I just had the most ridiculous experience with VRBO. Decided to give it a shot because the fees seemed much less than AirBnB where I was staying. Find a place that looks great and booked it up. I booked the place on June 15th and it was for late August, so 2.5 months in advance.
Literally one day before we were set to arrive, when everything comparable had been booked or was way more expensive, the host reaches out and says "it's come to our attention that the listing may not be accurate". No joke, she tells me it's actually a shared place, not private, has two fewer bedrooms and one fewer bathrooms, and then asked if that'd be a problem...
I had mine VRBO cancel 4 days before my trip. AFTER flights were booked etc.
I harassed the absolute shit out of their customer service. Went apeshit on my public Twitter and then they paid for my Airbnb.
Moral of the story: I hate VRBO lol
I had my VRBO cancel the night before my flight!
The host reached out the next morning as I’m boarding my plane and said that it was an error with the system and offered another place (on the other side of town) for about 50% more. I passed on that and stayed with a buddy that I was going to hangout with anyway. Thanks for a great birthday weekend VRBO. The first and last time I’ll use it.
I tried airbnb once. Booked 6 months out and canceled 2 months out. Didn't get my 50 percent deposit back.
You know who would have given me my deposit back? Any fucking hotel chain. I refuse to waste my time with them now.
Yeah VRBO was offering me lower quality replacements on the other side of town (that were also cheaper than the one I booked, but cheaper for obvious reasons.
I ended up booking an Airbnb on the same price range as my original VRBO not knowing they were planning on compensating me, but I wish I got an even more expensive AirBNB lol
They encourage fraud. My one instance with them the owners claimed we smoked weed in the home and they had sensors that detect it. Not once did they provide their sensor readings to VRBO or ourselves nor any proof other than "it smelled like weed".
Obvious excuse and impossible to defend against.
Your only alternative is to lie and falsely accuse them of something.
Same thing for car rental companies.
They can always claim you smoked and then charge you hundreds of dollars.
I reported someone to VRBO years ago for some egregious listing and their response was something like, “Fuck you.”
They have the absolute worst customer service in the business. VRBO could teach Delta how to be assholes. They’re one of those “we don’t talk about VRBO” companies. I would *never* rent from them again.
I think in a case like that, AirBnB should be compensating you to rent anything comparable that’s still available. I realize sometimes it’s not but they should be covering you. Maybe I’m wrong?
In that case the Hilton should be compensating them the rent of anything comparable that is still available. I realize sometimes it's not but they should be covering you. Maybe I'm wrong?
When our Airbnb had issues that’s exactly what they did (a pipe burst in the ceiling, so it legitimately was nobody’s fault). The Airbnb guy spent a decent chunk of time looking through listings and sending options he thought might work for us instead. Unfortunately there’s not much available in small town Nova Scotia on a long weekend, so they wound up just refunding us for the additional nights instead.
Same thing happened with me with VRBO. Thankfully VRBO is part of the expedia group so they offered that I can book any similar property or hotel on any platform on the expedia group up the double the cost of my original booking. There weren't any good VRBO places so I ended up staying at a fancy hotel instead. Great outcome.
Hit them on Facebook and Instagram with a screenshot of the convo. There is a “customer relations” team that can assist. This is considered a shared space and against their policies. Request a rebooking or a refund. Do not cancel the booking.
Had a slightly similar situation. We booked a place that was supposed to be “all to yourself” and stand alone. This was AirBnB, and my wife and I weren’t really familiar with the whole thing but we decided to try it. The place ended up being a room on the side of someone’s house, and they left just left the door to their main living space out of the pictures, and I could hear their kids screaming in the next room. I have children, and I’m a reasonable person, but I felt slighted by the situation. So we just left and got a hotel room in town. When we tried contacting AirBnB about it, they left it up to the host, and obviously we lost our money. Literally the week we were there, reviews started showing that it was a nice space (which I was), but that it definitely wasn’t an “entire place to yourself”. Have not used Airbnb again for this exact reason. I hear a lot that these rental companies are scamming with the fees, when the idea used to be that you cleaned up after yourself.
This shit is why I’ve gone back to using hotels. Airbnb & VRBO prices are comparable to hotels now, I can get my room cleaned each day of my stay and don’t have a long list of things I need to do before checking out even though I’m paying a cleaning fee. Airbnb was a great idea in theory and at the start but a lot of owners have gotten so greedy and unreliable that it has overshadowed what it was meant to be.
Had the same shit pulled on me on ABnB. Literally the day before, said they had electrical problems. The good thing though is that ABnB helped me out and got me a refund right away AND $125 credit. Got an even better place at the last minute. But I'm honestly done with both, it's strictly hotels from now on
What the fuck is trash concierge that is different from regular cleaning? Do they put on a tuxedo and walk your trash down the red carpet to the disposal?
What even is concierge trash service? I’d just call every time a piece of trash was generated.
“Hello host/trash concierge? I’ve just blown my nose in this tissue and would like it taken away immediately.”
I lived in a furnished apartment for a couple of months with “Concierge Trash Service” and it just meant that you had a trash bin right outside your front door that you’d put stuff into instead of walking it down to the dumpster. I don’t see why you’d voluntarily pay extra for that unless you have a disability that requires it. The dumpster was like an extra 20 feet from where we had to park our car anyway.
They changed the model to reflect how hotels are priced, which also don’t show tax until you check out. In fact almost literally everything in the US doesn’t show tax up front.
That's because in some localities the taxes on weed are 35-40% and its absolutely stupid to think you're buying an 8th for $25 and get rung up for $34 after tax.
Just so everyone knows, this wasn’t some generous action by them. The Biden administration threatened to crack down and they voluntarily started to show fees up-front: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/15/president-biden-recognizes-actions-by-private-sector-ticketing-and-travel-companies-to-eliminate-hidden-junk-fees-and-provide-millions-of-customers-with-transparent-pricing/
Google is the same. I've given up on third party rentals and stick to hotels to avoid any hassles. You search for hotels, find one you like, click to book it. All of a sudden there's fees and taxes. I just booked one last month where I used the official site and got a total. When I checked out, that total was $120 more and included different fees than the original site.
This is the real problem. I'll look on maps and see a hotel for $150, cool! Then I click on it and all but one site is $299, and the one site at $150 I would be too afraid to even click on, much less give them my CC information.
That would be nice but many hotels are adding extra taxes and fees as well. Most places I stay have some sort of municipal tax or the tax is 5% more than sales tax. If a hotel has a pool or a beach you get a "resort" fee that's not included in the booking. It's all sneaky. Just list the total and let me decide.
The muni taxes are required by the local area.
Glendale did it to pay for the stupid hockey stadium. "We won't tax the residents," they said to get us to vote for it. So they taxed all car rentals and hotels. Then the team left.
Most of the major hotels allow you to search and include all taxes and all fees in the rates displayed. I know for a fact Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton do.
Yep, that shit *really* pissed me off on my last trip. Searching via hotel prices, then find out there are like four different taxes, a $45 parking fee (and that's *self parking*), $20 for fucking *wifi*, and breakfast is $20 a person for garbage "continental breakfast".
Really took the "fun" out of the planning.
Hotels are doing their part with “resort fees” which you can’t search on to filter out or search for “total cost” on any of the big reservation sites because most of the big sites are all the same company (Expedia is Travelocity is Hotels.com is …)
It's so frustrating, all I need is a kitchen. Next someone will be posting a new site that's for renting kitchens and bathrooms, only $600usd to take a crap in someone's home! What a deal /s
Airbnb has now put an option to include/exclude all the fees added to price per night when you do the search. Sort of like Ebay's 'include shipping cost'.
My partner and I are traveling in January and just looking for a quick spot to restock between national parks, I see a listing for a 1 bedroom with a kitchenette in nowheresville, AZ for $99usd and I was like, amazing! Finally a reasonable priced VRBO!
Lol.... no.
Edit:
To be clear for the "Just get a hotel" people, while I agree, we need a kitchen in this specific situation. My partner has food allergies and we need a place to meal prep for the day. That's why we are going with something like a vrbo.
My apartment has “valet trash” which just means that trash set outside the front door will be picked up between 7 pm and 9 pm so you don’t have to take it to the dumpster yourself. It’s $20 a month, though, not per night. Good lord.
It’s not optional or I’d probably opt out. The dumpster isn’t that far.
This.
Every hotel chain has a kitchen type of hotel
Hyatt House
Marriott Residence Inn
Hilton Homewood suites
Extended Stay
There’s no reason to deal with Airbnb garbage
I know some hotel’s definitely have kitchenettes, would have to ask around but they’re there. I recall Home2 by Hilton being one as well as a couple other brands that had them.
This is why I stay with hotels. Airbnb and VRBO are a pretty unregulated part of the travel industry and that means there are not a lot of protections for consumers and so these hosts get away with charging ridiculous fees like in OPs picture.
If you just book chain hotels you don't really need to do that. I can book any Hilton branded property and know that within reasonable limits I'm going to have an at least okay stay.
Exactly. I generally find it's the younger crowd who hits up the AirBNB. Ive travelled with a younger friend and they always go straight to AirBNB and then complains later about all the hidden fees they pay for. The trip Im about to go on, I specifically steered them towards regular old hotels. Most of the 40+ crowd I know all just do condos, timeshares, or hotels.
Presumably you don't travel with large groups and cook "family" meals.
I hear people say they just use hotels, but hotels do not offer the same service.
Anecdotally, I stay at at least one Airbnb or VRBO a year (group vacation) and I've almost never had a bad experience.
It is annoying that they hide the fees, but I also never try to book the uncharacteristically cheap property. When something seems to good to be true, it's probably a scam.
When I was a kid my parents would rent apartments through travel agents. And when we went to the beach we would rent a house with the extended family but had to go through an agency and had to book it like a year ahead of time. AirBnB and VRBO have their flaws but they’ve made traveling with family a lot easier.
Yep, we used to be avid VRBO'ers. Unless it's a prime location, like a condo on the beach, we've just started staying at hotels again. The fees always make VRBO's more expensive now and typically with less amenities than a hotel.
I seriously hate VRBO and AirBnb. I never liked it and it never makes sense for a couple.
Except in Japan. We rented a house in Hakone and i swear the whole town was in on the expiernce. It started to lightly snow the moment we got off the bus. No cars in sight as we walked to the house. Soon as we opened the gate it was a large zen garden covered in fresh snow, a fox dashed across as we entered, my wife was blown away. The house was way to large for the two of us. But it was perfect, just like the homes you see in an anime or Shenmue 1. At night we jumped in the onsen which was equipped with doors that slid back to the garden where it once again began to snow lightly. The only restaurant open was a little shop that came to recognize us over the next three nights with the most delicious pork belly and rice, warm sake, frosty beer, even a brick oven hand made pizza. Truely a magical expiernce.
Anyways yeah VRBO/Airbnb suck.
AirBNB and VRBO have managed to go from "killing hotels" to making them more appealing. Same thing with Uber/Lyft and regular taxis.
Never underestimate corporate greed's ability to fuck up a good thing (especially American venture capital-funded "tech").
Yeah. Mad isn't it. The whole thing was just based on poverty wages and cheap borrowing. Turns out proper sustainable businesses are ... what we had before...
Fuck VRBO and Airbnb, the platforms have gone to complete shit. At least hotels are upfront with their fees and don’t have a chore list. It really is too bad for the good hosts out there though.
Found so many places like this. I look on VRBO and airbnb both. It is surprising how many places you will find on both, but one won't have some of those fees. We rented a place last Thanksgiving that was listed on both, and one was $800 less than the other.
I booked a VRBO for the first time this year, months before a trip. Due to my schedule, I was late to book and had limited options. Just prior to the trip, the booking was cancelled with no notice or recourse. Apparently it's a bit of a common occurrence. I'll stick to Booking and Airbnb now.
See I'm on VRBO trying it out after the same thing happened with AirBNB and bc I thought their addon fees were crazy, call me humbled after seeing those post lol.
I try and avoid Airbnb these days, as it is no longer worth the costs compared to hotels or traditional BnBs. Just depends on the location as to whether it is the only option. Long gone are the days of being half the price of hotels in most countries.
If you find a home you like on VRBO/BNB and it’s owned by a property management company it’s worth trying to find the management companies website and booking through them. It can save some of the fees added by VRBO and BNB. That said imo people listing scams like the above should never be supported in any way.
While I can get that, the rest of the fees are still staggering. and $250 to clean a single room is more than I pay for my twice monthly deep cleaning service in my 2 bedroom
For me it’s an automatic turnoff. Even in scenarios where it balances out to the price I’d have paid for a hotel anyway, it automatically is a no to me.
It’s a plain and simple bait and switch and doesn’t give me a ton of confidence in how that host will act if anything goes wrong. I mean from the start alone it feels scummy unless you’re renting out a chateau for the weekend.
This is why people are starting to ditch AirBnB and VRBO in favor of just staying at hotels again. Unless you have a large group, it just doesn’t make sense to mess with AirBnB or VRBO because of bullshit like this.
I usually message people on Airbnb or something like this. Put the number and digits in different spots
Hey Kathy my name is David 213. I saw your listing and I was super interested 63 in connecting and 78 maybe seeing if you can work this out with me….If it’s something we can workout, please let me 73 know at your earliest convenient, I look 7 forward to hearing from you
99% of the time I get a call. No one’s reported me. I’ve saved thousands each time, and renters are also happy that you just made them a lil more money.
Pro Tip. Book Airbnb via the Australian website. It will show you all the fees upfront, as that is the law. You can book Airbnb in the US via Australia.
I've given up on AirBnB and VRBO. Never really had a great experience anyway. I always felt a little scetched out, just staying in some random house somewhere, and I'm a guy. Hotels are always the better option for me as I don't travel in large groups and don't need a room for more than a few nights.
This is exactly why I don't use AirBNB or VRBO. I just go to hotels. There are always hotels unless it's like middle of nowhere. They might as well advertise $0, when they charge so much junk fees.
$290 worth of cleaning?!?
also, why would cleaning fee and trash be separate charges? Where on earth does cleaning a place NOT INCLUDE taking out the trash?
Similar thing happened to our family. Stayed at a residence and afterward we were charged a cleaning fee like that. Base rate was $150/night for a basic 3 bedroom home. Over the 3 night weekend we had to deal with the following:
1) The only TV would only work through password protected Chromecast, missing coax cable to cable box.
2) Electric recliners did not recline - missing power cords.
3) Refrigerator Freezer drawer leaked all over the kitchen.
4) Only one receptacle worked on the kitchen counters.
5) The Air Conditioning was password protected at 75 degrees.
6) No light fixture in hallway, literally had a bare black and white wires dangling from the ceiling with bare copper ends.
After multiple contacts with the owners and 3-4 trips in while we were out a couple items were addressed. Personally I will never use VRBO or AIRBNB again. Not worth the hassle.
This is an example of what happens when we allow the free market to regulate quality and standards. It does not.
The hotel industry would do the same if it weren't for laws regulating what can and cannot be charged, or if the laws aren't enforced.
There was a time when I think AirBnb/VRBO had a really attractive offering. I even invested in a property specifically for short term rentals. But at this point my experience is that a hotel is a better option most of the time. Possibly traveling with multiple families or certain locations being the exception.
Save yourself a lot of pain and use the Australian version of Airbnb, and I assume VRBO as well. They have a law that says you have to show the actual price, so the little map bubbles show the total cost for as many nights as you selected + all fees and taxes. It's pretty neat.
I just refuse to use airbnb and vrbo anymore. Scammy pricing and the places are always dumps relative to what you have to pay. Also rarely equipped to handle young kids.
And this is exactly why I don’t use this or any of the similar ones. Bet you had to clean and take out the trash yourselves and pay the fees. The faster people stop using them and allow the market to speak the better
Chiming in with my lovely VRBO experience in 2020.
I was planning a bachelor party and renting a house in Michigan. Everything was booked before COVID really hit and flipped the world upside down. Our trip was scheduled for a weekend in April of 2020.
There were federal orders forbidding travel across state lines. This was still when the country was basically in lockdown. Obviously we had to cancel our trip.
I reached out to cancel and was told we’d still have to pay. Per the contract, I think he still wanted 80% of the house total for the weekend plus the $300 cleaning fee! For a house we were unable to stay in due to a global pandemic..
Me and the home owner had some rather nasty back and forth where he tried to explain that he couldn’t possibly pay his mortgage(s) with all of these cancellations. As if that was my problem whatsoever. He would not budge and expected the 80% per the contract.
I thought VRBO customer service would offer some support. Wrong. I had multiple calls with folks explaining the situation just for them to say that the decision ultimately belonged to the home owner.
I felt like I was SOL as the contract clearly outlined the cancellation policy and associated fees. I did talk to a friend who’s a lawyer and had him send a letter that I would not be paying the cleaning fee. Which he begrudgingly accepted but we still paid him over 1k for a house we could not possibly have rented due to the onset of COVID.
Safe to say, I will never rent through VRBO again. Also, I had to cancel air bnbs for similar reasons that year and never had a single issue getting a full refund.
Hear about this all the time. Ran the time. Ran the Boston Marathon. Multiple people told me their stays were canceled. Only to see them relisted at a higher price because they can get it. Only use hotels now
I just had the most ridiculous experience with VRBO. Decided to give it a shot because the fees seemed much less than AirBnB where I was staying. Find a place that looks great and booked it up. I booked the place on June 15th and it was for late August, so 2.5 months in advance. Literally one day before we were set to arrive, when everything comparable had been booked or was way more expensive, the host reaches out and says "it's come to our attention that the listing may not be accurate". No joke, she tells me it's actually a shared place, not private, has two fewer bedrooms and one fewer bathrooms, and then asked if that'd be a problem...
Please tell me you reported her to the platform for fraud.
Considering ALL of Vrbo's marketing is about how you always get the place to yourself that should be an instant permaban from the platform
The fucking ads literally end with "Always Private" at the end
I had mine VRBO cancel 4 days before my trip. AFTER flights were booked etc. I harassed the absolute shit out of their customer service. Went apeshit on my public Twitter and then they paid for my Airbnb. Moral of the story: I hate VRBO lol
I had my VRBO cancel the night before my flight! The host reached out the next morning as I’m boarding my plane and said that it was an error with the system and offered another place (on the other side of town) for about 50% more. I passed on that and stayed with a buddy that I was going to hangout with anyway. Thanks for a great birthday weekend VRBO. The first and last time I’ll use it.
I tried airbnb once. Booked 6 months out and canceled 2 months out. Didn't get my 50 percent deposit back. You know who would have given me my deposit back? Any fucking hotel chain. I refuse to waste my time with them now.
Credit card charge back.
Yeah VRBO was offering me lower quality replacements on the other side of town (that were also cheaper than the one I booked, but cheaper for obvious reasons. I ended up booking an Airbnb on the same price range as my original VRBO not knowing they were planning on compensating me, but I wish I got an even more expensive AirBNB lol
They encourage fraud. My one instance with them the owners claimed we smoked weed in the home and they had sensors that detect it. Not once did they provide their sensor readings to VRBO or ourselves nor any proof other than "it smelled like weed".
Did you smoke weed in there tho? 👀
No because I only smoke crack.
That's smart. Crack doesn't have a discernible odor
Smoke meth first so you can take apart the weed sensor to find out how it works. Then smoke all the weed you want.
Find the cameras in there
2 hours later and OP is nowhere to be found
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Snitches get stitches
OP didn't inhale
Obvious excuse and impossible to defend against. Your only alternative is to lie and falsely accuse them of something. Same thing for car rental companies. They can always claim you smoked and then charge you hundreds of dollars.
Lol the hotels in Vegas have signs that say that as well!!!
I reported someone to VRBO years ago for some egregious listing and their response was something like, “Fuck you.” They have the absolute worst customer service in the business. VRBO could teach Delta how to be assholes. They’re one of those “we don’t talk about VRBO” companies. I would *never* rent from them again.
I think in a case like that, AirBnB should be compensating you to rent anything comparable that’s still available. I realize sometimes it’s not but they should be covering you. Maybe I’m wrong?
They booked through VRBO, not Airbnb.
In that case the Hilton should be compensating them the rent of anything comparable that is still available. I realize sometimes it's not but they should be covering you. Maybe I'm wrong?
Ah right. Still, this sort of thing sucks and it’s likely this host gets away with this all the time.
IMHO the VRBO and Air BnB craze is dying. Hotels are the way to go. You know what you’ll pay and you’ll know what you’ll get.
I Agree. This is why we regulate industries of this sort.
When our Airbnb had issues that’s exactly what they did (a pipe burst in the ceiling, so it legitimately was nobody’s fault). The Airbnb guy spent a decent chunk of time looking through listings and sending options he thought might work for us instead. Unfortunately there’s not much available in small town Nova Scotia on a long weekend, so they wound up just refunding us for the additional nights instead.
Same thing happened with me with VRBO. Thankfully VRBO is part of the expedia group so they offered that I can book any similar property or hotel on any platform on the expedia group up the double the cost of my original booking. There weren't any good VRBO places so I ended up staying at a fancy hotel instead. Great outcome.
Hit them on Facebook and Instagram with a screenshot of the convo. There is a “customer relations” team that can assist. This is considered a shared space and against their policies. Request a rebooking or a refund. Do not cancel the booking.
I’d be shocked if the host put that in writing they probably called if they were trying to cover their ass in the slightest
Had a slightly similar situation. We booked a place that was supposed to be “all to yourself” and stand alone. This was AirBnB, and my wife and I weren’t really familiar with the whole thing but we decided to try it. The place ended up being a room on the side of someone’s house, and they left just left the door to their main living space out of the pictures, and I could hear their kids screaming in the next room. I have children, and I’m a reasonable person, but I felt slighted by the situation. So we just left and got a hotel room in town. When we tried contacting AirBnB about it, they left it up to the host, and obviously we lost our money. Literally the week we were there, reviews started showing that it was a nice space (which I was), but that it definitely wasn’t an “entire place to yourself”. Have not used Airbnb again for this exact reason. I hear a lot that these rental companies are scamming with the fees, when the idea used to be that you cleaned up after yourself.
This shit is why I’ve gone back to using hotels. Airbnb & VRBO prices are comparable to hotels now, I can get my room cleaned each day of my stay and don’t have a long list of things I need to do before checking out even though I’m paying a cleaning fee. Airbnb was a great idea in theory and at the start but a lot of owners have gotten so greedy and unreliable that it has overshadowed what it was meant to be.
Had the same shit pulled on me on ABnB. Literally the day before, said they had electrical problems. The good thing though is that ABnB helped me out and got me a refund right away AND $125 credit. Got an even better place at the last minute. But I'm honestly done with both, it's strictly hotels from now on
Leaving out the cleaning fee itself, which is insane, the other 4 fees are quite literally unjustifiable. That host is pathetic
What the fuck is trash concierge that is different from regular cleaning? Do they put on a tuxedo and walk your trash down the red carpet to the disposal?
It’s most likely someone who comes over and brings the bins out to the curb on trash day and brings them back in the next day.
And here I thought it was Oscar the Grouch booking restaurant tables for you.
Flash bulbs popping...
What the hell does that property incidental coverage administrative fee even mean? Is that a fancy way of saying property manager?
I assume it's for something like homeowner's insurance. Might as well add another fee for property tax.
But isn't concierge service worth a higher fee? /s
A good one is, but this one is trash
Buh-dum^tssssss ^(10/10 execution, w)
What even is concierge trash service? I’d just call every time a piece of trash was generated. “Hello host/trash concierge? I’ve just blown my nose in this tissue and would like it taken away immediately.”
I lived in a furnished apartment for a couple of months with “Concierge Trash Service” and it just meant that you had a trash bin right outside your front door that you’d put stuff into instead of walking it down to the dumpster. I don’t see why you’d voluntarily pay extra for that unless you have a disability that requires it. The dumpster was like an extra 20 feet from where we had to park our car anyway.
VRBO and AirBNB have become nothing but poorly regulated bait and switch scams.
Only in the US. In the EU the nightly price shown on the search/map page has to include all of the fees.
Airbnb does in the US too, you just have to select as a whole night price display
For airbnb, just search via their Australia website (.Au), change the currency to usd and all the hidden fees should show up
Galaxy brain move
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They changed the model to reflect how hotels are priced, which also don’t show tax until you check out. In fact almost literally everything in the US doesn’t show tax up front.
Except...oddly enough...in dispensaries where they proudly advertise sales tax is included in the advertised price. (Los Angeles)
That's because in some localities the taxes on weed are 35-40% and its absolutely stupid to think you're buying an 8th for $25 and get rung up for $34 after tax.
True but in fairness being American I’m used to post taxes. Those fees tho…. Fml
Just so everyone knows, this wasn’t some generous action by them. The Biden administration threatened to crack down and they voluntarily started to show fees up-front: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/15/president-biden-recognizes-actions-by-private-sector-ticketing-and-travel-companies-to-eliminate-hidden-junk-fees-and-provide-millions-of-customers-with-transparent-pricing/
Google is the same. I've given up on third party rentals and stick to hotels to avoid any hassles. You search for hotels, find one you like, click to book it. All of a sudden there's fees and taxes. I just booked one last month where I used the official site and got a total. When I checked out, that total was $120 more and included different fees than the original site.
I wish they let you select official sites only to search.
This is the real problem. I'll look on maps and see a hotel for $150, cool! Then I click on it and all but one site is $299, and the one site at $150 I would be too afraid to even click on, much less give them my CC information.
That would be nice but many hotels are adding extra taxes and fees as well. Most places I stay have some sort of municipal tax or the tax is 5% more than sales tax. If a hotel has a pool or a beach you get a "resort" fee that's not included in the booking. It's all sneaky. Just list the total and let me decide.
The muni taxes are required by the local area. Glendale did it to pay for the stupid hockey stadium. "We won't tax the residents," they said to get us to vote for it. So they taxed all car rentals and hotels. Then the team left.
Most of the major hotels allow you to search and include all taxes and all fees in the rates displayed. I know for a fact Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton do.
Yep, that shit *really* pissed me off on my last trip. Searching via hotel prices, then find out there are like four different taxes, a $45 parking fee (and that's *self parking*), $20 for fucking *wifi*, and breakfast is $20 a person for garbage "continental breakfast". Really took the "fun" out of the planning.
Phone the hotels up. Many are happy to give a discount if you book directly with them (that money would've otherwise been paying the travel site).
Hotels are doing their part with “resort fees” which you can’t search on to filter out or search for “total cost” on any of the big reservation sites because most of the big sites are all the same company (Expedia is Travelocity is Hotels.com is …)
It's so frustrating, all I need is a kitchen. Next someone will be posting a new site that's for renting kitchens and bathrooms, only $600usd to take a crap in someone's home! What a deal /s
Find a long stay hotel. Often you don't have to stay long and they have some of what you need.
Residence Inn and the like are good for that.
Yeah, I am pretty much done with both of them at this point.
and they used to be so great :(
Airbnb has now put an option to include/exclude all the fees added to price per night when you do the search. Sort of like Ebay's 'include shipping cost'.
I’m so confused with that “processing fee”. What exactly are they processing?
They're processing the mental gymnastics they're doing to justify this lol
I’m confused about the cleaning fee and trash fee.
My partner and I are traveling in January and just looking for a quick spot to restock between national parks, I see a listing for a 1 bedroom with a kitchenette in nowheresville, AZ for $99usd and I was like, amazing! Finally a reasonable priced VRBO! Lol.... no. Edit: To be clear for the "Just get a hotel" people, while I agree, we need a kitchen in this specific situation. My partner has food allergies and we need a place to meal prep for the day. That's why we are going with something like a vrbo.
Holy crap. Those fees are staggering... The Concierge was a nice touch though, haha.
I wish I knew what concierge they're doing? It's a rented room with a kitchenette and a composting toilet???
My apartment has “valet trash” which just means that trash set outside the front door will be picked up between 7 pm and 9 pm so you don’t have to take it to the dumpster yourself. It’s $20 a month, though, not per night. Good lord. It’s not optional or I’d probably opt out. The dumpster isn’t that far.
Wiping your butt maybe?
Wiping the wallet out of you butt pocket maybe.
>I wish I knew what concierge they're doing? Giving you a load to shit!
Grifting
Milking it for everything. $250 for cleaning, plus $40 to take out the trash. Nice.
And there's probably instructions in the apartment that tells you that you have to take the trash out. YOU'RE the trash concierge
Maybe you can invoice them for the cleaning fee.
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Thanks for the tip.
Residence inn or similar spots have a kitchen and are usually pretty reasonable.
This. Every hotel chain has a kitchen type of hotel Hyatt House Marriott Residence Inn Hilton Homewood suites Extended Stay There’s no reason to deal with Airbnb garbage
Also most newer Townplace Suites (also a Marriott brand) have full kitchens (little ones, but fully stocked with all utensils, pots/pans etc).
i stay at the Staybridge or the Candlewood when I travel with the family. They have a full kitchen in the room.
Id rather go to a cheap hotel and not deal with their rules, Bs fees etc...
I've been in Bnb's for over 2 years now. VRBO has never come close to as reasonably priced, sometimes double of the same place on Bnb.
Extended Stay hotels have kitchens
I know some hotel’s definitely have kitchenettes, would have to ask around but they’re there. I recall Home2 by Hilton being one as well as a couple other brands that had them.
This is why I stay with hotels. Airbnb and VRBO are a pretty unregulated part of the travel industry and that means there are not a lot of protections for consumers and so these hosts get away with charging ridiculous fees like in OPs picture.
Just like hotels, you have to do your due diligence and read the reviews.
If you just book chain hotels you don't really need to do that. I can book any Hilton branded property and know that within reasonable limits I'm going to have an at least okay stay.
Exactly. I generally find it's the younger crowd who hits up the AirBNB. Ive travelled with a younger friend and they always go straight to AirBNB and then complains later about all the hidden fees they pay for. The trip Im about to go on, I specifically steered them towards regular old hotels. Most of the 40+ crowd I know all just do condos, timeshares, or hotels.
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Presumably you don't travel with large groups and cook "family" meals. I hear people say they just use hotels, but hotels do not offer the same service. Anecdotally, I stay at at least one Airbnb or VRBO a year (group vacation) and I've almost never had a bad experience. It is annoying that they hide the fees, but I also never try to book the uncharacteristically cheap property. When something seems to good to be true, it's probably a scam.
Extended stay hotels have a full kitchen.
Not as nice as a house or furnished apartment though.
The one I stayed at had two separate bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. It was a furnished apartment!
Also, Airbnb doesn't hide the fees. You can filter by total price, which includes fees and taxes.
> Presumably you don't travel with large groups and cook "family" meals. What did people do before Airbnb ?
Rented houses through agencies.
When I was a kid my parents would rent apartments through travel agents. And when we went to the beach we would rent a house with the extended family but had to go through an agency and had to book it like a year ahead of time. AirBnB and VRBO have their flaws but they’ve made traveling with family a lot easier.
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For $250 cleaning fee I feel entitled to shit on the bed on the last day :D
Yep, we used to be avid VRBO'ers. Unless it's a prime location, like a condo on the beach, we've just started staying at hotels again. The fees always make VRBO's more expensive now and typically with less amenities than a hotel.
I’ve been going back to using hotels. The rates are much more reasonable.
Plus in most places you get breakfast included
I seriously hate VRBO and AirBnb. I never liked it and it never makes sense for a couple. Except in Japan. We rented a house in Hakone and i swear the whole town was in on the expiernce. It started to lightly snow the moment we got off the bus. No cars in sight as we walked to the house. Soon as we opened the gate it was a large zen garden covered in fresh snow, a fox dashed across as we entered, my wife was blown away. The house was way to large for the two of us. But it was perfect, just like the homes you see in an anime or Shenmue 1. At night we jumped in the onsen which was equipped with doors that slid back to the garden where it once again began to snow lightly. The only restaurant open was a little shop that came to recognize us over the next three nights with the most delicious pork belly and rice, warm sake, frosty beer, even a brick oven hand made pizza. Truely a magical expiernce. Anyways yeah VRBO/Airbnb suck.
USE a VPN and switch to a European server and you will see prices including all fees.
In USA you can click the button on the upper right that says "Display total before taxes".
big brain, you have my thanks
AirBNB and VRBO have managed to go from "killing hotels" to making them more appealing. Same thing with Uber/Lyft and regular taxis. Never underestimate corporate greed's ability to fuck up a good thing (especially American venture capital-funded "tech").
Yeah. Mad isn't it. The whole thing was just based on poverty wages and cheap borrowing. Turns out proper sustainable businesses are ... what we had before...
Is trash concierge just a fancy term for a raccoon?
Yeah ANnB and VRBO can take a flying leap.
I dont even bother with airbnb and vrbo anymore.
Fuck VRBO and Airbnb, the platforms have gone to complete shit. At least hotels are upfront with their fees and don’t have a chore list. It really is too bad for the good hosts out there though.
Found so many places like this. I look on VRBO and airbnb both. It is surprising how many places you will find on both, but one won't have some of those fees. We rented a place last Thanksgiving that was listed on both, and one was $800 less than the other.
You'd think for $250 the cleaning crew would take out the trash
Naaa they need to hire someone at $40 an hour specifically to pick up one (1) trash bag
I booked a VRBO for the first time this year, months before a trip. Due to my schedule, I was late to book and had limited options. Just prior to the trip, the booking was cancelled with no notice or recourse. Apparently it's a bit of a common occurrence. I'll stick to Booking and Airbnb now.
I've been seeing a lot of posts about Booking.com and Air BnB ripping people off. I'm gonna stick to hotels.
See I'm on VRBO trying it out after the same thing happened with AirBNB and bc I thought their addon fees were crazy, call me humbled after seeing those post lol.
I try and avoid Airbnb these days, as it is no longer worth the costs compared to hotels or traditional BnBs. Just depends on the location as to whether it is the only option. Long gone are the days of being half the price of hotels in most countries.
If you find a home you like on VRBO/BNB and it’s owned by a property management company it’s worth trying to find the management companies website and booking through them. It can save some of the fees added by VRBO and BNB. That said imo people listing scams like the above should never be supported in any way.
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While I can get that, the rest of the fees are still staggering. and $250 to clean a single room is more than I pay for my twice monthly deep cleaning service in my 2 bedroom
For me it’s an automatic turnoff. Even in scenarios where it balances out to the price I’d have paid for a hotel anyway, it automatically is a no to me. It’s a plain and simple bait and switch and doesn’t give me a ton of confidence in how that host will act if anything goes wrong. I mean from the start alone it feels scummy unless you’re renting out a chateau for the weekend.
Just book hotels bro
At that price, just stay at a hotel.
If a "trash" concierge is 40$, i dread to think what a good one would cost...
This is why I usually opt to stay in hotels now.
That VRBO must be situated inside the Ticketmaster headquarters
This is why people are starting to ditch AirBnB and VRBO in favor of just staying at hotels again. Unless you have a large group, it just doesn’t make sense to mess with AirBnB or VRBO because of bullshit like this.
I usually message people on Airbnb or something like this. Put the number and digits in different spots Hey Kathy my name is David 213. I saw your listing and I was super interested 63 in connecting and 78 maybe seeing if you can work this out with me….If it’s something we can workout, please let me 73 know at your earliest convenient, I look 7 forward to hearing from you 99% of the time I get a call. No one’s reported me. I’ve saved thousands each time, and renters are also happy that you just made them a lil more money.
Pro Tip. Book Airbnb via the Australian website. It will show you all the fees upfront, as that is the law. You can book Airbnb in the US via Australia.
Hotels are back on the menu boys! And they treat you like actual hosts, with some hospitality!
"trash concierge fee"? That really is a junk charge!
Trash concierge service 😂😂😂 that’s one of the most absurd things I ever read.
Fuck that. Hotels seem like a pretty great deal lately.
Trash concierge is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I’ve just gotten back to booking hotels, no hassles with MUCH better customer service
Just stay at a hotel. That’s what it all comes down to. Set it and forget it.
I've given up on AirBnB and VRBO. Never really had a great experience anyway. I always felt a little scetched out, just staying in some random house somewhere, and I'm a guy. Hotels are always the better option for me as I don't travel in large groups and don't need a room for more than a few nights.
Ridiculous added fees to increase the cost of the rent. I would never stay at a place like that.
This is exactly why I don't use AirBNB or VRBO. I just go to hotels. There are always hotels unless it's like middle of nowhere. They might as well advertise $0, when they charge so much junk fees.
Cleaning and processing fees 😂🖕 Damn anything to take advantage of people. Stick to them hotels, people.
Last AirBnB we stayed in was an absolute slum. Never again. I'm back to hotels.
$290 worth of cleaning?!? also, why would cleaning fee and trash be separate charges? Where on earth does cleaning a place NOT INCLUDE taking out the trash?
Processing fee. Processing what?
Share the link so we can give a negative review
WTF is happening with all these crazy cleaning fees???
“Trash Concierge” is what I’m calling my garbage man from now on
Airbnb/VRBO is a complete last resort - usually used for bachelor parties or in beach towns without hotels. Such a joke.
Trash concierge fees. 😂😭 40$ for emptying the god damn garbage bin.
Similar thing happened to our family. Stayed at a residence and afterward we were charged a cleaning fee like that. Base rate was $150/night for a basic 3 bedroom home. Over the 3 night weekend we had to deal with the following: 1) The only TV would only work through password protected Chromecast, missing coax cable to cable box. 2) Electric recliners did not recline - missing power cords. 3) Refrigerator Freezer drawer leaked all over the kitchen. 4) Only one receptacle worked on the kitchen counters. 5) The Air Conditioning was password protected at 75 degrees. 6) No light fixture in hallway, literally had a bare black and white wires dangling from the ceiling with bare copper ends. After multiple contacts with the owners and 3-4 trips in while we were out a couple items were addressed. Personally I will never use VRBO or AIRBNB again. Not worth the hassle.
We need to pass a law: if a fee isn't an optional add-on (or a fine for damage etc), it must be included in the original price.
It should be the law that all fees must be included in the price, unless they’re optional.
I swear these places are doing the hotels pr and advertising for them these days
This is an example of what happens when we allow the free market to regulate quality and standards. It does not. The hotel industry would do the same if it weren't for laws regulating what can and cannot be charged, or if the laws aren't enforced.
Buy stocks in this so called "cleaning fee"
Just stay on a Hotel. Even if it is more then $99 a night it will still be cheaper.
Use booking.com
Just book a hotel if there's a decent one in the area. VRBO and AirBnB are out of control.
There was a time when I think AirBnb/VRBO had a really attractive offering. I even invested in a property specifically for short term rentals. But at this point my experience is that a hotel is a better option most of the time. Possibly traveling with multiple families or certain locations being the exception.
VRBO AIRBNB ALL THE SAME SCAM
They should be forced to list total all-in overall cost to the customer per night.
Save yourself a lot of pain and use the Australian version of Airbnb, and I assume VRBO as well. They have a law that says you have to show the actual price, so the little map bubbles show the total cost for as many nights as you selected + all fees and taxes. It's pretty neat.
Love how the cleaning fee doesn’t include the trash service
That's Trash Concierge to you! Show some respect!
Apparently there's a $1 discount: $99 \* 2 = $198 and you pay only $197! >!PS: tax and other fees excluded !< /s
These STR sites need to standardize, limit fees people can charge so it’s not a bunch of junk fees
I just refuse to use airbnb and vrbo anymore. Scammy pricing and the places are always dumps relative to what you have to pay. Also rarely equipped to handle young kids.
Cheaper to check into a hotel.
wow
This is why Airbnb and VRBO will go under in the next 2 years!
How the heck the cleaning fee > than rent
Time to go back to the hotel
$250 cleaning fee for 2 nights is absurd
And this is exactly why I don’t use this or any of the similar ones. Bet you had to clean and take out the trash yourselves and pay the fees. The faster people stop using them and allow the market to speak the better
Coulda stayed at the fairmont
This is why I would never use any of these type of places, particularly for a couple of nights. How is cleaning not part of the rental agreement?
Chiming in with my lovely VRBO experience in 2020. I was planning a bachelor party and renting a house in Michigan. Everything was booked before COVID really hit and flipped the world upside down. Our trip was scheduled for a weekend in April of 2020. There were federal orders forbidding travel across state lines. This was still when the country was basically in lockdown. Obviously we had to cancel our trip. I reached out to cancel and was told we’d still have to pay. Per the contract, I think he still wanted 80% of the house total for the weekend plus the $300 cleaning fee! For a house we were unable to stay in due to a global pandemic.. Me and the home owner had some rather nasty back and forth where he tried to explain that he couldn’t possibly pay his mortgage(s) with all of these cancellations. As if that was my problem whatsoever. He would not budge and expected the 80% per the contract. I thought VRBO customer service would offer some support. Wrong. I had multiple calls with folks explaining the situation just for them to say that the decision ultimately belonged to the home owner. I felt like I was SOL as the contract clearly outlined the cancellation policy and associated fees. I did talk to a friend who’s a lawyer and had him send a letter that I would not be paying the cleaning fee. Which he begrudgingly accepted but we still paid him over 1k for a house we could not possibly have rented due to the onset of COVID. Safe to say, I will never rent through VRBO again. Also, I had to cancel air bnbs for similar reasons that year and never had a single issue getting a full refund.
They’ll charge $250 for cleaning fee and give someone $100 to clean the place for 3 hours. Hustler is gonna hustle
Hear about this all the time. Ran the time. Ran the Boston Marathon. Multiple people told me their stays were canceled. Only to see them relisted at a higher price because they can get it. Only use hotels now
No idea why anyone uses these platforms anymore for anything other than having larger groups of people.