Travel Troubleshooter: Our Vrbo condo in Toronto was already occupied

Q: My family booked a condo in downtown Toronto through Vrbo. Just before we arrived, we received a text that our reserved condo had plumbing issues and that they had assigned us to another rental in a different building.

When we tried to check in, we found that the unit appeared to be occupied by another guest. There were toiletries in the bathrooms, clothes in the closets and food on the table. We immediately notified the manager. His advice was to lock ourselves inside the condo and that they would send a cleaner. I considered this an unsafe suggestion.

Also, the condo wasn’t equivalent to the one we had originally reserved. It was smaller and had one less bathroom. The manager insisted that we return to the property and promised to clean it. But we didn’t trust him, so we returned the key to the concierge and found a different place to stay.

We texted the manager asking for a refund. The manager replied that my husband had been abusive, and they would not refund the money. Can you help me get our $2,356 back, please?

A: Vrbo should have offered you a full refund when it couldn’t provide you with the rental that you had reserved. Vrbo has a Book With Confidence guarantee that says if your property is “materially misrepresented” in the listing, it will help you book a replacement.

So, what went wrong here? It looks like you worked with the property manager on the rental swap. When you needed help, you reached out to Vrbo in writing, but Vrbo just contacted the property manager for a resolution.

This isn’t surprising. Vrbo sees itself as a platform — an intermediary between the renter and the rental manager — and only wants to get involved when it collects its fees. Apart from this, Vrbo usually sides with rental managers, who are its real customers.

In reviewing the correspondence between you, the manager and Vrbo, I don’t see any evidence that your husband was abusive. If anything, you were polite and direct. You just wanted what Vrbo had promised — not a smaller apartment and not a condo that was already occupied.

Here’s my take on what should have happened: Instead of referring you back to the condo manager, Vrbo should have found you a comparable rental quickly. This would have fixed the problem and ensured that your family had a positive experience. Clearly, Vrbo did not take its Book With Confidence guarantee seriously in your case. It can do better.

I contacted Vrbo on your behalf. It apologized and refunded the $2,356 you spent on the occupied condo.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or elliottadvocacy.org/help.