Are the prices on VRBO usually negotiable?

[sahm1000]

We are looking at renting two 4 bedroom houses this spring (April 28th-May5th). I am wondering if I contact the owners on VRBO (or other comparable sites) will they negotiate the price at all? We are going after Spring Break this should be after their busy season. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks so much for any help!

 

[TrustedTraveler]

We had great success using this process I learned here a few years ago:
First I made a list of the features/amenities I really wanted (number of king beds, heated pool, etc.)
Then I found a number of pool homes that fit the bill.
I sent each of them a nice note saying they were one of the homes we were considering for our vacation on (date) and would there be a better rate available.
I had emailed about 20 home owners (I wanted to deal direct, not through a management firm) and I found about a third wrote back and said their price was firm, about a third offered a small discount, and a third offered a significant discount. I only go to WDW during really slow periods, thus the big discount. One of the best deals even called me to introduce himself and to answer any questions we had about renting his home. With that kind of service we took advantage of his great offer and have stayed there four times.
With this economy I've noticed prices have dropped and negotiations are more often accepted, so I say give it a try, but be nice about it.
I'll be happy to share which property we chose. We got a 6 bedroom home for less than I expected to pay for a 4 bedroom. We've invited family and friends and had wonderful times and great service. We can't wait for our next trip in January.
Hope this works for you. Other comments/experiences welcome.

 

[houseful of boys]

We've also contacted multiple home owners and asked for their best price and had success with lower offers.

 

[Lzylitnin]

I have never used VRBO in the Orlando area, however, I have used it extensively in our other travels. I have had good success negotiating prices with the owners.

We're renting from a VRBO advertiser in January in Puerto Rico, and I was able to get quite a bit knocked off the advertised price.

 

[GEM]

We do this all the time, and it has always worked out for us....at Disney and in other vacation desitnations around the country. I just look through and find properties we are interested in, including some that are a bit over our budget, and I fill out the contact form through VRBO saying something along the lines of...

"We are really interested in your property for our upcoming vacation, however, our total budget (inclusive and taxes and fees) is only $XXXX. Please let us know if you might be willing to do the rental for those dates for the amount I listed. Thank you!"

We are staying in a cute three bedroom house in June that was lsited on VRBO for $750 a week plus a cleaning fee and we are getting it for $550 a week...no cleaning fee.


Bahahaha. Just noticed this original post is 5 years old. Guess it's too late to be helpful.....lol.