a review on their experience to HomeAway.

In such a case, there are other platforms available where you can post your review, including the reviews page on PissedConsumers and VRBO social media pages.

How Do I Get My Vrbo Refund?

Customer reviews on PissedConsumer.om indicate guests commonly encounter Vrbo refund problems. For example, in review# 6449271 one guest narrated the VRBO refund issues their encountered and wrote, “VRBO owes us close to $5,000 from completed bookings from well over 6 months ago.”

In another review, the company customers claims to be out of $700 because of the urgent cancellation. And now she's got problems with returning money from Vrbo.

To cancel Vrbo and get a refund, sign into your account and select the reservation you want to cancel under “My Trips.” Go to the “Trip details” section and review the property’s cancelation policy. Under “Change” or “Cancel”, select “Cancel booking”. You will be asked to provide a reason for your cancellation and the cancellation request will be submitted to the property owner.

The property owner will then accept the cancellation and initiate any potential refund depending on the terms of the cancellation policy of the specific property.

Customers also often wonder: How long does VRBO take to refund? According to the Vrbo refund policy, refunds can take up to 5 days to reach your bank. 

If you are canceling a trip for which you had purchased property damage protection, contact Generali Travel Protection to seek a refund, which you could get a full one.

As for the refundable property damage deposit, VRBO.com automatically returns the deposit amount immediately after you have completed your stay, as long as the property manager has not reported any damages. The Vrbo Customer Help Centre states that refunds can take up to 14 days to reach your account. If you haven’t received your refunds or if you have any questions about the damage deposit, get in touch with the property owner.

What Are Vrbo Fees?

According to Vrbo reviews on PissedConsumer, some customers would like clarification on “how much does VRBO charge owners?”

As stated on the VRBO help center, the company applies a pay-per-booking fee that comprises:

• A 5% commission on the VRBO vacation rental amount, including additional payments such as pet fees and cleaning fees (this percentage may be higher for bookings that come from the company’s expanded distribution partners).
• A 3% payment processing fee on the total amount paid by the traveler, including taxes and refundable deposits.
• Property managers managing listings through the software are charged a 5% booking fee on bookings made on the VRBO family sites (this percentage is only excluded from the rental and mandatory fees, less taxes and refundable damage deposits).

Additional Vrbo fees include a service fee that is charged on the total reservation amount less taxes and refundable fee. VRBO.com notes that this amount goes towards marketing and administration. The service fees and other fees do not restrict the property owner on how much to charge for their listing.

For further clarification on vacation rentals, get in touch with the Vrbo customer service.

How to Contact Vrbo Customer Service?

Another common consumer question is: How to contact Vrbo customer service. 

PissedConsumer lists a toll-free number, sales department phone number, email address, and a link to the website that you can use to reach out to Vrbo customer care.

Toll-Free Number: 1-877- 202-4291.

Sales Department: 1-877- 226-3657.

Email: vrbomktg@gmail.com

PissedConsumer also provides the Vrbo headquarters address and links to the company’s social media pages on Vrbo customer service page.

You can also get in touch with Vrbo customer support through the HomeAway help page under the Contact Us button at the bottom of the page. There you will be required to provide information on whether you are a traveler, a property owner, or a manager.

You will also be asked to choose from the provided categories the best one that describes your issue. Depending on the issue, you will be provided with a Vrbo phone number to call or an FAQ that responds to the issue.  

Vbro.com notes that its customer support is available 24/7 in different languages to offer travelers, owners, and property managers assistance any time they need it.

However, Vrbo customer reviews indicate that several customers are dissatisfied with the company’s customer service. For instance, in a video review, a customer narrated that they had an adverse allergic reaction from pet dander all over the apartment. Yet, she had been charged a $120 cleaning fee. Attempts to reach VRBO customer service for assistance were futile.

Which Is Better Vrbo or Airbnb?

Airbnb and Vrbo are among the most popular vacation rental platforms for travelers and property owners. One of the major differences between Vrbo and Airbnb is the type of accommodation they offer. While Vbro only offers stand-alone accommodation types, Airbnb offers shared spaces too, meaning that Airbnb has a wider selection of rental units than Vrbo. 

Both companies’ prices for renting property vary depending on the size of the property, its location, and amenities. Aside from the listed price of the property, customers need to be aware of the additional prices, such as service charges and cleaning fees, which might not be stated explicitly. 

Airbnb has in place two types of fees: split and hosts-only fees. On the other hand, Vrbo has two fee models for hosts. Property owners can opt between pay-per-booking or an annual subscription. 

Guests are charged a service Vrbo fee. The service fee is a percentage of the total amount of the reservation, less the taxes and refundable fees. The exact percentage depends on your reservation amount. 

What Has Been Your Experience with Vrbo?

While VRBO is an easy-to-use vacation booking platform, online reviews indicate that some customers experience challenges cancelling their reservations, getting refunds, and contacting customer service for assistance. 

Write a review on PissedConsumer.com to share your experience with VRBO.

*Disclaimer: Ranking and statistics are based on our users’ review texts and PissedConsumer posters’ reviews. Also, a company’s rating is calculated using a mathematical algorithm that evaluates the information in the profile, including users’ rating, the number of resolved issues, the number of company’s responses, etc. The algorithm is subject to change in the future.