Anyone use vrbo.com to book European rental?

We have also booked through vrbo.com many times when holidaying in the USA. I don't think it would be any different in Europe, but don't have any experience of renting vrbo.com in Europe. I have though, rented through HomeAway and/or Owners Direct, with no problem. I think there are more European properties on those sites than on vrbo. Hope that helps.

Thanks wildblueyonder! I've looked at HomeAway before but not Owners Direct. I'll have to check into that!

I've rented 4 times through vrbo.com in Europe, and all places have turned out to be fine. That said, I read all the reviews, and would not rent a place that doesn't have reviews. I especially like to read how a glitch has been resolved. And I get out a map and make sure the place is where I want to be, etc. Sometimes you can find someone on here who has stayed at the places you're considering.

Of course, as you know, each vrbo rental is owned by individuals not "vrbo", so there could be good experiences, bad experiences anywhere regardless of USA, Europe, etc.

My one experience with VRBO -- an apartment in Paris -- went smoothly. But understand that its name, Vacation Rentals By Owner, means exactly what it says. Unlike many rental agencies who represent apartment managers, VRBO is merely a go-between. All rentals, and all exchanges of money, are conducted by the owner and the prospective tenant themselves. VRBO has no responsibility for any difficulties that may arise.
Here is what its website says:
"VRBO.com is strictly the advertising medium owners use to market their vacation rental properties. VRBO.com does not certify owners, as it would be nearly impossible to investigate every property advertised on VRBO. ALL investigation, communication, booking details, and payments are done strictly between the owners and the renters."

It has, however, introduced an insurance policy for renters, for a fee.
Considering all that, I think its reputation is good and the details given for the apartments on offer are quite comprehensive.
It and HomeAway, another big operation, are now connected, by the way.

I did a rental on VRBO that was fine, but I incurred costs paying first through a wire and then thru Paypal
(from the U.S. to France), so if I did it again, I would look for someone that would take a credit card or check.

We use VRBO last October when renting a place in Paris. I read all of the reviews and made sure exacting where it was. The owner was very quick to answer our emails, concerns, needs for local information and could not have been more professional. We were required to pay in euros when we arrived but we did not feel that was a problem. I think if you read all reviews, perhaps contact previous renters, if possible, you would be ok using VRBO. Good luck

Thank you for all the comments. I did realize that vrbo doesn't monitor transactions and isn't responsible should any rental agreement go badly, and I have never used an owner that didn't have good reviews. I am just curious the experience somewhere other than the US and also if the price is better than other accommodation options in Europe for a four-person group. I have seen some very good choices with excellent reviews in most cities in Europe. All of you who have used one in the past, can you provide me their listing if you would recommend them? Thanks!

TripAdvisor has its Vacation Rentals, FlipKey. I don't know what checks they perform on the properties they list, but it seems pretty reliable based on the reviews for the properties I considered. I have not rented on VRBO, though.

I am also checking out Airbnb. Please let us know what your experience turns out to be.

We've had good luck twice with VRBO in Europe -- France and the UK

Just to point out that you don't BOOK thorough VRBO - you book through the individual owner/manager of the rental property.

VRBO sends me, the owner/manager, your email, and I respond to you. Period. They have no more involvement in the booking. I could be a crook/criminal/scammer and you are not likely to know. Or YOU could be and I don't know. (Interestingly, I also advertise on www.gite.com and they send me as an owner notices of possible scams,)

This is not really likely, but we always encourage people to check with references, etc. So when people say they have had good luck with VRBO, it means they have found something they like on a web site, and have dealt successfully with an owner. And of course, with thousands of listing, it's likely that you will find something you like.

There are other agencies, like gite.com, which does check its listings, and holdidayrentals.com, which doesn't, but also has lots of listings. It's really just a question of looking through lots of listings until you find one that fits your needs and budget, and with which you feel comfortable.

We normally use owners direct and have never had a bad experience (fingers crossed!).

Most of the properties we've used didn't have user reviews - I think that feature isn't used so much on owners direct, but never any issue.

It's always worth exchanging a few emails with the owner first to get a good feel for them and whether they are reliable / prompt / genuine, but you probably know that already from vrbo...

We rented a place in Amsterdam that we found on VRBO. This owner was a little more laid back than we are used to - didn't even require a deposit or do any sort of rental agreement. I was a little nervous about that, but took a chance. We emailed back and forth with the owner, had the exact address and did Google street view - everything seemed to check out.

There is no way that you could generalise about renting property through VRBO/Homeaway they do not vet landlords and your experience is a function of the honesty of the landlord not the quality of VRBO/Homeaway group. They are simply an advertising site.

We have had many god experiences using their sites but have had two stinking episodes which have encouraged us to use local agents in future. Both stinkers were high value/large time investment holidays which were ruined due to landlords who should be behind bars. To give VRBO their due they have thrown both landlords off their site but that was little compensation to the time/money we lost.

Yes, I have booked Rome accommodation through VRBO.

The main negative IMO is the limited choice.

Why confine yourself to one source when there are mega-sites out there like Gites de France, with 1000s of listings?

VRBO is fine for major centres, rather thin/ hit-and-miss for rural holidays and smaller cities.

I booked a flat for two people in Budapest a few years ago which worked out fine. For our vacation this year, have rented a villa in Chianti for four people through VRBO. So far, all correspondance with the owner has been very positive; prompt, professional, courteous and helpful. Also, there are glowing reviews on VRBO, so hope to have a wonderful stay. For the end of our trip, have rented an apartment in Rome from Rome Capital Apartments. This is an apartment I read about here on Fodors. I have never used this agency before, so we will see.

We have used VRBO and owner ads in alumni magazines for rentals in Paris with great success, but we too will not book a place that does not take credit cards.

Thanks for the suggestions on other sites to look through! I know it's hard to generalize since each property is owned and rented by someone different--I was just wanting to know if this would in fact be a good and cheaper alternate choice for accommodations in Europe (granted you book through a good owner!). Thanks so much for your comments!

We rented through VRBO for Europe. No problems but check reviews for the rental before booking.

I used VRBO for a Paris trip and for a trip to Croatia and had great luck with both. I checked the reviews and the locations to make sure it was where we needed to be. Very good response from the ladlords.

We use VRBO and HomeAway for vacation rentals in Europe at least twice a year. What you get is all about the owners, of course, but for lots of listings at your fingertips, both sites are great. The cost is always far less than hotels, and usually they are much nicer, especially if you are in a group of four or more.

I prefer HomeAway - more user friendly. Tripadvisor now has vacation rental listings, too, but their listings in Europe aren't as extensive as the others.

I prefer to use paypal - usually the owner absorbs the fees, but not always, so do watch out for that. Not many owners will have the ability to take credit cards unless vacation rentals are their business.

Just FYI, this is not an endorsement: one more site to add is HouseTrip.com. They seem to have quite a selection of European rentals and are based in Switzerland.

gabrielle: I am one of the people who recommends Rome Capital Apartments. We have rented 2 or 3 times with them and 2 Fodors friends (Anselm Adorne, lowcountryislander) have also rented through them with complete satisfaction.

I have rented European properties three (3) times using VRBO. All went fine; the only complaint on the property in Spain was that, while the property itself was spotless, the development it was located on had garbage pick-up issues. Every day, we will have to pass these horrendous piles of garbage which can certainly take away from relaxation mood. No way to ascertain that from the site, but reviews would had probably mentioned that. I typically never stayed anywhere I can't find a review for; my first "non-compliance" with this rule proved why I should never "skip" this rule again...

We rented an apartment in Florence (first time) with a lovely terrace and literally a stone's throw from the Duomo. It was lovely, just as depicted. All correspondences were prompt, helpful and professional. I agree with other posters, make sure they have reviews, etc.... I have recommended VRBO many times to others.

I checked out vrbo and then found niumba.com and homelidays.com had a bigger selection of apartments.I have used them for the past 7 years with no problems.

" I have recommended VRBO many times to others"

Which is pointless.

Your great experience was a function of a diligent landlord not of VRBO. VRBO is simply a advertising lottery of good/bad landlords and it isn't possible to attribute good/ bad experiences to the use of the VRBO site.

Thanks everyone for the site suggestions and tips. We are starting to nail down our locations, and I may come back to ask about specific rentals in more specific locations once we figure that out. Thanks!

Have fun planning, jwood!

Tedgale: Thank you; that is good to hear your experiences have been positive. We will be in Rome in September. Can't wait!

There isn't even any way to characterize that renting through VRBO is cheaper, on average. There are cheap places on there and expensive places. Some agencies have rentals just as cheap as on VRBO, and some landlords on VRBO charge the same as an agency, they know the going market. You aren't always saving a lot just because they are renting themself. I've seen apts on VRBO that rent for the exact same amount on there as they do when on a private agency website (as some are listed in both places).

YOu just have to compare prices, as with anything. In theory, it should be cheaper if it were a perfect world and the people renting on VRBO priced their things a lot lower than the agency market, but they often don't, even though they aren't paying a commission fee. Although you can find agencies on VRBO, also (more or less, at least small groups of rentals).

We've had consistently good results with VRBO.com. There has always been a good selection, and the information, including reports from prior renters, has been sufficient to give me confidence that I am getting what is shown.

The owners we have dealt with often stay in the apartment itself for some time, and rent it out the rest of the time. Since they run a small operation, they probably don't qualify to take credit cards, and of course I cannot write a check in Euros on my US bank, so we have learned to get by with other methods; usually a deposit using paypal, and the rest in cash on arrival. Long ago, I sent a wire transfer for the deposit, but it was really expensive, so I don't do that any more.

To get enough cash from ATMs for the rental, I had my bank raise my daily ATM limit, and make multiple withdrawals at a convenient ATM (most ATMs have their own limit for a single transaction, but you can make multiple transactions).

i won't rent on vrbo/homeaway because the feedback is owner controlled. airbnb, although i have not used them yet, i will consider, as the owner-landlord cannot censor feedback.

You know how they say a picture is worth a 1000 words. Double for vrbo. Look closely at the photos. I never choose a place that doesn't have a photo of the bed. So far for me, the photos pretty much tell it all. I learned to look carefully at the photos because I rented some place with a crickety sway bed. Sure enough, I went back and looked at the photos and it was there if I had noticed.