Our VRBO won’t give us a refund

CinderellaDreamer

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
We were to go to Disney at the end of next week (21-31st). Now that they have announced the closure of the parks, we have requested a refund, even though we are out of the cancellation window. It stinks that they are not willing to accommodate us! We will be out $2k. I doubt anyone will be able to go anywhere during that time once this all really gets going. What are we supposed to do? Airlines and cruises are offering refunds, but no luck with these owners!
 
Did you have travel insurance by any chance? I know in general you need the cancel for any reason type in order to cancel for instances like pandemics, epidemics, etc.

Also, if you paid by credit card, maybe you have some recourse through that channel.

I hope you have some luck getting a refund.
 
We are waiting to see if we will get a refund for our vacation home as well. It’s making me really reconsider ever booking a rental home/condo through an individual owner ever again. If we’d booked a hotel, we’d get all our money back. 😢
I know! I feel the exact same way. We had gone for the multiple bedroom, off-site property this time, but I don’t know that we will again after this!

Unfortunately no travel insurance. But I doubt it would cover us now anyway.
 


CNN has an article that a guy using VRBO is losing $3,400 because his conference in Austin was cancelled and VRBO won't issue a refund. The official VRBO response was "get travel insurance." VRBO, of all things, is headquartered in Austin. Apparently AirBNB is being much more gracious.

Just remember when booking future travel, VRBO is owned by HomeAway, and HomeAway is owned by Expedia.
 
Unfortunate scenario for all parties here. The homeowner that was renting to you likely only has a single property so they probably can't even absorb a 2k loss but same goes for the person renting. No winners and unfortunately the renter is on the wrong side of the cancellation window.

We are waiting to see if we will get a refund for our vacation home as well. It’s making me really reconsider ever booking a rental home/condo through an individual owner ever again. If we’d booked a hotel, we’d get all our money back. 😢
Keep in mind there are non-refundable hotel room bookings as well. Not sure if a chain would waive that in a scenario like this but booking hotels doesn't necessarily give you protection.
 
Sorry it sucks, just know you are not alone. We had 9 nights in Hawaii booked through VRBOs and are losing about $4K. When I tried contacting the owners they were unwilling to offer any refunds (I asked to go 50/50). The only refund we got through owners was "cleaning fee" since they wouldn't need to do that. Wow, thanks.

When I contacted VRBO directly they told me the only thing they could offer was FOR ME to contact the owners to request refund, that they were "encouraging owners to offer refunds but ultimately the decision was up to owner." They were able to refund my service fees of $251 & $149 but that peanuts compared to what we lost. When I asked to speak to another representative who might help me further they told me "sorry this call is being unproductive so we're hanging up" I have encouraged people to use VRBO and airbnb because of awesome accommodations but NEVER AGAIN after this. (FYI-I did buy VRBOs trip insurance too but of course it doesn't epidemics)
 


Wow. This is just awful. Reminding me again of why I tend to shy away from things like this and why I always book through Disney directly when I go there. (No, I'm not a WDW CM! And this is not an ad for them!) But I had a trip once that I booked through Orbitz and I had to change it and it was impossible, so I canceled it instead--fortunately I was still within the cancellation window. Rebooked with WDW and had to change it again--Northeast blizzard in March a few years ago--and WDW was tremendously accommodating.

I feel awful for the people who have so much sunk into rentals. I hope you get better resolutions.
 
Sorry this happened. Slightly out of topic, but we recently took a trip to disneyland and Southern California. A very large snow storm hit big bear, largest in 50 years. Roads were shut down, restaurants, non travel advisory, and even the manager at the cabins where we were staying advised us not to try and venture into the mountains. We booked via Expedia, had purchased insurance, and decided we could just file a claim and not risk getting stuck on a mountain road that was shut down. Our claim was denied because it was due to " weather" and we could not get a refund. The cabins would give us a credit for future stay, no telling when we'd be back so we had to turn down the credit to file the insurance claim. I feel like there is no winning in booking non refundable fares, no matter the source. I will never ever book non refundable fares, I hope this is a reminder for everyone that sometimes we are risking a lot of money when traveling on vacation.
 
We were to go to Disney at the end of next week (21-31st). Now that they have announced the closure of the parks, we have requested a refund, even though we are out of the cancellation window. It stinks that they are not willing to accommodate us! We will be out $2k. I doubt anyone will be able to go anywhere during that time once this all really gets going. What are we supposed to do? Airlines and cruises are offering refunds, but no luck with these owners!
It's not on VRBO; your decision lies with the property owner.

This is information from VRBO in respects to property owners: https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-does-the-novel-coronavirus-COVID-19-affect-my-property

Contained within is: "If a traveler reaches out to cancel or delay travel, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund due to the uncertainty of this evolving situation. When you do, we will also refund our Traveler Service Fee in full."

This is information from VRBO in respects to travelers: https://help.vrbo.com/articles/What-can-I-do-if-my-reservation-is-affected-by-the-Coronavirus

Contained within is: "If you need to cancel an upcoming reservation due to travel restrictions, you can do so within your traveler account. If you are making changes outside the cancellation policy window, please contact the property owner or manager to discuss their cancellation and refund policies." Additionally: "If you booked through a credit card, contact your financial institution to see if travel insurance is provided."

Have you contacted the owner of the property? Keep in mind you as the traveler aren't the only one impacted by this, the property owner is as well. BOTH are being impacted. The property owner may be out their money (and could be unable to pay their fees associated with the property) and future bookings are more than likely going to be impacted too. The reason for the cancelation is obviously valid and understandable but it also does put property owners in a very big bind just as much as the travelers. No one gets to win here.

Everyone I'm sure is really trying their best :hug:
 
It's not on VRBO; your decision lies with the property owner.

This is information from VRBO in respects to property owners: https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-does-the-novel-coronavirus-COVID-19-affect-my-property

Contained within is: "If a traveler reaches out to cancel or delay travel, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund due to the uncertainty of this evolving situation. When you do, we will also refund our Traveler Service Fee in full."

This is information from VRBO in respects to travelers: https://help.vrbo.com/articles/What-can-I-do-if-my-reservation-is-affected-by-the-Coronavirus

Contained within is: "If you need to cancel an upcoming reservation due to travel restrictions, you can do so within your traveler account. If you are making changes outside the cancellation policy window, please contact the property owner or manager to discuss their cancellation and refund policies." Additionally: "If you booked through a credit card, contact your financial institution to see if travel insurance is provided."

Have you contacted the owner of the property? Keep in mind you as the traveler aren't the only one impacted by this, the property owner is as well. BOTH are being impacted. The property owner may be out their money (and could be unable to pay their fees associated with the property) and future bookings are more than likely going to be impacted too. The reason for the cancelation is obviously valid and understandable but it also does put property owners in a very big bind just as much as the travelers. No one gets to win here.

Everyone I'm sure is really trying their best :hug:

Sorry but regardless of the fine print, it’s on VRBO.
 
We were to go to Disney at the end of next week (21-31st). Now that they have announced the closure of the parks, we have requested a refund, even though we are out of the cancellation window. It stinks that they are not willing to accommodate us! We will be out $2k. I doubt anyone will be able to go anywhere during that time once this all really gets going. What are we supposed to do? Airlines and cruises are offering refunds, but no luck with these owners!
Who is vrbo? . bummer.
 
Sorry but regardless of the fine print, it’s on VRBO.
With a structure where private owners put up their private properties VRBO acts like the middle man. You're welcome to think that VRBO should give refunds period though but let's not talk about it in absolutes :) It's your opinion which you are more than welcome to.
 
Sorry but regardless of the fine print, it’s on VRBO.

Right. The posters are saying they won’t book through Vrbo to book with a private owner.

I don’t see how the owner can in good conscience deny a refund. It’s like they are taking the potential guest’s money without services being rendered. Sorry about your luck. Could have been anyone. Doesn’t look good for future business.
 
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