ATLANTA — When Jessica Spence of Atlanta planned a quick getaway to San Diego, she chose a five-star rated condo on the website VRBO.com, which stands for "Vacation Rental by Owner." Her experience was not five-star.
"I don't think we ever expected, in a million years, ever expected that to happen," Spence told Clark Howard's consumer team about her trip.
The problems started when she tried to check into the condo she'd paid for upfront.
"The guard did not have enough information provided to give me keys to get access to the unit,” Spence said.
For the next two hours, Spence said she tried the emergency contacts the owner had given her. She went back and forth with the security guard. She even emailed the owner who told her he would be out of the country. Finally, she gave up.
"It was 1 o'clock in the morning and my sister and I were in a city we were not familiar with and we had to go and find a hotel to stay in," Spence said.
On Channel 2 Action News at 5:45, we ask VRBO about its refund policy and why someone like Spence is not allowed to leave a review of her experience on its website.
Spence assumed she'd get a refund from the condo owner, or VRBO, but a week after her trip, she still hadn't heard from the owner. So she called VRBO again.
“That was when the representative told me that they were essentially nothing more than Craigslist," Spence said. "They told me they could do nothing for me, they wouldn't even make a judgment call in this situation about who was right or wrong."
Carl Shephard, who is with VRBO's parent company, HomeAway, says that's incorrect.
"If our customer service person said something that unfortunate, we'll do some retraining for that person," said Shephard. "Of course we're not like Craigslist. Craigslist is the place that is one of the problems in the industry right now."
VRBO's terms of agreement state, "We are not a party to any rental transaction or other transaction between users of the site."
But Shephard said the company offers a free basic rental guarantee, which covers some losses up to $1,000. Plus, he said, customers can buy extra insurance on VRBO.com.
The Better Business Bureau has given VRBO an A+ rating, but on Consumeraffairs.com we found some complaints.
James from Las Vegas wrote, "VRBO management has been no help."
Diane from Colorado wrote, "VRBO does not stand behind the contracts."
We also found other complaints where people claimed their bad reviews were censored.
"I think that whenever someone has a review that doesn't meet our guidelines, they are prone to call that censorship," said Shephard.
He said the guidelines are pretty simple. "You can't say something that is demonstrably untrue. And most importantly, you can't review the property not having stayed there."
Spence learned that the hard way. She tried to leave a review on her experience with her vacation rental. But it was rejected because she had not stayed at the condo.
Consumer attorney and former Gov. Roy Barnes says websites like this need to give consumers all the facts.
"Mostly, what should be required is the disclosure of adverse conditions and adverse experiences that others have had," said Barnes
Channel 2 consumer adviser Clark Howard said there are ways to protect yourself when shopping for vacation rentals.
Here's his advice:
- Look for vacation homes with a lot of ratings. Read all of them.
- Look for rentals with a lot of pictures. Pay careful attention to pictures of the kitchen and bathroom. If a rental has pictures of scenery, but not a lot of pictures inside the home, be wary.
- If you're booking less than 60 days before your trip, make sure you pay by credit card for additional rights.
- If you are renting on VRBO, pay for the extra insurance for more coverage.
Also, Clark pointed out that VRBO's main competitor, Airbnb, does get involved in rental transactions. Guests pay through Airbnb when they book a listing, and hosts don’t receive payment until at least 24 hours after guests check-in. An Airbnb spokesman said, "This protects the guest's money and gives them recourse if they show up to a listing and it's markedly different than what was advertised."
As for Spence, after Howard got involved, VRBO said her particular situation is covered under the basic rental guarantee. VRBO told us if the owner of the condo doesn't give her a full refund, the company will.