VRBO wants an extra $1500 damage deposit

[4kids4karen]

Less than I am paying for 3 nights for 2 at the Grand California next week at Disneyland. Got lucky and caught a Southwest sale, so airfare will be less than the Park hopper tickets for 3 days. $2,500 BEFORE any food.
Disney IS expensive.

This is why we are going with an aprtment. For Cheer completions we have stayed at chain hotels near the convention center for much less and Wales to the quarter. We do experience now as family trips. I do not want a chain hotel. If I price Hotel Royal (where I have stayed before) I would need a deluxe king room that sleeps 3, then all their other rooms sleep 2. Going with the lowest price room for the second room the total comes to $1899. Their rooms are tiny too. The apartment we have more room to spread out.

I have always wanted to stay at the Cornstalk Hotel and their largest room only sleeps four and best rate is $526 a night. The historic and famous boutique hotels speak to me. LOL.

Of course I could get less expensive places but we have already experienced NOLA from a Chain hotel perspective using military discounts, etc.

I was initially looking at boutique hotels in the quarter and it just seems an apartment works best. It’s also something my kids won’t be able to afford with the friends in college. Mom an Dad are flipping the bill for the experience. I have always had this mindset that life is short and to make
Memories when you can, but since loosing my other adult son, it’s even more important that we share experiences.


We are saving money by driving. Tickets are about $400 round trip x 5. We would rather drive and put that money into nicer accommodations.

 

[easyas123]

We had a vacation rental, and utilized VRBO. I charged a $500 deposit, which I generally took in the form of a check. After the rental I sent them back the check. Most of my clients were repeat renters though, and we stopped renting the place out a few years ago right before VRBO changed some of the pricing structure and communications between customer & property owner. We stopped renting it out when we realized we didn't want people - no matter well behaved or not - marching thru our place.

 

[SaintsManiac]

NOLA was a lot cheaper before Katrina.

 

[kathy884]

FYI -- The six bedroom / four bathroom house I rented at Windsor Hills had the very some options you described, $59 for insurance or a $1500 damage deposit. I'm not in the habit of buying insurance, but I did that here rather than bother with the $1500 deposit, just to avoid any hassle should there be any issue getting it back. All these extra fees, etc. are just what I consider the cost per night of doing a VRBO rental. As fees get higher other alternatives sometimes look more attractive. Still, though, VRBO is often for me still the best way to go and in many cities seems to offer the most selection.

 

[LovesTimone]

I have booked with VBRO/Homeaway/ and through some real estate companies in NC, I have never had a damage deposit that high. WOW...

But considering where you are renting is makes total sense... New Orleans is known for its party town, and wild nights on bourbon street vibe. So I would think that they are covering themselves. More than likely they have had some bad experiences.

I do though always get the insurance for the just in case. Make sure you let the owner or property manager know right away if you find something wrong. We did stay a wonderful cabin in the mountains, and they had a check list when you arrived to make sure that you knew what you were suppose to have, in the way of sheets, towels, and kitchen items, and it was by room so simple to double check, One of the bathrooms was short - 2 bath towels, and no bath cloth's at all. So I sent the owner a picture and note of what was in that bath room, she said thanks, no problem, and that the cleaning company did not report the shortage, and thanked me again. When we returned the next day from our outing, there was a bag with towels and bath cloth's and some pot holders all in a plastic bin on the porch. So that was nice surprise for us.

Now not all of the rental have had this list. I did take pictures of what we found upon arrival. I will say that I liked the check list, it was simple and quick to run through, and this way I knew what we were suppose to have .

I will say that I take pictures of how we leave the rental... again never had a problem with that. I am just one of those people who like to cover my backside. Because you never know what someone else might do, or say.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I rented a house through VRBO this summer for a week at Rehobeth Beach and was required to provide a $1500 damage deposit, which we got back in full about a week after the beach week.