My husband and I are frequent travelers to Paris, but this was by far the worst experience we’ve had renting an apartment. So far with VRBO we’ve had one home run and two strikes, so I would hesitate before using the listing service again, as there are plenty of other services out there. The home run was VRBO #70921, a fabulous rental recently renovated but with the historic architectural details intact—much nicer than the photos might indicate (much roomier and with more light) and suitable for 2 couples in the 6th on Blvd. de la Tour Maubourg. The second time we tried VRBO we found what we thought was the perfect apartment: a penthouse for 2 in the 7th. About a month after we paid our deposit we were contacting by the owner explaining that she had double-booked the apartment and that another couple was scheduled to arrive in the middle of our stay. She refunded our money, but it left a bad taste behind, and VRBO #179622 was the next apartment we settled on.
The apartment is in the 7th, about a 10 minute walk from Musée d’Orsay. Although the owners claim it’s on a quiet street, they neglect to mention the club on the corner that closes at 2 am on Friday and Saturday and expels a constant stream of noisy drunks who weave past the apartment screaming at the top of their lungs until 5 am (this is in winter with the windows closed, I can only imagine what it is like in the spring or summer).
The first thing the housekeeper said to us when we toured the apartment for the first time upon arrival (stained carpeting, poor lighting, old food left behind in the fridge) was that there was “no real hot water” in the bathroom. Actually that’s not entirely true; the water temperature ranged from lukewarm to tepid . . . with occasional bursts of scalding, presumably when someone in one of the other apartments flushed.
When making inquiries about the rental I asked specifically if the television received international cable channels (we were keeping close tabs on post-election news) and was told by both of the owners that the satellite service was in the process of being installed, and that we would have phone service that was “practically free,” as well as a cable modem hookup for the internet, as the apartment’s wifi was subppar. Despite their assurances the service was not installed when we arrived, and there was no phone service. The wi-fi worked fine for several days and then quit. When we arrived the housekeeper was at the apartment waiting for the satellite serviceman to arrive; he did not, and another appointment was scheduled during our stay. The man who arrived was very polite, but explained that the service could not be installed in the apartment, and that the owner needed to make the arrangements by stopping by the satellite company’s office. The owner had the gall to suggest that we stop by the satellite company ourselves; evidently not comprehending that for most of us, travel is a vacation from doing chores such as sitting around waiting for the cable guy to arrive!
We were forced to spend several hundred dollars in phone charges (this was a working vacation for me, and I had to be in frequent touch with my client). The owners of the apartment offered to reimburse us for the full amount of the charges, but went back on their word and made only a partial payment. They were uncommunicative and uncooperative, particularly once they received our money, and although they now claim that everything in the apartment is “fixed,” I would not take these people at their word, they are simply untrustworthy.
|||
I hope you communicate this with VRBO. Since one bad experience may cost them several bookings I would think they would want to expel non-performing listers or at least coerce them into keeping to their word.
|||
Travelbug...How horrible! I am so sorry that you had such a terrible apartment and Gall is not the word I%26#39;d use more like Balls! Right, I%26#39;ll just go stand in line at the cable joint on my vacation getting your %^@t done.
I%26#39;d dispute that charge with my CC company. At least 1/2 back is fair.
We stayed in Barcelona once and there was a night club off the lobby and OMG the drunks, screaming, yelling, crying going on all night. And the trash those jerks left the next morning made me wonder how could the hotel have this place in their lobby when it disturbs the guests...Makes you wonder....
|||
Can%26#39;t blame you at all for being very upset.
Me? I would have gone absolutely ballistic, and would have demanded recompense IMMEDIATELY at that time.
As far as sending a letter, or message, to VRBO?
WASTED EFFORT!
Notice that you cannot post a bad review on VRBO? That all reviews must be approved by the property owner?
While I still use VRBO, I always check out the apartment on other sites where it%26#39;s listed, before making a commitment. That takes some work, but it can be done.
A shame that this happened, and that there%26#39;s not much more than posting how poorly you were treated here and there....
|||
What a shame, the nerve of that owner asking YOU to go to the cable company,, are some people nuts or what?
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
TripAdvisor staff removed this post because it did not meet TripAdvisor's forum guideline with regards to harassment of another user. We will remove messages that include personal attacks or hostility directed at an individual user or group of users, threatening language or attempts to force a user to discontinue participation on our forums.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 10:22 am, April 11, 2009|||
Onb VRBO you can post a comment IF the owner has activated that option. If you make a guest comment that is negative, of course the owner will disallow it BUT that a negative comment occured (indicated in red) remains. It isn%26#39;t that obvious however, because a potential renter needs to click on the See All Guest Comments section to go to the page that shows it.
Also, you can complain to VRBO. It took me a while to find it, but go to the Help Form link at the bottom of the page and you will find your way to a contact page. VRBO of course doesn%26#39;t mediate between renters and landlords, but they do state that if they get enough complaints, they may find that they don%26#39;t want VRBO associated with that property...that they want their site to have integrity.
I know this because I recently complained about a landlord in Palm Springs who, in spite of many calls and emails, continued to fail to return a large security deposit. Luckily, I had used my credit card and disputed the charge. The VRBO people took my complaint, but so far, I have heard nothing more. I suspect they get few complaints because the process is not easy to find.
Just so you know.
|||
TravelBug - I%26#39;ve rented thru VRBO at least 8 times over the past 6 years and have never had a problem. And each time the house in person was nicer than the photos.
Here%26#39;s my rule of thumb:
1. only rent units that show a good number of photos online; in this case there was
2. only rent units that have a good number of guest comments posted, preferrably none more than 3 months old
Its the guest comments that are the real %26#39;rent%26#39; for me.
|||
there%26#39;s actually a 3rd:
3) look at pending bookings on the calendar; units that are in demand have good recommendations outside of VRBO guest comments online
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
TripAdvisor staff removed this post either because the author requested it, or because it did not meet TripAdvisor's forum guidelines.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 12:16 pm, April 12, 2009|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 3:18 am, October 24, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment