Woman warns of Vrbo booking experience after canceled family reunion rental

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A woman is warning other travelers to carefully review vacation rental platforms after she says a Vrbo booking for a large family reunion was canceled and left her scrambling to get her money back.

Many travelers use platforms such as Vrbo, Booking and Airbnb to reserve short-term rentals.

Vrbo promotes its VrboCare Guarantee as a way to help guests feel confident when booking. But Susan Chudd says her experience after reserving a property through Vrbo raises concerns about how protections work in practice.

Chudd booked a property for a 22-person family reunion that was listed as the Kentucky Dream Estate.

"It was called the Kentucky Dream Estate," Chudd said.

The property was listed by The Farm, LLC. Chudd said she booked through Vrbo, but the payment process worked differently than she expected.

"We booked through VRBO, the charge ended up going through the farm, not VRBO, except for the VRBO fee. And they charged us upfront," she said.

Chudd said the property owner told her that the full amount - more than $7,000 - was required upfront because it was the busy summer wedding season.

After she paid, she says the situation quickly changed.

"The rug was pulled out from under us," Chudd said.

Two months before the reservation, Chudd said she received an email from the property canceling the booking.

"Due to Vrbo deplatforming small businesses, we've had to cancel your reservation," Chudd said, quoting the message.

According to the email, Chudd was told to contact Vrbo customer support, her credit card company or return a "Refund Solution Enrollment Form" to be reimbursed directly by the property in 10 monthly installments.

Chudd said she tried to contact the owner, The Farm, LLC, whose parent company is The Granite State Collection, but got no response.

"Complete radio silence. Didn't get any response," she said.

Chudd said she assumed Vrbo would step in to resolve the issue.

Instead, she says the company advised her to dispute the charge.

"After further review, please go through your credit card company," Chudd said, quoting Vrbo's response.

Asked if it sounded like Vrbo had "washed its hands" of the situation, Chudd replied, "Pretty much, yeah."

Kevin Brasler of Consumers' Checkbook said cases like this should serve as a warning to travelers.

"One really big problem with these vacation rental sites is that they say you're protected if things go wrong, especially if you book directly through them. But if you dig into the terms and conditions, that's not necessarily the case," Brasler said.

Brasler recommends reading the fine print and carefully reviewing property listings, including searching reviews for words such as "scam" or "fraud."

He also said consumers should understand how payments are handled.

"They allow hosts and vacation rental owners to control all payments," Brasler said of Vrbo and Booking.

Brasler contrasted that with Airbnb, which he said controls payments differently.

"So, hosts don't get paid by Airbnb until about 24 hours after their guests have checked in," he said. "So, if there's a problem, you can complain to Airbnb and it will return your money right away."

Ultimately, Chudd said she was able to recover her money through her credit card company.

"Ultimately, yes," she said. However, she said the experience has permanently changed her view of the platform.

"I don't think we'll ever trust them again," Chudd said. Vrbo confirmed it suspended all Vrbo listings managed by The Farm, LLC.

In a statement to the Troubleshooters, the company said, "Vrbo gives hosts the option of adopting our payment processing system... The Farm, LLC is a host that uses its own payment processing software to accept and refund payments... and The Farm, LLC wrongfully withheld Ms. Chudd's payment... which is why we advised her to request a chargeback from her bank."

Vrbo also said it has expanded its re-booking assistance when a host cancels a reservation at the last minute. We reached out to Booking.com about its refund policy and did not hear back.

Read the full statement from Vrbo: We take guest experience very seriously and all Vrbo listings managed by The Farm, LLC were suspended in October 2024. We're sorry to hear about Ms. Chudd's experience. In the event of a host-initiated cancellation on Vrbo, hosts owe a full refund to their guests and Vrbo fully refunds the traveler service fee we charge. Vrbo gives hosts the option of adopting our payment processing system, which allows Vrbo to directly issue refunds. The Farm, LLC is a host that uses its own payment processing software to accept and refund payments. In this case, Vrbo issued a full refund for the traveler service fee and The Farm, LLC wrongfully withheld Ms. Chudd's payment for her reservation, which is why we advised her to request a chargeback from her bank. Vrbo's Book with Confidence Guarantee policy is now called VrboCare. While the name has changed, VrboCare offers guests the same protections and Vrbo has expanded the eligibility of its rebooking services for host cancellations under this updated policy. VrboCare is available to all travelers who book a stay through the Vrbo app or website. This policy offers protections for travelers before, during, and after a stay, including payment protection against fraudulent listings, relodging assistance if travelers are unable to check-in, and rebooking assistance if the host cancels their reservation at the last minute. We do want to clarify that Ms. Chudd's booking was not fraudulent. Her reservation with The Farm, LLC was a legitimate booking before the account got suspended, and we were glad she got a full refund via chargeback. Traveler feedback is incredibly valuable to us as we strive to ensure all Vrbo guests have a positive experience on platform and during their stay.