VRBO experts, help!

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are looking to rent a vacation home in southern Utah (near Zion National Park & Bryce Canyon NP). We have rented vacation homes near Orlando many times, around 10 years ago but each time it was through a management company.

We found a beautiful, luxury home. The owner has many homes and I found this home from a link through one of their other homes. The link said something like, "If this home isn't exactly what you were looking for, see our other homes in the area." They have around 5.

So when I found this home we like & it's available, it lists a manager instead of the owner. Still I can tell some of the "neighborhood" pictures are the same ones shown with the owner's other homes. So to rent "our" home, we'd be dealing with a manager, not the owner.

So when I clicked on instant quote, it listed the rental base price but then added a $200 cleaning fee, $69 Property Protection Plan, tax of course.

It's a huge 4 BR home, so the cleaning fee is reasonable. I don't know if the protection plan is mandatory (we've never broken anything in 5x or so that we rented in FL)
When the manager responded by email, there was also a $60 handling fee added to the cost.

So my question to you, since I've never rented through VRBO, is are these fees typical? Wouldn't the "handling fee" be the owner's cost to have a manager?

All of these fees add up to 30% of the base rental price. Shouldn't all of these costs just simply be factored into the base rental price? I feel like I'm being nickeled & dimed. Should I not?

I realize comparing to FL rentals this is a whole different market & times have changed, it's been 10 yrs, etc.

Am I overreacting? We really do love this house and have looked online at what feels like 100s of them. The location is ideal and the base price is reasonable. $275/nt compared to others we liked that were like $450/nt.

Do you normally just shut up & accept their terms or move on to another home? I'm not sure how to proceed.

eta:
I currently have hotel rooms booked (Hampton Inn) and they are around $200/nt so overall this huge home would feel like a bargain.
The hotels are 2 different ones, each one close to the 2 national parks we're visiting but then we'd have to pack up & move with 2 nts at each place instead of this home which is midway between the 2 parks and we could just stay for 4 nights.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Anyone?

 

[marcray]

When comparing prices, always ask for the total amount with taxes and fees. Some owners also charge more if paying with credit card.

Low rent prices are often a way to draw your attention.

 

[aj2hall]

We rented a condo on our last trip to Disney and I'm looking at rental properties for our trip in February.
Many of them included a cleaning fee. Some of them waive the cleaning fee for extended stays, but that seems to be changing.
And a lot of them offered the property damage. Some give you the choice of that or a security deposit.
And some properties on flipkey were charging a handling fee, too.
Unfortunately, I think all of the extra charges are fairly common.

 

[FreeThinker]

I've rented several times from VRBO, and it does vary from owner to owner, but I would feel like they mis-represented the price. Most have all charges listed in the listing. Most places do require a refundable deposit, some can be as much as $200, but I have always gotten it back. Is the $69 an insurance incase anything is broken? If so, I think it should have been mentioned in the listing. I've rented in the Smoky Mtns, Memphis, Branson, MO, and somewhere in Kentucky, all for a week or so. Lots of times if you stay an week they will waive the cleaning fee, but not always.

 

[Ametista]

The cleaning fee is always added on at the end, in my experience. But that seems high. How many square feet is it? I usually pay $90-125 for a 3 or 4 bedroom, in Florida.

The tax, of course, they have no control over.

The property protection plan is in lieu of the refundable deposit. Personally I would rather pay the deposit! I know some management companies charge this protection plan now, which is why I prefer dealing with owners.

The handling fee is just stupid. I can't understand that at all.

There must be other houses for rent. Have you tried FlipKey, vacation rentals dot com, home away, etc?

 

[jryon]

just trying to get 10 posts, so that i can send a pm. sorry.

 

[barneyda]

Negotiate. When using VRBO, I always negotiate to get the best deal. It either works or it doesn't!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I've rented several times from VRBO, and it does vary from owner to owner, but I would feel like they mis-represented the price. This was my first reaction too. At least be up front about it. Most have all charges listed in the listing. Most places do require a refundable deposit, some can be as much as $200, but I have always gotten it back. Is the $69 an insurance incase anything is broken? Yes, it's insurance offered through vrbo but this owner requires it. It was mentioned up front but not the $60 "handling fee". If so, I think it should have been mentioned in the listing. I've rented in the Smoky Mtns, Memphis, Branson, MO, and somewhere in Kentucky, all for a week or so. Lots of times if you stay an week they will waive the cleaning fee, but not always.

Unfortunately, we can't stay a full week. It will be 4 nights and then we move on to Page, AZ which is 2 hrs away. Too far to drive over for day trips.

We rented a condo on our last trip to Disney and I'm looking at rental properties for our trip in February.
Many of them included a cleaning fee. Some of them waive the cleaning fee for extended stays, but that seems to be changing.
And a lot of them offered the property damage. Some give you the choice of that or a security deposit.
And some properties on flipkey were charging a handling fee, too.
Unfortunately, I think all of the extra charges are fairly common.

This is what I was wondering. It's been so long for us. I think 2005 was our last pool home in FL. We had a timeshare for a while and sold it and lately we've been doing short stays onsite; 4 nights or less.
I feel kind of rusty in remembering what to expect.

The cleaning fee is always added on at the end, in my experience. But that seems high. How many square feet is it?3200 sf. They said it's such a rural area (mountain top) and it's 80 miles RT for cleaning staff to travel. I believe it. It's wide open space out there. I usually pay $90-125 for a 3 or 4 bedroom, in Florida.

The tax, of course, they have no control over.

The property protection plan is in lieu of the refundable deposit. Personally I would rather pay the deposit! I know some management companies charge this protection plan now, which is why I prefer dealing with owners.

The handling fee is just stupid. I can't understand that at all.

There must be other houses for rent. Have you tried FlipKey, vacation rentals dot com, home away, etc?

I agree the fee is stupid. I asked what that's for and was told it's the cost for handling credit cards securely online through Home Away Payments.
We really LOVE this home, kids are excited and many in this area & this size are $400-450/night so overall it's right in with the neighborhood.
http://www.vrbo.com/359078

I will look some more though before I commit. Thanks for other sites to check for comparison.



Thank you all for your feedback!!

 

[detroitmama]

I've rented from VRBO in many different states, from condos to large homes. Most owners are wonderful and honest to work with.

I've done it both ways, with a refundable security deposit in case of damage, and a couple of times have instead been asked to pay what amounts to an insurance policy, non refundable.

In all but two of our rental experiences, we received all of our damage deposit back no problem, but the two times we didn't have convinced me that the insurance route is not too bad.

In one instance, we did have some minor damage (broken pool cue), and lost our whole $300 deposit. Honest of the owners? No, but it would be hard to take them to court over it, especially with them in another country. And hardly worth it for what amounts to probably $250. So in that instance, having a damage insurance policy would have worked in our favor.

The other time, the owner kept our deposit because they said we used more electricity than we should have. Ok, we left a light on a couple of times when we left for the day, but other than that, the owner was clearly trying to make some extra dough. Again, there wasn't much we could do to get our money back after several emails and phone calls went unanswered. All I could do was leave a less positive review.

After these two times, I can recommend trusting the owners who do the insurance route instead of a deposit. Once they have your money in hand, it is hard to get back. If you reduce the amount they have, you reduce your risk. Also, if in an extreme case you damage more than the insurance amount, you actually come out ahead. Also, the insurance route benefits the owners, because they don't have to worry about trying to collect if the damage is greater than the deposit. This cuts down on their risk, as well as their operating costs, resulting in lower rates for renters.

As for the other processing fee, I have been charged this in a couple of instances, usually with a larger management company. I try not to look at it as a separate extra fee, but rather just look at the total cost when comparing it to other options. It doesn't really matter how they break it down, because the other home owners are probably just rolling their processing costs into their nightly quote anyways.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I've rented from VRBO in many different states, from condos to large homes. Most owners are wonderful and honest to work with.

I've done it both ways, with a refundable security deposit in case of damage, and a couple of times have instead been asked to pay what amounts to an insurance policy, non refundable.

In all but two of our rental experiences, we received all of our damage deposit back no problem, but the two times we didn't have convinced me that the insurance route is not too bad.

In one instance, we did have some minor damage (broken pool cue), and lost our whole $300 deposit. Honest of the owners? No, but it would be hard to take them to court over it, especially with them in another country. And hardly worth it for what amounts to probably $250. So in that instance, having a damage insurance policy would have worked in our favor.

The other time, the owner kept our deposit because they said we used more electricity than we should have. Ok, we left a light on a couple of times when we left for the day, but other than that, the owner was clearly trying to make some extra dough. Again, there wasn't much we could do to get our money back after several emails and phone calls went unanswered. All I could do was leave a less positive review.

After these two times, I can recommend trusting the owners who do the insurance route instead of a deposit. Once they have your money in hand, it is hard to get back. If you reduce the amount they have, you reduce your risk. Also, if in an extreme case you damage more than the insurance amount, you actually come out ahead. Also, the insurance route benefits the owners, because they don't have to worry about trying to collect if the damage is greater than the deposit. This cuts down on their risk, as well as their operating costs, resulting in lower rates for renters.

As for the other processing fee, I have been charged this in a couple of instances, usually with a larger management company. I try not to look at it as a separate extra fee, but rather just look at the total cost when comparing it to other options. It doesn't really matter how they break it down, because the other home owners are probably just rolling their processing costs into their nightly quote anyways.

Great points! I have decided to look at the big picture and just accept it. It's a beautiful cabin with plenty of good reviews and we prefer it to a tiny hotel room.
That is crazy to say leaving a couple lights on ran up their electricity bill. How pathetic. That's pennies in reality. Now if you left the oven on for a week I could see how they might see a sudden spike.
Thank you for your detailed post.

 

[DisOrBust]

I have done VRBO and had luck most of the time. However, be careful what is said to be near Zion. It all depends on what entrance etc... WE stayed at Cliffrose in a two bedroom and it was perfect with a beautiful pool which was a huge bonus over renting a cabin for the kids. We spit our stay b/w cliffrose for zion and Best Western for Bryce. Don't forget the horse/mule rides thru Bryce and if your up for a challenge, depending on the time of year you go, consider hiking the "narrows". You can rent equipment in Springdale. ,, and matbe bright Angel trail bit do that one earlyt before it gets crowded and hot. Sorry about the rant the NP are my favorite thing....besides Disney.

 

[Ametista]

The other time, the owner kept our deposit because they said we used more electricity than we should have. Ok, we left a light on a couple of times when we left for the day, but other than that, the owner was clearly trying to make some extra dough.

I hope you reported them to VRBO or whoever you rented through. How could they have even KNOWN if you used "extra" electricity? They wouldn't have received the next electric bill for weeks! These type of people should not be renting anything out to anybody!

 

[marcray]

In one instance, we did have some minor damage (broken pool cue), and lost our whole $300 deposit. Honest of the owners? No, but it would be hard to take them to court over it, especially with them in another country. And hardly worth it for what amounts to probably $250. So in that instance, having a damage insurance policy would have worked in our favor.

The other time, the owner kept our deposit because they said we used more electricity than we should have. Ok, we left a light on a couple of times when we left for the day, but other than that, the owner was clearly trying to make some extra dough. Again, there wasn't much we could do to get our money back after several emails and phone calls went unanswered. All I could do was leave a less positive review.

Seriously?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I have done VRBO and had luck most of the time. However, be careful what is said to be near Zion. It all depends on what entrance etc... WE stayed at Cliffrose in a two bedroom and it was perfect with a beautiful pool which was a huge bonus over renting a cabin for the kids. We spit our stay b/w cliffrose for zion and Best Western for Bryce. Don't forget the horse/mule rides thru Bryce and if your up for a challenge, depending on the time of year you go, consider hiking the "narrows". You can rent equipment in Springdale. ,, and matbe bright Angel trail bit do that one earlyt before it gets crowded and hot. Sorry about the rant the NP are my favorite thing....besides Disney.

Thanks for the tips! They don't claim to just be near Zion. In the main description it states the neighborhood it's in and when I look on Google maps, it's about halfway between Zion and Bryce, 45 min drive to either one.
I originally had 2 hotels booked closed to each park but since we'll be moving on to Page, AZ and then another hotel near LAS the night before we fly home, I felt it will be stressful to pack up and change to 4 hotels in 1 week. We are not split stay kind of people but out west you have to if you want to see more.
When we visited Yosemite we stayed about 50 mins drive from the valley floor but still within the park and we really didn't mind the drive at all. To us, it's still an opportunity to see more.
We find NP vacations great, almost a guaranteed awesome time.

 

[7165red]

It's a beautiful home, I would go for it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It's a beautiful home, I would go for it.

Thanks, I did shortly after I created this thread. I just felt unsure about all the fees and was wondering if they're typical. After sleeping on it a few nights I realized if I wait too long and lose the opportunity, we'll be stuck with a lesser home or worse, a small hotel room.
Other homes with fewer fees charge more per night so it all adds up to similar totals.
I'm excited.

 

[7165red]

Wise choice, enjoy every minute of your stay.