VRBO rental question?

TPunch42

TPunch42

Senior Insider
For those of you who have rented directly from villa owners on VRBO. What is the standard process for payment, if they are not using the Online Payment system provided by the website? I recall there have been problems in the past with this. What is the common way for owners to receive payment?
 
I think it varies. My experiences with owners has been cashier's checks and personal checks....sent Fed Ex to the island or in the states in some cases....but others may have different experiences...if you're uncertain, I'd try to get an opinion from someone who may be familiar with your villa/owner.
 
We are heading to a VRBO property on St Barts this weekend and they would only accept a wire. I also rent on VRBO and we accept a wire, PayPal, email transfer or a personal check if we have lots of time to make sure it has cleared. PayPal can be a little expensive.
 
We have sent a check FedEx to the owner and have also sent money directly from our bank to theirs using international wire transfer. FedEx, if I remember, was $80 to use, and our bank charges us $40 for each transfer. Years ago when we stayed in Anse does Cases, we would bring a check on our trip and give it to the villa staff on arrival.

We have never had an issue - hope everything works out for your trip.

Charlotte
 
We wire funds to the owner, and it has been just fine. I was worried the first time, but the villa had many positive VRBO reviews and no negative feedback. We are returning for the third time to this villa in a few weeks.
 
it varies....I have sent a check for 1/3 and on arrival a check for 2/3...and with some owners (who know us) a check when we are in the house
 
We have always sent personal cheques- 1/3 at a time in Sept, Nov. and Dec. per the contract. There is also a 5% local tax that is added on to the rental fee. We have never had a problem.
 
I've been on VRBO since 2002.
Several hundred rentals: personal checks, wire (typically from Europe) , Pay Pal as the Guest wishes.
 
Thanks guys. yes, they are requesting a wire transfer it looks like to a bank on the island. I have rented this villa before but through an agency the last time. We had a great experience there. Is there anything else I should do to verify?
 
I believe that VRBO recommends that you telephone the phone number in the listing to verify that you are really doing business with the owner/manager, and not a hacked email account.
 
KevinS said:
I believe that VRBO recommends that you telephone the phone number in the listing to verify that you are really doing business with the owner/manager, and not a hacked email account.
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I did VRBO a couple of years ago where the owner wanted a wire transfer, but my bank didn't want to do it. The owner accepted a cashier's check Fed Ex'd.
Recent VRBO experience on the island allowed credit card payment through the "Home Away" payment system.

Kevin's advice is good too. I think there were a few issues with this a few years ago.
 
KevinS said:
I believe that VRBO recommends that you telephone the phone number in the listing to verify that you are really doing business with the owner/manager, and not a hacked email account.
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When I call...What kinds of questions should I ask to verify it is them?
 
https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-know-that-a-property-and-owner-are-legitimate

You need to use the phone number in the listing, not one which has been emailed to you. That should be sufficient to verify that you're dealing with a legitimate person. I would simply verify your rental dates and their payment information. Hopefully either you speak French or they speak English.

Jeff, as a property owner who has experience with VRBO, do you have any other suggestions for what to ask?
 
KevinS said:
https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-know-that-a-property-and-owner-are-legitimate

You need to use the phone number in the listing, not one which has been emailed to you. That should be sufficient to verify that you're dealing with a legitimate person. I would simply verify your rental dates and their payment information. Hopefully either you speak French or they speak English.

Jeff, as a property owner who has experience with VRBO, do you have any other suggestions for what to ask?
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Kevin is right, ONLY call the number on the VRBO listing to confirm the person is the owner. You may also check to see if it matches with the one on the owner's own website if they have one.
You could even ask for a guest reference, it's been a long time---but over the years I've had some ask me to provide one, which I was happy to do. On the listing it states how long the owner has been on the site, too.

Once, when I was beginning to rent our villa, someone asked if I'd email them a copy of "something official" like my driver's lic., which I was a little reluctant to do. I explained I was a general contractor here in Michigan and told them I would scan and send a copy of my license---funny, while I was one the phone with her she said "I've got you right here---all state licenses are online".


End of the day, it's important to match the right accommodation for both parties. I will talk someone out of our place if I feel it's not. Like anything, it's a matter of assessing and managing expectations. A long time of doing this (and being a landlord back home, too) I want those who rent our 2nd home to be pleased and have a nice vacation experience---if anyone is going to be successful doing this long term, it's imperative to feel the same.
 
A personal check is always acceptable if there's enough time for it to clear before the arrival date. Wire transfers are the best way to do business internationallyor when timing becomes an issue. Yes, do call the owner with the listed number on VRBO. VRBO verifies the ownership thoroughly before allowing a villa ad to go live. You may find that many of those phone numbers on VRBO are actually villa rental agency phone numbers. This means that you'll be dealing with an agency and paying an Administrative fee in addition to the 5% Tourism tax. To the best of my knowledge, owners don't charge an Administrative fee.
 
Libt said:
A personal check is always acceptable if there's enough time for it to clear before the arrival date. Wire transfers are the best way to do business internationallyor when timing becomes an issue. Yes, do call the owner with the listed number on VRBO. VRBO verifies the ownership thoroughly before allowing a villa ad to go live. You may find that many of those phone numbers on VRBO are actually villa rental agency phone numbers. This means that you'll be dealing with an agency and paying an Administrative fee in addition to the 5% Tourism tax. To the best of my knowledge, owners don't charge an Administrative fee.
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Great reminder as I've noticed that in the past...Also, some banks, like ours, do not do wire transfers. Good advice Libby.
 
For rentals in the states, I always go to the county assessor's website and verify that the owner is the same person I'm dealing with. It usually takes less than 10 minutes. When the assessor shows a corporate owner, I go to the secretary of state's website, search for the company listed on the assessor's website as the owner and usually find that the person I'm dealing with is the registered agent or otherwise associated with the company. That usually takes another 10 minutes. A month ago I was able to verify that a Miami rental unit was owned by a Miami newscaster and absolutely was not owned by the person with whom I was dealing. So I moved on. That was not the first time and I expect the fraud will increase over time. Unfortunately, I don't know a similar way to verify ownership on the island. So, for the St. Barts rental, I looked for good reviews, called the posted phone number and used Paypal.
 
AdamZ said:
We wire funds to the owner, and it has been just fine. I was worried the first time, but the villa had many positive VRBO reviews and no negative feedback. We are returning for the third time to this villa in a few weeks.
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We just had a similar issue with a direct rental from owner on another island in the French West Indies -- they required bank wires for the first two payments, and the balance in cash upon arrival. It seems to be a method that is most commonly used amongst French banks, and one that takes forever to complete here in the US as so many banks do wire transfers only infrequently. The travel agency which handled our ground transfers and ferry tickets required a wire transfer as well.

The oddest part was that the owner wanted cash for the security deposit (1000 €), but was willing to accept a passport in lieu of cash when we explained that receiving the cash back on departure day would do us no good upon return to the States (unless we put it aside for our next trip to St. Barts!). In the end, it all worked out beautifully, but it comes down mostly to what Jeff said: it's all about the specific fit of owner and renter, and it's about whether you have a good feeling about the people you're dealing with and do some due diligence. Only once or twice have we come across a situation that just seems a little off or where we're just not getting the level of communication we feel comfortable with.
 
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