I Couldn’t Get Into My Vrbo Rental. Here’s How VrboCare Helped.

I’ll be honest: I hadn’t heard of the VrboCare Guarantee until I called about a problem.

I was calling from a bus in central Mexico, scheduled to arrive in about 3 hours. The problem? The host hadn’t communicated with me at all. I had an address but no information about how to get in, codes, keys, or any pertinent details. Standing outside an unfamiliar apartment after 11 p.m., with no way in, didn’t sound fun.

I called Vrbo, and though the phone call took much longer than it should have, the result exceeded my expectations. If you’ve ever wondered whether Vrbo will help you when something goes wrong with your booking, here’s what happened to me in early May.

What Is VrboCare?

Vrbo is a vacation rental marketplace owned by Expedia Group, focused on whole-home stays rather than shared rooms. VrboCare is the platform’s protection program for travelers, designed to back up bookings when something goes sideways with a property or host, such as:

• The host’s last-minute cancellations
• Properties that turn out to be significantly different from the listing
• Payment security if you book and pay through the Vrbo site

You don’t have to pay extra or opt in to get it, though certain conditions must apply for it to kick in (for example, it doesn’t apply if the place is messier than you expected or if a toaster doesn’t work).

If a covered issue comes up, VrboCare helps with rebooking assistance or refunds, so you’re not stuck eating the cost. The catch is that the protections generally only apply when you book and communicate through Vrbo itself, so taking payments or conversations off the platform can void the safety net.

Why I Had To Use VrboCare

On May 1, I took a bus from Ciudad Victoria to San Luis Potosí in Mexico. It took over 4 hours and arrived late, but I was fine with that. My plan was to head to my Vrbo rental from the bus station.

On April 15, I booked a Vrbo rental in the historic center of San Luis Potosí and sent the host a message with basic information, saying we could communicate closer to my arrival date. In my mind, we would discuss how to get into the apartment on the day of or the day before arrival. Since I wouldn’t arrive until after 11 p.m. on check-in day, I wasn’t worried about communicating on the same day.

On May 1, the day of my reservation, I messaged the host through Vrbo when I woke up. I reiterated the late arrival time and asked what the process was for accessing the unit. Did we need to meet for keys? Did I need a code?

The day passed without any updates.

After lunch, I sent another message. I also found a phone number for the host inside the Vrbo app and tried calling, but no one answered. I left a message and then sent another in the Vrbo app, including my WhatsApp information.

At 8 p.m., I still had nothing, so I decided to call Vrbo’s customer service.

My Positive Experience Using VrboCare

When I called customer support, I explained that I was en route to the host city, had no information about accessing the rental, and needed assistance. I also mentioned that I was on a bus through the country with no internet signal, so I needed assistance by phone — no emails, texts, or anything online.

The representative was very friendly and found my reservation quickly — along with the message chain showing I’d tried contacting the host. He put me on hold while he called the host for details. When no one answered, he told me about VrboCare.

Vrbo did 2 key things for me:

• They put me in a hotel for the night because I couldn’t access the internet to look for other rental properties.
• They promised to cover extra costs (if any) for me to book a new property.

The representative also canceled my existing reservation and said I should see a refund on my credit card within 10 days.

The agent said that the normal process would be to cancel my reservation and tell me to find a new property. Since I had no internet access on my phone, he transferred me to another department to book a property on my behalf.

Unfortunately, the next person had to repeat the process of explaining what would happen and trying to call the host. That really slowed things down. However, the agent found a hotel near my original reservation and booked a 1-night stay at no cost to me. I could check in there, get some sleep, and then look for a new property in the morning.

Reimbursement Rules for Replacement Bookings

If your new reservation costs more than your old one, you can submit receipts for a refund up to 100% of the cost of your original booking. Luckily, I ended up finding a new place in the same neighborhood for the same nightly price, so I didn’t have to fool with that.

To qualify for the expense refund, I had to book through Vrbo, Expedia, or Hotels.com. Additionally, the dates, number of guests, and other reservation aspects had to remain the same.

If I had been able to use the internet, finding a new property on my own would’ve made the process faster. Waiting on hold several times and being transferred to another department also slowed the process, and the call lasted 40 minutes. Realistically, I think it should take half of that time.

Final Thoughts

I was definitely happy with the outcome after my first Vrbo rental problem. VrboCare gave me a place to stay for the night due to my late arrival and offered to cover costs if a replacement rental cost more. The phone call took longer than I would have liked, but the final outcome was better than I expected.