Charysma Adams’ birthday party was ruined by a Vrbo host who wouldn’t let her into the house she rented for the night. But now, instead of giving him his money back, the host is making a bad situation even worse — and Adams wants our help to fix it.
Adams’ strange case is a warning to anyone considering using a rental platform like Vrbo or Airbnb for a special event. It’s also a reminder to do your due diligence when planning a party. You don’t want to overlook some important details, or you might find yourself out in the cold like that birthday girl.
How This Vrbo Host Ruined This Birthday Party
Adams, a student from Philadelphia, had found what she thought was the perfect Vrbo rental in Philadelphia for her birthday party. For just $588, she could have the whole house to herself and a group of friends.
The three-bedroom property billed itself as a “fun” home for up to 30 people.
This listing is ideal for groups and small, home-style events such as game nights, birthdays, sleepovers, and more. Just speak with the host before booking and make reservations for all guests who will be attending..
It also advertised neon lights, a 70-inch TV, a full kitchen and a “spacious” living room.
So she booked it.
Just before her stay, the host called her and told her how to get into her house.
“I also told him that I miscalculated the number of people and he charged me an extra $30, $10 per person, even though my original payment didn’t include anything,” she recalls. “I also received an email about check-in instructions.”
The instructions contained a door code.
On the evening of her birthday, she arrived with her friends.
“I tried this code – with four other people around – several times and it didn’t work. That’s when I tried to contact [the host]. I received no response until 5:30 am.
At that point, it was too late. His birthday party had been ruined.
Can Vrbo help her?
The next day, Adams contacted Vrbo customer service on their app. They created a case number for him and gave him a number to call.
Adams also tried to call his host, but he didn’t answer.
“So I texted him, letting him know the case number Vrbo had created and asked for a refund,” she says.
Initially the host seemed cooperative. But over the next few hours, it became less responsive to requests from Adams and Vrbo.
“Then he completely stopped responding to me,” she said.
Adams had been ghosted by the host.
This is where things get a little weird
Adams contacted Vrbo customer service and was told by a representative that she had not made her payment through Vrbo.
The Vrbo representative told me that he could not help me because I had not used the Vrbo payment system. Then I noticed the property was also listed on Airbnb. So I decided to see if their team could help me reach the owner.
They could not.
She tried to call the host again, but by then he had blocked her.
It was then that Adams asked his mother for help. Her mother contacted Vrbo and Airbnb, as well as the Better Business Bureau to complain.
And you can probably guess how it ended. Mom didn’t do anything, unfortunately.
I wanted to contact you because I think it wouldn’t just be a better way to get my favorite result. I don’t want anyone else dealing with this Vrbo host. My mother is also trying to get in touch with a lawyer, but I would prefer you to them. (Adams to Elliott Advocacy Team)
How to Avoid a Ruined Birthday Party on Vrbo?
It’s always possible for a vacation rental host to turn you away upon arrival. But one of the core values of Vrbo’s promise of trust and security is non-discrimination.
Vrbo defines its principles of non-discrimination as follows:
A place for everyone leaves no room for hatred. If you mistreat people, there’s no place for you on Vrbo. Everyone deserves to be where kindness reigns. We expect all members of our community to demonstrate respect and tolerance in all their interactions, online and offline, and we reserve the right to remove from our marketplace anyone who does not follow these principles.
That sounds good, but it’s also a little vague. Did Adams’ host violate this principle of non-discrimination by turning them down? (And yes, you don’t have to be a creative writer to connect the dots here and suspect that the host gave Adams a non-working door code, perhaps after he talked to him and that ‘ she added a few more guests to the list.) It’s hard to say.
I go over all the do’s and don’ts of booking a vacation rental in my ultimate guide to booking a vacation rental. I have an entire section on parties and vacation rentals. But it looks like Adams read my advice because she booked a rental that specifically allowed parties. But she didn’t read everything. I’ll tell you why I know this in a minute.
Where did this Vrbo booking go wrong?
So where did she go wrong? Here are some strategies she could have used to avoid her ruined birthday party on Vrbo.
- Stay on the platform. Whether you rent via Vrbo or Airbnb, never, already leave the platform. I don’t quite understand how Adams could have generated a reservation without paying on Vrbo, but the next time she makes a reservation she will have to stay on the site or the app. The moment you leave, you lose most of your protections.
- Get the Vrbo app. Adams downloaded the Vrbo app, but many casual renters ignore that part. Airbnb and Vrbo use their apps to communicate with you and also connect you to the owner or host. It is an essential communication tool. Also, Vrbo can access all communications through the app, so it’s “recorded”, as they say in journalism.
- Call or text the owner before you arrive. Do not wait to arrive at the rental to contact your host or your landlord. Contact us after confirming your reservation. Introduce yourself. Learn about the best way to stay in touch (phone, SMS, WhatsApp). And then keep in touch with your host until the time of your check-in.
- If there is a problem, contact the platform immediately. Adams shouldn’t have waited until the next day to contact Vrbo. The platform’s service guarantee promises to solve a problem by finding a comparable rental or paying for your hotel. Adams could have saved his birthday party by contacting Vrbo right away.
How to Untangle That Bad Birthday Deal
It’s a strange case that took us a long time to sort out. But the bottom line is that the landlord should have given Adams access to the rental when she showed up — not some non-working code and cold shoulder. But she also should have given the owner the exact number of guests who came to the house. (There is some disagreement about the number of guests registered for the stay – I’ll get to that in a moment.)
Let’s start with the rental, which bills itself as the perfect venue for groups and small and large events such as game nights, birthday parties and sleepovers. Adams and his family showed up at the house but were unable to enter. It seems she tried to contact the owner several times the night she checked in for a one night stay. The owner didn’t respond until the next morning.
To further complicate his problem: for some reason the owner processed his payment outside of the Vrbo system. Even though Vrbo refunded her fee quickly, the owner didn’t and then blocked her.
Vrbo offers a Book with confidence that protects you against fraud or if the landlord wrongfully withholds your deposit. If Adams couldn’t get into his property, Vrbo should have helped him book a new reservation for his birthday party.
My advocacy team and I reviewed correspondence between her and Vrbo and between her and the host. It appears that she followed all the correct procedures and tried to resolve this issue with both parties as soon as she discovered the issue.
I’m disturbed that the owner tried to block her when she asked for a refund. But the real problem was that the owner was processing her payment outside the Vrbo system. As I read Vrbo’s terms, that means it’s not protected by their book with trust guarantee.
Adams may have tried to contact one of Vrbo’s executives. We list their names, numbers and email addresses on this site.
“Client booked for 1 guest and showed up with 20 people.”
Adams left a review on the site to let others know about his experience. But it gave the host a chance to address his allegations.
The host therefore added important details to Adams’ account, which may or may not be accurate. It was more than a little “oopsie,” he claims. She had suggested there would only be one guest, but there were 20. She admits she got the number of guests wrong, but it’s not clear. How? ‘Or’ What off she was.
“Client booked for 1 guest and showed up with 20 people and none of them was the person who booked,” he says.
As a former owner and as someone who has ever considered turning their home into a vacation rental (I have never done so), I can tell you how I might react when someone books my home for a guest, then change it to 20. I would have had a wheezing fit, as my southern grandmother would say.
But wait! Did Adams really show up with 19 unannounced guests? Not according to his confirmation.
Today the owner has changed his name from “Billy” to “Sa De”. But it’s the same list. Strange indeed.
And here is your refund from Vrbo
Vrbo’s answer to Adams’ birthday horror story? He agreed it was a ‘complex’ case after our advocacy team forwarded screenshots of the text messages between them and the host and reviewed their recordings.
The company offered a full refund as a goodwill gesture. (Christopher Elliott, Elliott Advocacy)
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