USVI-On-Line

In search of a Grande Bay condo that would suit my family's needs for a 50th Anniversary for my parents in July 2015, I settled on a unit advertised on VRBO. I made arrangements with the owner in mid December and placed a 50% deposit or $2,640. A few weeks later my father was diagnosed with an Acute type of Leukemia and would begin chemotherapy treatment in late January. Obviously this diagnosis would prevent our family from traveling to celebrate the purpose of the trip. I reached out to the owner and explained the situation via email and the response back was very slow and unforgiving. I thought about other ways I could utilize the deposit but due to the cost and now the added expenses of taking care of my parents situation in Florida, it was obvious I couldn't afford the time off or the expense. I even tried to arrange a situation where I could utilize the deposit for a future rental. There was no response or remedy. I then turned to my credit card company and disputed the charge. The owner immediately (funny) contacted me and asked me to reverse the disputed charge as it put him financially under water (using future rental $ to fund current operations). I did not acquiesce and he then turned to the credit card company and supplied copies of the contract and got the charge rebilled. The credit card company sent me letter that was sympathetic and cited the "merchant" as being unsympathetic to the situation and called it "unfortunate". In my opinion, the owner of www.vrbo.com/225102 did not do the right thing. He had 6 months to rebook those dates and as nice as he was to work with on the outset, do not expect any leniency if you run into an unforeseen set of circumstances. In my opinion, he was immoral and unethical in this situation. I would steer clear of this rental. There are many other options in Grande Bay.

First of all I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Have you attempted to purchase a travel insurance policy for your dates. You may be able to still purchase a policy that would allow you to cancel. While it may be expensive it would be far less expensive than losing the entire rental amount.

Keeping your Dad in my prayers and wishing you all good luck!

ncsusan wrote:First of all I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Have you attempted to purchase a travel insurance policy for your dates. You may be able to still purchase a policy that would allow you to cancel. While it may be expensive it would be far less expensive than losing the entire rental amount.

Keeping your Dad in my prayers and wishing you all good luck!

Thanks ncsusan....you know, I never think about trip insurance but I will in future travel arrangements. I guess I believe in the "spirit of human kindness" to prevail in situations as this. I know what I would of done considering the length of time to get the units rebooked. In addition, I was able to provide a proof of diagnosis from the hospital as evidence. Poor decision by this Grande Bay owner.

I would think they could have at least offered to open up those dates and refund your deposit if they were able to re-book it.

michigan girls wrote:I would think they could have at least offered to open up those dates and refund your deposit if they were able to re-book it.

I agree, however, what proof would one get that the dates were rebooked or not. This owner is highly distrustful and unscrupulous, in my opinion.

Their VRBO site says: Cancellation policy:
100% refund if canceled at least 30 days before arrival date. Are your dates still reserved on their VRBO calendar?

I would be leaving him/her a really rotten review on their VRBO page.

StJohnStyle wrote:Their VRBO site says: Cancellation policy:
100% refund if canceled at least 30 days before arrival date. Are your dates still reserved on their VRBO calendar?

Thanks for pointing that out....however, that wasn't in the contract details I signed which probably would supersede the website conditions. It is definitely ambiguous and a possible solution.

Chicken wrote:I would be leaving him/her a really rotten review on their VRBO page.

I tried that route, however, if you haven't actually spent time in the property, the website will not take reviews on "dealings" with the owner(s) of the property. My "review" was kicked back and understandably so. Outside of this situation, I have had fairly good experience with VRBO. This guy, in particular, is a douche bag. In my opinion.

I am so sorry you had a bad experience. I too am a Grande Bay owner who rents on vrbo and when we get a cancellation we immediately put it back on the market and assuming we can re-rent, we refund all deposits. In 4 years, we've had 4 cancellations, all for relatively last minute medical situations and each time were still able to re-rent. I think this is consistent with what most of us do and I'm sorry you had this experience.

Just looked at their VRBO page and you can still buy the trip insurance. It clearly states that an illness of a family member or traveling companion would be covered under the cancellation policy.

ncsusan wrote:Just looked at their VRBO page and you can still buy the trip insurance. It clearly states that an illness of a family member or traveling companion would be covered under the cancellation policy.

Thanks ncsusan....giving it a shot....nothing to lose at this point.

Thomhill2 wrote:I am so sorry you had a bad experience. I too am a Grande Bay owner who rents on vrbo and when we get a cancellation we immediately put it back on the market and assuming we can re-rent, we refund all deposits. In 4 years, we've had 4 cancellations, all for relatively last minute medical situations and each time were still able to re-rent. I think this is consistent with what most of us do and I'm sorry you had this experience.

Thanks Thomhill2. As a frequent traveler to STJ, would you mind giving me your VRBO listing number? You can pm me if that is preferable.

StJohnStyle wrote:Their VRBO site says: Cancellation policy:
100% refund if canceled at least 30 days before arrival date. Are your dates still reserved on their VRBO calendar?

Funny....the owner has changed the cancellation terms on his VRBO listing today. Luckily, I printed out the pages last night prior to the change. I'll use that to resubmit my dispute with AMEX.

I guess I'm super confused by this owner! Why not just open the dates and try to re-rent before being an a$$!?? I am a property owner who rents on VRBO (in NC) and I would never just take the $$$ and bail. Hang in there and hopefully this owner will wise up. Thoughts and prayers to your family