VRBO frustration! I refunded in full, and they charged me again for the same amount like I did not!

Maybe use a secondary account to receive payments? And if this is ever charged to your account, deny the claim. Tell the bank NO party is authorized to make a debit!

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The majority of my bookings are through VRBO as a whole-house rental. When they started processing payments a few years back I thought it was great to have another way of processing credit card payments. But I find their payments are slow and I don’t like their cancellation policy as I don’t feel it covers me enough, plus I also had a situation that eventually got resolved but caused some angst like you’re experiencing. I just don’t trust their competency - I much prefer to deal with the guest directly.

I raised my rates by 3% to cover the additional fees for processing the payment, and now with VRBO’s additional booking fee to the guest I can offer the guest the choice to get an 8% discount for dealing with me directly, avoiding the additional fees. I find that 80% of people prefer to save that money and puts me in control of my rental. It’s what I originally “signed up for” with VRBO making so many changes.

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Wow! Great idea @konacoconutz!

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If you use their online payment system, they don’t pass the chargebacks on to you?

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It seems they’ll charge you for whatever they can. I had a rental that paid through VRBO last year - even though it ended up working out in the end the whole process including collecting and refunding the damage deposit seemed so cumbersome.

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No… I don’t mean the deposits… I mean the chargebacks… like Ana is referring to above. If a guest disputes the charge on the credit card.

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Oh, I see what you mean.

I wasn’t referring to the chargebacks in particular, I was responding to @Anastasia_Stal’s question about how other hosts deal with VRBO. Just offering some advice on avoiding going through the control of VRBO altogether. :grin:

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Thank you dear @CanadianHost.
I also had a guest recently asking if I want to deal directly to save VRBO fees. I was scared to give it a try since I didn’t know how it could be done.
The guest was a really nice person, he also owns 2 HomeAway properties (1M each - he gave me VRBO listing numbers) and said he has done it many times.
I still decided to follow the book and paid $120 transaction fee from his reservation.
But I would love to learn how you do this and how you protect yourself from chargebacks.
Can you explain the step by step process after you get an inquiry?
For example you and the guests agreed not to pay VRBO fees - so how do your process the payment and the security deposit?
Thank you! :blush:

Yes and they don’t care about your money at all which is really sad

I went to Chase yesterday and it’s what they said:
If you do a regular business with someone, like in my case - VRBO, you can not choose only to receive payments from them. It has to be both: recieving and withdrawning. So there is no way I can protect mysself from chargbacks or any other charges from them.

I can only stop doing business with them at all, not to allow payouts as well as chargebacks.

From my research the only way I can process payments through VRBO is only bank account (no option for PayPal payment for instance), so it will be always a risk to get chargebacks

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I don’t do any VRBO… But Cabin does and is most experienced with all of the problems that can happen.
Open a secondary account… when you get the payment, transfer it out at once! Then leave it empty otherwise? Would this not work?

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I 100% agree with you about VRBO competency. Unfortunately they have no idea what their role is as a vacation rental platform

The problem with this strategy is that if there is no money to collect, VRBO will probably send a notice of debt requesting payment of the funds, and if you didn’t send them the money, they will send it to a collection agency. I suspect that there is verbiage in their TERMS that state that they can take that money based on their own criteria.

I am not sure that there is a way to win this game, sadly.

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Not sure. Will definitely talk more to other hosts to see if there is a stategy that works. Thank you so much dear Kona! Feeling better now)))

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Yes, I also heard of VRBO taking hosts to the collection agency! What a nightmare!

Glad to explain my steps, @Anastasia_Stal! Let’s say you are the guest and I’m the host.

  1. Your inquiry comes in with the amount that VRBO quoted you, including their new booking fee and (although I’ve already paid to list with them) and the extra costs for the payment processing through VRBO. They’ve quoted you $3240 for the rental.

  2. Assuming it’s a rental that I want without any “red flags” I go into the dashboard and retrieve your email address. (BTW, I look at a potential guest leaving their phone number as a sign that they’re a serious renter - without that I’d reply through VRBO’s dashboard.)

  3. I email you back directly to your email address, bypassing VRBO’s filters. I prepare an invoice for $3000 and attach that with our Rental Policies that need to be initialed and signed. I tell you that I can send you an offer to book through VRBO at the price stated with 50% payment up front, or you can deal directly with me at the lower amount on the invoice, which will avoid $240 in fees plus only 25% down. If you wish to proceed, please tell me a little more about your group and nature of stay so that I can ensure our home is a good fit for you.

  4. I also give a link to our direct website that has been around longer and is more comprehensive than any booking engines we’re on and shows stability and reviews which helps to alleviate concerns that you may have. It also includes my phone number so you know that I am reachable.

  5. I don’t know what country you’re in and if this is available to you, but… if you’re from Canada the payment of choice is e-mail Transfer - it’s SO convenient. If you’re from the USA people choose to pay via PayPal or send a check - occasionally people prefer wire transfer. Since I have a USD bank account I offer the option of payment in American funds at the rate my bank is exchanging at (i.e. $3000 CAD = $2100 USD).

  6. (Assuming you’re from the U.S.A. and have decided to send me a check for $2100): The check arrives and I email you confirmation along with our Rental Package.

  7. For our security deposit, you would have the option of either sending me your Credit Card information to keep on file, or paying a deposit which will be held and returned after the rental.

The guest wins because they get a lower rate - you win because you maintain control of the rental.

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I totally agree, @Anastasia_Stal. They were one of the original host platforms that I expect the other sites like FlipKey and Airbnb used as a springboard. They charged a fee to advertise on their site (vs listing for free but charging per stay) and basically left the rest between the host and guest.

I thought it was a great system and still think their initial vision is the best option for my particular situation. But Airbnb and FlipKey have changed things in the vacation rental market and VRBO is trying to keep up with them now.

People who liked VRBO before are not happy with the changes as they try to figure out their “role”. For now, at least, there is still a workaround. Who knows how long that will be available?

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Thank you so much for such a detailed instruction CanadianHost! I am taking notes here.

I wonder if most of your bookings are long term, because it seems like a lot of extra work just for a few day reservation? Or you’ve done it enough time not to think twice about it - to me it sounds pretty comprehensive :wink:

Also my concern if the guest would want to send me over the credit card information or pay deposit in cash- this means I need to be on site when they check out.
It’s just some of my thoughts - and I am really glad it’s working out for you! VRBO does everything so the host will want to workaround!

My bookings are for a whole house - usually for 4-7 night stays. I’ve been doing my system for years so it’s not a big deal to me. The invoice is already in a template on my computer. It takes only about 3 minutes to make the changes for each booking.

The policies remain the same. Each policy has a box that I ask them to initial and then sign at the bottom. That gives me added security that they’ve read the policies instead of glossing over them. I also receive the deposit myself instead of it being held by someone else at returned at their discretion. I only offer a refund of payment received if their time is rebooked. I just feel it’s so much more secure all-around.

I assumed since you’re on VRBO that you also have a whole house. I don’t know that it’s worthwhile if you have several separate rooms you’re booking out for only a night or two each.[quote=“Anastasia_Stal, post:39, topic:9481”]
Also my concern if the guest would want to send me over the credit card information or pay deposit in cash- this means I need to be on site when they check out.
[/quote]

I always check the house within a week of departure. It has never been an issue. 95% of people prefer to leave their credit card on file and I nearly never need to use it.

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