Vrbo Owner

VRBO has definitely not kept up with the times of technology. This app can barely do anything for me as an owner. I have 3 listings on this site, I could potentially have 6 but I don’t even want to take the time to create a listing bc I try and push all my business to Airbnb. In order to do what I can do with a push of a button on Airbnb apps I have to log onto the main browser for VRBO. I can’t do the 2 main things that I do as an active STR owner which is add/remove blocked dates or adjust rates. This app is worthless to me. Maybe I’m missing some steps, but bc Airbnb is so user friendly as an app I set all my listings to “book now” on Airbnb and only “request to book” on vrbo. Plus the way vrbo pays you out as an owner is not straight forward. They don’t collect or pay any of the taxes on my behalf which is also a nice perk that Airbnb does. Regardless, I’ll keep my listings on here but have to jack up the price an additional 10% of my Airbnb listing price since they charge a higher commissions as well as charge me back the credit card transaction fee if the guest pays with a credit card! Sorry VRBO, you are not my first choice!!

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*Update* I’ve dropped this app from 3 to 2 star. I do not like the constant “Rate Me” pop up. I also tried to edit a future client’s booking request (drop the cleaning fee) and could not do so. I was able to before this new update. If I keep having to go to my browser...why have this thing on my phone? And this “You lost a potential booking?” Most of the time the “lost” booking was to a home unlike mine: twice as big, lake view, an unattached house, etc. Theyre not comparable. *Update end* This app works well in a variety of situations. The operation is simple and effective. However, I have needed the ability to edit my rates, etc., and all the app does (for the 11 months I've been using it) is to promise that these features are "coming soon." With all the money being taken in during the year (between hefty fees for owners--and now renters, too), there should be more than enough tech support in place to make doing all my VRBO business from my phone a reality. I just spent almost 20 minutes on the phone only to be told what I already know--that I can not edit my rates via my VRBO app or Safari. I must use my computer. I don't want to carry my computer every time I travel and I certainly don't want to use a public/hotel computer when I'm accessing such things. It is a security risk. Very disappointing in this day and age...and unaccountable when one considers how much VRBO is now gaining from its users.

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I recently decided to try home away along with Airbnb. I was excited to get my first booking and expecting it to be similar to Airbnb but Nooooo, The first guest I had with this platform robbed and trashed my place. When i reported the situation to them and filed my claim I was informed they won’t provide compensation for any of my stolen items or any malicious damages. To make matters worse they don’t verify the identities of the renters and put me and you as owner holding all the risk, so filing a police report is almost useless. You would think this would be the worst thing but no. To add insult to injury they still haven’t released the money that was paid by the robber to rob me and destroy my place, their reason for holding the money is to prove that I’m a legit renter. you would think after being robbed and my place destroyed by someone who booked my place through their platform they would make concessions considering the circumstances, but they were so callus that one of the many people that they forwarded me too was laughing on the phone. I couldn’t believe this when it’s all said and done HOMEAWAY Doesn’t care about the homeowners who list the homes on the platform. I would strongly advice not using this platform if you don’t want to be robbed and mistreated

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This app and overall website is not good or user friendly for Owners. When you receive an inquiry and go to read it you have to log in every time, there is no user id memory function. It also takes you to screens of the latest tools rather than taking your directly to the inquiry. Lastly VRBO does NOT let the owner communicate directly with the potential renter. I want to vet my potential renters and see if they are good people and/or validate they have as many guests coming that they message through VRBO. VRBO does absolutely no background check. The site also gives the person, making the inquiry, the impression that they’ve locked in the property. Again, we want to make sure that our home will be in good hands. I’ve tried sending my phone number and email address and VRBO xxx it out. Earlier this summer I was on holiday and did not respond to an inquiry. Without notification, VRBO put my account on inactive status so potential renters could not see it. Even though I paid my $500 annual fee and I lost 3 months of active advertising. This site is unethical. The fees are ridiculous for the service rendered. If I were a website developer I would definitely create some competition for VRBO & Home Away.

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For the amount of money Vrbo gets as “commission” from hosts, I honestly expected a better app than the competition. However, I feel like I need to go to the computer to do stuff which isn’t always an option. Example: Airbnb calendar doesn’t fully block dates from showing as available, I’m having to manually block them. So I select to block on the calendar, but it Block’s the first date selected but not the sequential dates. And then it won’t update the view until I completely close the app and reboot it to view the calendar and confirm, but it still doesn’t look right. This same issue occurs with the inbox. I get a new message notification, open the app, and there’s nothing there. If I wait 5 minutes and refresh the app a few times, the new message will eventually show up. Very frustrating when trying to keep up with every new message. And I wish there was a way to look at the financial stuff, such as how much I’ve earned, upcoming deposits, monthly booking numbers, etc. I guess I’m just spoiled with the Airbnb app, (that doesn’t charge commissions from hosts) and was expecting this one to be similar in usability and features.