My wife, six-year-old child, and I made the mistake of booking this property for nine nights at Christmas time. It was winter and the heater in the unit did not work, the carpets in the bedrooms and the rug in the living room were filthy, the couch smelled like a dog bed, and the electronic lock on the door was unreliable. The combination of these poor conditions is unacceptable in any VRBO rental, especially one advertised as a “luxury” condo.
When I notified the owner that the heater did not work, instead of taking prompt action to remedy the problem, she asked us to change our vacation plans and block off a three-hour window to meet a HVAC technician at the unit three days after we arrived. From a customer service perspective, our view is that the owner should have met a technician at the condo one day after we checked in.
The owner claimed that the unit’s broken heater was an “unforeseen situation,” even though two portable electric space heaters were already in the condo when we checked in. It is difficult to believe that the owner did not know that the unit’s heater was broken, otherwise she almost certainly would not have placed the space heaters in the condo before we arrived. Separately, my wife and I were concerned that the space heaters were dangerous. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, portable heaters contribute to an estimated 25,000 fires every year. Portable electric space heaters are blamed for two of every five deaths in space heater-related fires. Despite these very real dangers, the owner had two space heaters in the unit instead of a properly functioning HVAC heating system (the owner claimed that the unit had a working heater in the amenities section of the VRBO advertisement).
Since the problems with the unit had such a negative impact on our stay, and because we did not get fair value for what we paid, we asked the owner to refund 20 percent of the rental fee. The owner not only flatly refused to give us a partial refund, but also accused my wife and I of being dishonest about the broken heater. Incredible. Then, in a dizzying about face, the owner asked for “a five star positive review” and wrote, “we hope you consider giving us another shot and staying with us again.” Truly incredible. I would not recommend this rental to anyone who values safety, cleanliness, customer service, and value for money.