My family and I (a group of 7 adults) rented this house in celebration of my sister’s 50th birthday and we were all excited to get on with this milestone celebration. Instead, we walked into a house that was in complete disarray and had not been cleaned. There were dirty sheets and towels left everywhere in every room with beer in the fridge, dirty utensils and dishes, and a greasy-splattered stove top. We found utensils and dishes with caked on dried food put away with supposedly clean dishes. The trash bins were full of beer cans and pizza boxes.
I have rented homes for 10 years with Home Away and never has my family encountered a house in such a disgusting mess. It started with the lockbox code not working and standing for 2 hours in 113-degree weather waiting to get in. I only received the owner number through the previous contact whose name was on the email. She told me she didn’t manage the rental but gave me the owner’s number. The owner finally told us to pick up a key from a next door neighbor after 2 hours of multiple emails and a call stating that he was calling someone to come with a key. Why didn’t he say that in the beginning?! Checkin is at 4 and when we finally got access to the house after 6, we found the house had not been cleaned. With Covid19, it’s a very real concern that the house was NOT sanitized. We found broken items and the sliding glass door open and the patio furniture in disarray.
We could not find another house last minute and could not go to a hotel since we brought food to cook. So my family deliberated about next steps and decided to make the best of it and the entire family pitched in and cleaned the house top to bottom, washed the sheets and went out and purchased toilet paper. Luckily I brought trash bags, paper towels and Clorox wipes.
While we did pay to rent the house, CLEANING AND STOCKING the rental was not a part of the agreement.
We left the house in better condition than how we found it. However, the trash cans were full and overflowing because the trash was not taken away from previous renters.
The house was comfortable and roomy for 7 adults but a bit misleading since the sofa is not a full pullout bed for a fully grown person.
VRBO uses Evolve Vacation Rental to manage properties and the supervisor from Evolve emphatically stated Evolve is not in a position of refunding. So both Evolve AND the owner indicated they’re not accountable for refunds!