Vrbo

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 36 historical complaints about Vrbo, published between 2008 and 2013. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

• Owner account phished twice, listings removed, security support limitedPublished Jul 16, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Money wired to supposed owner, later told emails were hackedPublished Jun 12, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Reservations cancelled two weeks before trip after full payment, twicePublished May 17, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Paid for rental ad, real owner denies any bookingPublished Mar 17, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Luxury condo filthy and cheaply furnished, not as listedPublished Mar 17, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Double-booked rental, review rejected, complaints kept non-publicPublished Jan 3, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Not receiving inquiry notifications since HomeAway bought VRBOPublished Nov 17, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Travel insurance covered only deposit for misrepresented villaPublished Nov 4, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Account hacked and customers sent wrong phone numberPublished Sep 27, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Owners may list properties that do not match descriptionPublished Aug 28, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• ReservationManager application declined after joining for the featurePublished Jul 28, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Wired rent money to hacked owner email for Punta Cana villaPublished Jul 11, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Lake Ozark condo rented in violation of 30-day minimum rulePublished Jun 24, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Villa owner backed out of confirmed Saint-Martin reservationPublished May 31, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Wired rental payment to scammer posing as home ownerPublished May 6, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Villa rental email breach left no record and $5,850 lostPublished Mar 6, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Customer service unapproachable and own policies not followedPublished Mar 5, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Hacked email account redirected rental inquiries and wire transferPublished Feb 26, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Inquiry intercepted and wire transfer sent to fraudulent renterPublished Feb 16, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Rented Vail property through HomeAway to scammer, $4740 lostPublished Feb 10, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation

Complaint Themes

Each tag reflects a complaint's single primary theme (not every angle it raised), and complaints outside any problem theme — a positive report, or one later retracted by its author — aren't tagged. Counts may total less than the full complaint count above.

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• Vrbo.com (official site): https://www.vrbo.com/
• Vrbo traveler support, within the US (24/7 per Vrbo): +1-877-202-4291
• Vrbo Help Center (traveler help): https://www.vrbo.com/helpcenter
• Vrbo traveler support, outside the US: +1-512-782-0805 1 complaint mentions this number
• BBB-listed other phone: +1-877-228-3145 3 complaints mention this number
• Vrbo Trust and safety policies: https://www.vrbo.com/tlp/trust-and-safety

Locations

Vrbo complaints, refunds and cancellations: what Vrbo's own pages say (checked October 14, 2026)

Under Vrbo's Guest Terms of Service (last revised 03-26-2026), the rental agreement is with the property owner or manager, not with Vrbo: "your rental agreement will be only with the Travel Provider." The company that contracts with you for the Vrbo service is HomeAway.com, Inc. of Austin, Texas, a member of the Expedia Group. That split explains most refund questions: the amount you get back depends on the host's cancellation policy shown before you booked.

Cancelling or changing a booking. The Terms say you have no automatic right to cancel unless the host's rules allow it, any refund is "determined by the Travel Provider's cancellation policy," and Vrbo's service fee "will only be refunded to you if your booking is eligible for a full refund." To cancel or change, use the instructions in your trip or contact Vrbo through its Help Center.

If something is wrong with the stay. Vrbo's VrboCare page says bookings are backed by its VrboCare guarantee and that if there is a significant issue the host cannot resolve, it will help find a similar place or get the reservation refunded. The VrboCare Terms and Conditions (admin.vrbo.com/lp/b/bwc-guarantee, opened 2026-10-14) are narrower: they say VrboCare "is not a satisfaction guarantee or 'money-back guarantee'," that it applies to qualifying vacation-rental stays completed through Vrbo Checkout, and that it covers only four protected incidents (internet fraud involving Vrbo Checkout, host denial of entry or host cancellation, material defects and misrepresentation, and wrongful refusal to return payments or deposits). The Terms require prompt notice, reasonable efforts to recover from the host, bank or payment provider where applicable, and cooperation and documentation, and say Vrbo "may decline to assist or refund" if those conditions are not met; help is at Vrbo's discretion, and it does not provide financial assistance for cancellations more than ninety days before arrival. The page lists 24/7 chat and phone support (within the US 1-877-202-4291; outside the US +1-512-782-0805) and says that if you believe a damage deposit was wrongfully withheld, "we will mediate a resolution." Vrbo's Terms give a written address for complaints: Attn: Vrbo Customer Support, 11920 Alterra Pkwy, Austin, TX 78758.

Deposits and host cancellations. Vrbo's help article on refundable damage deposits says an upfront deposit is refunded at the end of the stay provided the host does not report damage, that release "can take up to 14 days" depending on the host's account settings, and that the bank or payment provider may take five to seven working days more. Its host cancellation help article says: "Full refunds are required for all partner-initiated cancellations except for instances of house rule violations."

If you are a host. Vrbo's Host Cancellations Policy (opened 2026-10-14) says hosts may be charged fees of up to 100, 50, 25 or 10 percent of the reservation amount depending on timing, that an affected listing is suspended for seven days unless a waiver request is approved, and that waiver requests must be submitted within 10 days. The page states that these terms "will apply until October 14, 2026," the date of this check, so a replacement version may be in force; read the current policy in your host account. Vrbo's September 1, 2026 partner announcement describes new Sponsored Listings, cancellation options, non-refundable rates and Limited Time Offers for hosts.

Keep payment and messages on Vrbo. The Terms say you must not book a property or pay a host "by means other than those offered on, or authorized through, our Service," and Vrbo's Off-Platform Booking Policy says "Off-platform bookings are ineligible for Vrbo or Expedia Group benefits and support." Several complaints in our archive describe wire transfers sent to someone who was not the listed owner; Vrbo's own policy language is the reason to stay inside its checkout.

Disputes. Section 15 of the Terms requires binding arbitration (American Arbitration Association) or small claims court, bars class actions, and requires a written Notice of Dispute sent by certified mail to the Expedia, Inc. Legal Department in Seattle and a 60-day negotiation period before arbitration. Read that section before relying on a court filing.

Outside routes. You can also report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (the FTC page asks people to report fraud and "bad business practices"), your state attorney general's consumer office, and your card issuer's dispute process. Whether a card dispute applies depends on the issuer and how you paid; Vrbo's pages do not address it.

Government actions involving HomeAway.com, Inc. (Vrbo)

City of Los Angeles Home-Sharing Ordinance case. In March 2022 the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office sued HomeAway.com, Inc., alleging that it processed bookings for hosts without valid city registration numbers; the city said 29 percent of 776 booking transactions between November 7 and December 7 (2021) violated the ordinance (Fox LA, March 21, 2022). HomeAway removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (2:22-cv-02578) in April 2022; the court granted the plaintiff's motion to remand to Los Angeles County Superior Court on March 14, 2023. A City Attorney report to the City Council dated November 26, 2024 states that in the enforcement action against HomeAway the City Attorney "obtained a Settlement Agreement in which HomeAway agreed to provide information concerning its listings and hosts, including street address for home sharing units, as well as to 'de-list' listings that were not legally registered with the City." The report does not state a payment amount, and we did not locate the final state-court filing.

Tax matters described by Expedia Group. Expedia Group's 2025 Form 10-K reports that sixteen South Carolina local governments sued HomeAway.com, Inc. and other vacation rental listing companies in 2021 and 2022 over local accommodations taxes and business license fees (no trial date set), that a lawsuit by Jasper County Development District #1 in Texas against Expedia and HomeAway was settled and dismissed on January 5, 2026, and that HomeAway.com, Inc. filed a complaint on December 18, 2025 in the Michigan Court of Claims challenging use-tax assessments. It also reports that a trial court dismissed Paris City Hall's claims against HomeAway UK Ltd (a booking-data reporting case), the appellate court affirmed in October 2024, and an appeal to the French Supreme Court remains pending. These are the company's own descriptions of disputes with governments; they are not consumer-complaint findings.

FTC and state attorney general actions. None specific to Vrbo or HomeAway was identified in the sources checked on October 14, 2026 (Expedia Group's 10-K legal proceedings section and a court-docket search by party name).

Who runs Vrbo: HomeAway.com, Inc. and Expedia Group

Vrbo is a marketplace where property owners and managers list whole-home vacation rentals and travelers book them. Per its Terms, the contracting company is HomeAway.com, Inc. (office: 11920 Alterra Pkwy, Austin, Texas), and "our Group of Companies" is defined to include "us, Expedia, Inc., and each of our respective subsidiaries and corporate affiliates." The Vrbo site footer reads "Vrbo, an Expedia Group company."

Expedia Group's 10-K says that it acquired HomeAway "in December 2015" (FY2017 10-K) and that at the end of 2025 the group had "approximately 2.4 million online bookable alternative accommodations through Vrbo." It describes Vrbo as primarily a pay-per-booking model that "generates revenue from a traveler service fee for bookings, as well as insurance products," and says the Hotels.com and Vrbo front ends were migrated to one Brand Expedia stack, with the One Key loyalty program serving Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. Hotels.com, another Expedia Group brand, has its own page on this site.

The Terms say Vrbo may charge guests a service fee "ordinarily calculated as a percentage of the total rental amount" that varies by booking and is shown before checkout. BBB lists its profile as "Vrbo" in Seattle with the alternate name HomeAway and Expedia.com as a related business. Vrbo's Terms also list sister brands in the footer (Abritel.fr, FeWo-direkt.de, Bookabach.co.nz, Stayz.com.au); the complaints and court matters on this page concern the U.S. service unless stated.

Vrbo complaint record: archive posts, BBB and Trustpilot (as displayed on October 14, 2026)

This site's archive. USAComplaints links 36 approved archive posts to Vrbo / HomeAway (offender field names Vrbo, VRBO.com, HomeAway.com, Vacation Rental By Owner or VacationRentals.com), dated 2008 to 2013. Complaints about individual hosts who advertised through the platform are not counted. Keyword counts across those 36 posts (a post can match several): about 24 mention refunds, deposits or payments; about 16 mention wire transfers, fraudulent listings, phishing or hijacked inquiry emails; about 8 mention reviews being refused or removed; about 7 mention unresponsive customer service; about 5 mention listings not as described. These are the posters' own accounts and are not verified by this site.

BBB. The BBB profile for Vrbo (Seattle, WA) shows rating A+ and "BBB Accredited"; the complaints tab says 3,113 total complaints in the last 3 years and 1,001 complaints filed in the last 12 months; the reviews tab shows an average of 1.03 out of 5 across 553 customer reviews. BBB's raw page data lists accreditation from April 28, 2025, file opened March 16, 2015, business started January 1, 1994 and incorporated August 23, 1999.

Trustpilot. The vrbo.com page shows 124,397 reviews and a score of 3.7, with 5,668 reviews in the last 12 months, a claimed profile since June 2014 and a paid subscription; Trustpilot shows 62 percent five-star and 14 percent one-star, says the company invites customers to review and replied to 70 percent of negative reviews.

The BBB, Trustpilot and archive figures come from different sources with different methods and are not combined here.

Vrbo / HomeAway court cases found on public dockets

The cases below were found by searching public court dockets for HomeAway.com, Inc. as a party and are listed with only what the docket itself states. Docket entries often do not describe the claims; where they do not, none are inferred here. Consumer arbitration terms are discussed in the first section above.

• People of the State of California v. HomeAway.com, Inc. (Los Angeles ordinance case; see the government-actions section).
• Meyer v. HomeAway.com, Inc., S.D. Cal. 3:17-cv-02243: removed from San Diego Superior Court on November 3, 2017; HomeAway moved to compel arbitration and dismiss or stay on November 13, 2017; the plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on December 7, 2017.
• Howard v. HomeAway.com, Inc., E.D. Mich. 2:26-cv-11071: on August 27, 2026 the court adopted a magistrate judge's report and denied the defendant's motion to compel arbitration and stay the action; the defendant then filed a motion to dismiss on September 1, 2026. The docket entries viewed do not state the claims or the final outcome.

Expedia Group's 10-K also lists tax-related suits involving HomeAway, summarized in the government-actions section.

Is Vrbo Legitimate?

Vrbo is operated by HomeAway.com, Inc. (Austin, Texas), an Expedia Group company that Expedia's SEC filings say it acquired in December 2015, and its Terms identify the contracting entity and addresses. BBB shows a Vrbo file accredited with an A+ rating, alongside 3,113 complaints in three years and a 1.03 out of 5 average across 553 BBB reviews; Trustpilot shows 3.7 across 124,397 reviews (as displayed on October 14, 2026).

Vrbo is a marketplace: the rental itself is a contract with the host, and the VrboCare Terms describe conditional assistance for qualifying bookings completed through Vrbo Checkout. Complaints on this site's archive concern refunds and deposits, payments sent outside the platform, removed reviews and unresponsive support. Look at the host's cancellation policy and Vrbo's terms before paying.

Court & Public Records

Company Relationships

• Owned by: Expedia Group, Inc.
• Affiliated with: Hotels.com

Frequently Asked Questions