Anyone have exp. with VRBO? (package, reviews, photos, bringing)

[new347]

DO NOT DEAL WITH MOUNT VERNON PROPRIETORS IN BOSTON. I recently traveled to Boston and like most people the last thing you want to do while on vacation is worry about your accommodations. I will try my best to explain how horrible our experience with MOUNT VERNON was and if you are looking for reviews on MOUNT VERNON to help you make a decision about whether you should lease an apartment through them, please take my advice and stay at a hotel. I am sure there are honest and respectable VRBO rental agencies in Boston but this is definitely not one of them

I signed a short term lease through MOUNT VERNON for a property located at 272 MARLBOROUGH Street in Boston. A deposit was given and the balance due upon arrival. Two weeks after the agreement was signed I receive an email saying the building was sold and he couldn’t honor the agreement but he would try and get me other accommodations. Another property at 386 COMMONWEALTH Avenue was provided or so they tell me. I get to Boston and 5 hours before I am supposed to meet a representative there to pick up the key I receive a phone call. The second place is triple booked and I am out of luck but don’t worry because we will try to find you a hotel. A hotel is provided. It’s old, run down, dirty, with small rooms and not in the best neighborhood. I was told I would only be charged what was originally agreed upon (which was supposed to be for a much better place in a much better neighborhood) and any extras would be picked up by MOUNT VERNON.

My vacation is over and I have returned home but since then I have received no explanation or apology for the inconveniences but I have had additional unauthorized charges made to my credit card by this company.

If you want to go someplace on vacation and have fun and actually have a place to stay when you get there, please book a hotel and avoid MOUNT VERNON (mvboston.com or lillyspads.com) at all cost.

[detleffish]

Molokai: some VRBO owners require 50% deposit and will not refund your money.
I had to cancel our trip and the owner of: Molokai Condo - Condominium (http://www.vrbo.com/126953 - broken link) (who now has a "no refund" printed policy but when I booked this reservation there was not) is refusing to give back our $975 deposit.

They are unreasonable to deal with and have sent fraudulant information in emails. Be careful.

[AugustaJim]

We've successfully rented twice in OBX thru VRBO. Our most recent rental was a bad experience. We rented a house in Salvo, N.C.: Carolina Clipper, VRBO #136897. We left after the first night because the house was unsatisfactory: insects, broken screen door, trash in the yard, mildew smell throughout the house. We lost the remainder of our week's rent. We will rent again thru VRBO but we'll ask more questions before we commit our money.

[lill]

Originally Posted by Trudeyrose

Has anyone rented a vacation home/cond from VRBO(Vacations for Rent By Owner)? I was tempted last year but was aprehensive about if it was legit. Especially as you usually have to send a deposit way before you go. In addition.. what if the plumbing or AC dies while you're renting.. and so many other ?? Would appreciate any experiances.. Thanks

i rented a apt in ponce last year, was happy with it. if you are not looking for anything fancy but clean. it was on 50 a night. it had everything you needed. if you wanted to cook in. bed was comfortable. am doing it again this year. had landlady no. if anything went wrong. very nice lady. try it. i was happy with it. and they have them all over the island, but of course it depends where on island. how much. some are out rages. lill

[joan123]

Originally Posted by lill

i rented a apt in ponce last year, was happy with it. if you are not looking for anything fancy but clean. it was on 50 a night. it had everything you needed. if you wanted to cook in. bed was comfortable. am doing it again this year. had landlady no. if anything went wrong. very nice lady. try it. i was happy with it. and they have them all over the island, but of course it depends where on island. how much. some are out rages. lill

VRBO is like any site by owner ,the owner pays to be on it.Most are honest owners that work hard ,following a standard set of holiday trade rules ( deposit is kept then ,% of balance is kept on a weeks from basis,
You can on vrbo cover up to $5000 insurance,it's free by filling out there form after booking
we stayed at www.vrbo.com/88226 (http://www.vrbo.com/88226 - broken link) when we were in Florida ,the home was great,the owner answered all of our silly questions ,and has rented to 2 of our friends in other homes she has ,both came back smiling

[rmrobar]

Originally Posted by Trudy Rose

Has anyone rented a vacation home/cond from VRBO(Vacations for Rent By Owner)? I was tempted last year but was aprehensive about if it was legit. Especially as you usually have to send a deposit way before you go. In addition.. what if the plumbing or AC dies while you're renting.. and so many other ?? Would appreciate any experiances.. Thanks

We have used VRBO extensively and until this year have always had a great experience. This year we rented a really great place in San Diego. We loved it. My daughter and I spent most of the day before we left cleaning and spiffing the place up. We left it cleaner than when we moved in. We were supposed to get our damage deposit, $800 back within 14 days. It hasn't come and now the owner won't respond to me by phone or e-mail. The owner even expressed to me that it was "immaculate". Don't know what to do now. I guess it's small claims court for us. We were hoping to stay in the same place next year. I guess not. I haven't been able to find out if VRBO offers any recourse.

[LEAD SUPPORT SERVICES]

My husband and I just returned from Key Largo. We also used VRBO for our trip and our owners were "AMAZING". They went out of their way to give us their suggestions on all the best fishing, snorkeling, dinning, oceanfront tiki bars. They were right on the money... everything they suggested was great.
My husband and I take a vacation every year so we have stayed at many upperscale hotels but nothing compares to having your own 60ft RV parked just steps away from the ocean with over 500ft of private beach. My husband and I are going back next year for sure. They made us feel as we were part of their own family so thank you to the Nestwing Family for making our vacation a dream come true!!!

[AlohaMarie]

The first time I used vrbo.com to find a place to stay, I was nervous. What if the place did not exist when I arrived? What if the property owner was not really the property owner? I called and talked with the home owner and felt more comfortable, hung onto the seat of my chair....and just did it. The place was WONDERFUL...and sooooooooo much less expensive than any realtor in the area. My first experience was with a rental in Puerto Vallerta, Mexico!! Looking back, I still think I was brave!! The next time was in Hawaii. I have since then became friends with both of the homeowners, and the one in Hawaii was very helpful to me when we deicded to buy our Vacation Rental in Hawaii. I now advertise there, and work hard to keep the same high standards in my rental, and helpful friendly manner that both of the homeowners I rented from did for me!!

I would, of course, highly recommend the site. As for the individual properties, they could be wonderful or not....but that would be the same if you rented from a realtor in the area. I would pick up the phone and talk with the homeowner. You get a "feel" for the person, that I think is very helpful in making your final decision.

[joyBeing]

We've used VRBO for travelling to Europe with kids, and it was a fantastic experience. Like anything else, you must do diligence. Email the owner your questions, ask for more pics, and so on. Don't be shy. If you feel the owner is less than forthcoming, than move on. There are no guarantees anyway. We've travelled plenty using hotels which turned out to be dingy and stinky, though they had high ratings and recommendations. I would use VRBO again, any day.

[wayne2i]

VRBO is hit and miss. This one can be found at
West Glacier, Montana vacation rental by owner: 2 bedroom Cabin rental that sleeps 10. Glacier Park Cabin, Ski, Hike, Golf (http://www.vrbo.com/255180 - broken link).

[FONT=tahoma]As beautiful an Alpine structure as this log cabin home is, and as elegantly appointed from the light fixtures to the high-end appliances, one issue subsumes the sum total of every wonderful feature of this house in the woods: the very limited and erratic supply of hot water. Even after the circuit controlling it would be reset, only several gallons (fewer than 5) would flow before it resorted to coldness again. With a party of six it made it nearly impossible to adequately groom and, as a result, loomed over our visit and to some degree characterized our stay. We developed elaborate timing routines to get clean including having grandma boil pots of water to dump into the Jacuzzi tub for the kids’ baths. On our day of departure, needing to drive many hours to the Jackson Hole airport for an early flight the following day, never had we more looked forward to a one-night stay at an ordinary motel. [/FONT]

[FONT=tahoma]Pale by comparison, there are other shortcomings afflicting this facility:[/FONT]
[LIST][*][FONT=tahoma]Having no enclosed showering fixture (by glass or curtain), but only two bathtubs, the hot water issue is exacerbated. A very quick shower could conceivably use less than 5 gallons of hot water. A bathtub to be filled cannot. Even if hot water were not the 800-pound gorilla of a problem here, Americans, by and large, take showers. Maybe if all guests were British, where bathing predominates, this would be acceptable.[/FONT][*]Air temperature control appears to have been an afterthought. Of the 19 glorious windows in the main room and loft, only 4 can open (the rest are casement type). Of those 4, two have been co-opted for window-unit air conditioners. This made achieving cross-currents difficult so despite August night temperatures dropping into the 40’s we had to run the air conditioners to keep the place cool enough with circulating air.[*]The first floor bathroom door does not fit squarely into its doorway. As such, the door thumb does not latch and in turn, the door can’t lock.[*]The loft bathroom’s design/location is such that a grown man cannot stand upright while urinating into the toilet because of the angle of the roof line. He must lean his head (and if tall, his upper body) rightward.[*]The loft bedroom closet is not usable for guests. The owner’s clothing occupies all the hangars.[*]The high-end appliances are not limited to the large ones. The kitchen has two coffee makers including the fanciest cappuccino maker I’ve ever seen in a home. But there is no toaster.[/LIST]