Has anyone booked a condo through VRBO.com? Just wondering if you had any problems? Any tips or advice! I've never used them before and am considering renting a condo in Hawaii.
Linda

I have..without a problem. Though in Hawaii...I went through a realtor not VRBO.

I just asked plenty of questions before sending in my deposit.

1. When were the photos taken?

2. What are total fees, cleaning etc?

3. What is/is not included.

4. Any construction/remodeling/maintenance going on?

5. What is immediately adjacent to the property?

6. What if there is a problem upon arrival? ..Is there a local contact on site? VERY important in Hawaii.

7. Personally, I think you have to go with your "gut feeling". If you speak to the person on the phone and have any doubts at all..then I would pass.

I have used VRBO w/o problems to rent condos in Hawaii.

I've rented a couple places (including a cottage on Kauai) through them with no problems.

Please take a minute to read the thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34842257

Debi

I've used vrbo a few times and have been pleased, though not in Hawaii. Because it is not itself an agency, rather an electronic bulletin board on which individual owners (and sometimes agetns) post their property, your business transaction is with the owner/agent posters and not with the vrbo site. Dick pretty much nailed it - be sure you get specific answers before sending any payment.

We are renting a spot in Kaua'i this summer we found on vrbo. I've always used real estate agents before, so this will be something new. So far the owner has been great and very forthcoming, so we'll see.

-Bill

In addition to the other suggestions made, I always confirm that the person really is the owner of the property and is free to rent it. Have used vrbo many times satisfactorily but once, when I was researching this issue, I was told by the property manager that this person was not supposed to be renting his place on his own as the management co had exclusive rights and consequently, sometimes 2 parties showed up for the same condo at the same time. This was for a property at the Canyons ski resort in Park City, UT. Also, if the owner tells you that the price shown is a "mistake" and it's really lots more, move on to another property. So just make sure your ducks are in line and you should be fine.

I have used vrbo.com in excess of 50 times & never had a problem, been surprised, hoodwinked, etc. nor have I asked all the questions that Dick has...

We are renting a place in Hana that I found on vrbo. Like Dick said, ask plenty of questions. And, also, that "gut" feel is so important when talking to them. If it doesn't feel good, it probably isn't.

Linda, where are you considering renting?

Good luck and happy planning!
i'2

rented from vrbo for the first time in canada this year. i too was very nervous about sending off a cheque for a deposit to a stranger. but, i did go with my "gut" feeling and it all worked out wonderful. however, the tip to ask when the pictures where taken is a good one. we had a great time but, the picture of the property was definitly taken many years ago. made me a little nervous when we pulled up.

Here is a post from the General Manager of VRBO, Marvin Flyod, posted here on Fodors. Good advice.

Author: mdfloyd322
Date: 12/31/2004, 01:07 am
First, I must say, I am the General Manager of VRBO.com so take my comments as being from that perspective. For the one person below who doesn't know who we are, we simply list the properties for rent at our website. We are not an agent or property management company.

I will try to make my comments generic, meaning that they pertain to any vacation rental site and it I don't know how other sites deal with a subject, I will that VRBO.com does it 'this way'.

When looking online for a vacation rental property one of the first things to consider is how long a property has been on a site. The longer it's been there the higher the chance it is a legitimate rental. If something's been on a site for a very short period of time there is no history for it and the site would have no way to know anything about it. That doesn't mean not to consider new listings, it just means that you need to be more careful.

At VRBO.com, if asked we will tell prospective renters how long a listing has been online and it's also posted at the bottom of each listing.

VRBO.com has nearly 32,000 listings and we've only had a small number of complaints from renters that they were charged for damages that they didn't cause. In the unlikely event that this happens, you can try and work through the problem with the owner and/or contact the site. VRBO.com makes a note of issues like this and if a listing is accused of withholding deposits more than one time by different renters we generally will remove them and ban the owner from further listings.

We have also recently enlisted the services of an Internet arbitration company called Square Trade to help resolve problems of this sort. The other sites we partner with in the Rentors.org site also participate. They are Greatrentals.com, A1vacations.com, and Cyberrentals.com.

The best way to reserve any vacation rental is to use a credit card. If possible do that. If there are problems, the card company will do a 'chargeback'. The vendor (rental owner) does not want this to happen as they are penalized when it does, plus the lose the entire rental money generally. PayPal is less willing to work with renters it appears from what we've heard from renters. Each VRBO.com listing has an icon on the index pages indicating which listing accept credit cards and I believe most other sites do as well.

One of the comments below is very good (actually most of them are...grin). Talk with the owner and ask for references. If they hesitate, you should wonder why. Most will have a list of references at hand they are happy to provide. Call at least one of them at random.

Remember, you are spending a lot of money on their homes and you have the right to interview them as much as they have the right to interview you. It's a two-way street here and it needs to be a good match.

Be sure that they owner uses a rental agreement or contract. That will prevent problems/surprises from occuring later. I'm still amazed how many owners do not use one. I'd move on to the next owner and tell them why you will not be renting from them. Losing a single rental worth hundreds or thousands of dollars might get their attention.

In conclusion, each vacation rental site has about as many individual owners as they do properties and each one has different policies and approaches to renting. Some require payment in full by check in advance while others will accept payment upon arrival after getting an earlier deposit to hold the reservation. Some accept credit cards and other use PayPal.

Again, be sure that they use a rental agreement to spell out everything: deposit amount, damage deposit and its refund, cleaning feees, taxes, check-in and out times, use of facilities like the pool, club, beach, etc. By being sure of what to expect in advance you run much less risk of getting scammed and having the deposit held for whatever reason.

Enjoy your vacations and have a great 2005.

Marvin Floyd
General Manager - www.VRBO.com
'Carpe Vacationum - Seize the Vacation' (R)

We have done it once and it worked out great. The property was actually better than advertized. One thing that I did before signing the lease was to check the local registar of deeds to ensure that the individual signing the lease was the same as the owner. It was easy because the county in which the property was located had all recorded deeds listed on line. Its not a garauntee that I was dealing with the right party but it could have been an indication of a problem.

I have rented many places around the world. I have found VRBO to be a great resource and I find that the owners take their businees and therefore their bookings seriously. I have also rented through www.MyHolidayVillaRentals.com and with both sites I have found the owners more that pleasant and I have had no problems at all so far.

Bill, would you share where you are renting?

I went thru VRBO.com prior to this and had good results in Colorado. If going to Kauai here is some advice on Kuhio Shores Condos

have just returned from the most glorious vacation in Kauai Hawaii. but let me tell you about #213 Kuhio shores. It is condo we rented in a tropical destination somewhat close to the equator I'd say. We arrives at the condominium and it was smoldering hot. We openned all the window and turned on all the fans. It took hours for it to cool off. We looked for the air conditioning turn on. Guess what, there is none! So we said Ok we will see how it goes. Tropics and no air conditioning hey that dont jive. Who would even ask???? In Florida they all have A/C. Its tropical....Anyway, The night was bearly OK if you dont mind sweating a bit. It was tolerable. But let me say by 9:30 am the next morning, it was a cook box. All the window were open fans running but the sun comes right thru the glass window right into the whole condo and cooks you like a pig. By noon we had a room at the Hilton as my wife was beginning to signs of heat stroke. She was a trooper with repacking and all. As we leaft the condo there was only one other car in the parking lot. You cant stay in there during the day unless your OK with temps in the high 80's with some amount of humidity. The person who rented us #213 refused any assistence or comprimise to help us with our new accomadations. Her answer was to go back there any time and eat the food we had to leave. Does that make ANY sence to return to a place that made my wife sick on her anniversary? Lady's a weirdo. So is the condo securtiy person. the Hilton there and the Hyatt are both great BTW. Please dont take a chance on something like this is you want to spend a day lodging around and watching the turtles. This oven is not the place.

I rented a house in Sonoma thru VRBO and I loved it. No problems.

The post by furrgoson is not a reflection on VRBO, but rather on the poster who did not do the research and ask the questions, such as "does the condo have air conditioning?" Many people in Hawaii do not have air, and in fact due to the trade winds don't need it. Perhaps this condo did, but if the rentor had represented it as having air and it did not, furrgoson would have had a right to complain.

This just proves the point, to make sure and do a lot of checking and doublechecking on the details that are important to you before you sign on the dotted line.