Mar 19, 2025
A trip to the Pocono Mountains was supposed to be a holiday high for the Schumacks and four other families who booked a VRBO vacation rental to ring in New Year’s together.
Jacqueline and Gareth Schumack shelled out more than $6,000 to stay at the country getaway in the Poconos with their friends. But as soon as the Greenlawn, N.Y. family arrived with their three kids, they were disappointed.
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“We get to the property, and it’s like, we’re in shock,” Jacqueline told News 12 Long Island.
It wasn’t just that the property didn’t match the images on the VRBO website. It was that there were serious issues like mold and exposed wiring. They left immediately.
“I’m a father of three, and I didn’t feel safe having my kids in that space at all,” Gareth told News 12.
VRBO recommended the Schumacks contact the property owner for a refund, and their request was denied; now VRBO is reviewing their case. In the meantime, the Schumacks are hoping their credit card company will reverse the charge.
“I’d really like my $6,000 back,” Jacqueline said.
Common vacation rental pitfalls
An IPX 2025 travel forecast found that 45% of Americans plan to stay in a vacation rental this year.
An earlier 2023 IPX survey on vacation rental property preferences found that of the 75% of Americans who rented a vacation property in the previous five years, more than one in five had a bad rental experience and one in four walked into a rental that wasn’t clean.
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A common complaint is that the reality doesn’t match the website photos. Staged photos can make a property look bigger than it is, while filters can make it look more stylized. Inaccurate photos or descriptions lead to real-life disappointment.
Another issue is hidden fees. Airbnb and VRBO often add service fees, and many rentals charge extra for cleaning, early check-in and late check-out. If the property allows pets, they might have a pet fee to cover the cost of deep-cleaning. Some charge extra for Wi-Fi and parking.
Safety is another consideration. You’re likely booking a home in a neighborhood, city, state or country you’re unfamiliar with, so research risks and local laws that could impact your trip — including rules for vacation rentals themselves, such as limits on rental periods, occupancy limits and noise.
Also, make sure the property itself is safe, equipped with smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors.
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How travelers can protect their vacation investments
Even though the Schumachs booked through VRBO and had a problem, you may be better off using established booking platforms like VRBO, Airbnb or Booking.com, which together controlled 71% of global market share for short-term rentals in 2024 — up from 53% in 2019. Make sure you read the cancellation and refund policies.
As you research potential rentals, compare photos to property descriptions. A pool might look huge in photos, but be barely large enough for one family, not five. Double-check the property’s proximity to attractions and amenities.
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Read reviews of the property thoroughly. Keep in mind some reviews may be biased one way or another, but try to get a sense if there’s a general consensus. Contact the host with any questions. If they’re not responsive, consider that a yellow flag.
What happens if your dream vacation turns into a nightmare?
Even if you’ve done all the groundwork, you could still end up encountering issues at the vacation rental. If that happens, by contacting the host to see if they can fix the issue or refund your money. If they refuse (or ghost you), escalate the issue to the booking platform.
You could also contact your credit card company to see if they will reverse the charge on your credit card. This process, called a chargeback, takes place when a cardholder disputes a payment.
You may want to talk to a travel adviser or insurer about your options for covering non-refundable vacation rentals. While the host may be protected through their homeowner’s insurance, that doesn’t extend to guests.
While trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance can include vacation rentals, you’ll need to read the fine print. It won’t provide blanket coverage and you may not be able to recoup 100% of your travel costs.
An optional add-on is damage coverage, which can help cover costs of any damage you cause as the result of an accident — as opposed to a wild party.
In the worst-case scenario, if you feel you’ve been scammed, you may need to seek legal help.
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Maurie Backman has been writing professionally for well over a decade. Since becoming a full-time writer, she's produced thousands of articles on topics ranging from Social Security to investing to real estate.
