VRBO won't refund Sanibel stay for next week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I can't find any info on the condition of the development I was going to stay in to judge its condition after Ian but I did find this video of a neighboring condo (~250 yards down the beach from my booking, which was also beachfront):

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sanibel/comments/xtvlde/footage_of_sanibel_siesta/

As to the contract, I can't even find an actual legal contract on VRBO for my booking. Does anyone know where on the website it is? All I see are the "cancellation policies" which is the standard "60 day policy":

- 100% refund of amount paid if you cancel at least 60 days before check-in
- No refund if you cancel less than 60 days before check-in

Where is the actual rental contract? I don't have it in my email from when I made the booking either.

Even if I go to make a new booking next year, at no point in the checkout process do I see a link to the actual contract (obviously I am not finalizing the checkout process).

I can find the general VRBO terms and conditions, but they relate to the VRBO platform and have nothing to do with the actual rental contract itself: https://www.vrbo.com/legal/terms-and-conditions

There is no VRBO "contract." If the owner has his/her own contract incorporated into their listing you are given a chance to see the contract and then agree to it when you make your booking. If the owner has no contract (other than their listed cancellation policy) that you agreed to when booking then each party is on their own as to whether a refund is appropriate. IN that circumstance the credit card company would seem to the entity that would make the ultimate decision.

[Anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5kmrbye7Fw

Aerial tour of Sanibel in it's current condition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I can't find any info on the condition of the development I was going to stay in to judge its condition after Ian but I did find this video of a neighboring condo (~250 yards down the beach from my booking, which was also beachfront):

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sanibel/comments/xtvlde/footage_of_sanibel_siesta/

As to the contract, I can't even find an actual legal contract on VRBO for my booking. Does anyone know where on the website it is? All I see are the "cancellation policies" which is the standard "60 day policy":

- 100% refund of amount paid if you cancel at least 60 days before check-in
- No refund if you cancel less than 60 days before check-in

Where is the actual rental contract? I don't have it in my email from when I made the booking either.

Even if I go to make a new booking next year, at no point in the checkout process do I see a link to the actual contract (obviously I am not finalizing the checkout process).

I can find the general VRBO terms and conditions, but they relate to the VRBO platform and have nothing to do with the actual rental contract itself: https://www.vrbo.com/legal/terms-and-conditions

There is no VRBO "contract." If the owner has his/her own contract incorporated into their listing you are given a chance to see the contract and then agree to it when you make your booking. If the owner has no contract (other than their listed cancellation policy) that you agreed to when booking then each party is on their own as to whether a refund is appropriate. IN that circumstance the credit card company would seem to the entity that would make the ultimate decision.

I am a 17-year VRBO owner and this post is exactly right and it is also the reason that I have my pwn Rental Agreement that every VRBO tenant signs via DocuSign so that the exact terms of our respective obligations are clearly spelled out. In my rental agreement, I am contractually obliged to provide a fully habitable home otherwise I have to refund the rent.

[Anonymous]

This is why you get hurricane insurance. This is totally on you OP. I never travel during hurricane season without it. Additionally, every time I’ve good via Vbro I’m offered a chance to purchase travel insurance. It is there for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why you get hurricane insurance. This is totally on you OP. I never travel during hurricane season without it. Additionally, every time I’ve good via Vbro I’m offered a chance to purchase travel insurance. It is there for a reason.

Um no. OP should get insurance to guard against not being able to travel. It is entirely on the homeowner renting it out if they have the bad luck to get hit by a hurricane right before renters come. I would just co rest with credit card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you get hurricane insurance. This is totally on you OP. I never travel during hurricane season without it. Additionally, every time I’ve good via Vbro I’m offered a chance to purchase travel insurance. It is there for a reason.

Um no. OP should get insurance to guard against not being able to travel. It is entirely on the homeowner renting it out if they have the bad luck to get hit by a hurricane right before renters come. I would just co rest with credit card.

Totally depends on the rental agreement and what it says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5kmrbye7Fw

Aerial tour of Sanibel in it's current condition

I feel vindicated here, as the video shows and the narrator talks about the barges bringing in the heavy equipment to Sanibel to aid in clean up. Not sure what the point of gneiss cranky prior poster saying there are no barges there was but they’re there at Sanibel and on the causeway. In no way does that mean OP’s VRBO is useable, but it does give hope that things are moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you get hurricane insurance. This is totally on you OP. I never travel during hurricane season without it. Additionally, every time I’ve good via Vbro I’m offered a chance to purchase travel insurance. It is there for a reason.

Um no. OP should get insurance to guard against not being able to travel. It is entirely on the homeowner renting it out if they have the bad luck to get hit by a hurricane right before renters come. I would just co rest with credit card.

Totally depends on the rental agreement and what it says.

The house was advertised through the pictures and description one way. If a hurricane has decimated it and perhaps also shut down the area how in the world is the home owner delivering on what they offered to provide. It is ridiculous this is even a question.

[Anonymous]

There are a zillion protections for consumers. They are regulations for hotels. If you decide to dodge all the regulations to do a VRBO or an AirBnB or whatever, the whole point is that you don’t have any of those protections but you get something you want instead, a cheaper stay or idk what. But you’re out there on your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a zillion protections for consumers. They are regulations for hotels. If you decide to dodge all the regulations to do a VRBO or an AirBnB or whatever, the whole point is that you don’t have any of those protections but you get something you want instead, a cheaper stay or idk what. But you’re out there on your own.

Not sure what you hold against Airbnb or VRBO, but that’s just not true. You have a contract to protect you. Also, traveled lately? I wouldn’t say consumer protection is all that high with regards to airlines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why you get hurricane insurance. This is totally on you OP. I never travel during hurricane season without it. Additionally, every time I’ve good via Vbro I’m offered a chance to purchase travel insurance. It is there for a reason.

Have you actually purchased and used the hurricane insurance at checkout? It’s not great. We had to leave OBX because of a hurricane and it only covers the rental during the days of mandatory evacuation. So for us this was Tuesday - Wednesday. Thursday through Sunday were not covered as if we were going to head back after leaving mid week. They also make it difficult to collect
Travel insurance isn’t some magical fix. And if you do buy it, it’s best to purchase a plan separate from VRBO. It is convenient there at the end for a reason.

[Anonymous]

I am curious about why VRBO itself would be responsible in cases such as this (or other cases where the property wasn't not as described or wasn't habitable). In my mind VRBO is skin to a hosting site that puts owners and renters in touch with one another but doesn't have much responsibility beyond that. I view it like the old school classified section in a newspaper. But maybe I am wrong.

I guess they offer a refund guarantee against scams so maybe that makes it different. But I am just curious their legal level of responsibility (which I don't think is much).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A) this is why I always take the trip and hurricane insurance, if offered
B) Dispute it with your credit card company. The vendor is incapable of providing you with the facility you paid for.
C) I would even go to small claims over this if necessary.

This.

Dispute with credit card.

Small claims court.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VRBO is notorious for its terrible customer service. They want to put everything on the owners and provide little to no assistance. At the beginning of covid I had 2 friends who had to cancel reservations because of lockdown and the owners refused to refund the money. VRBO said it wasn't their problem.

To me this is a different situation. The house was there and available, but outside forces (pandemic) intervened and the renters cancelled.

In this scenario OP is presuming (rightly so) that the owner does not have a rentable property available as advertised. If there is no power, it is not an a/c property. If there is no running water it isn't a 2BA house with shower, toilet, dishwasher, etc. Heck, it may have foundation damage and not even be habitable. OP paid for a good that the owner almost certainly can't deliver.

Unless the contract says otherwise. We can speculate all we want but the key Q is what did OP promise?

Seems odd that a contract would force a renter to pay to rent a destroyed house on an unreachable island when they signed a contract for a fully functioning house with water, sewer, and electricity connected to the mainland with a bridge.

DP. You have no idea if the place OP rented was destroyed.

There is no safe drinking water on the island. The power grid is down and will be down for months. There is no way to access the island via a car.
The entire sewer system for the island is down and will be down for months.

[Anonymous]

The government is only allowing those with ID and proof of ownership on the island to collect property.