Vrbo: refund request
Each listing has a cancellation policy; cancel before 11:59 p.m. property time on the last day of the refund window.
What does this mean?
Grade B (good: mostly official pages; check the flagged values before relying on them). 87% of 15 sources are the organization's own pages or government sites.
Collect
- reservation ID
- the listing's cancellation policy
- cancellation confirmation
Steps
Check the listing's cancellation policy on the property page or the reservation.
Cancel before 11:59 p.m. in the property's time zone on the last day of the window.
If the refund owed is not paid, contact Vrbo support, then dispute the charge with your card issuer.
More contacts for this issue
Facts you can cite
- Policy
Vrbo cancellation policies: Relaxed - 100% refund 14 days before check-in, 50% at 7-14 days; Moderate - 100% at 30 days, 50% at 14-30 days; Firm - 100% at 60 days, 50% at 30-60 days; Strict - 100% at 60 days, no refund after; or No refund.
Source: help.vrbo.com, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
Vrbo's Extenuating Circumstances Policy can let guests cancel and get a refund regardless of the listing's policy when a qualifying large-scale disruption applies.
Source: vrbo.com, verified 2026-10-12
Tips
- Company tip
Vrbo warns of fake Vrbo phone numbers in search ads; confirm the number on vrbo.com's Contact Us page or in your account before sharing booking or payment details.
Source: vrbo.com, verified 2026-10-12
Rules in force
- FTC Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (live-event tickets and short-term lodging)16 CFR part 464 (90 FR 2066, January 10, 2025)
Since May 12, 2025, any business that offers, displays or advertises a price for live-event tickets or short-term lodging (for example hotels, motels and inns) must show the total price, including all mandatory fees, more prominently than other pricing information. Only government charges, shipping and optional add-ons may be left out, and those must be disclosed before the consumer pays. Misrepresenting any fee is prohibited.
Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12
1 citable point
- Policy
A business may not misrepresent the nature, purpose, amount or refundability of any fee, or the identity of the good or service the fee is charged for.
Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
If that fails, escalate
Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.
Customer service
Message the host first; Vrbo expects you to ask the host for a refund before asking Vrbo.
Written complaint
Card or bank dispute
Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)
Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)
State agency
Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON:
states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).Arbitration
MailNotice of Dispute (certified mail, before arbitration) Legal Department/Dispute Resolution Provision, Expedia, Inc., 1111 Expedia Group Way West, Seattle, WA, 98119Notice of Dispute, 60 days, then individual AAA arbitration.
Watch out
- vrbo.com returns HTTP 429 to automated fetches.
- Vrbo expects guests to ask the host for a refund before asking Vrbo.
Let your AI agent handle this
Escalate Anything is a free, open-source MCP server for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Codex and other AI apps. Your agent gets this playbook, keeps a case log with reference numbers and follow-up dates, and drafts each message for you to approve.
1. Set it up (needs uv):
uvx escalate-anything setup2. Ask your agent:
Vrbo owes me a refund of [amount] for [order or service]. Use Escalate Anything to get it.Source code, other install options and the Claude Code plugin