Dear Tripped Up,
I found a great deal for a short-term rental on St. Thomas this past March: eight nights for me and my two kids at a villa at Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove for $1,988 through Vrbo, booked two months in advance. I wrote to the owner five days before the trip and didn’t hear back, so I tried again. No answer. The day before departure, I contacted Vrbo, who got in touch with the owner, who canceled. Vrbo said it would be in touch about rebooking, but as we boarded the first flight of our trip from Denver, we still had no place to stay. To buy time, I agreed to be bumped from our next flight in the connecting city. Vrbo told me I could take a refund (and find same-day lodging in the Caribbean during spring break, no thanks) or reserve a hotel through their partner Expedia while they helped me book a new Vrbo property. They said I could spend up to $3,976 for the new booking — double what I had originally paid — but when I said that might not be enough, the agent told me she would advocate for covering additional costs. After a lot of stress, we ended up staying at a Westin resort for two nights via Expedia, at a Vrbo rental at the Ritz-Carlton resort for four nights and the final night at a Vrbo in town. The lodging cost was $4,147 on top of my original reservation, an amount that doesn’t include $200 in “environmental” fees at the Ritz, all the taxi fares and the loss of a vacation day. After lots of back and forth, Vrbo offered me $3,330. I think they should cover at least the full amount. Can you help? Lane, Arvada, Colo.
Dear Lane,
Both traditional hotels and short-term rentals have advantages, but if avoiding cancellations is a primary concern, hotels win in a landslide.
That’s because it generally takes a landslide — or flood or wildfire or other disaster — for a hotel to shut down. But short-term-rental owners are at least as likely to cancel for other reasons, like plumbing problems, power outages and scheduling errors.
At a time and place where inventory is not at a premium, say October in Sacramento, that’s not usually a problem. Spring break in the Caribbean, however, is a whole other story.
But not a unique one. As I worked on this column, Bryan and Carol of Norwalk, Conn., wrote to me to lament that their August Airbnb reservation for nine in London (to celebrate their 60th anniversary with family!) was canceled 36 hours before check-in. I’ll get to their dilemma in a bit.
As for St. Thomas, if we take you at your word that you took the cheapest comparable accommodations, I agree that Vrbo should have covered your additional housing costs. After I got in touch with the company, you heard that you would receive, over the $3,330 you already got, an additional $861 as “a good-will gesture.” That’s slightly more than what you spent for your new, unwanted itinerary, and Vrbo makes it quite clear in their terms and conditions that it does not cover transportation and other incidental fees — like environmental fees — in such situations.
Regular readers of the column know that “a good will gesture” usually means the travel operator is making an exception because you went to the media, not admitting error.
When I reached out to Melanie Fish, a spokeswoman for Vrbo (which is a part of Expedia Group), she cited the company’s Book With Confidence Guarantee:
“We work to rebook travelers into a similar vacation rental or hotel if a host cancels check-in last minute, and we cover any reasonable cost difference,” she wrote, adding that the company followed the policy by “discussing reimbursement options, and offering hotel accommodations while searching for another Vrbo.”
That did happen in your case, but for other readers, I noticed the actual wording of the Book With Confidence Guarantee hardly guarantees this help. It notes Vrbo “may” provide you with interim lodging at a hotel and “may” offer to rebook you at “a substantially similar property.” The only thing it really promises is a refund.
The detailed conditions a Vrbo rebooking agent sent you directly, and which you shared with me later, did go further. Vrbo agreed to help you rebook, with an offer that allowed you to spend an additional $1,988 (over the original $1,988) and be reimbursed. The agent also agreed to advocate for you if you exceeded that amount, which you did — and the agent did.
Vrbo’s other representatives seemed attentive and empathetic, if slower to respond than you would have liked given the circumstances. That’s why another sentence of Ms. Fish’s statement struck the wrong chord to me. “The traveler booked a new Vrbo independently before our team could finalize other options,” the statement read, essentially implying you should have waited for approval or for them to come up with something cheaper.
But one of the agents with whom you were messaging knew you were also looking and encouraged you to do so. “Fingers crossed that one of us will hear back soon,” the agent wrote, never saying to wait for company approval. You ended up landing a place first, thanks to a helpful owner who gave you a lead on another property. And given the time crunch, waiting any longer might have meant another $1,000-plus night at the Westin.
What about the 60th anniversary celebrants in London? Airbnb’s stated policy on host cancellations within 30 days of check-in is effectively similar to Vrbo’s. “We’ll help you find a similar place, depending on availability at comparable pricing,” it reads. “If a similar place isn’t available or you’d prefer not to rebook, we’ll give you a refund.”
In the couple’s case, the only suggested replacement that seemed comparable, they told me, was $2,157 more. They took it, and also negotiated a very partial $500 reimbursement from Airbnb, and at the time, they were still down $1,657.
I got in touch with Airbnb, and the company reimbursed the difference. “We were disappointed that the guest’s original stay was canceled, and have reimbursed them for the remaining difference, in addition to a $500 good-will reimbursement previously provided,” wrote Elle Wye, an Airbnb spokeswoman.
There’s that “good will” again, making it abundantly clear that neither company wants to be pinned down to a promise to provide comparable accommodations regardless of the price.
Ms. Wye noted that in the second quarter of 2024, just 0.15 percent — or about one in 667 — of Airbnb reservations (as measured by “nights booked”) were canceled within 48 hours of check-in. That is a result, in part, of Airbnb charging hosts a penalty of 50 percent of the value of the stay if they cancel in that period, or 25 percent if the cancellation occurs between 48 hours and 30 days prior.
Those are almost identical to the penalties Vrbo has in place. Vrbo declined to provide overall cancellation numbers.
What’s the traveler takeaway?
First, though short-term rentals can be great, think twice before booking during peak seasons, over holidays, for major concerts or sporting events, or for once-in-a-lifetime family gatherings.
If you do go with a short-term rental, mitigate the last-minute cancellation risk with the tools available to you, most importantly the user reviews. It is worth noting that Lane’s original host had no reviews, which is always an added risk. Ms. Fish recommended favoring Vrbo’s Premier Hosts, who must maintain good reviews, fast response times and a cancellation rate of under 1 percent. She also recommended considering travel insurance for added protection.
Airbnb customers have an added tool: The company has included a boilerplate “This booking was canceled” review on property listings when hosts cancel. If you see more than one of these, beware. Finally, note that when looking for a resort, you can often skip Vrbo or Airbnb and book directly to reduce risk.
But don’t be optimistic about bargains. When I checked Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove’s site for next spring break, I found the best weekly rate for two bedrooms was over $6,000 — quite a bit more than Lane’s $1,988. Which brings me to one final piece of advice about short-term rentals: Great deals can sometimes become nightmares.
If you need advice about a best-laid travel plan that went awry, send an email to [email protected].
Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024.
The post Help! My $1,988 Spring Break Rental Was Canceled at the Last Minute. appeared first on New York Times.