What’s the absolute bare minimum that you would expect from a vacation rental? That you’re getting a safe place to sleep. Otherwise you could’ve spared yourself the expense and simply napped under the stars. So naturally one VRBO-vacationing family were horrified to be woken in the middle of the night by a home invader.
The unexpected twist? The home invader turned out to also be the home owner. As TikToker kaya.summer shared, calling on the smart and caring people on the app for help and advice, she and her family had rented a VRBO in San Diego over New Years. For much of their week-long stay, Kaya and her family had no complaints… Until things took an alarming turn on the final night. Kaya was awoken at 2:30am by some strange voices in the house who turned out to belong to two men she had never seen before.
The two strangers immediately got “heated and angry” and berated the family, including Kaya’s little brother, for apparently breaking into this place, which one of the men claimed he owned, even labeling them “druggies.” Despite Kaya’s father getting up his rental info to prove they had a legitimate reason for being there, the apparent home owner didn’t calm down, and the police were even called to sort out the situation. Even then, the family naturally didn’t get any sleep for the rest of the night due to how “scary” the whole ordeal was.
The real kicker? When Kaya phoned VRBO the following day, and was even able to provide proof of the incident thanks to some video footage and a copy of the police report, the result was radio silence. A week later, upon chasing up on the situation, the family were told that the case was closed because they’d spoken to the raging rental owner and “he said he’d never do that again.” Naturally, the experience has been “extremely traumatizing” for Kaya and it’s put her off using these kind of rental services again as “[VRBO] don’t have your back at all” and “any loon out there could be renting the place to you.”
So what is the best thing to do in this situation? Sadly, Kaya and her family did everything you are supposed to do. The top tips on how to get a refund from Airbnb, for example, include report the problem immediately (check), document everything with photos and videos (check), and give them time to fix the issue (check!). If all these steps are adequately met and a refund has still not been offered, then the next thing to do is to file a credit card dispute. Your bank may be able to help you out, again assuming that you have ample evidence of the issues at hand.
As for this specific home owner, it might be a good idea for him to get his calendar in order and actually pay attention to what’s going on with his property. Or at least learn that “druggies” don’t tend to vacation to the San Diego beachfront in wholesome father/son/daughter groups.