Anyone find it unusual that I’m being asked to wire money for a vrbo booking? How do others pay? It looks legit, the guy says vrbo takes forever to pay. First time using it, should I send the $$$ Or cancel?

hmmmm.... i’ve only ever used the vrbo site directly or Pay Pal. If you aren’t confident in it, don’t send it. You can also email vrbo and ask if the listing is legit or had any problems in the past.

i am a vrbo owner -and have never asked a guest to do that

Does it take a long time for vrbo to pay you? And is your property in Europe?

They pay promptly once the guest checks out. My place is in Mexico

I was looking at vrbo yesterday and it specifically said to NOT wire transfer

Sounds like a scam.

We have used vrbo many times and had one instance where the owner asked for a wire transfer. We did our due diligence, checked the references, contacted vrbo & the owner.directly on the phone. In the end everything worked out fine.

That’s really helpful, thanks. I’m halfway through that.

I understand your concern. We have wired $ once after for an apartment in Paris after carefully checking references and all went perfectly.

You should ask for a discount if you are paying the owners directly.

Yes its unusual!! vrbo does not work that way. You pay vrbo and they pay the owner following your stay.

Same as airbnb

You should check.... if you don’t pay through vrbo... If something happens are you “covered”?

vrbo needs you to go through them otherwise they don’t get paid. The owner would prefer a direct payment so that he can keep the entire rental amount is all

vrbo billed our credit card €73

vrbo takes a big chunk of the owners rent and fees - do your due diligence, but that’s probably why. I’ve negotiated lower cleaning fees or no taxes if paying cash direct in the past

I have a property listed on vrbo and 90% of the time payments go through vrbo it protects both the guests and the owners. I wouldn’t wire the owner directly.

I’ve rented through their site and paid through the vrbo site only. Perhaps call them?

I have paid directly to owner, but of course you

youll get honest ones and not honest ones. I did talk to them on the phone first.

I once had a scam ask me to wire money for California. I checked it out and it was a scam. So never did. Good thinking.

How did you check it out?

I googled the property using the same words it was advertised with vrbo and found a website that it had it for less. There website was legitimate looking. They asked for a wire transfer for half which was around 1000 usd. So I asked for the banking information and then called the bank directly and vrbo. VRBO took days to answer. The bank right away confirmed that they had similar calls in the past and that they couldn’t confirm the name and details were connected. Then the bank suggested I call vrbo complaint line. I did they answered quickly with no record of the same name connected to that property. So they asked for copies of the email to file a complaint and to chase down the person who was trying to get money. I never sent anything so I was fine. I sent an email directly back telling them I was uncomfortable sending to a Texas bank with a different account holder and they never replied to my email.

10 years ago, I paid directly to the owner, X 2 (didn't know better and rules were different), but would be cautious with it these days (too many scammers), We have since returned to one of the places 3 more times, and have booked directly with the owner and paid him directly (long stays, saved a considerable amount)

I found our condo in Mexico on vrbo and then contacted owner direct through phone conversations verification of the property through google maps I requested personal information and email transferred small deposit with remainder to be paid at check in worked great

Don't do it. I have used vrbo several times and no one has asked me to do this. I did rent a place once from a different agency and they asked for an email transfer. I checked them out thoroughly before doing that and it ended up fine.

i booked a place on airbnb successfully for new york. i know for sure i saw a lot of scam accomodations. dont do anything direct. they will tell you will save money but many are thiefs

if they ask that they could be kicked off vrbo also if you have any problems could not get any help also my thought on that is IF they are true they would not have any problems using the platform the way it was to be used

vrbo says they allow people to advertise with them and you pay them. Not sure I understand. The guy was really angry when I canceled. Others have just trusted him, I guess. His reviews are good.

Thanks for the many replies, I just submitted a request to cancel. I decided not to risk it and also I use these sites to make life easier, not more difficult.

Wiring money is a classic scam where you lose everything - happened to a friend of mind. Remember that you are doing business with strangers, so common sense should always prevail.
I would report the listing to VRBO.

I checked with vrbo and they have customers that you pay outside of the site. They recommend paying a deposit or inperson though, not wiring money. I do not think this was a scam, in the end, but I cancelled.

"Avoid listings that demand quick payment via a wire service like Western Union or bank transfer."
https://www.vrbo.com/info/about-us/protect-yourself
VRBO.COM
Protect Yourself

I have always used vrbo and have never been asked to wire transfer money.

I’ve paid owners direct several times, but double check their credentials, the Sellers save on extra fees if you pay them directly..

Well that is true they shouldn’t tell you to do that that’s something you can ask them. If they are recommending it they could be scammers. I am a vrbo post and it sounds fishy to me the way this is

We ran into this. Called vrbo. They told us not to do it. They ended up taking that listing off their site. Scammers. Happened 2 times both for Maui properties

Dodgy. Don't do it.

I've dealt with vrbo quite a few times, no problem sending a deposit but I'd chat with the people first, do a little homework and trust your instincts!

Don’t do it - I have a vrbo and they pay promptly the day or so after the guests leave my place

I’m saying only go through the web site