Homeaway Vs. VRBO: Which Should You Chose? Audio Review
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Both Homeway.com and VRBO are heavily trafficked sites for those seeking vacation rentals. How do they compare?
We asked a user to work both sites on her computer and record her responses in real time. Just s they occurred to her.
Click the Audio Player above to listen to this five-minute Consumer Audio Review of Homeaway.com Vs Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO)
Both are widely used vacation rental sites for homeowners who want to rent their homes and make a few bucks. And for holiday or vacation-seekers, who’d rather rent a home in a preferred location, than spend money on a hotel room or inn.
Homeway, based in Austin, Texas, says it’s the “leading marketplace of vacation rentals, representing 700,000 paid vacation rental home listings” in 168 countries.
VRBO doesn’t seem to have an “About Us” page, which is disappointing, but has a lot of testimonials and an interesting Community Section where users can share concerns and information, like the couple that thought it was fishy for a renter to ask for a social security number.
Of course there are many other vacation rental sites, like Cyberrentals.com and Vacation Rentals, but VRBO and Homeaway.com come up first in a typical Google search for “vacation rentals.”
Our reviewer has this 5-minute Audio Review of Homeaway.com and VRBO. Click the player above and listen to her opinions and suggestions for users. And check out our other Travel Audio PostCards
4 Comments, Comment or Ping
Ron Keil
This review was mostly accurate and informative from a user point of view. I am an owner and have our house listed on both sites and have found them to be almost identical. Homeaway lists in Europe while VRBO lists only in the US. We get many inquiries and reply to all. What amazes me is how many people then never get back to say they don’t want to rent. So I am left hanging. Treat the owners like you would like to be treated and the system works well. If some information is missing about the advertised house, don’t be afraid to ask in your inquiry. And remember we don’t know who you are either, and we risk a lot more giving you our address than you do giving a deposit, which is generally refundable.
Jun 18th, 2012
admin
Thanks for this, Ron. Appreciate you’re taking the time to write. The article was also published on Technorati Travel, family travel forum and Tripatini.
These transactions are complex, requiring faith and good will. Thanks for laying it out, and consider following us on Twitter
Jun 18th, 2012
Ed
VROB.com was purchased a while ago by Homeaway.com. They are taking a slow approach to making changes on VRBO because it is so successful. However the feature set of both sites are likely to converge over time.
Mar 22nd, 2013
Kaleel
Right, thanks for the comment and good to hear from you, Ed. The differences between the two sites are actually slight, but we hear that homeaway.com generates more revenue and seems to be less broadly branded, but more reliable and respectable.
Btw, check out Technorati Travel’s home page, which we manage, and Travel Weekly’s Blog Roll
All the best, and hope to see you soon http://technorati.com/lifestyle/travel/
Mar 22nd, 2013
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