Can you get a VRBO refund after a natural disaster?

Q: I booked a dream trip for my husband, parents and myself, to Kauai, for this September. It included a vacation rental, which I reserved through VRBO.

I thoroughly researched the property. It had a no-refunds policy and required that I take out insurance and pay by check. I didn’t worry because I’ve booked dozens of properties through VRBO, and I knew they had a “book with confidence” guarantee.

I made the reservation in February. In April, there were record floods on the north shore of Kauai, and one tiny section of the highway to my rental was open. The road was closed except to residents.

I emailed the owner in May to ask him about the floods. He said the road had a small area they were repairing, but never mentioned the closure. He said my September stay would not be affected. I wrote him a check for $2,000 and paid the $399 booking fee.

I contacted him again in the last week of June to ask what address to mail the next check to since he had moved. Then I sent him the $6,400 balance. But two weeks ago, a friend of a friend staying in Kauai sent me a message. The road to my rental was out and isn’t expected to be repaired until October. I emailed the owner, who admitted the road impassable and said he’d made arrangements to rent another home two hours away. The owner wants to keep my money. He says it was a “force majeure” event. I think he misrepresented his property. He cashed my check, knowing the road was out. I asked VRBO for help. It said a force majeure case isn’t covered under its guarantee. Please help with my VRBO rental if you can! —Linda  Robinson, Granby, Mass.

There could be complicated reasons why a VRBO refund could not be granted easily. (Photo by DepositPhotos)

A: Your VRBO rental owner should have let you know about the damaged road and given you the opportunity to cancel your reservation. And VRBO should have done more to protect you when you reached out to the booking site after losing $8,800. But there are reasons why this case didn’t get resolved quickly. The reasons are a little complicated.

Based on my reading of your paper trail—the correspondence between you, the owner, and VRBO—it looks as if the owner hoped that the road would be passable by September. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being optimistic, but it also important to be realistic. VRBO let itself off the hook because of a “force majeure” clause. But you had also gone outside VRBO’s payment system and settled your debts with a check. Last time I checked, that voids the guarantee. (You told me the property was listed as payment by check “only” and that VRBO never suggested that it might limit your rights in any way.)

You kept your correspondence brief and polite, which really helps. You must have felt betrayed when the owner offered to put you in a rental two hours from your original VRBO rental. It’s difficult to keep a level head, but you did.

I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of VRBO’s executives (VRBO is owned by HomeAway, which is owned by Expedia) on my consumer advocacy site. You might have reached out to them when the company refused to help.

I contacted VRBO on your behalf. It sent you an $8,800 refund.

(Featured image by DepositPhotos)

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DISCLAIMER: This article expresses my own ideas and opinions. Any information I have shared are from sources that I believe to be reliable and accurate. I did not receive any financial compensation for writing this post, nor do I own any shares in any company I’ve mentioned. I encourage any reader to do their own diligent research first before making any investment decisions.