Wow Coskier, that was very kind of you to go out of your way to do that.
I meant to mention that it is the norm for me to receive request for more information. In fact, if an inquiry comes in simply asking to book, I get suspicious of the one asking to book. EVERYONE asks questions, if only to ask if it's available for the time they have requested, and how to go about booking.
I recently had a request that asked, simply, to book it. No questions asked. When I responded with the availability, they, in turn, responded with information about their acct. number at their bank, and other personal information.
Highly unusual, which prompted me to contact the web site owner to investigate further. In the end, it was a scam, of some type, attempting to rip me off.
My point is, you would be a minority if you didn't ask ?'s.

We have rented from VRBO a few of times, last year in Hawaii on Oahu and Maui. It is a bit of a leap of faith to send someone a fairly large deposit to a total stranger but luckily it has worked out for us. Our 'owners' were very helpful in e-mailing info about their properties, recommending restaurants, activities etc. Generally speaking, I think most of the owners are people who happen to have a summer or winter home that they like to rent to defray their expenses and are genuinely concerned about their guests. As with everything there are probably some horror stories too.

MikeT: We have never had problems with any rental unit before - hotel or condo and have never moved out early before but when you experience things that aren't visibly clean you begin to wonder what else hasn't been cleaned. Pictures on the website always look good but fail to show the deterioration in the unit.
Glad to hear that so many have had lucK with VRBO because it usually is more reasonable. It just has not worked out with us. The unit we rented was at Poipu Shores in Kauai

My husband and I rented the most wonderful, unusual house outside of Hilo on the Big Island last year from VRBO. It was an old molasses silo that had been turned into a house. It was in a neighborhood type setting, but surrounded by lush grounds. Because it was outside of Hilo it was convenient to the volcano (not on the sunny side of the island). What a relaxing place. We had no problems at all with this owner. I don't know if she owns other properties on the island or not.

Update on the condo we booked in Akumal through VRBO. It was perfect! Right on the beach with a wall of windows to view the blue waters. At 400.00 for the week, 2 bed 2 bath, it was much, much less than through the management companies.

Lemurs are extra.

I have had good experiences with www.vrbo.com, www.yourlatitude.com and www.cyberentals.com. If you look on these sites you can see if a property is managed by a company or not. So you still can get a good deal and have management in case of a 911.

Why are we reviving a post that is 3 years old ??!!

I rented a house for a family reunion in Orlando earlier this month through vrbo.com. The house was beautiful and a good value. It was run by a management company as the owners lived out of the country. I admit I was nervous at first as you have to pay up front but the house was everything I had hoped and more.

"Why are we reviving a post that is 3 years old ??!!"

Very good question. I was reading away and disagreed somewhat with the second poster, then suddenly realized that was ME -- before I had rented through VRBO. But now that I have -- several times, the fears I described are no longer founded.

Again -

"Why ARE we reviving a post that is 3 years old ??!!"

Let's drop it.

We, too, got burned using VRBO, but it was because we trusted the individual owner's photos and description. Our paid-for-in-full "cottage" was a dump with cockroaches. We could not stay and the owner would not refund our money because she could not rent it on short notice. Be aware.

We, too, got burned using VRBO, but it was because we trusted the individual owner's photos and description. Our paid-for-in-full "cottage" was a dump with cockroaches. We could not stay and the owner would not refund our money because she could not rent it on short notice. Be aware. Oahu/#47277/"Little Grass Shack" and #71492/"Hawaiian Style Cottage", owner Katie Laing

like Patrick, I've used vrbo again after my post 3 years ago, and had a good experience. We rented from an owner at the Las Vegas MGM Signature, which was beautiful, and saved quite a bit of money. If fact, we're using vrbo again for another trip next month to the Signature.