DEAR TRAVEL PROBLEM SOLVER: Our Vrbo host canceled our reservation lower than 24 hours previous to our arrival, leading to my spouse and daughter dropping airfare. I want your assist to acquire a refund for our ensuing lodge invoice.
I booked a rental in El Paso, Texas and paid it in full. At 9:30 pm the evening earlier than my household’s flights to El Paso, I acquired a message from the host saying, “The home is just not accessible. It is already reserved. Then one other message that you just canceled our reservation and initiated a refund.
I despatched him panic messages saying there should be one thing mistaken: that we booked and paid in full greater than six months earlier than. I stated we had flights and would arrive the subsequent day. She didn’t reply. No assist, no apologies, no nothing. I discovered her mobile phone quantity and known as 3 times: every time it went straight to voicemail.
Vrbo stated there have been no different leases accessible. So as an alternative we have been booked a single evening in a double room at a lodge. We might be left alone to discover a place for the opposite two nights. I can not alert different Vrbo renters to the host’s unscrupulous conduct, and want to obtain a refund for all of the nights we needed to keep in a lodge. Are you able to assist me?
—Jim LoScalzo, Washington, D.C.
ANSWER: The host made a mistake by canceling simply earlier than your arrival, however that is not the worst of it. When he checked his account, it turned out that the host had given him a one-star evaluation, though he by no means stayed within the rental. (This might have an effect on his means to lease from Vrbo once more.) Vrbo ought to have discovered a alternative rental for you and lined any extra prices. As an alternative, the corporate refunded his lease and paid for an evening in a lodge.
Vrbo has a “guide with confidence” assure that protects you from a last-minute cancellation. Promise company rebooking help or emergency lodging if their reservation is “improperly canceled” on the final minute by the host.
It wasn’t instantly clear why Vrbo paid for only one evening on the new lodge. You known as and emailed the corporate half a dozen instances, however they did not let you know. By the way in which, I listing the names, numbers, and emails of Vrbo executives on my shopper advocacy web site at www.elliott.org/company-contacts/vrbo-customer-service-contacts. A brief and well mannered e mail to one among them might need helped.
I contacted Vrbo about your case. Their data present that Vrbo lined emergency lodging for the primary evening.
“For the rest of his keep, Mr. LoScalzo was required to guide a lodge by one among our websites and submit receipts for reimbursement provided that the price of his lodge keep exceeded the price of his authentic reservation. ”, stated a consultant. “As a result of the overall value of your lodge reservation didn’t exceed the price of your authentic reservation, you aren’t eligible for a refund.”
Nonetheless, as a goodwill gesture, Vrbo agreed to refund the $299 he paid for his lodge. The host voluntarily eliminated the itemizing from Vrbo.
“Relating to detrimental evaluations, property and visitor evaluations are solely allowed for stays which have been accomplished,” the consultant added.
Vrbo eliminated the one star visitor evaluation.
Christopher Elliott is the Advocacy Director for Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit group that helps customers clear up their issues. Elliott’s newest guide is “Easy methods to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler” (Nationwide Geographic). Contact him at elliott.org/assist or chris@elliott.org.
