Short-term vacation rentals like Airbnb and VRBO can be pretty hit-and-miss. On one hand, you can find a lot of really unique, well-kept properties that you just can't get anywhere else. On the other hand, well, we've all heard the Airbnb horror stories: scams, secret spy cameras, double-booking, break-ins, etc.
Hoping to avoid these aforementioned pitfalls, one Texas mom used VRBO to rent a Galveston beach house for the July 4th holiday trip after hearing that VRBO was better than Airbnb. Unfortunately, her VRBO experience was a nightmare. Instead of the idyllic beach getaway they saw online, the family arrived to find a vacation-ruining disaster awaiting them.
From the outside, their beach house looks perfectly charming... and that's where all the positives end. Demoralized mom @mommysquirrel recounted the disaster that awaited them the very moment they pulled up.
"Upon coming in, there... [was] one construction worker outside doing sheet rock work," she relayed. "After talking to the real estate agent ... she explained to us that they have mold and that they are doing construction this week for mold mitigation."
OK, the mold mitigation work is a huge red flag, and should have earned the family a full refund and an apology long before they left for their trip- but it gets worse.
"Also, the house is being sold, so there is going to be an estate sale while we are at this VRBO on Friday and Saturday," @mommysquirrel added.
On top of that, two of the beds they were promised lacked mattresses, and the construction worker (who was kind enough to let them in) warned them that the VRBO was "not livable." To top it all off, they didn't have the lockbox code, so once the worker locked up for the day, the family couldn't even get inside- and of course, the owner was completely AWOL!
Total Customer Support Letdown
Seething, @mommysquirrel contacted VRBO customer support for help, backing up her complaints with photo evidence. Their response?
"They said, 'You know what, that doesn't look so bad," claimed @mommysquirrel. Never mind that the construction worker said the place was not liveable! The VRBO agent even suggested they share the mattresses on the remaining beds (in a moldy home they couldn't even enter), but @mommysquirrel stood firm and insisted they make it right.
VRBO couldn't get ahold of the owner either, and they bounced her between agents for hours before finally offering "some" money to cover alternate accommodations. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to cover the holiday rates at the few remaining places in Galveston that weren't sold out. The family had no choice but to head home, their vacation ruined.
"I wanna know if you guys are having the same issues with VRBO," @mommysquirrel vented to her followers. "We're not happy with the solution and what they said."
Venting About VRBO
Unfortunately, @mommysquirrel wasn't the only person with VRBO horror stories to share.
"Last year 13 of my family and I flew to Destin. The $20k house I'd booked and paid for 1 year prior through VRBO was double booked! Found out when we landed in Florida," said @kb__228.
"I stopped using VBRO when they charged me $1,000 for AC use after our 3-day stay," claimed @nopenadano7. "The AC was on 75 the entire time."
"My husband and I rented a VRBO for When We Were Young last year and we had it cancelled the day we were flying into Vegas. Customer service was useless in trying to get us rebooked," relayed @prezeisenhauer. "It took calling them out on social media for them to fulfill their promise that they would cover costs associated with last-minute cancellations, since our new hotel was an additional $200/night due to demand."
Ultimately, these stories are a grim reminder that, no matter whether you book with Airbnb or VRBO, all it takes to ruin a vacation is a bad, unresponsive host and poor customer service response. Maybe the social media attention will prompt VRBO to do more to make this right, but whatever happens here, I just hope @mommysquirrel's next vacation isn't this Kafkaesque!
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Most Popular
Comments / 0