- Report: #1420800
Complaint Review: Expedia Inc. - Bellevue Washington
Reported By:
Donna -
Clinton, Washington, United States
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
Expedia Inc.
333 108th Ave NE Bellevue, 98004 Washington, United States
Phone:
425-679-7200
Web:
www.Homeaway.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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Expedia Inc. Homeaway VRBO Holds Customer Names Hostage - Pure Greed Bellevue Washington
If It Ain’t Broke….
In 2011, I contracted with Homeaway (VRBO), an online marketing company that was a lead generator for vacation rental properties like mine. I paid an annual subscription fee of $299.00 and in return they posted my rental and found renters for me, the names of which were turned over to me to manage directly. Together, we planned their stay. I did not charge a deposit as I did not want the hassle of refunding it, and I did not charge a fee for cancellation for, as we know, life happens. I am quite capable of managing my own property. For five years, easy peesy.
Fast forward to 2017. Homeaway (VRBO) sells to Expedia. Suddenly, the marketing program disappears and is replaced with a management fee only arrangement whereby all customers generated thru the new site must first pay Expedia before they will release the customers name to the property owner. Now, all communication must go via email through the website and don’t try anything tricky like including your phone number as it will be xxx out. Also, I am being told that I have a deposit policy and a cancellation policy, all with fees attached if the policy is not adhered to. I am charged a handling fee and my customer is charged a fee for booking. The word extortion comes to mind.
Let’s see, someone has taken my million dollar property without my permission and is providing only one service that I need and many others that I don’t need and actually resent, so they can make money on something that they are taking my word for is real. Customers have actually arrived at vacant lots. Some customers are still trying to get large deposits back because of a disagreement about whose policy was at play – Expedia’s or the owner’s. As an owner, I have been told that I get to make three cancellations from my end before I am charged a fee. Really, the gaul.
With this no-choice format, even the dollars and cents don’t make sense. If at $7.50 a pop, my place was rented 52 weekends a year (not likely), my property is worth $390.00 in fees. Actually, when you add the customer fee in, my property may be close to $1000 in value if fully booked. I am willing to pay a $500 guaranteed marketing fee which takes all the guesswork out of my value to the company if only they will add the marketing program option to the site. I think they are capable of running parallel programs. If others want their property ghost managed, far be it from me to deny them that.
I am in hopes that Washington State’s very astute Attorney General will take a look at whether a company can usurp another’s property for private gain, set fees and provide unauthorized services without a contract mutually agreed upon by both parties.
You don’t have to play, you say. You are right. But, for five years, Homeaway understood who the customer was and they and my family prospered. They were just bought by Expedia weren’t they? They must have been doing something right.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
United States
Typical
#2Consumer Comment
Thu, January 04, 2018
The "Oh I don't like what you say so I am going to accuse you of working for the company".
Guess what your "Oh you don't post a town proves you work for them" means NOTHING. If you observe all of the updates do not post a town..not even yours. As for my interest, I am just a regular consumer who saw your post and made a few comments. And if you still haven't figured it out let me be very clear. I do not now or have I ever worked for Expedia or any other Travel site.
But I did do one additional thing, I did a quick search of when Expedia purchased VBRO. It was purchased in November of 2015, and Expedia completed the aquisition that December. The booking fee appears to be added midway through 2016. Not in 2017 as you stated. So this "sudden" change isn't so much of one, as many of the articles I saw showed that those changes were notified well in advance.
A Class Action lawsuit can be filed for just about for anything. It doesn't mean it gives any merrit or you would get anything. After all there were several "Class Action" lawsuits against banks for Overdraft fees. Guess what everyone in the class got from the "victory" against the banks...about $70. Oh and the lawyers got a few million dollars.
People get moved from one contract to another when businesses are sold. and this happens all of the time. In fact your agreement with VBRO probably had a couple of clauses about this. Did you have a Contract with VBRO that stated the terms you were under could not be changed for all eternity? Did the contact state that you were entitled to those terms for a specific amount of time? Did Expedia violate any terms of THAT contract?
For example if you paid the $299.00 yearly subscription fee, then when they were sold to Expedia, you could POSSIBLY have a valid complaint for the remainder of THAT years term. However, with it being 2017 and Expedia purchasing in 2015 this seems very unlikley. As once that year term ended..so would any valid complaint that they had to continue with the same policy.
Donna
Clinton,United States
Not a Rippoff
#3Author of original report
Wed, January 03, 2018
I am thinking you work at home for Expedia to reply to comments such as mine ergo no town. Can you clarify your interest in this topic.
Just as a point of fact, there are several class action suits in several states in regards to moving people from one contract to another without permission and the Attorney Generals office in Washington just forwarded my now official complaint to the Expedia Board Secretary.
Also, my property along with thousands of others was withdrawn from the Homeaway/VRBO site when Expedia refused to compromise and many are currently thriving on AirBnB whose policies were established from the getgo - so no surprises.
Robert
Irvine,United States
Not a RipOff
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, January 03, 2018
Sorry but you do not have anything close to a valid compalaint, nor is this anything any Attorney General is going to pay any real attention to. They aquired the original "rights" when you signed up with the company they bought. Yes...this is something you agreed to. If you don't like the new policies then market your property through other means.
The fact that you don't like the new requirements or fees to market YOUR property is irrelevant. The fact that it was done a certain way for a previous amount of time is irrelevant. The fact that you think you are some marketing genius and can tell other Multi-Billion dollar companies how they should do buisness is irrelevant.
You don’t have to play, you say. You are right.
- End of Story...By your own words no RIPOFF here.
