Vrbo

Subject: Urgent: Discrimination Complaint and Immediate Action Required (Booking in Cozumel)

Dear VRBO Customer Support,

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding an appalling and discriminatory experience my wife and I endured at a property in Cozumel, Mexico, which was booked and paid for in full by my father for a one-month stay.

Prior to our arrival, I informed the property owner with documented correspondence that my wife has a mental disability. The owner acknowledged this and assured us she would accommodate her needs. However, just two days after checking in, the owner arrived unannounced at 1:00 PM with another tenant, and we were told we had until 5:00 PM to vacate the premises. No refund was offered, despite the abrupt and unjustified eviction.

The justification for this expulsion was both baseless and blatantly discriminatory. The owner made a deeply offensive and ableist remark, stating that because my wife is so retarded she doesn't know which forks are hers, we would have to leave. This was in reference to an honest misunderstanding about communal forks left on a shared rooftop space—an area we were never informed was shared. The matter had already been peacefully resolved with the other tenant, and my wife returned the utensils in good faith.

To add to the false claims, the owner and the tenant accused us of urinating from the balcony—an absolutely false and defamatory claim. The moisture they referenced is clearly from the air conditioning system. There is a functioning bathroom inside the unit, and we have requested security footage from a neighboring property to prove this never happened.

Since our wrongful eviction, my wife and I have been left homeless in a foreign country. We have had no safe place to go and no funds left, as everything we had was spent on this rental. This situation has left us vulnerable, traumatized, and severely distressed.

Let me be clear: we are pursuing this matter with utmost seriousness. If VRBO fails to take immediate action—including a full refund and investigation into the conduct of this property owner—I will escalate this matter across all available platforms:

News outlets in both the U.S. and Mexico

California state officials, including the Governor, Senators, and the Attorney General

The Better Business Bureau

Online review platforms, consumer protection blogs, and social media

Any and all organizations that fight for disability rights and discrimination victims

We trusted VRBO to provide a safe and respectful space. Instead, we experienced prejudice, humiliation, and a complete lack of compassion.

I request your urgent response and resolution. All correspondence and evidence (including screenshots, messages, and witness accounts) can be provided upon request.

Sincerely,

Jacob Dixon

dr.jacobdixon@***.com

U.S. Phone: 907-759-****

(Currently in Cozumel, Mexico)

Dear VRBO & Expedia:

I am sending you a letter to highlight the problems & difficulties I experienced on my recent trip and prior to my recent trip to Phoenix.

VRBO Reservation ID HA-HIPSP6

I was contacted by the host Kelly that he was cancelling our reservation. He refunded me the initial payment ($2140 US) to my bank account.

I was then contacted by VRBO that I owed the second payment.

I immediately contacted both Kelly and VRBO. Kelly told me that he had already told them that it was cancelled and I informed VRBO that it was cancelled and the refund had already been done.

Kelly told me to ignore the constant messages about the amount of money I owed. So I did that. I did not use his condo and would appreciate for the emails for rating the condo and VRBO to end.

Poor customer service and a real insight into the organization.

VRBO Reservation #HA - JMB3XB

We reserved this place for the last 3 years.

Unfortunately, last year we had to cancel due to our work commitments. When we cancelled, we got an email from the host that was quite testy. We assured them that we were planning on coming in 2025. That was the last thing we heard from them.

On January 24, 2025, as I was on my third very long days of driving to come to this booking, I received a message saying that they were cancelling it.

Needless to say, I was distraught.

I contacted VRBO and was told that they would help me to find a place that would be like my reservation and in the same area and that they would contact me soon.

I waited for days and when I tried to contact and find out more information, I was told that they were unable to tell me anything because my file had been moved to another division. So I waited and waited and waited...

Finally over 3 days later at 6 a.m. In the morning I was awakened from a deep sleep. The woman on the phone was very matter a fact and not very empathetic to my situation.

She told me I could receive not only a refund in the amount that I paid but could get the same amount to top off a new reservation. When I asked her questions, she said I would receive an email that would explain it all.

When I looked at your website, I was struggling to find a comparable place in the same area for the amount that was given to me. I felt strongly that I was not going to put out any further funds for a problem that I had not contributed to.

I tried calling, emailing, texting to find out how I could find a place for us.

All I needed was a human voice that could help me and explain how I could make it work. Again I was told that customer service could not help me and the division that I had been assigned to ignored my pleas for help.

Finally, in complete frustration, I took the refund that had been given to me and booked a comparable place in the area that I needed to be with AIRBNB.

When I called and talked to their customer service, they went above and beyond with real kindness to help me.

VRBOs customer service was a horrendous and stressful experience for me.

As a family who travels often (at least once every month last year), we will NOT be using VRBO to book those travel experiences.

Our experience will be shared with friends and family. I will also be sharing it on my social media pages. I feel like I need to caution people that this company is not reliable and does not care about their customers. The insurance money could not be used as there was no place that was acceptable for me to rent and I could only use it to top off the refund amount.

We had to leave earlier than planned but thank goodness for AIRBNB for the portion that we were able to stay.

A complete and utter disappointment!

Expedia

On my way home, I used the Expedia site to book a room on Feb. 22 at Marriott Salt Lake City Draper. #730369****075.

Immediately I realized that it was booked for the next night. I called within minutes, to ask for the date to be changed.

The first agent I talked to said that for sure it was possible and then my call was cutoff. I called again and was told that they could change it but that I would pay $224 extra for the change. When I questioned the agent - he said if I cared to look online, that the cost would be over $700! I was so frustrated by that time, I refused and hung up.

I went on my Expedia app and booked for that night for $197 CAD. So in the end, I paid for two nights, when I only used one night. I can understand cancellation policies but a little grace for a customer who has consistently used your services over many years, is what I had hoped for. In all three of these incidents, customer service has been sorely lacking.

In conclusion, I am endeavoring to find a Canadian company that values loyalty and provides good pricing and excellent customer service. We will be changing our frequent bookings to another company. It is my hope that this company will take this information and really give thought on how you could have done better. I can be reached at tmjanzen48@***.com for further information, if you care to investigate.

Thank you for your time. Sincerely

Teresa Janzen

This review is for VRBO, owned by Expedia Group. To say that our experience with VRBO over the last 3 months has been enormously disappointing is a gross understatement.

We rented a VRBO luxury property for a 3 month period (Jan- March 2025) in Ocala, FL. Prior to booking the reservation, we communicated on the VRBO platform with the property owner multiple times about the property details. It was never once disclosed that there would be a property manager living on site full time, on the same property. My daughter and I went to check in to Casa Mirabella and were startled by a woman who aggressively approached us as we were exploring the property.

She introduced herself as the property caretaker, who lives on site full time (and has for several years) to monitor the property and renters, collect trash & mail, and care for the horses on the property. The description of this home did not disclose an on-site, full-time property manager or a 2nd home on the same property. Further, the owner did not disclose this information in our multiple conversations on the VRBO platform prior to or after booking. VRBO's current national advertising campaign, claims that VRBO will NEVER rent a property that has a property manager living on site.

VRBO specifically claims in their ads: you will have your property all to yourself, you will never have a property manager show up to a seat at the table (or in the hot tub...movie night...etc). We first tried to settle this misrepresentation directly with the owner of Casa Mirabella, per VRBO's policy. The owner denied that anyone shared the property. She told us to take it up with VRBO.

When we contacted VRBO, they suggested that we go to the property and video the caretaker and property as they wanted us to submit video evidence.

We had already informed VRBO that this property is in a very rural area with no cell service, and the property manager was aggressive in her approach to me and my daughter. Still, VRBO would not do anything to rectify the situation without us going back to the property and submitting videos of the caretaker on site. Following VRBOs direction, we went to the property several times over two months attempting to get videos, but they were not to VRBOs satisfaction because we were not directly confronting the property manager. We expressed to VRBO that my daughter and I were too afraid as the property manager aggressively approached us on her golf cart twice when we drove by to get videos and the property is in a very rural area with no cell coverage, which made us more nervous if things went bad.

We expressed our fear to VRBO multiple times, and still, they insisted that we must go to the property and video the manager on site if we wanted a refund. My boyfriend flew to Ocala so that he could go with me to get the video since VRBO was repeatedly asking me to put myself in an uncomfortable and unsafe situation. Together, Mike and I drove to Casa Mirabella, and were able to video the property and the caretaker per VRBO's request. We submitted 4 unique videos + audio of the property, property manager and property owner via phone, each displaying the proximity of the both homes on the same property within the same gate.

The videos recorded several minutes of audio between the property manager, property owner and my boyfriend, which clearly identifies the woman (property manager) living on site full time for many years. These videos were submitted to our rep at VRBO and after viewing none of the videos, they denied our claim for refund. VRBO is not only falsely advertising, they insisted that we put ourselves in a very uncomfortable, possibly dangerous situation.

Despite submitting undeniable evidence at VRBOs request, VRBO denied our claim for refund. We are unbelievably disappointed and shocked over how VRBO has responded to our situation.

NEVER RENT THROUGH VRBO and NEVER Rent Casa Mirabella in Ocala, FL.

I had made a reservation in Missouri for my daughter's bball nationals. The bball coach ended up pulling the team a few weeks before nationals due to lack of numbers.

I was, unfortunately, beyond the refund dates, but I still reached out to the host, Mazilu, of the reservation in hopes that he would be willing to work with me. Mazilu explained that he could not do a refund because it would have a negative impact on him as a host since it was beyond the refund dates. He then suggested that I officially cancel the reservation so that it would open the dates back up for booking, and if any of the dates got rebooked, he would refund my money for what was rebooked. I went with this idea in hopes that maybe some of the days would get rebooked and I could get some of my money back.

A few days later, I noticed 2 of the 6 nights showed up as unavailable to book, which means they got booked. I waited a few days to hear from Mazilu about a refund; he never contacted me. I reached out to him about the 2 days getting booked again and asked about a refund as we discussed earlier. He did not respond.

I reached out again 2 days later; this time I got a response. He said no refund. I questioned him as to why since he was the one who suggested I cancel the dates to open them back up for booking and if dates were rebooked, he'd refund those dates. 2 nights were rebooked; I should get the 2 nights refunded back.

He said they were not rebooked; he blocked them and gave them away to family for free. I had canceled the dates and 5 days later they were blocked by him to give away to family for free. There were still 10 days where they could've been booked by paying guests. The host refused to continue to communicate with me further, so I contacted VRBO.

That got me absolutely nowhere. I spoke with 5 different agents, and every single one of them gave me the complete runaround. The last guy I spoke with, Kobe, tried to give the same spiel the other 4 guys did, but I continued to question and point things out that had all been built up over the course of talking with 4 other guys, and Kobe couldn't give me any legitimate answers, just talked in circles. VRBO refuses to acknowledge that Mazilu was in the wrong; they say they can't determine if that's truly what happened.

I responded that it's all in black and white in the VRBO messaging; there's nothing to have to decipher; it's all right there typed out plain as day what Mazilu did. Mazilu said he gave the nights away to family for free. VRBO doesn't care; they say they have no power to refund any money at all; only the host can do that.

They kept pointing out that it was outside the refund dates, and I explained again that I was well aware of that, but the host had suggested another option to get some of my money back, and then he just gave away nights for free, actually on my dime. What the host, Mazilu, did was dirty and wrong, and VRBO doesn't care; they all got their money, so they don't care.

I booked the place of the accommodation on the Vrbo.website ( from Europe). Then I changed to the app.

Until now I cant find my booked, and paid reservation!!

I can not log as adviced to both Vrbo or create an Expedia.com account it.

I was told it can be booked on Expedia.com but I can't log in! Its not funny at all. It shows me all the time: Error!! 20x surely!!

Whats up.with these strange websites and apps and Where is my booked apartment?? I CANT FIND IT ANYMORE with my booking number.

No contact to the host!!

NO CONTACT TO ANY NORMAL AGENT!! ONLY VIRTUAL.

I will NEVER USE VRBO ONCE I GET BACK MY MONEY! I GO to the bank and will call it FRAUD!!

never had such a horrible experience!

Never ever Vrbo!!

Please help! How do i get my money ?

Hello,

I would like to file a complain about the condition of the apartment in Tampa where I stayed in September 2024

This apartment was very dirty and looked like it was not cleaned properly before our arrival. We were greeted by a huge bug on the floor by the door, crumbs on the counter behind the toaster, dust under the couch and dirt under the cushions.

There was a lot of pillows in the closet but only 2 pillow cases, so we have to cover some pillows in towels in order to use them. There was no shampoo, conditioner or soap in the bathroom, only empty containers and only one tiny roll of toilet paper for 5 days of our stay.

So we had to go to the store and buy everything we needed.

I dont agree with $120 change for cleaning the place because it was in very dirty condition and ask you to to refund us for this amount .

I have all pictures to support my claim

IMG_5985.jpegIMG_5987.jpegIMG_5986.jpegIMG_5988.jpegIMG_5989.jpegIMG_5990.jpegIMG_5991.jpegIMG_5992.jpegIMG_5995.jpeg

Thanks. Irina Cheglikova