We have rented nationally and internationally through VRBO and Homeaway for many years. Our VRBO rental in September had some disappointing aspects but this VRBO rental in December was not anything like our VRBO/Homeaway rentals in the past. We never interacted with this property “owner” but with a rental management company, Surf or Sound, who piled their costs on top of VRBO costs and sent us a 7-page detailed “Vacation Rental Agreement Under the NC Vacation Rental Act”. Surf or Sound charged us a credit card fee for using a credit card, and a fee for a Protection Plan that I had tried to opt out of, and these charges were taxed, adding to total cost. When we arrived, there was no house number to identify the property as there were on all others we saw nearby. There were none of the usual condiments, etc, in the kitchen such as salt and pepper, no aluminum foil or cling wrap or plastic dishes for leftovers; also, no clothes hangers. When we contacted Surf or Sound for clothes-hangars we were told they did not supply them, we should go to the Dollar Store. The house was more like a management company rental than a VRBO rental. The property was advertised as having four king beds; there are only two with one queen and one full with the bunk beds – which accurate description helps when you have to bring linens, which we did because linens are not supplied off-season and we preferred not to rent them. The linens we brought included kitchen towels, sponge, kitchen and bathroom soaps, thank goodness. The house itself is ideally located on the beach and has a beautiful main room with floor-to-ceiling windows/doors facing the ocean, with a separate king bedroom facing the ocean on the second level down. The house can sleep 10-12 easily but there is limited seating on the main floor as in couches and chairs, that is, only for 4-5, with dining chairs otherwise available. This house has a lot of promise but does need some work such as screens, blinds, maintenance. These latter don’t really bother us but the $ issues and the others above have caused us to look elsewhere for future property rentals. VRBO, we enjoyed you when you were really Vacation Rental By Owner, sometimes frumpy but always feeling more like a home, whether in the US or abroad. ‘Bye
