I have a beach property that I advertise through VRBO. I've jsut about decided to drop them, not because of any problems with VRBO but because I realize now that I don't want to rent for 2 months in 2006 at this time. And of course everyone wants to rent ahead of time.

It seemed like a good idea but we get soooo many responses from one ad in the newspaper. And I've had a few people get REALLY snooty about stuff to the point that I just tell them it's not available and we both move on. And there's always a gazillion people who query and then keep hinting that it's too expensive and finally they back out.

So rest assured, it's not easy for the owners. The ones who don't call back already have it rented out -- I always try to get back to people. That seems like the least I can do.

As for referrals, I suppose I could give a few referrals if needed. Hey, terpster -- what if the rental property said to you, I'll give you referrals if you give me some for you! I've had a few bad tenants in my time and maybe I should have asked them for referrals. Their deposit barely covered their damage and the time it took to deal with them.

Hey, Tandoori girl, what a great idea!!
I would have no problem in supplying stellar referrals to an owner.

Barbara, do you have connections with VRBO? It seems you're taking a very defensive stance for them.

Dick, thanks for your comments on having a place professionally cleaned. Now my wife will forever worry about the cleanliness of the sheets we slept on during our week in Maui!!!(Just kidding!!!)

No, absolutely no connection with VRBO and I have not, at this point, rented any of the properties listed there. I just think it's unfair to slam them, which is the implication from your title, when your problem has nothing to do with VRBO.

I've rented from owners that posted their properties on VRBO and for the most part, it has gone well. We communicated via e-mail and the phone. The first owner was top notch all the way and I'd rent from her again in a heartbeat. Owner #2 (we needed a bigger unit that trip) was great the first time, no problems.

The next time my friends and I rented from Owner #2, we did hit a snag. She thought we were leaving a day earlier than we actually were. I was alseep alone in the condo that morning when the cleaner came to clean the condo. A new group was coming in that afternoon. I called the owner ASAP.

Fortunately, the owner lived nearby and she came over. She blamed her husband for "putting the wrong departure date" on the calendar. Our e-mails were proof that we were in the right about the date. Fortunately, her daughter owned the unit directly below us. It was not being used so we were able to stay there for our last day/night.

However, it was a major pain to have to rush to move all of our stuff downstairs because of this mistake. I don't like to think of what might have happened I had not been there amd not out at the beach with the others or gone for the day.

Regardless, I'd still rent from someone posting on VRBO if the photos of the unit were good and the rapport between myself and the owner was good. Sometimes errors like ours happen and you have to roll with it.

Barbara, no need to be snippy -- I do understand the VRBO setup, and continue to make use of the site. I just think some owners should do a better job of responding to queries. It's a web site, so not hard to update the calendar: nor is it hard to update your voice message to say you are unavailable until 2007, or that the condo is no longer for rent, or whatever fits the circumstance. Unanswered queries just leave doubts.

Atlswan, LOL about your date mixups. Reminds me of renting a lovely cottage in England this spring. DH and I were just sitting down to breakfast when a car pulled up and the caretaker came to the door to clean for the next guest, arriving that afternoon. Fortunately I had my email confirmation that we were booked there for three more nights, so they were able to switch the incoming guests to another cottage. Lesson learned is, always get it in writing and have it with you when you travel!

TG, where is your beach property. We can probably come up w/some renters right on here... I may have an interest myself.Back to vrbo, perhaps I have just been lucky but I have rented properties through their site probably 15-20 times w/zero problems.

The exact same thing happened to me as happened to Terpster. I phoned a villa owner in Hawaii and when I asked about references (there were no reviews or other info anywhere I could find on the web) he became slightly indignant, and commented that perhaps he should ask for my references! I was surprised, because I had rented villas numerous times in the Caribbean and had never gotten this response (there were also plenty of testimonials on the owners' websites). Anyway, the villa fit our requirements perfectly and we went ahead and booked (yes I disobeyed my gut instinct). Surprise! We liked the property, it was even nicer than it looked on the web. Turns out the owner is a Maui golf pro and gets almost all his rentals thru word of mouth from golf guests at the nearby resorts, thus his surprise at my question.

I am surprised that all three of Dick's experiences with owners were negative ones. What happened, Dick? First time I've seen that here on Fodor's.

I'm with Barbara - to be pedantic, this doesn't seem to be an issue with vrbo, but with a specific owner.

ttt