HomeAway was founded in 2005 in Austin, Texas by current CEO Brian Sharples and Carl Shepherd.
In 2006, Homeaway.com was launched. The website allows consumers search for and book vacation rentals online. The site was a result of numerous acquisitions including CyberRentals.com, GreatRentals.com, A1Vacations.com, TripHomes.com, Homeaway.co.uk and VRBO.com.
More acquisitions followed in 2007 including VacationRentals.com, Arbritel.fr and OwnersDirect.co.uk.
In 2009, the company moved into a brand new global headquarters in Austin.
In 2010, the company launches a nationwide advertising campaign using Chevy Chase and Beverly DeAngelo in a Griswald themed Superbowl commercial.
Also in 2010, the company acquires BedAndBreakfast.com and Escapia.
Homeaway currently has over 560,000 property listings worldwide.
HomeAway
HomeAway was founded in 2005 in Austin, Texas by current CEO Brian Sharples and Carl Shepherd.
In 2006, Homeaway.com was launched. The website allows consumers search for and book vacation rentals online. The site was a result of numerous acquisitions including CyberRentals.com, GreatRentals.com, A1Vacations.com, TripHomes.com, Homeaway.co.uk and VRBO.com.
More acquisitions followed in 2007 including VacationRentals.com, Arbritel.fr and OwnersDirect.co.uk.
History
In 2009, the company moved into a brand new global headquarters in Austin.
In 2010, the company launches a nationwide advertising campaign using Chevy Chase and Beverly DeAngelo in a Griswald themed Superbowl commercial.
Also in 2010, the company acquires BedAndBreakfast.com and Escapia.
Homeaway currently has over 560,000 property listings worldwide.
I WILL NEVER EVER USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN , THEY FUNNEL ALL THE CALLS TO ANOTHER COUNTRY , RENTED MY PLACE THEY STILL HAVE NOT DISPERSED MY MONEY 3 DAYS LATER . CORPORATE THIEVES NEVER AGAIN IF NO PAYMENT THEN CUSTOMER GETS LOCKED OUT WONDER IF SOMEONE IN UNITED STATES AKA TEXAS MY A**
This is the worst company ever!! I attempted to book a property with homeaway. The owner had 24 hours to respond to my request, she did not respond within the allocated time frame of 24 hours so the reservation was canceled. Homeaway still charged my credit card 1000.00. My first question was why are you charging my credit card without the property being fully booked?? that made no sense at all… I called multiple times to try and get the charged removed from my credit card. I kelp getting told the same thing it is being handled by the customer Technical Dept. No one from the Technical dept ever reach out to me no calls or e-mails…. I called back multiple times to speak to a manager i was put on hold and no one ever came to the phone ( that happen at lease 4 times). I called back and spoke with a low lever customer service rep. and she informed me there is no way to contact the Technical dept they have no phone number or e-mail I have to just wait until they contact me which they never do. At this point i don’t know what to do but dispute the charges on my credit card….. I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH HOMEAWAY AGAIN!! case number 23893880
I am very disappointed in the customer no service. I have been trying to get in touch with Homeaway since yesterday but have yet to talk to a customer service representative.
This will be the first and last time I book anything through VRBO or Homeaway. It is obvious they care nothing about their clients or potential clients.
My experience with VRBO has been terrible. Not only was the rental misrepresented VRBO s customer service has been even worse. I have reported VRBO to the better business bureau. To the attorney general. The consumer affairs office. VRBO hides behind their fine print of legal jargon to avoid supporting their consumers. Today I contacted the Federal trade officials and they filed an complaint for me also. The problems with VRBO are well documented sadly I didn’t take them seriously. Lastly today I have taken my complaint to my local news channel and they are being very supportive and helpful too. I will not be intimidated by VRBO and will continue to fight their unfair business practices
Patty Ross
Hello I agree with you 1000%. The HomeAway in Hixson Tn. was so horrible I brought my suitcase in the dingy, smoked filled room with a bedspread that was riddled with cigarette burns all over it, I turned down the bedspread to see the sheets and there were 30 beetles in the bed and on the pillow cases.
I ran out of there and asked for my money back which they gave to me. The manager looked like he was part of a biker gang. THIS IS THE WORST PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN TO, IT WAS LIKE A NIGHTMARE!!!!! This place should be investigated!!!
I have a chargeback and have submitted the paperwork last Monday on my property Reference #: 60016245:90 and I have emailed them 5 times and called different ppl over ten times asking for an update and no one responds and I get the rum around. Y’all did this with another chargeback and came back and said you closed it cause I never responded which I did and have proof. The deadline is 2-6 and I need a respond I left message Friday for a manager of payment services to call me back. I have left my number 5 times and asked for someone to call me and no one has. I’m losing money because of your Payment Services not responding to me a Jamesha James is not due a refund. You did this before on another chargeback where the traveler damaged my property and you I also sent the supporting documents as proof Reference #: 55700258:90 and you are stealing from property owners. II need someone to call me Elaine
HI Elaine…I’m Going through the same nightmare experience….has your problem been resolved ?
i want to file complaint on michael young . home is listed as 2 night stay , i tried to book four nights, he responds its a week stay . i respond with a copy of the ad which states two night min stay .
he then responds, Replied available-4 hours ago
“No , you don’t have the money.” is this the type of people you have working for your company ? he is a arrogant person .
Property
#990546
Michael Young/ lienced realestate broker ( he cant even spell licensed)
I have tried to contact your UK office without any success, my complaint is the lack of information you are giving about rentals. I have sent 4 separate letters to your London office and all 4 letters have never been answered I have tried to go into your London office and have been refused entry and denied access to Speke to your staff which raises the question are HomeAway a legal company and can they be relied on ( my opinion is no ) which raises the question how many more people are thinking the same as me. Think about it.
Hello,
my name is Enoch Ingraham and I’ve recently rented a home through your company from July 1st until July 9th 2018. Upon arriving to the home I came to realize that the central air down stairs was not in service, that was eventually resolved and then the central air upstairs was off when we returned home a day or so later and we also had to contact the owner once again for that issue. At that time there was no way to get in contact with the engineer or the owner so my family and I had to sleep down stairs in the living area a party of 16 to be exact. It was clear that the owner was aware the home may have air malfunctions since there was more than enough box fans in the home, most of the fans did not work properly so it could not help with the heat. This stay was the first time for 4 of my family members and I was embarrassed that we had to experience these issues… I normally stay at Paradise Cay and never had an issue with the owners there. Also, the hot water was off and on constantly and it made our stay even more uncomfortable. I inquire about reimbursement with the owner Shawn Huang whom agreed for the two days reimbursement but stated that I would have to withdraw the survey about my stay at his property. I express to Shawn that I felt as if I was being bribed to withdraw my comments about what I experienced and I continued to explain to him that there was no reason to lie about the issues my family and I face during my length of stay. I further explained that the engineer had to change the panel down stairs for the central air, he also had to drain settle water which played a role in the air upstairs to not work and also the engineer stated that a part on the water heater had to be changed, however, Shawn expressed that the engineer did not find any issues but those were issues that crippled my experience at his property. Shawn inquired how he made it right with me which was the highlight of our emails back and forth, however, his response impulsive since I did not wish to take down my comments about my stay. At this junction I don’t care about the imbursement I know now I won’t be booking that property anymore. I would like to have my deposit back which I am still waiting to receive. I’ve inquired about the deposit but Shawn never responded to my email. I’ve booked with family through your company for the past 8 years and this is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with this issue. I just need help in getting my deposit back from the owner.
My contact information…
Email: enoch_92_Ingraham@ hotmail.com
I do check my email at least twice a day.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Enoch Ingraham
Very disappointed and mad with the entire homeaway.com scam! Owner never called me back, no good number, no emails and we paid in full and my famiy has no vacation!! homeaway sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS THE EMAIL I RECEIVED THE DAY AFTER PAYING MY ANNUAL FEE…DEACTIVATING MY LISING (and I’ve had the listing with VRBO for over 10 years) because I have my phone number in my listing. I’m filing a complaint with EVERY government office and consumer affairs department that I can. I have every right to place my contact number in an ad (which is what this is). VRBO is NOT like Airbnb where that company takes steps to verify information on the person contacting me and takes a fee for that (from the traveler ONLY). They are trying to charge BOTH the owner and traveler a fee by manipulating the listing…and I’m not standing for it. IF ONLY THERE WERE ANOTHER COMPANY TO LIST WITH!!! As an owner, I have had nothing but frustration month after month after month since Home Away bought VRBO.
THE EMAIL I RECEIVED….
Dear Cheryl XXXXXX
This email is to warn you that 1 of your properties are violating our marketplace standards.
It looks like some language on your property pages may encourage travelers to contact you directly and book off of HomeAway’s site. This is against our marketplace standards.
Guidance on violating languages to avoid: •Avoid using contact information such as phone numbers, urls, or social media sites
•Avoid language that may encourage avoiding the service fee
•Avoid encouraging travelers to book or make payments outside of the HA checkout process
Please remove such language from the 1 properties attached below by July 4, 2018. Otherwise, your account and all associated properties may be deactivated.
What is happening with Call Center in Austin. Suddenly competent help being replaced by persons who are not native English speakers. Sometimes difficult to understand and my guests have complained!!
Thank you.
#3756863 Happily with you for 4 years!
“April 28, 2018 4:20 PM
Ms. XXXXXXXX
Since you have always responded to my messages within a day or two, I assume you will not be responding to my April 25th message. I also assume you do not plan to return my 1st payment ($2,978.23).
I do request – at the very least – a minimum refund of $1,715.90 (Property Fee $130.00* + Service Fee (#USHA13C0013183727) $399.00* + Taxes $1,186.90*).
* Property Fee: I have not and will not be using the property;
* Service Fee: It is my understanding HomeAway would refund the $399.00 if the property owner/management company returns in full money received – regardless of an owner’s ‘no refund’ cancellation policy. HomeAway will not refund the fee if the owner does not return the money.
* Taxes: The taxes were based on the total rental amount ($10,715.90); I wonder if it is legal to keep taxes for services (rental money) not used? When a customer makes a return to a merchant, the tax is refunded – the merchant does keep it.
I also want to make a correction to previous messages where I made reference to your property not being available to other prospective renters for 5 days because of my booking – it was actually 4 days.
Respectfully, I want to make you aware that even though Citi Bank may not be able to resolve this issue, I am going to attempt a dispute for the $2,978.23.
Sincerely,
Katherine Robosan
cc: HomeAway Customer Service”
I rented an apartment for March 22 to the 26th listing # 4271697. HA after paying the $112 HA fee the HA reservation site said to pay the the owner directly as this is the owner method of payment and that they will email me again when the owner reported receiving payment. The listing was for a first floor apartment with wheelchair accessibility and that is why I chose it. I was traveling with May son and my nephew who are very very disabled. I also prior to booking sent a message to the owner that we had wheelchairs and were happy to find this listing. I got an email afterwards from the owner sending a form to charge my credit card. I completed the transaction with the owner. I waited to receive the “paid” email for HA and went back to the website. Found out the owner or HA had removed the listing. I needed to pack as my kids in special diets and needed info about kitchen utensils. I could not reach hA their phone lines would drop off after the initial message. Couldn’t reach anyone through the related sites including Expedia which I understand owns HA. I was finally able to find contact info on the owner as he had his cell # on the form he sent me for the credit card charge. It turned out the owner used this one listing to rent several apartments he owned or managed. So the pics and the listing info such as “wheelchair accessible “ didn’t apply to all the apartments he managed and he said he didn’t have a wheelchair accessible one only townhomes or 2nd floor. He sent a message later through Homeaway to tell me he could not acomódate me and He the owner cancelled the reservation. He also said in the message that he would reimburse the credit card. He never did. I made a complaint to HA and to this day I haven’t seen a credit not even from Homeaway for the $112 fee. I didn’t cancel the reservation, the owner did because he advertised for something he didn’t have. I was left with no place to go and only a few days before we were to leave. I have Been dealing with the aftermath of this Homeaway nightmare. HA has in their records the communication that confirms the owner cancelled and it was not our fault. AND they still have NOT REIMBURSED US for the $112. You cannot talk to anyone in claims and the emails they are sending are basically canned emails nI received 2 they read pretty much the same in regards to the complaint. They are not addressing the $112 reimbursement and only addressing that directnowner payment with credit cards are to be done as a dispute with the Bank that has that credit card. I called the Austin TX headquarters and there is no way NO WAY to reach anyone. Is an cycled voicemail and only if you actually know someone extension you may be able to get through. I had a the end to hold for the corporate operator but then the cycle of the voicemail recording starts all over again. The phone is 512-684-1100. The complaint I filed is case 15082781. I even had it escalate to fraud as the behavior of the owner was suspicious but they closed that case. Attorneys need to look into class action against this company. They are keeping monies from travelers either by delaying reimbursement or Not reimbursing. This actually increases their working capital.
My son and I had accounts together. While travelling, his identity was compromised as well as mine.
I closed all my accounts and advised the credit reporting agencies no new accounts for at least t 6 months.
I must send a money in order to renew.
However, the site offer any suggestions. where do I send my money and what mount?
Brian Sharples is a crook and his company is run poorly. We’ve gotten the run around from 7 employees and nobody is taking responsibility or helping clean up the mess “Homeaway” created
SICK OF THIS
Homeaway has seemingly stolen our rental money and we’re getting the run around from everyone there. I want to speak with the ceo or coo today and explain what happened. Moreover, I want to get paid the money they owe us today
I rented listing # 7116516. Would like to write a review. Please send link. Grace
Home Away (VBRO) is the worst travel service I have ever used. Each time I called to report on the issues to my complaints, the wait for “renters” was at least 15-20 minutes. If your call gets escalated to the next level, the wait is double that. VBRO continually sides with the “owners” and offer little to no recourse to the “renters” who have already paid their money. The latest injustice is that my review (submitted February 7th) was never posted (since it was not good), while more recent reviews for people who stayed at the same property was posted. The other issue is you get a different answer each time you call, depending on the customer service rep.
We have been involved with Internet Fraud on your website and have been TOTALLY frustrated by the way our situation has been handled since December. Your claims department can not be reached by phone only email. That is unheard of. No company has a claims department that you can’t talk with!!! It is ridiculous!! This has been the most awful experience and your company is so nonchalant about everything!!! I would appreciate hearing from someone via the phone…someone who really cares about travelers.
508-877-XXXXX
I am a property owner with beach front rental in Vero Beach Fl. My home was hit by hurricane Matthew in 2016 and the Irma in 2017. I had to cancel reservations due to the damage, I have spent 16 months making repairs. The home ready to relist and Homeaway will not remove the cancellations off my matrix which drops my rankings to the bottom.The hurricane was not within my control. Homeaway said I should not cancel the bookings…. I said just let the guest show up at the front door with no where to say? Bad customer service holding an act of nature against someone who has earned a 28; 5 star reviews on their property prior to the hurricanes? Very bad. Expedia should be helpful to property owners who have suffered catastrophes, and have worked to overcome the damage done, shameful customer service.
This company has gotten worse and worse. I spent over 1 hour trying to get someone fluent in English. Tired of listening to a 2 minute recorded marketing BS each time I called. They disabled my account and no one knows why. I lost a renter because of it. No supervisors. One person told me they were in a meeting. Hung up and called right back. Another one told me they were gone for the day. Hung up and called back. Another one told me the que was full waiting for supervisors and I had to call back in the morning. All within 10 minutes. This company’s employees LIE. Does anyone know of a better booking site for owners? After 10 years with VRBO, and Homeaway, I am over this.
I’ve had the same problem in Australia
Do not buy Trip Protection from Home Away or VRBO. It is a SCAM. I paid $114 for trip protection for my $458 deposit, but when I asked for a refund due to cancellation seven weeks before reservation, Home Away sent me to a third party insurer I had never heard of, even though my receipt for the (bogus) Trip Protection is through VRBO. No staff know anything, they are just trained to avoid taking responsibility.
I have reported them to the Texas Attorney General and encourage all others to do the same. DO NOT BOOK with VRBO or Home Away.
I have had a good experience until my last guest didn’t have the shower curtain in the tub and the water ran out and damaged the ceiling on the main floor. CSA said that this is normal wear and refused the small fee for the plumbers service call and the handyman to repair the ceilings. I will change the way I do business concerning excepting CSA Insurance and possibly with HomeAway/VRBO
I made a reservation online. The reservation was confirmed. A few days later when I check my account, upcoming trips, your website shows no trips. When I call customer service I am told that your company is experiencing technical issues, the reservation that I have provided is under someone else’s name and if I cannot give the proper # I cannot speak with a supervisor. I hang up and call back…get a supervisor who says that she can see my reservation but the property owner put the reservation in their name not mine but she gave me my email address etc. I am advised I need to go to support because it appeared that the property owner put the reservation and I am blind transferred. I am asked for a case # which I was never given. Finally this representative disconnects the call. I have to call back again. This time I am given a case # and finally get to Peggy. Peggy as to be the most humdrum representative that I have ever spoke to. Telling me being on hold for over and hour is “no big deal”….”we are just having technical issues”. I hand the phone over to my husband because if I do not, I will start yelling and Peggy disconnects the call. We call back and get Peggy who tells me, ” I admit, I disconnected the call when I feel someone is hostile!!!!!” Hostile!!!!!! YOU HAVE MY MONEY AND NO ONE VERIFY MY Reservation and I get the run around!!!!! Holy cow!!! What happened to CUSTOMER SERVICE??????? I seriously doubt anyone will reach out to me about this.
We have been trying to get a refund from HomeAway and/or owner of apartment we rented in Florence, Italy. The reason: non-functioning bathroom plumbing. The toilet was gushing water, the shower had no hot water and the shower drain was totally backed up. I have video evidence of the plumbing disasters. We had to leave and book alternate accommodations as a non-functioning bathroom was unacceptable. Tried to telephone the owner – no answer. Left several voicemails – no reply. This was on September 13, 2017. To this day, we have had no communication from the owner at all. We have spoken with Home Away customer service several times. They say we have to work it out with the owner!! How is that possible, when the owner is ignoring us? We have tried to dispute charges with credit card company, only to be told that as it was a foreign transaction (despite booking on Home Away.com), they would not be able to lodge a dispute. We are so frustrated and feel very taken advantage of. The owner has scammed us and HOme Away does not stand by it’s customers. This was our first time using Home Away.com and we will never, ever use them again and will tell everyone not to use this company. We are now left to look into possible legal action, which we will do. I do not understand how this company can stay in business. We would like a refund. We did not get what we paid for and it ruined our vacation in Florence.
I tried to place an order for new service this evening, 9/25/17. The sales rep I spoke with asked me the same questions over and over again and my credit card number again after I had put it away and I told him to cancel my order # 274977276, for new service.Please have a supervisor or if you will please contact me regarding my ordering new service and hopefully I won’t have to experience this type of frustration again.My home phone is (512) 361-XXXXX, if I am not at home when you call please leave your name and contact phone so I may return your call and try to order my service which was supposed to be on Thursday, the 28th. Thank you in advance, Juanita Ferrell
Expedia/HomeAway/VRBO has the most incompetent and useless customer service EVER! Despite being very polite phone representatives, they cannot resolve a simple issue. They just sweetly apologize and refer the matter elsewhere – but nothing gets resolved, and they lie! I have spent probably 7 hours on the telephone with representatives including (among others whose names I did not get) Bea, Jay, Enid, Edna, Jasmine, Lou,Mitch.
My issue? For some reason they keep rejecting my credit card (Code E1025, as they call it which they say is the bank’s decline of the card). I have checked with my bank and they say no such hold or decline is on the card, in fact they have received no payment requests from HomeAway, etc, to decline or reject, and I have used the card A LOT for other charges, none of which have been a problem.
Obviously, the issue is something HA has done. But they will not own up to it, much less try to fix it. There is no corporate number to call, no higher authority to push the matter to. So they take no ownership of the problem. A terrible way to run a service-based business.
For me, I will do my absolute best not to use any of the Expedia/HomeAway/VRBO/Etc services again. I would strongly recommend that everyone else consider going elsewhere for their travel needs. I am just sorry that this poor corporate performance will negatively impact the property owners who use their service and, among the 5-10 that I have rented from and met personally, are lovely people.
I tried homeaway for the first time last night. I have used AirBnB at least 10 times in the past and never had a bad experience. I requested to book and had questions for the property owner. Before answering the questions they booked me without answering the questions first. I then received the 4 page rental agreement and it was absolutely insane. “No pesticides, no bug spray, no aerosol” ..”no offensive attire” which is totally subjective to opinion …..and all sorts of other crazy demands.I’m not paying to go to a church camp. I called the help line before the booking was complete to cancel my request. The representative told me I would be refunded 100% and there would be no problem. She said to simply message the owner and request a cancellation. The owner is not cancelling yet and I want the charge off my card ASAP. I called back today because I was charged and the “supervisor” told me the property owner had to cancel the trip or I had to contact my credit card company to stop the payment. How does your company representative tell one thing last night and something completely different today? How do you expect to compete with AirBnB with this horrible customer service? I was promised a 100% refund and even a have a reference number for the call. (09935142)…the call is recorded so it’s on record ….I’m highly dissatisfied and I was hoping to give you continued business…however if I don’t get a prompt resolution I will be sticking with AirBnB as they have excellent customer service.
I am having the same issue as you. They promised me a 100% refund one day and then only a 50% the next. Stating that it is all up to the home owner. This is the worst experience I have ever had with them and I will not be using this service EVER AGAIN. Still trying to get my money. I want to reach the owner of the company and ask how he/she would feel if someone took their money from their family.
I am a property owner and listed my property on Homeaway, worst company ever to deal with. Most of the travelers on this site are crooks. Case in point Amanda Baker of San Diego made a reservation for 54 nights through Homeaway and paid with credit card through Homeaway payments and 20 days into her stay her plans changed and out of the blue filed two complaints on the same day in an effort to find an excuse to get out of the lease, first one was that the toilet is leaking. Sent maintenance the same day and found no leak, then she complained that her gate tag was not working. Replaced the gate tag with a new one but never the less she left and filed a charge back dispute stating the services were not provided. Contacted Homeaway and Homeaway payments and both are totally incompetent idiots working in this organization. Homeaway even though was being paid per reservation that means virtually no contact with the tenant till reservation is confirmed and homeaway is collecting fees upward of $400 for this reservation but takes no responsibility whatsoever when crooks like these use their site. They have no safeguards against such activity. They are only interested in making money on the backs of unsuspecting property owners and if a crook disputes the charge Homeaway neither takes any responsibility or assists with resolving the issue. They are basically saying to the property owner “go f****ck yourself”. We do not care. Worst customer service ever, all located overseas and their customer service reps are unable to communicate in proper English, it seems like Homeaway purposely hires the dumbest of the dumb. And their payment processor is even worse. All they do is send generic emails and every time its a different person so you do not even know who the hell is handling your case and you are unable to speak with any one in authority. I don’t think they have any executive staff at all or they are hiding their tails somewhere and are unavailable on the phone. Homeaway and it affiliates appear to be a complete scam and if any property owner is reading please for your own sake stop using this service because they will screw you without hesitation.
HELLO I am a super-host with other Rental websites with excellent results, and more than 120 five star reviews. Last May 2017 I decided to give HomeAway a try. BIG MISTAKE! I had a very negative and unsafe situation with just my first reservation. Homeaway and its payment processing company VacationPayment allowed this guest (Terez Turner), who has a history of charge-back reservations, to stay in my property. I was informed of this traveler’s illegal history when she was already checked-in. HomeAway continues to allow this traveler and other fraudulent travelers have her profile. This is HomeAway’s responsibility, yet they are being negligent. They are relying on their partner VacationPaymentRental HomeAway has failed to perform their fiduciary responsibility and protect me as homeowner. I am demanding HomeAway provide financial remedies for me. Not only will I have to file a police report and Consumer Protection agencies, but will also have to file legal action against HomeAway and partners. To this day, this traveler is still registered with HomeAway as a “Verified” User with two trips in 2017. I now have $475 in property damages because the Guests never return the keys, and I had to change the locks outside business hours. I want an answer from HomeAway immediately. I tried to get help from Customer Support, but it was useless and frustrating.
I have a 13 page PDF doXXXXent with all the doXXXXentation, timeline, communication… etc. related to DIANA OCHOA e reservation and these two charge backs. Furthermore, I would like Homeaway and VacationPayment to work together with the Fraud department of the guest’s credit card company to further investigate this fraud. As you can see in my detailed report we have the IP number of Diana Ochoa when confirming and paying for this transaction, so the fraud department, and the authorities can track who actually used this credit card. This is the beginning of a long battle to get justice, and prevent other homeowners to go thru what I went thru. We can all take this negative experience to learn and prevent this from happening again.
Bottom line up front: I tried to make reservations (approximately $5900.00), the website declined my bank card. The bank or home away could not figure out why. I was booking 40 days and during the time we were trying to make reservations, a two day period was booked. I used my other credit card to book my stay on for the property, 2 reservations, one on the front end and one on the back end of the two days that were already booked. The property manager emailed me and said she messed up and was going to cancel my reservation. I was refunded in full the first reservation but not the second ($2251.80). I emailed the property manager and called home away customer service. After 3 case numbers and five days I have now gotten the issue resolved. To top it off my bank card that was declined was still charged and I just got that back today. So for five days home away had taken approximately $11,500.00 from me which caused me to have an overdraft fee. I spent many hours on the phone trying to resolve this issue, during that time I couldn’t even buy groceries or gas. I still have $2251.80 waiting to be refunded and they are telling me it will take 5-10 business days. This is my first time to ever use home away and will probably be the last. Also the reservations were for my military travel traveling on orders and since I did not have access to any of that money I could not make reservations and now all affordable hotels in the area are completely booked and I am having to stay 45 minutes away and will have to pay $8 a day in tolls for 40 days (320.00) out of pocket while I am on travel. This experience has been a complete nightmare and i was treated horribly except for the last lady I was on the phone with. I also asked to speak to a manager and they told me that one was not there but they would have the manager call me. I never received a call back.
I am very satisfied with Home Away and with VRBO. Sorry to hear that all y’all are having problems. We are having no issues and it is a fantastic source of vacationers for our units.
Rick L
S. Carolina
You must work for them.
Customer service is a traveler’s nightmare. Unfortunately, Home Away’s platform and policy is very pro-owner and not pro-traveler. I have written twice and have held three 30-45 minutes conversations with no results. This is our story:
We stayed in a property through Home Away during April 2017. We were charged $175 for cleaning fee but the apartment was not clean when we arrived. The beds were made up and everything was in its place but there was a lot of dust and there were hundreds of tiny dead moths everywhere from the kitchen to the bathtubs, floors, etc. Additionally, no cleaning supplies were provided from the owner (not even a mop and a broom) to be able to fix this. We were traveling with small children, so this made the situation even more unacceptable. The air conditioner in the master bedroom had a strong foul odor that would not leave even after leaving it on for several hours. We contacted the property administrator and she insisted that the apartment had been cleaned (even when pictures had been texted to her mobile phone) and never once recognized the conditions the property was in. She did, however, sent someone to check the air in the master bedroom but the maintenance man informed us that nothing could be done at that moment, since it would probably require a complete cleaning of the air system pipes and he would be recommending the owner to do that once we had checked out. Hence, the foul smell (so strong that we had to leave the balcony doors open and, thus, the room would not cool properly) persisted throughout the entire stay. We informed this to the administrator as well, but she never replied. We had already been charged and we decided to tough it out and stay for the remainder of the duration. We don’t like giving negative reviews, so we opted not to leave this property a review at all but, to our surprise, we got a negative review from them.
The Home Away platform and customer service, unfortunately, is pro-owner, not giving travelers the option of commenting on negative reviews given to them (no matter how untrue they may be) nor a dispute system that would result in the deletion of a review in case the owner never answers the dispute filed by the traveler. Such was our situation. We have used Home Away many many times and never encountered any problems before. We hope that your company finds a way to also assist travelers in situations such as ours, for all of our sakes. We, however, have opted not to rent from HomeAway again and will continue to use other traveler friendly platforms such as Airbnb.
Re reservation ID HA-CMFOTV
Property #6476927
My complaint is simple, where is my security deposit I lodged with your company on behalf of my wife Lorraine , we vacated the premise, the premise was inspected and found to be faultless, and that was a week ago, and, you still have not released my E1378 security deposit, that effects my continued holiday.
Having contacted your office and the property owner and not even received the courtesy of a response my next contact will be with the Corporate registrar?
This is a simple matter, refund the Refundable Damage Deposit now!
Mark Edmunds FCPA
I bought the cancellation insurance. I have to cancellation due to an issue with my Disability. I was informed by your Customer NoCare group that I cannot get a refund just because I have a disability. I have asked for someone In management to call me to no avail. Perhaps you have not heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act or EEOC Discriminatory practices, but you soon will. I intend to file bot complaints and a lawsuit to recoup my fees.
WE PAID IN FULL $2,084.00 and all (3) phone numbers to the owners DO NOT WORK. We have no way of contacting them to find out the number of the condo and how we get a key. There is no email address and the lousy customer service reps are worthless. All the do is fool around and giggle when you try to talk to them.
WHY DID VRBO merge with suck pukes?
HOMEAWAY TWITTER PAGE IS NO BETTER.
I will TWEET EVERY DAY SO EVERYONE KNOWS NOT TO BOOK WITH YOU.
I have had the worst customer service experience with your company. I have been trying for the last 3 months to get my security deposit back on property I stayed at in October. Obviously your guarantee of returning security deposits wrongfully kept is not worth anything. I once spent over 50 minutes with your customer service only to get no help. I will never recommend your company to anyone and will be contacting the New York State Attorney General.
I have had two recent experiences that are really causing a problem.
My seasonal rates mysteriously disappear from the listings. No one knows why!
I know immediately when this happens as the default is off season rates and my in box gets flooded with reservation requests.
Now the company wants to go to automatic reservations so here is what I see happening. Seasonal rates get deleted and your high season bookings get made at off season rates.
Still evaluating but after many years this may be it for this website as Airbnb and FlipKey can make up the difference with no cost to list.
I have used vrbo for three years as a homeowner. Always paid my fees on time but chose too have more contact with people who want to rent my house so I declined the on-line payment and booking services.Now, it is the 1st week of April and I have had no summer rentals. Coudn’t figure out why until I went to y listing which was GONE. No explanation and No warning. I called, was told that I had to include my rates on line. I did that and paid for the next year of listing. Twenty four hours later still not up. Now, I am told that unless I allow credit card processing at a 3% charge that goes back to the VRBO and Home Away, my listing will NOT appear in the town where people may be looking to rent it winds up being #550 in a list of 600 properties that are nowhere close to the town where my house is located. I consider this fraud since VRBO charges an extra $150.00 annual listing fee if you decine online credit card payment and doesn’tdelver the service you pay for. Who needs this aggravation? Air B n B is going to get my business!
Ref: Property Case 21791127
I have used Homeaway many times – never had any issues with the houses I rented. I booked a home in June, 2016 (Cape Coral). I come to find out this past Saturday, 1/28 that the house I booked has a sale pending on it. Try to contact the owner – after a few attempts, I got him and he really was more concerned about the sale of his house then be being without a home! I called Homeaway customer service – Saturday at 4:00 and was on hold and transferred for hours. Many of your customer service reps were helpless – they could not give me any sort of answers. By 10:00pm I had given up – I was getting no where! I was so upset that I did not have a house to go to (airline and taxi all in place). I got up Sunday morning and started the call process again at 8:00am – I finally got someone by noon time (in rebooking). He sent me a bunch of homes that I can look at. By the time you request to book – the house is already taken. I finally got a house but can only have it for 10 days (needed it for 14). I finally had someone have a cancellation and that is how I got a house. The house cost more and Homeaway said they would reimburse us for the difference – sent them the info in cost and haven’t heard anything back. Not only do I feel that I should be reimbursed but I feel I should get a credit. This whole process was so painful, I was in tears! The house we are renting is smaller. I do not get many vacations due to time off at my work, so I look forward to this one vacation!
Homeaway should definitely compensate me for more than just the cost of the house!
Truly horrible customer service for owners. My house is in the middle of PACIFIC PALISADES, CA. I have been listed in Pacific Palisades with VRBO for years. Now they have changed there pin system and are apparently relying on google pin for palisades which is grossly inaccurate and in Santa Monica Canyon. I spoke with customer service, Shawn, who confirmed the problem and said it should be an easy fix. Wrong! The bozo’s in the geography fix department will not fix the problem. No my house which is smack dab in the middle of Pacific Palisades is listed in Los Angeles and I can get no bookings. This has costed me thousands of dollars and VRBO is so incompetent and negligent that they can’t or won’t fix the problem. Truly shocking!! FIX THIS!!!!!!!!!
This is a horrible horrible company we are renting a house in Cape Coral, so excited, unfortunately after we paid over 400$ we noticed we were charged 5 different times for 10$ $ 10.87 , 0.6 cents 11$ and few more.. Called and spoke to someone that was no help or could not understand, also spoke to a manager got no where.. I emailed home away also 3 times no response, I’m very disappointed I will be called my bank due to extra charges that I did not agree to also was not in contract, I will be calling theBBB if this matter is not taking care of.. This is fraud.. Spoken to the homeowners and I was told to contact you guy’s again was very rude people on the phone and got no where.. This is unacceptable, there will be fraud charges if nothing gets done.. Horrible horrible business.. Richard in holiday fl
I’m still waiting on a response 5 th time I have contacted you guys..
I recently explored villa bookings on the VRBO.com website and found a villa in Italy that I liked. In order to just make an inquiry, I had to put in my credit card details. VRBO insisted that I pay this “service fee” for 7 nights; they told me that the booking had to be for 7 nights. The villa agent’s details stated clearly that the low season rental minimum was 3 nights. After paying this fee and having Homeaway.co.uk take their fee, I telephoned VRBO.com and had little if no help. I could hardly understand what the help person was saying and I demanded to speak to a manager. I finally spoke to a supervisor who was also a waste of time and difficult to understand. In short, I was politely told to get lost or I could cancel the booking. The agent is all upset because she didn’t even know about this new fee and I am upset because the fee was incorrect and more than I should have paid. I’d call this sharp practice and fraudulent behavior. If something isn’t sorted out soon, I’m going to contact the FBI or the Austin Police Department.
The February 2016 traveler fee is a disingenuous move on the part of Homeaway Thus making potential clients suspicious of property owners, creating a loss of business for property owners because it increases the rate by a significant percentage. Homeowners were not given an option to decline the service fee added to their rate. Clients are not given an option to decline the service fee. Someway has done what is worthy of a class action lawsuit because business is declining as a direct result of Homeaway’s gimmick to make money with their service fee. Homeowners and clients should have an option. It should not be a mandatory inclusion.
Mr. Sharples –
Please reconsider the Service Fee. Charge us, the owners, a little more if necessary but don’t charge the customers. This is a business we built up and the service fee is destroying our ability to make bookings… and the ability to pay our mortgages.
And perhaps you could call your great “24/7” customer service and ask about this fee (as if you are an owner) and see how that goes for you. You will be disappointed.
I feel betrayed by the company I have paid into for years.
Thank you for your consideration.
Why are you screwing us “mom & Pop” rental units? We paid a fee and now you want us to pay you a huge % of rental over and above that?
You did not take the pictures or decorate or maintain.
You did not deal with the customer – and we do not want you to deal with them.
You do not clean the unit – we do.
We do not want your marketing – we do it ourselves.
It appears that greed has taken over. What was a good thing for us who were your customers is being taken away so that you deal with our customers without any benefit for us.
Why not leave VRBO alone and make Home Away your giant hotel? Oh, wait! We are no longer the customer! We have no control! GREED! GREED! GREED!
Two months ago, I received a receipt from Homeaway telling me that two payments had been credited to my account. Those payments never made it to my bank. I have been sending emails to account managers in the US and in the UK for two months, and all I get back are canned email responses. Although I have sent them copies of my bank statements proving that I never received the funds, they are not depositing the money in my account. A tracer in a transaction is a matter of 24 hours, so there is no possible explanation for their delay. The Call Centers refuse to transfer me to their manager because he or she is “unavailable”. This is absolutely unacceptable. The lack of follow through and the “passing the ball” attitude are the worst I have ever seen in any corporate environment.
In August of this year we enquired about a property in Majorca (Tolos) on the HomeAway website. The property is represented by Balearic Villas. Our enquiry was intercepted by a very convincing cyber hacker and we were enticed to part with €7000 which represented a deposit and 4 months’ rent. In September we wrote to the Directors of HomeAway in London and know that the letter was received as it was sent by Recorded Delivery and has been signed for. We have received no response. Our error in making the payment came to light when we were included in a mailshot from Balearic Villas which brought the cyber hacker problem to our attention. In a face to face meeting with BV they claimed that they had never received our initial enquiry but if this is the case then how did they get our contact details to include us in their mailshot? This matter is now with our Solicitors.
I have a complaint about the “product manager” in your Sydney office. I have been on stayz for over 9 nine years. Felipe Gamez and Ross Cunningham are rude and unprofessional. I thought “product manager” was there to help.Why should 2 bad staff members wreak a good company. I have contacted the Department of fair trading and requesting to my properties be re activate . My bookings on stayz only are the slowest in 10 yrs. We are in a high holiday rental area with 654. So I rang Felipe my so called “product manager” for suggests and all I got was him yelling at me telling me he hates “Wotif”, threatening me and using bully tactics. Because I am on wotif. Felipe deactivated my listings and Ross sent a email saying I have to pay 5% of all enquires for the last 12 months. This is unfair. If I get 100 enquirers for the same date I can only book 1. Guests google and can book else where. We don’t have under 25yrs, pets, children, no schoolies and up to 4 people so not all enquries with stayz are going to be suitable for us.I pay a yearly fee and $16 pn booking.. If I spoke and treated my guests the way Stayz treat the property owners I would be out of business. To keep the standard up property owner should be able to review their “product mangers”. It may shine a light on all the complaints and bad reviews about the company lately. There has been so much negative media and scams about Stayz, consumer don’t have the confidence to book with homeaway and stayz anymore. Maybe If you treat the property owner like valued customer- business partners they will treat their Stayz guests like valued customers. If you treat the property owners professionally they will treat the guest booking with stayz professionally. I would love for someone from head office to contact me on this matter. Kind regards Kate
I have written and posted a complaint about VRBO property # 3849543 in Tannersville NY. We were worse than disappointed with the property. Please respond.
To Whom It May Concern:
We would like to offer you a chance to become involved in the community and promote your business by becoming a sponsor of the Austin International Drag Festival.
The Austin International Drag Foundation Inc. was founded in 2014. Our non-profit 501c3 organization is made up of individuals that have come together through our common love for the drag community. Each spring we host a festival showcasing hundreds of drag performers across the drag spectrum in Austin Texas. Our attendance at our first festival in 2014 was over 5,000 people from Austin and internationally. We provide exposure and support for the drag artist community.
Our current goals are to create a national drag directory, an event calendar and, a central repository of information to aid drag performers in perfecting their craft. We also hope to expand our services into offering legal, social, and artist management services for drag artists.
Our audience is your a target market in the LGBT community. They are community minded people with disposable incomes. This year more than 5,000 will attend the festival. Your business will have exposure to those attendees. Plus, our official drag festival ambassadors from around the world will promote business in the lead up to the days of the festival.
This is an excellent opportunity to let Austin and the world know that your business is a supporter of the LGBT and drag community.
For more information please contact Jamie Bancroft at P****@AustinDragFest.org. We appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Matthew Stearn
Board Member
Austin International Drag Festival Inc
The case affects potentially every property owner subscribing to HomeAway who participates in online bookings of their property. My case (#12523124) is based, at this time, to ensure that my allegations are brought to the attention of Senior Management and corrected to the benefit of property owners!
An issue with an online CC charge, that took place in September and only now four months later after many telephone calls (6), and on hold each time for up to 47 minutes, is a senior agent potentially going to follow-through!
Today having made yet another call, I was told “active attention would be given by the Executive Customer Relations Team for continued consideration of this case.
The scope is as follows:
* HomeAway is responsible for reimbursing, to the property owner, the $500 refundable damage deposit lost when a recent charge-back investigation resulted in this damage deposit being awarded to traveler in September 2014.
* HomeAway should have been pro-active in complying with Visa’s and other Credit
Card company’s ongoing rules and regulations changes by updating their on-line contracts to protect property owners in cases where the damage deposit is withheld due to real property damage.
PROPERTY OWNERS: (Exact email from HomeAway)
My name is Matt. I’m a member of the Executive Customer Relations Team at HomeAway as well as a liaison to Vacation Rent Payment. Our senior agent, Steve, with whom you spoke on 11/13, advised me of the situation you are currently facing with a charge-back being lost because Visa cited that the deposit could not be charged on the same invoice as any other charges. That’s frustrating. I’ll be following up with our executives and developers, pushing for modifications to our check-out flow to cope with Visa and Mastercard’s ever-evolving rules. Regarding your request for compensation for the $500 charge-back, HomeAway will not reimburse owners for money lost to traveler charge-backs, regardless of Visa’s reasoning.
HomeAway needs to be FULLY accountable for its [sloppy online mistakes] affecting it’s property owners!!!
I contacted one of your advertisers with a house in Tucson, Az. on November 4,2014.
On November 5,2014 I wire transferred $1420.00 for the week of February 2-9, 2015.
I received a confirmation of receiving the wire on November 5. Yesterday I received an e-mail that her account was compromised and therefore I did not have a reservation. I believe this person is running a scam. I have booked through you before and have been happy and felt I would be staying in a nice place as advertised. Please Help with this situation.
I have been a customer of HomeAway and VRBO for a number of years. I have found the technical help has generally improved over the years. However I have had a number of incidents recently that have caused me to reconsider my continuing to engage their services. I have learned that rental management companies list their properties on HomeAway and these properties pop up when ever someone clicks on a house to review. Further more when a customer writes an owner about renting HomeAway sends an email to the perspective customer suggesting various management companies rentals in the same area. In other words individual owners are at a disadvantage to large rental companies. HomeAway which markets itself as a rental source for individual owners is now hurting those customers in favor of large rental companies. Further more the form HomeAway provides owners for asking for reviews from former guest more often then not does not work due to spam filters individuals often have and need. April Lane
Good morning,
PLEASE HELP——I am write to let you know that I just signed up for your service in order to market my home with a bundle package to market to the US and International parties. I don’t mind making the investment to do this however I expect to be able to market the time frame and rates for my rental correctly without any confusion. Since my association requires a minimum lease of 3 months I am unable to enter my rates on the rate page. The rate page on offers the option of a minimum of 31 days and can not be modified. When I called customer service they informed me that there is not a work around at this time however one is coming in the near future (time frame unknown could be as soon a next week or as late as next year) I am really puzzled with this response since there are other homes listed on your site that do not have a daily rate. By not allowing me to market my home correctly you are putting me at a disadvantage with my competition and putting me in legal jeopardy with false advertising. I really need some help with this right away. I can be reach on my cell phone at 941-356-7354. Please help! Mary Alice Schmitt