Homelidays: active partner and pander in cheating the renters!
 

I’ve rented a studio for my husband and myself in Fuengirola/Malaga for 11 nights in September. The size of the studio was exactly the half of that described by the tenant on Homelidays (212000). It was 21 qm instead of 42 qm advertised (plus the balcony, which was a bit less than 2 qm). The studio was advertised for 2-3 persons, however the opened sofa bed was only 125 cm wide, absolutely not enough for 2 adults. Therefore we had to use the 160 cm long camp bed for the second person (I’m 170 cm tall, my husband is 180 cm), extremely inconvenient, thus no space remained in the room which was 10 qm. We were lucky enough that the weather was fine, thus we could stay on the small balcony when we were not away. And we’re also lucky that there was no 3rd person. I wrote a testimonial which wasn’t posted by Homelidays at all. I’ve written to them 7 times (!), first I received an answer that „The comments in your testimonial have been passed on to the relevant department, who is currently pursuing your comments with the owner”, afterwards: ” The testimonial is still being validated by the Customer Services team”, later on they simply didn’t react to my e-mails at all. My last attempt was that I asked them if they realized the fact that they had become pander in cheating the renters as they were fully aware of the incorrect information given by the owner as I’ve written to them several times but the false size of the studio is still on Homelidays website. I have booked a lot of apartments through different websites (VRBO, Homeaway, Holiday-rentals, airbnb, et., etc.) in the last 20 years and I never had such an awkward experience (even not on Homelidays!). It’s clear, that they don’t post negative testimonials as the renters don’t pay for them but doing so they don’t give any protection to the renters. When I rented a stuio in Amsterdam through Homelidays and I wrote a positive testimonial, it was posted immediateliy! The only thing I can do is that I’ll never rent through Homelidays again and I propose it to other travellers as well!

You could post a link to the apartment that you rented from homelidays.

He did give the property number (as good as a link)

But here it is http://tinyurl.com/26t896p

(BTW, the photos are pretty skimpy - but it does look larger than 21 sq meters and even if small - looks like a bargain at €21 a night)

OP quoted the number. This is the studio:
http://www.homelidays.co.uk/fuengiro...-212000en1.htm

I always find it odd that people come here as first time posters to complain like this.

Janis beat me to it :)

Welcome to Fodor's (is all I have to say)!

OK now I looked. A beautiful water view for 21 euro/night? That place looked like a bargain to me too.

You'll be surprised: there was no problem with the beautiful water view. And if you make a search in Fuengirola, the prices are very similar. Don't forget, it was the end of September and first days of October.

I've ceased to find it strange that people who feel ripped off or had their trips ruined become first time posters on message boards to vent and warn other travelers. I sometimes think some of the posters are actually Fodor's regulars embarrassed to admit they made a mistake after posing so long as "travel experts" so they sign in with new names -- but that's just an idle thought.

I've also ceased to find it strange that a lot of Fodorite regulars reflexively take the side of landlords, tourist vendors and Europeans when people complain about negative experience they've had traveling in Europe.

I didn't "reflexively" take anyone's side. I just thought it looked like a nice enough apartment with a fantastic view for a cheap price.

Thanks for posting the link janis and hetismij. It looks small and the bed looks uncomfortable but like others have said, 21 euros a night, I wouldn't have expected much.

I looked at homildays site and booking and that was by far the cheapest apt. I'm a bargin hunter and it's been my experience that if something is a lot cheaper than anything else of it's ilk, move on.

I think you guys should be nicer to someone who uses the wonderful Shakespearean term "pander".

In my whole life, I've heard "pander" used ONLY once in conversation -- by an Italian woman who spoke beautiful, learned English.

PS: If I remember correctly, the character Pandarus appears in Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida"

That is not a correct use of the word. Perhaps the OP means pandered - but I have yet to hear that there is any prostitution involved. For 21 euros a night I would expect to get a closet - if that.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

If I read this right the room is about 400 sq ft - or 20 X 20 - which seems a reasonable size. If the OP is saying it was 10 X 10 (well that is minute). But the photo obviously shows something very small and I would never have rented a place without more photos. As someone mentioned - if the price is way less than everything else there is a reason why - it;s best to find out what before paying.

What is 21 qm? Is it 21 quarter-meters?
Is it 21 square meters? If so, why isn't it written sm?


So if it's a room 14 feet by 14 feet, for $35/night. About right. Narrow bed, but that's something I DO NOT TRUST descriptions for; I'll always inquire re dimensions.

if a place is half of what it states.. i would also be upset.

easy...if it's true that the place is 21m and its advertised as 42, then this is a fraudulent advert or at the very least, a gross error that must be fixed asap and before others are mislead. and if the agency is alerted to such an error and does not fix it in a reasonable amount of time, then i completely agree with the OP's charge.

what matters is if the flat is advertised as 42 and is really only 21...what doesn't matter is:
-whether or not someone else thinks this is a good deal anyway
-if it has a nice sea view
-that other flats might be more expensive
-that the OP is a first time poster
-whether words were used incorrectly

Fully agree with walkinaround.

BTW, I've never heard before the word "pander", so I am running to my dictionary. As I am not very fond of the bard, could someone please elaborate?

Actually, Chaucer did the play first, spelling as "Troilus and Criseyde." Chaucer also gave us "pander" first.

Pander is about the same as a pimp, from the character Pandarus in the play.

s

"To cater to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit their weaknesses"....having found this definition of pandering leads me to conclude the poster got what they were asking for....an extremely cheap, low end apartment getting what they paid for (wanted)... not a fault of the "lister" of the apartment.

>>>>>
poster got what they were asking for....an extremely cheap, low end apartment getting what they paid for (wanted)... not a fault of the "lister" of the apartment.
>>>>>

if they were sold 42 meters and they got 21, then they did not get what they paid for....simples.

This sort of thing including somewhat deceptive pictures of vacation rentals is hardly indigenous to Spain..it happens everywhere including in the guilt-free "greatest nation on Earth" US.

As to pandering..it happens a LOT here.

ditto walkinaround's comment

None of the "by owner" sites guarantees their listings. That's the chance you take, that the accommodations are more or less as advertised. But sometimes they're not. Pretty often, the convenience of the location has been exaggerated. Sometimes the apartment or villa doesn't exist or is not available to rent.

Since my vacations are rare and important to me, I alnost always rent from a recommended agency, one where I can charge my deposit to a credit card. The agency must fulfill expectations or they're out of business. And I can dispute the charge on the credit card if I feel I've been cheated.

I agree that the one real problem here is if the apartment was 1/2 the size as stated in the listing advertisement.

Like zeppole, I'm always amused by the finger-wagging that meets posts like this -- ranging from the suspicious to the "you should have known better."

Maybe the OP does have some sort of ax to grind. I dunno. But I have no problem with people posting a detailed warning on how they got ripped off and why they feel that way.

"The Homelidays company displays on the Homelidays.com site information, photos, maps, software and services developed by other parties ... In consequence, it is the users's duty to utilise the information on the site Homelidays.com carefully, and to conduct any verification under his/her own responsibility."

I think this fairly much covers all agencies. I do feel that Homelidays has a duty to get the owner to amend any incorrect details, and to publish any negative reviews.

OK everybody. We have NO evidence that the flat is 21 sq meters. None. Just the OP's statement. The few photos look to me as though it is small but larger than 21 sq meters.

I have to come back! Yes Suze, and everybody who didn't handle this matter as an etymological question (pander:-), sorry, but English is not my mother tongue! The major and only real problem is that the apartment was 1/2 the size as stated in the listing advertisement. OK janisj, you have NO evidence that the flat is 21 sq meters (I must add again: plus the balcony of cca. 2 qm!). So you can beleive me or not. You certainly have no reason to beleive me. I'm trying to find a reson for lying. I don't find any. Perhaps you will.....Let me know pls!

all I'm saying is the photos look do larger than 21 sq meters. What were the actual dimensions?

Honestly speaking I don't remember the exact dimensions, but we measured, which was very easy. And though I'm a human intellectual, my husband is an engineer, great help in a very complicated task like this :-).

if you don't know the dimensions -- how can you so firmly state it was only 21 sq meters? And how can homelidays take your word for your complaint if you don't know the dimensions?

I didn't make detailed notes. The size was 21 qm for sure. I don't think, the dimensions are important. Forget me please. Thanks.

JanisJ, you are by far the most argumentative person on this board. There, I finally said it.

At risk of being attacked as 'argumentative' I'll say it again. The OP registers to slam homelidays about a flat and the main complaint is it was smaller than advertised. Yet the OP <u>does not know how big it is</u>. Is there any wonder homelidays may need to investigate and not take this complaint at face value. Provide evidence and perhaps homelidays response would be different.

(BTW - do I 'challenge' some posts? Sure I do - as do many people. Is that arguing - nope. And perhaps the thousands of folks I've helped on here might "argue" w/ your ad hominem attack. And, unlike one of the other posters in this thread -- I've never been banned for arguing/nasty/snarky posts)

I'm afraid, you're wrong. The OP knows how big it is. Namely 21 qm. Exactly. Stated here several times.(Plus as the OP said before a balcony of 2 qm).

I will simply say, there is no way after looking at the photos, that a conclusion can be made for the size of that spartment. Usually, a renter wants everyone to see the whole room and not just a few selected areas. So, the whole area has not been shown and I think it's time to give the poster, 'the benefit of the doubt'.

It is a Homelidays policy to publish every testimonial that a renter submits on our site, whether it is positive or negative.

If a testimonial has been created but it is not visible online it will be due to one of the following reasons:

• The testimonial is still being validated by the Customer Services team (this can take between 2 - 7 working days)

• The testimonial has been considered as non-justified. A non-valid testimonial may contain an unjustified mark lower than 4/5, a personal message or insulting/degrading comments.

• The testimonial has not been validated following the right to reply from the owner.

• The owner has chosen to not use the Testimonial Service; however renter testimonials will remain in the owner's dossier.

You can view our Testimonial Service guide by visiting: http://www.homelidays.co.uk/EN-Holid...al_Summary.asp

This is almost the same as on TA. Some complaint some response by Homelidays