snowrooster

As a family of four, we like having spacious accomodations when we travel - more economical and comfortable than a hotel room. So far we have always rented through reputable agencies but I have visited the VRBO website and toyed with the idea.

I did search VRBO in this forum and found lots of comments about individual trips, but didn't turn up a general thread discussing the pros, cons, what to look for, take into consideration etc (there may be one but I guess it is probably buried behind all of the other references within threads).

Anyway, what can you tell me about VRBO from your experience? Thumbs up, thumbs down or do you kind of have to cross your fingers and hope for the best?

hugglynn

We also love having spacious accomodations and have found in many locations we can get a better deal on a huge, roomy & beautiful condo or home with more amenities that gives us freedom when traveling. We used VRBO to rent a fabulous home in Sedona and have used the website to rent another one there next Spring. We've also used it for condos in several locations on the gulf coast of Florida and Padre Island, Tx.
What we have found is that you get some winners and some losers. But I would say we've had the same odds at times with hotel rooms. Sometimes pics don't show everything --maintenance issues, housekeeping problems, worn furniture, etc. (the same goes for hotel websites, though!)
Stay away from those that show minimal pictures, or ask them to send you more.
The main thing to do is ask a lot of questions up front to the owner or manager of the property. Email, email, email. Ask about the condition, the cleanliness, and whatever else is important to you. (You will also get a feel for the owner from the communication in emails--are they up front or evasive?) Make your list up now so that you will know what to ask when you find that "perfect" property and the details excite you too much to remember them.
Also, if there is a place where you can go to the owner's website, check it out, too. Also check out the visitor's comments although they aren't a guarantee.

cd

We have used VRBO many, many times, have used them once already this year and have another rented for December. Only once have we been disappointed and that was because it was dirty. All the others have lived up to the pictures. I really lean towards the ones that say in their ad that it has been recently redecorated. I also like the fact that you talk to the owner of the unit/condo/house.

mclaurie

vrbo is a website that gets both individuals with vacation rentals as well as some cos. (large and small) that will lead you to their website or list things out there. The differences of using vrbo vs. a reputable agency are similar to the differences b/w buying a car from an individual vs. a reputable dealer. Ask lots of questions. Do NOT under any circumstances wire any money (they should take PayPal). Make sure you have a land line phone number and address for a contact person. Try to talk to them on the phone multiple times. Depending on where it is, try looking on slowtrav.com to see if there are any reviews.

snowrooster

I'm looking for a place in New Orleans in the French Quarter. I've found a couple that look good (don't need anything fancy, just 2 bedrooms and good location) but none have any comments. It just makes me nervous. Like I'll pick a place, make phone calls, pay my $$, then get down there and find out it is some sort of scam! Even if I pay via paypal & can get my $$ back, it would put a pretty big damper on the trip! Has anyone heard of this happening?

mclaurie

That can and does happen in NYC. I can't imagine many affordable vacation rentals IN the French Quarter. Right now hotel prices are still pretty inexpensive there. I can't imagine finding a decent 2 bedroom rental in a prime location for less than a hotel room. Would you like to provide specific links? Have you compared to hotel prices? I'd be very concerned about exact location. They could easily use the term in the French Quarter when it's really not.

snowrooster

I am VERY familiar with the FQ so I can tell by the address whether or not it is actually in the quarter. I know that even places close to the FQ but just a couple of blocks outside of it may be no good - the "safeness" can change pretty drastically pretty quickly! There is one I found that seems perfect and has several positive reviews, but the owner seems hesitant to allow children to stay there since there is a pool in the courtyard & it is not fenced in (which I'm okay w/as we have rented houses w/pools before - my kids know the rules & they can swim).

We can get a good rate for a hotel room, but four people in one hotel room is hardly pleasant IMO. I found a Country Inns & Suites that looks like an option, but I'd rather stay someplace with a bit more local charm.

mclaurie

Sounds like what you found would be great then. As long as you know the area and the safety issues. Also sounds like the owner is legit based on what you describe. You can negotiate from there on deposits etc. if they're willing to accept the kids.

Cissy

My sister and I have used VRBO for several years now when travelling to the Gulf Coast beaches. We have been pleased with our accommodations, with a few small bumps in the road, and always research extensively. Ask questions, and confirm all $$. We also e-mail back and forth with the owner in order to get as much information as possible. Like anywhere else, you have to be careful...there are always those out there to take advantage. A lot of owners will book the accommodations themselves, but turn over the maintenance to a local agency. All in all, it's a good way to find some beautiful property at good prices. Depends on time of year, etc. Have fun!

Cissy

dawnnoelm

I have used VRBO several times and been very happy with each experience.

NeoPatrick

I've had only good experiences, but one thing to be careful about is who is going to be available and near by for any problems. Especially beach type rentals often have owners thousands of miles away without a true representative to help you with anything you may need.

dawnnoelm

Good tip Patrick. We rent in Newport Beach and the owner lives down there as well. It has always worked out well. I have also found that when the owner is close by the rental is better cared for. Just my experience.

dmlove

We've rented more than once through VRBO, and have had very good experiences, but reiterate that you have to ask lots of questions. In some cases, we've actually talked to the owners on the phone, which is the best because you get to hear "body language" (you know what I mean), but even email exchanges can be telling. Ask about the age of the property, when it was last refurbished, whether it has cable/satellite TV, how big the individual rooms are (8 people might fit in 3-4 bedrooms, for example, but if the living is 20 square feet, there isn't much advantage in staying there), how far it is to particular places you want to go, whether it has off-street parking and if so, how many cars, whether it has a washer/dryer, how big is the water heater (I know that sounds funny, but with a lot of people, you can run out of hot water awfully fast), obviously, what the bed situation is (will someone have to use a sofabed or not), whether there is internet access, and if so, is it wireless, etc., etc. I'm sure others can add to this list.

hugglynn

Snow--just to add, your owner should provide you with a written agreement outlining the do's and don't and deposit info. Normally you will have to put down so much initially (such as 50%) and then the rest will have to be paid 30 days prior to arrival.
I agree having the owners close helps. At our rental in Venice, FL the owners lived close by and were able to bring over keys after we locked ourselves out
And in Sedona, our owner lived in Phoenix and she had easy contact with the cleaning company and mailed me a pair of earrings I left on a nightstand.

dmlove

To add, sometimes the owner is renting a condo and it's still in a development with a manager. In both cases, there was on-site management and we didn't have to pay the remaining 50% until arrival.

hugglynn

....and, be sure to note if the condo is smoking or non-smoking (just like with a hotel room) and find out UP FRONT if there is a cleaning fee added to your rental fee AND what the security deposit is and how soon after departure it will be refunded.

emd

snowrooster, here is a thread from the old "other topics" category on this board (before it became the lounge). It was on VRBO and the general manager of VRBO, Marvyn Floyd, answered the thread w/good advice about the things you mention in your OP above:

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)

emd

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