We are down to the final two apartment options for our family trip to Rome during the Christmas holidays this year. DH is starting to get very easy about renting a place from a website or agency. He's concerned that the place will not be as it appears in the photos or that it won't be available or exist at all. We've had a deposit requested by end of day tomorrow (11/1) and the balance due in cash when we arrive. Is this normal....has anyone had a bad experience with apartment rental? One flat is thru 'fromhometorome' , the other is thru VRBO. I'd prefer to do everything with a credit card so there is recourse if necessary but that option is not open. Does using PayPay linked to a credit card offer any protection??

Thanks -

We prefer to use an agency and check if they are rated by Better Business Bureau and/or belong to any travel associations. Usually these are posted on the bottom of their webpage.
One agency said a celebrity had rented one of their places and I followed it up by going to the celebrity's webpage to look for any mention of it and there it was, a recommendation.

>>>We've had a deposit requested by end of day tomorrow (11/1) and the balance due in cash when we arrive. Is this normal.<<<

Yes, it's pretty normal. Many places are listed with multiple agencies so there might be a credit card option if listed through another agency.

We have mailed checks for deposit to a special bank account in the US. Then right before leaving home, a sexond check was sent to the bank account. Another used Pay Pal exclusively. We have never had a provlem with a large number of Eurpopean rentals but it pays to be carefuland xhexk them out before xommitting your money.

I have rented vacation apartments through the internet, both directly with owners, and also through vrbo (just last month) for YEARS, and never had a problem. Payment in full, upon arrival, is standard IME. In all cases, the apartment fully lived up to the photos, or the hosts were only too eager to fix shortcomings.

Ok - thanks for the suggestions. I was also thinking of reserving hotel rooms with a cancellation allowed just in case. Its all probably an over reaction on DH's part -

the arrangement you have been offered is absolutely standard for Italy.

we took have had excellent experiences renting apartments both in Rome and other cities, and they have been great.

remember - the owner has an investment in this too - they want your money! if it's not up to scratch when you arrive, they run the risk they you will turn tale and find the nearest hotel.

good luck!

First exp. with VRBO in Puerto Rico last week. Wonderful!! Not Europe but same agency thing.The people that do this sort of rental have an investment , as Annhig says, and can't afford to have a bad review. Son and family have done several VRBO in Europe and Hawaii. Very satisfied with all. Hopefully will be able to do it again.

I've rented in Rome more often than I've stayed in hotels there. Nothing is perfect but I always did my research and never regretted my choices.

Have fun! I saw you restaurant thread: I always go to Antico Arco.

Oh yes, the payment arrangement you mention is normal.

Yes, we had the same experience with renting - deposit + cash on arrival (+security deposit in some cases)
The rentals we had looked like the pictures, or in one case, even better.

Same as above, but to be clear... The deposit is payable by credit card... And only the balance in cash? In which case, you see the apartment before you hand over the cash.

Given there is very little chance this is not legit, the hotel reservation does not seem completely fair to the hotel. I would only use a big chain hotel for the backup plan.

In Rome, we had to give a check (in American dollars was fine with them) for the deposit which would be returned if everything was OK in the end. Other people might do that differently.

VRBO recommends you at least talk to the owner or manager by phone. They (and other rental agencies I am sure) have had fraudulent listings. A quick phone call to ask more about the apartment and the neighborhood can be helpful to reduce that chance. I have also asked before for references of people I could call or email. Then I googled those people to see if they were likely "real".

I know you said your deposit is due today. But even if you don't reach them today I am sure if you emailed and explained that you would like to phone and follow up on a couple of things that they wouldn't run out and rent it to someone else in the meanwhile.

Email or phone again a couple of days before your arrival to confirm. Take a copy of listing description and website photos with you.

When you get there insist to take a good look around the apartment before you hand over the rest of the $$$. If the number of beds aren't right or its filthy or something else isn't what it should have been insist to speak to the manager on the spot and don't leave the apartment or give the $$$ until you do. And that is what the copy of the listing description and photos are for, to point out something that is described or pictured that is just too different to be appropriate. Of course you might have to stay anyway (if you don't have access through your iphone or ipad to instant internet to book an alternative -- do your research ahead to know what might be available nearby) but at least you will have the infomormation to bargain for remedy or $$$.

On the whole, temper your expectations. Nothing is "perfect". And a family together and being in Italy for he holidays well how bad could it be!

Right the things to worry about

1) check the photos, what has been missed out, if there is no photo of the bathroom there is a reason.
2) check google street view, if there is a vagrant asleep in the doorway of the block there will be one there when you arrive
3) check around the area with street view, again do you like the area, note that in some cities (spain, france and italy) what looks like nothing but shutters can be a glorious shopping district a few hours later, however if the gang tags are everywhere they will be there when you get there
4) ask the owners about any building works, yes we have a lift, but no it will not be working while you are here as the whole building is being renovated is a disaster
5) wifi may work but it may not be as you expect it, either tough it out or complain
6) in italy they need passport details for the police, so don't worry if they ask for them

Do your due diligence as you would with anything else you buy or look on the up front money as a bet which is likely to come good. If you surf through this site you will find reported failures of rent, not many, but the trick is complain early if you need to.

Good recommendations by bill, especially about missing photos.

Also, take a look at the apartment reviews on TripAdvisor. Your specific rental may be reviewed, or sometimes the agency you're dealing with is reviewed.

Other than that, the arrangement you describe seems pretty common.

When you rent from an owner directly, you always take a chance. People arriving only to find the address didn't even exist or that the apartment was nothing like the photos does happen.

None of the third parties like VRBO etc. vet their listings as far as I know. So it is caveat emptor for sure.
All you can do is look for reviews of the specific property, do your due diligence as bilboburger suggests and hope for the best. You have to accept the risk of losing your deposit. If you can't accept that risk, don't book from an owner.


The idea of booking a hotel and then cancelling I find unfair to the hotel. You can always find a hotel if you have to after you arrive.

I would love to give you some comfort but unfortunately in our view.....

We have rented houses around the world, in our experience the best have been in the US. People have just delivered what they advertised.

The worst by a long shot have been in Italy.

This is a cultural issue. Italian life is swamped by paperwork, regulations and red tape to the extent that many Italians simply disregard anything in writing. Combine this with a macho approach to business which in many cases involves an attitude of "well you were stupid enough to trust anyone in the first place". Throw in some language differences and you have a recipe.

This May in Rome was a typical example. We paid a deposit to a VRBO advertiser 3 months prior to arrival. Three weeks prior to our arrival date he said his mother was ill, wanted to stay close to him and wanted the apartment. After many emails, questioning this, the landlord finally coughed up that he had received an offer of a six month rental from an American family and wanted the cash off them. We were simply thankful to get our deposit back minus the expense costs.

We then rented through SleepIn Italy and had a good experience.

Do not be put off by the fact that Italian landlords ask for cash balances on arrival. They usually only declare the deposit as income for tax purposes. The balance of cash goes in their pocket.

Put simply be careful.

Research is also difficult if you are not fluent in Italian.

It is pretty easy for we Brits to use google and establish that our prospective American landlords : exist, own the house, how much they paid for it, where they work, who they are dating etc, etc.

More difficult in Italy.

I don't rent apartments unless it's a city I've been to a few times before. I stick with hotels because I think it is more of a sure-deal, it's easier to make the reservations and payment, and you have staff on-site to help you with things that come up.

An alternative to VRBO is Airbnb. Their payment plan is a bit different in that one pays the entire cost of the rental up front to Airbnb, via Paypal or credit card, but the money will not be transferred to the owner for 24 hours after you check in. If the apartment does not exist, is filthy, or is falsely advertised, you call the 24/7 Airbnb hotline and they address the problem.

That does not guarantee you won't find yourself looking for a hotel in the middle of the night, but at least you have hope of your money going back into your pocket, rather than into the pocket of a scammer.