VRBO won't refund Sanibel stay for next week

[Anonymous]

OP, I had a dispute with AirBNB over spring break, in which I was seeking a refund. AirBNB's customer service SUCKED, but I used this website to ID higher-ups at the company. I sent an email to all the execs I could find at AirBNB and within an hour I was assured that they would issue me a refund. So here's a link with VRBO contacts:

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/vrbo-customer-service-contacts/

And here's an article that explains pretty well how to go about requesting a refund from corporate:

https://www.elliott.org/answers/how-to-fix-your-own-consumer-problem/

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, surprised by how many people on this thread are clueless to the risk of booking during hurricane season. I NEVER book in advance to a hurricane zone for August to early November. I'm even leery of July now. Yes, it is completely unfair and ridiculous but it's really hard to get your money back even if you buy the travel insurance. Even with insurance they sometimes only give you for the days it was a mandatory evacuation.

Example: You have booked a Saturday to Saturday rental. There is clearly a storm coming there that is going to hit, say Monday. But the evacuation order only covers Monday and Tuesday. They will still charge you for Saturday and Sunday, even though it is crazy to travel there then. And after even if the place is a mess they will often not cover you for Weds on.

It's absolutely absurd. Don't book in advance during hurricane season. I only go to the beach in the south august to early november if it is a raltive's house OR if it's like Thursday or Friday and I am looking to book for the Saturday coming up in like a day or two.

While I agree, the VRBO owner at this point has nothing to give OP. No roads lead to Sanibel, people are using boats and helicopters to get to the mainland.

Why should OP be forced to pay for ‘nothing’. This isn’t OP being upset that it’s going to rain a little or something like that.

DP. It’s about who bears the risk of this kind of scenario. By renting a place with a no refunds for any reason policy, OP likely got a discount over what she would have had to pay for a rental that did allow for cancellations/refunds. In doing so, OP effectively agreed to accept the risk of this kind of event in exchange for the cheaper rate, instead of paying more for the owner to bear the risk. Now that the dice have been rolled, OP is having buyers remorse and wants out of the deal she made.

[Anonymous]

What if the place had burned down? Would OP still need to pay?

I say no, and this is no different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if the place had burned down? Would OP still need to pay?

I say no, and this is no different.

What you say doesn’t matter. The contract is what matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, surprised by how many people on this thread are clueless to the risk of booking during hurricane season. I NEVER book in advance to a hurricane zone for August to early November. I'm even leery of July now. Yes, it is completely unfair and ridiculous but it's really hard to get your money back even if you buy the travel insurance. Even with insurance they sometimes only give you for the days it was a mandatory evacuation.

Example: You have booked a Saturday to Saturday rental. There is clearly a storm coming there that is going to hit, say Monday. But the evacuation order only covers Monday and Tuesday. They will still charge you for Saturday and Sunday, even though it is crazy to travel there then. And after even if the place is a mess they will often not cover you for Weds on.

It's absolutely absurd. Don't book in advance during hurricane season. I only go to the beach in the south august to early november if it is a raltive's house OR if it's like Thursday or Friday and I am looking to book for the Saturday coming up in like a day or two.

While I agree, the VRBO owner at this point has nothing to give OP. No roads lead to Sanibel, people are using boats and helicopters to get to the mainland.

Why should OP be forced to pay for ‘nothing’. This isn’t OP being upset that it’s going to rain a little or something like that.

DP. It’s about who bears the risk of this kind of scenario. By renting a place with a no refunds for any reason policy, OP likely got a discount over what she would have had to pay for a rental that did allow for cancellations/refunds. In doing so, OP effectively agreed to accept the risk of this kind of event in exchange for the cheaper rate, instead of paying more for the owner to bear the risk. Now that the dice have been rolled, OP is having buyers remorse and wants out of the deal she made.

I thought this nonsense was actually serious for a minute. Buyer's remorse...good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, surprised by how many people on this thread are clueless to the risk of booking during hurricane season. I NEVER book in advance to a hurricane zone for August to early November. I'm even leery of July now. Yes, it is completely unfair and ridiculous but it's really hard to get your money back even if you buy the travel insurance. Even with insurance they sometimes only give you for the days it was a mandatory evacuation.

Example: You have booked a Saturday to Saturday rental. There is clearly a storm coming there that is going to hit, say Monday. But the evacuation order only covers Monday and Tuesday. They will still charge you for Saturday and Sunday, even though it is crazy to travel there then. And after even if the place is a mess they will often not cover you for Weds on.

It's absolutely absurd. Don't book in advance during hurricane season. I only go to the beach in the south august to early november if it is a raltive's house OR if it's like Thursday or Friday and I am looking to book for the Saturday coming up in like a day or two.

While I agree, the VRBO owner at this point has nothing to give OP. No roads lead to Sanibel, people are using boats and helicopters to get to the mainland.

Why should OP be forced to pay for ‘nothing’. This isn’t OP being upset that it’s going to rain a little or something like that.

DP. It’s about who bears the risk of this kind of scenario. By renting a place with a no refunds for any reason policy, OP likely got a discount over what she would have had to pay for a rental that did allow for cancellations/refunds. In doing so, OP effectively agreed to accept the risk of this kind of event in exchange for the cheaper rate, instead of paying more for the owner to bear the risk. Now that the dice have been rolled, OP is having buyers remorse and wants out of the deal she made.

I thought this nonsense was actually serious for a minute. Buyer's remorse...good one.

You cannot refute the substance so you try to dismiss it instead. Noted.

[Anonymous]

For those of you who think OP should bear the cost, what's the owner's plan if OP shows up? This circles back to OP saying "I'm not cancelling, please confirm the home will be ready for me to check in on XX date with all the amenities indicated in the listing".

From what I've read nearly every home in Sanibel has been damaged. Power and running water are going to take time to restore. Even if the bridge is magically repaired, is the house really ready for its guests? If not, then OP is not attempting to cancel, the owner is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if the place had burned down? Would OP still need to pay?

I say no, and this is no different.

What you say doesn’t matter. The contract is what matters.

Exactly. The contract matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does the contract say, OP? What did you sign?

Again this--if the contract includes a "no cancellation or no refund upon cancellation" policy, then that is the contract and I would interpret that the owner is not in breach of it. If OP booked with that knowledge at the time of booking, then, I'm not sure what wiggle room they have, short of Acts of God, etc as others have pointed out.

Really unfortunate for the OP, but, this is why we (the royal we) do our due diligence and read fine print and contemplate booking vacations during hurricane season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who think OP should bear the cost, what's the owner's plan if OP shows up? This circles back to OP saying "I'm not cancelling, please confirm the home will be ready for me to check in on XX date with all the amenities indicated in the listing".

From what I've read nearly every home in Sanibel has been damaged. Power and running water are going to take time to restore. Even if the bridge is magically repaired, is the house really ready for its guests? If not, then OP is not attempting to cancel, the owner is.

It depends on the contract.

[Anonymous]

If the contract say she pays even after an act of God, she pays.

[Anonymous]

Tell them you have secured access to a boat and ask where to pick up the key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the contract say she pays even after an act of God, she pays.

OP, I would absolutely dispute any charge for use of a house that is unusable, regardless of any contract of adhesion you may have signed. It they can provide the premises described in the agreement/listing, then they are in breach, not you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the contract say she pays even after an act of God, she pays.

OP, I would absolutely dispute any charge for use of a house that is unusable, regardless of any contract of adhesion you may have signed. It they can provide the premises described in the agreement/listing, then they are in breach, not you.

OP doesn’t know the unit is unusable. She just wants to cancel now for a rental next week in case it is unusable at that point.

[Anonymous]

I would dispute the charge with my credit card company. I also would check Florida law on this. The situation re an Act of God IMO comes into play in examples like they had already started their rental, then the hurricane arrived or there was a power outage while they were there and had no a/c. Things beyond the control.

However, in this case it appears the home owner cannot perform and make the house available. For all we know this house may have even washed away. It’s untenable and cannot be accessed. So it’s basic contract law. Sanibel cannot be accessed, the only road is destroyed, I believe the government is forcing people to leave. VRBO cannot deliver. You may have to wait until the date comes to get the refund but I wouldn’t back down. I would also take this to twitter and the press.

I had an OBX rental during the week of hurricane Isaias in 2020. The only way we would have gotten a refund was if there was a mandatory evacuation. Otherwise we had to pay.