Hamilton woman feels 'ripped off' after booking short-term rental home through Vrbo
CBC
After dealing with debilitating disabilities for years, Kathy Brewer decided it was time to try and find a few days of respite.
The Hamilton woman said she spent nearly $2,000 to book a five-day stay in July at a Burlington, Ont., home through Vrbo, an online booking company for vacation rentals.
The 55-year-old, who doesn't leave home often due to her chronic health conditions, said she was eager for a change of scenery.
Most of all, she was looking forward to enjoying the suburban home's heated pool and to have a smoke in the backyard with friends.
"It was the only reason I was going," Brewer said.
Instead, she says the host wouldn't provide the features she was most excited to use, despite what was advertised. Brewer also says Vrbo didn't do enough to help address the complaints she had.
She says she's speaking out to help others avoid a bad experience.
Vrbo says it did what it could to help Brewer by offering a partial refund and it has a process in place to evaluate complaints.
The unit Brewer stayed in has 37 reviews on the Vrbo website, almost all of which give a perfect score. It advertises a heated pool and cable, among other things.
Brewer said she had to wait hours to check into the unit.
When she did, she found the pool wasn't heated, she had no cable, there were lighting issues on the unit and she was told she couldn't smoke in the backyard with friends.
Brewer also said she had to argue with the host about using the pool in the evening and having it heated.
"I felt ripped off," she said.
Brewer said she contacted Vrbo to complain, but says the company was no help.
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