VRBO transaction at Myrtle Beach

[foxfirev5]

Last spring DW rented a condo in Ocean Isle Beach NC through VRBO. However the owner sold the unit about a month before our arrival. Took some arm twisting but we got our money back. The unit we ended up renting was a little subpar for our tastes. In all honesty the kids and grandkids were fine with it, but we found the musty smell and cabin atmosphere not to be what we expected. The reviews were worthless.

I suppose if you did your homework this could provide a considerable savings. But for now we're sticking to our major hotel chains which address any concerns in an expedient manner.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimnjana You may also want to try one of the beach rental agencies. They have multiple properties and if you have a legitimate issue with one, they may be able to move you to another.

+1

We stay at the NC beach almost once a year, and from checking out the off season rates at some places, it looks to be cheaper to rent there than at home in NC. Some places were $500/month if you rent for 3 winter months. That was at Topsail Island/Surf City and for what was I assume a basic house (ie possibly dated kitchen and bathroom(s)). Sound side house that's probably 1-2 rows from the oceanfront (narrow island). Myrtle beach might be similar.

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyBoy5 I have heard just the opposite of this from a couple of investigative reports I have seen here locally on VRBO (they are alleged to filter many of the negative reviews) and people being bilked out of their money. Anyway, I have used it to locate the properties and then just gone through the owners directly...and will usually use a credit card that has protections in place. I also agree on looking at other reviews, particularly on Trip Advisor.

I have no idea how they filter the bad ratings... I think doing a little due diligence is important. As owners, I frequently google the email addresses or names of locals (anyone with a GA area code) who want to rent our place. We've had everything from adult movie companies looking for a movie set to parents looking for a place to host a pool party for a graduating class. I say no to potential guests about 10% of the time, usually because they don't meet our age requirement. I prefer guests to pay by cc through the vrbo reservation system, its just easier to track. The flipkey website sponsored by trip adviser is not very user friendly, at least for owners. I'm not sure I would trust reviews there anymore than vrbo reviews.