Vrbo

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Has anyone rented from Vacation Rental by Owner? If so, what was your opinion of it? What are the watch-outs?

[garyd210 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close garyd210]

Two couples in our dinner group went together to Hana, Maui and stayed in a house(with acreage) while the owners(father and son) stayed elsewhere on the property. They recommended it to me, but I have no personal experience with VRBO.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

VRBO (vacation rentals by owner) is just a marketplace where Owners can rent their own vacation homes. Because all owners are different you may have a different experience with each rental. My cousin rents her house in Sanibel on VRBO and manages the property herself.

There are a few people on VRBO that have more than one property and usually live in another state and have a management company help them manage it.

Unfortunately there is no feedback rating system like ebay on vrbo to know if the landlords are honest or not so there is always a possibility of fraud so I'd say when dealing with anyone on the site it's definetely a "buyer beware" situation.

On vrbo you will find properties in places that no timeshare exists and can be a good option for city stays. I've even seen people renting their duplexes as short term rentals on vrbo in my city, even condos that should not be rented short term appear on vrbo in my city.

[Nancy Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Nancy]

I've used them to rent and have had great results.

Nancy

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

I have used them a couple of times with very good results.

Cheers

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

VRBO (vacation rentals by owner) is just a marketplace where Owners can rent their own vacation homes. Because all owners are different you may have a different experience with each rental. My cousin rents her house in Sanibel on VRBO and manages the property herself.

There are a few people on VRBO that have more than one property and usually live in another state and have a management company help them manage it.

Unfortunately there is no feedback rating system like ebay on vrbo to know if the landlords are honest or not so there is always a possibility of fraud so I'd say when dealing with anyone on the site it's definetely a "buyer beware" situation.

On vrbo you will find properties in places that no timeshare exists and can be a good option for city stays. I've even seen people renting their duplexes as short term rentals on vrbo in my city, even condos that should not be rented short term appear on vrbo in my city.

While there is no feedback rating system, guests can write in a guest book and their comments can be accessed from the VRBO listing.

I've used them to rent and have had great results.

Nancy

VRBO has, quite possibly, the best visibility/traffic of any rental site, but it is quite expensive if you have only one week of timeshare to advertise.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

guests can write in a guest book and their comments can be accessed from the VRBO listing.

Can the owners edit the guest book? I've been under the impression that they can, but don't know for sure.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

OP, I did receive your PM.

I think in certain areas I would be more comfortable going thru an agency....say the USVI - there are many agencies that specialize in a specific island/area and would have first hand knowledge of the property you are renting...and have done some screening to make sure the rental is up to certain standards. Many owners of island locations rent their properties and use them part time themselves.

I am not against VRBO - I have no personal experience with them.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

As an owner, I listed our two beach front properties on VRBO is Vacation Rentals By Owner and HomeAway Vacation Rentals: Beach Houses, Condos, Cabins, Villas & Vacation Rental Homes

I never had a complaint, but I can see why you might be nervous because both you and the owner are going on faith. You'll find that you generally have to pay most, if not all, the money in advance, and cancellation policies will seem harsh--but remember, the owner doesn't have the resources of a Hilton/Marriott for re-renting. Once he commits the time to you, he turns down other possible renters and probably won't be able to get another in a short time space.

The cautions I would urge are
1. ask for photos--lots of photos and ask when they were taken. I used to make a huge number of photos available on Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing so renters could see everything there was to see.
2. speak to the owner on the phone; you'd be surprised what you can tell by doing that.
3. ask the owner to send you local recomendations for restaurants/things to do/etc. If the owner really knows the area and is proud of his property, he'll be glad to do that. If not.....beware.
4. check the reviews on the site for the property.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The house on the bluff behind us is one VRBO.

$3500/week in season.

They do OK . . . what they want to accomplish.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Can the owners edit the guest book? I've been under the impression that they can, but don't know for sure.

Owners cannot edit but can post replies. They can also not grant permission for the narrative of negative posts to appear but the stats/totals show the number of negative posts.

VRBO is serious about complaints sent to them. I have a great track record with them over ten years because I provide exactly what I say I'll provide, and I had a mom with 5 members of teenage girls lacrosse team trash my condo, they didn't take out the trash, they didn't clean the dishes, left food all over kitchen dining room, living room and bedrooms, left tour stickers stuck to my walls, did not return my parking pass. All the clean-up info was in their check-in sheet which the woman signed. I kept $115 of their $500 security deposit for the extra cleaning and replacement of the parking pass.

They wrote a totally nasty and untruthful review and then wrote to VRBO and told them that the locks on my condo didn't work, that the appliances didn't work, that the condo smelled of mildew, that I was just trying to boost my rental fees, etc, etc. Then VRBO came to me for explanations, I told them that they had trashed my place and not followed any of the signed for instructions, I offered them pictures, locksmith receipts, etc, etc. and their reply was that the complaint would remain in my file and if it happened again watch out. Ten years, nary a complaint and they side with the rentor as much as the rentee, I wasn't happy with them, invited them to inspect at any time a brand new furnished 9th floor condo with no chance of smelling like mildew.

Anyway, it would seem that VRBO does police the listings, which would mean that you might be unlucky and be the first to complain but if there's a track record at all in the guest book, you're probably safe.

Whatever I post should be considered my personal opinion and/or experience and is in no way an indictment of any company or individual.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The house on the bluff behind us is one VRBO.

$3500/week in season.

They do OK . . . what they want to accomplish.

I meant to say on VRBO.

[Hoosiergal Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hoosiergal]

I have rented several times from VBRO with no problems whatsoever. I always speak to the owners.

Bev

[pranas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pranas]

Do the neighbors a favor and ask the owner if the rental is legal. Many owners rent out short-term when this is against local codes. Above all, have pity on the neighbors and keep the noise level down when you rent a unit or house in a residenial neighborhood.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

I'm looking at VRBO for renting a couple houses for a special event in a year or so. Any feedback about their insurance program (or maybe that's just for HomeAway? can't remember what it was called...) given the amount of money that will be involved, I'd certainly feel better, and it is cheap.