I just noticed this post last night on the "other topics" board from the general manager of VRBO.com, Marvin Floyd in response to someone who wanted tips on how best to handle these rentals. Because there have been numerous posts about renting through on-line sites such as VRBO.com or vacationrentals.com, I thought this was a good thing to bring to a wider-read board such as the US. So here's Marvin...

Author: mdfloyd322
Date: 12/31/2004, 01:07 am

Message: 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)

TG what prompted this post from Mr. Floyd? Was there a question or complaint or did he just decide to post? He refers to "comments below"?

His post was in reply to a query listed on the "Other Topics" board, which reads: "VRBO.com...any experience with this?" The poster was asking for information about VRBO and already had a number of responses when Marvin Floyd then also responded. You can check out that post on "Other Topics".

How cool~
We were using vrbo for our Paris apt hunt but as luck would have it, the apts we wanted were already booked.
Then we tried parisperfect and struck gold (I hope)
Thanks for posting this TG~

Good to bring this up. I never go to the "other topics" forum. I am a big fan of VRBO.com and have used them many times. Sometimes I'll just go browse the listings and look at the pictures when I'm "vacation dreaming".

I've rented through VRBO on four occasions now, each one has been a joy. I'm about to try my fifth on our trip to Maui at the end of the month.

I've rented in New Orleans, Paris, and now HI. In NO there was no deposit requested, in Paris I gave a check that was torn up the day we left, after a brief inspection of the apartment (each time) and I sent a check for the Maui efficiency suite, but he says he will not deposit it and will tear it up the day we leave after he takes a look at the room. He said he's never kept one yet!

My experiences have been refreshing and pleasant surprises each time, especially Paris--gracious, kind, and generous landlord, spotless apartments each time. New Orleans was a steal at $90 a night for a creole cabin at the end of Bourbon street away from the crowds. Okay, there were termites, but they are considered "requirements" in most NO homes, so they did not bother us. It was a huge apartment with two bedrooms, a garden, and a hot tub!

I will continue to use VRBO, it's a wonderful service.

DD

My daughter has just used vrbo to rent an apt in Ghent in the Spring.

I've heard of making lemons out of lemonade or always looking on the bright side. But renting a house filled with termites and saying "they didn't bother us"? Now, I think I've heard everything. What would have made you NOT like the house?

Wow, TGirl, thanks for posting this. I never knew VRBO posted the original listing date - that is very helpful. I've rented a number of times from them and rarely have I had an actual rental agreement, so it surprises me that Floyd recommends one. Makes sense, though...

Patrick, you crack me up! I mean, living in Florida, surely you have termites too? I live in a wooden house, complete with carpenter ants, palmetto bugs, geckos, lizards, and yes, termites. Not many, and only at certain times of the year, but heck, they don't eat much!

A cockroach in my salad at a restaurant wouldn't eat much of it either. But I sure wouldn't give a glowing report to the restaurant that provided me with one.

I simply did not find the termites offensive. The good of the Creole cabin much outweighed a handful of termites, for goodness sakes.

If you have ever been to NO, then you must realize that 90% of all houses there (especially the older ones in the French Quarter) are infested with Formosan termites (http://www.icfhomes.com/DYKpages/dykARTICLEtermite.htm). The cost to rid a house of termites is VERY expensive and often only done as a final recourse (most houses have to be tented and the inhabitants must move out for a few days or so while it is done).

Guess it's to each his own. The termites did not bother me and I did not bother them...it was still a wonderful rental and a wonderful time in NO.

DD

Patrick, I'm with you. I can't imagine that anyone would not be bothered by having termites in their vacation rental. I would rather pay more money and have a bug free room.

Hey ddcnga, I've shared very nice hotel rooms and condos with "critters" in places like Hilton Head, Captiva Island, and St. Thomas. While I wasn't thrilled with their presence, like you, I could deal with them.

I didn't read your post as saying the place was "filled" with termites and my attitude is that I'd prefer a couple of critters to the vast amount of chemicals that would be required to ensure their absence in such locales. Or maybe we're just trashy people who will put up with anything, eh?

Can you really see or experience termites when you rent a place w/them? I thought they stay concentrated where the wood framing of the house is. Do they really run around the area of the house where you would see them? I lived in a structure in Houston that had termites, and we never knew the place had them til the termite inspection was done.

Ick ick!! We rented a house once that had termites come out while I was doing the laundry in the basement.
I went down the stairs and the floor was crawling with winged ants!
After I did the flying bug dance, the Yankee called the people who rented the place to us, we had the chemical brothers come out and spray and we were ok. My worry (once I knew they did not bite/sting/eat me alive) was that we would bring them home to our real house!
So I can understand not wanting termites wherever you stay

It is possible what people are calling termites are not really termites, but flying ants. Those are really disgusting. I think northern termites just hang out in damp wood and don't bother anyone - but maybe southern termites are more offensive and aggressive (like difference between northern cockroaches and southern "palmetto bugs"). In any case, if the bugs are not paying part of rental fee, they are not welcome.

I'm with you amwosu, maybe I am just trashy or stupid and did not even realize it.

I saw maybe 10 termites. They were not crawling on counters, or covering the floors or in the bed with us. They do not seek you out; they just subversively eat all the cellulose in their path. A few were crawling around in the bathroom and I saw some by the back door leading out to the beautiful garden area and hot tub.

For goodness sakes people, just because you don't see bugs does not mean they aren't there! Get real. I'm sure every single place you've ever slept had nocturnal creatures (the eight legged kind) crawling around unbeknownst to you and you slept just fine.

If I had walked into the rental and been swarmed by termites, of course I would have not stayed. That was not the case. The two men who owned the cabin had already spent tens of thousands of dollars repairing and ridding their side of the rental of termites. They were getting ready to do the same to the half in which we stayed, after our departure.

It's been said that there are two kinds of structures in New Orleans, those that have termites and those that will. It's a way of life there, albeit not one that those who live in New Orleans find appealing. Formosan termites are formidable creatures and nearly impossible to eradicate. I would dare say that there is ANY place in the French Quarter that does not have termites or that has not had them, even 4 star hotels.

OK, here's the deal. My very fine home in Naples, Florida had termites. We had them taken care of. I've been in a 6 unit townhouse condo complex after selling the house and we have had regular inspections and have twice found evidence of termites. The building was "injected" and eventually also tented to get rid of them. No, I've never SEEN a termite here, but they were here. They are not now. We got rid of them. It's not cheap, but it can be done. And any sensible homeowner does so in a climate where termites are a problem. I'm not talking about spraying them with a can of Raid, but rather having a good exterminator do what is necessary -- drilling holes into the foundation and injecting it, or injecting into the framework of the house, or tenting the building if necessary, all dependent upon the type of termites they find evidence of.

Gernerally speaking, termites won't be seen unless they are swarming or there are a whole lot ot them. That's why regular termite inspection is REQUIRED of any prudent homeowner in a termite prone area. If people see termites it PROBABLY means that the homeowners don't care, and are not having inspections of their home, nor dealing with the problem to get rid of them. To me that means you are renting from a homeowner that DOES NOT CARE about the general maintenance of his home -- and that indicates bigger problems than a couple of bugs you happen to see. And I would never give a "glowing recommendation" for any house that isn't being properly maintained, and that includes getting rid of termites instead of just saying "don't worry, they won't bother you."

Patrick, almost every place in NO has Formosan termites. Almost impossible to remove and a problem for the city of huge magnitude. They caused 2 Billion in damage in the past year I believe. When I did an architectural CEU in New Orleans two years ago, every historic home we visited was trying to deal with this. LMF

And lest you think I'm simply paranoid about bugs, let me make a couple of other comparisons.

If I rented a house, it rained and the roof leaked sending water down walls inside the house, I'd be bothered by that -- even if the water didn't get my personal things wet and I hadn't been "damaged" in any way. Why? Because it would tell me that the homeowners aren't maintaining the roof.

If a couple of windows had been broken out and they'd been replaced by plywood that was obviously old so they had been that way a long time, it might not be any inconvenience. Particularly if there were other windows in the room and those didn't provide a view anyway. But I'd be upset because it shows the owners aren't maintaining the home. It would drive me nuts that I was renting a house where they replaced broken windows with plywood rather than fixing the problem. No glowing report when I leave that place.

If I went to take a shower and the handles came off in my hand, sure I could probably get a screwdriver and easily fix it, but if it also happened in the kitchen, it would tell me that this was a poorly maintained home. It wouldn't be any huge inconvenience for me to fix it, but I don't give glowing reports of homes that aren't maintained.

So maybe the bottom line is that I'm just picky. Things that really don't "inconvenience" me in any way, still bother me. But then, I've also never posted things like, "I don't care what the hotel looks like, we won't be in it that much, we just need a place to sleep." So maybe that's my problem. I AM picky, and I DO care about my surroundings both at home and when I travel.