Airbnb burglary (LONG)

[o_mom]

We use VRBO or book through rental companies, so it's good to know to avoid AirBnB.

I am not sure that VRBO is any better than AirBnB. We avoid VRBO after their lackluster pandemic response.

[ang79]

That is crazy and I’m so glad it wasn’t worse! We tend to use rentals (usually through Air Bnb or VRBO but also sometimes through realtor offices) when we travel. Usually it is cheaper, especially for the extra space and kitchen. It’s also nice to be able to take our dog and have a yard for her to potty/play in. We’ve had minor issues (less impressive than pictures show but still clean, insects, maintenance issues), but the owners have all been quick to respond and fix the problem and the one with the insects refunded part of our money. We’ve only used those for travel in the US though. DH is itching for international travel and noticed how cheap some Air Bnbs are internationally, even superhost ones. May look more carefully for international lodging now though.


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[StantonHyde]

I am so sorry this happened to you! I will say, that when we went to Costa Rica, the crime rate is what steered me to a hotel vs an air bnb. (and the fact that the police are of no assistance) We have stayed in VRBO/Airbnb in France, Italy, UK, Spain, US and had no problems. If anyone is looking to stay near Manuel Antonio NP/Dominical area, I would highly recommend the Villa Alturas hotel. It consists of casitas throughout the property with a central restaurant/pool. It was really very nice.

[gatorsmom]

So sorry to hear about this mess!


I don't know that we ever would have booked through VRBO if we went out of the country, but definitely will be rethinking if we travel abroad.

Weve had fewer problems doing VRBO abroad than we have domestically. We have rented VRBO’s in France for the last 8 years. Six different times we used VRBO in France and had such wonderful experiences with one of the owners that now we exchange Christmas cards! So you just never know when you are going to have problems. Our problems have all been at VRBOs we rented in the US.

[Kindra178]

I’m sorry to hijack but aren’t VRBO and Airbnb interchangeable?


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[MSWR0319]

I’m sorry to hijack but aren’t VRBO and Airbnb interchangeable?


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I’m honestly not 100% sure but I was thinking they were two different companies. When I have looked at the Airbnb website I just never felt comfortable for some reason. Many of the rentals just made me nervous. For some reason, I felt better with VRBO. The listings I’ve looked at always had more pictures, more reviews, etc.

[Kindra178]

I’m honestly not 100% sure but I was thinking they were two different companies. When I have looked at the Airbnb website I just never felt comfortable for some reason. Many of the rentals just made me nervous. For some reason, I felt better with VRBO. The listings I’ve looked at always had more pictures, more reviews, etc.

I thought they were competitors.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

I’m so sorry!
I can’t see how VRBO is any better than Airbnb. Or any rental for that matter. We had a lake house through a realty company and showed up one afternoon to the hot tub work crew there. They could have easily been sketchy (good workers are hard to find) and they knew we were out. Undoubtedly someone in our big family could have left a door unlocked too. It all carries risks- I don’t think any brand is better than the other.


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[Melbel]

I am so sorry you had a negative experience. We have stayed in numerous VRBOs or rentals through management companies, especially when we have a large group.

Unfortunately, we had numerous items stolen out of our well reviewed hotel room in La Fortuna, Costa Rica (Royal Corin) in June. Management was awful to deal with and falsely claimed our missing items were "found" at our prior hotel (security at that hotel confirmed that was a lie). They also claimed we tried to extort them which was absolutely false. Thus far, we have not received any reimbursement from travel/home insurance although claims are pending. I am still very sad to have lost some nice sentimental jewelry pieces that I should not have brought in hindsight. I had planned to wear them but had not put them back on after a sailing excursion. Digging down into 1 star reviews, there were prior thefts in past although the overall rating was very high. This experience tainted our experience (along with e coli and COVID x2 as an added bonus). Even though the country is beautiful and most of the people were wonderful, we do not plan to return to CR in the future because we felt violated.

Bottom line is there is risk in any environment. I am noticing there are now hybrid type setups that are apartment type set ups run like a hotel. We have one booked for Nashville in November.

[3isEnough]

Thank you for all of the input (and sorry for my delay in jumping back in - still trying to catch up on work after being gone for 2 weeks). It had never even occurred to me to tag Airbnb on twitter and complain there so I'll do that right now. The host told me last Sat that she would provide me a full refund for our stay. When I hadn't heard from Airbnb by Weds of this week, I contacted Airbnb, told them what happened and requested a refund. They've since bounced me around to 3 different people and I'm no closer to resolution. I'm hoping tweeting them will provide better results. Such a pain!

Melbel, I'm so sorry you had items stolen from your La Fortuna hotel. We stayed in La Fortuna as well but were at Arenal Springs. I have the same thoughts about CR as you - we had such a great trip the first week (La Fortuna & Monteverde) and found everyone we met so kind and welcoming, but the burglary the 2d week really blemished the trip for me. I also so felt so helpless the night of the burglary, it was almost like being in a dream where you're asking for help but no one hears you. My DH was on the phone with the police for a good 20+ mins and yet they never sent anyone. Once we packed up our stuff and left the house, we stayed at what was supposed to be a nice hotel in the area (it was 10p and we had almost no other choices), but the front desk guy was a jerk and the room was full of huge costa rican ants. At this point, I don't know that I ever need to go back to CR. FWIW, my boys and DH would return in a heartbeat, they LOVED the surf there and everything about CR.