Tortured logic. Neither party was fully right or wrong. Yet who’s court is the ball in ?
FWIW, VRBO isn’t the problem. I had a great experience with them renting a beach house in NJ.
We’ve used VRBO every year for over 15 years to rent houses in Florida and never had any problems. The website is irritatingly poorly designed but other than that we’ve been very happy.
VRBO is high-priced web hosting. Nothing more. They don’t offer service to renters or owners. You are completely on your own when renting “from VRBO,” and you should not give any more credence to a VRBO listing than a Craigslist ad. Obviously the price tends to be right, and I have had many successful VRBO experiences, but at least I know it is always at my own risk.
Jose Arturo Ibarra is still in operation, and warrants a thread bump.
Missed this the first time around. We’ve generally had great experiences with VRBO properties, but did have some issues Rent Paris Now property a number of years ago (not the charges, but the property). It took a couple of days for them to come around, but they eventually fixed the problem
I have a place in Paris that I rent every year directly from the owner, but when going to other cities I use AirBnB. I haven’t even looked at VRBO in several years now.
So far, nothing but good experiences with AirBnB I might add, but then again the true test is when/if there’s a dispute.
We used this. Was solid for us. One data point.
HomeAway does seem to be affiliated with VRBO now, but HomeAway has a Payment guarantee if you pay through them. Not all of their listings have this option. And as stated above, reviews are very hit and miss on the site and sometimes questionable. It used to be that people that hadn’t stayed there could leave reviews, and I think owners can still delete reviews they don’t like.
Airbnb has a good system, they even have phone help if you show up to your rental and there are problems. Their feedback system is above reproach, so you can learn a lot by reading the reviews if you have lots of time.
However, if you need to cancel it can be a problem. On Airbnb, even if the renter is willing to refund and cancel, the company keeps the “service fee”. HomeAway has a much better cancellation policy, depending on the owner. But again, you have to look for the HomeAway guarantee, and read between the lines if there are reviews.
Choosing an apartment, especially overseas, is a major undertaking. Took me a month to settle on one in Paris, still working on London. Hoping I made the right choice, went through Airbnb. Not cheaper than a hotel by any means, but adult daughter will be with us and possibly a friend. A second bedroom, water closet, kitchen, and balcony table will be nice.
When I travel, I stay in hotels- 100% of the time. Problem solved.
Onefinestay are in Paris. We used them this summer.
We spent October in a Paris apartment rented through Just France. It was our 6th monthly Paris apartment rental through them in as many years. They are great. http://justfranceinparis.com/
I used to use VRBO when it first started but found that over time it just turned into a intermediary for local agents, and it seemed like I was seeing lesser value. We’ve been pretty happy with AirBnB for our last two European stays, but perhaps we’ve been lucky.
I’ll make a mental note to avoid this scammy Parisian agent though.
We had a good experience in Paris with AirB&B last month.
That one person has a good or bad experience with airbnb seems irrelevant to the next person since there is no standardisation and you are transacting with individuals.
That’s one reason why I’m happy to pay more for somewhere like onefinestay where there are (high) minimum quality levels, and full time staff on board to check in/out and deal with any issues.
Yes. You like onefinestay and I like Just France for the same reasons. Quality, consistency, responsibility, and service are worth the cost.
Don’t know if I have ever checked your guys out. Will look into it. Thanks
FlipKey: