My son sustained a serious shoulder injury which requires surgery & had to pull out of the Lytham Trophy,10 days before our stay, I asked the owner if we could reschedule to a quieter time of the year or same time in 2024. She agreed, but only if I paid half as much again directly to her, outside the Vrbo app. This was in addition to the full amount I’d already paid.There was plenty of time to readvertise & possibly get a relet booking, in fact she wasn’t actually losing a booking, we just wanted to move the dates to another time. I accept we were out of the cancellation period, but we weren’t asking for a refund. Vrbo actively promote requesting alternative dates, in reality this isn’t the case. It was a very genuine reason for wanting to reschedule. Vrbo did try to get the owner to change her mind, to no avail. I feel in this instance Vrbo should have insisted the owner be more reasonable. Instead she has kept the full payment and possibly relet through another site.
I always think that you only get a true reflection of something/someone when there is a problem and the way they choose to deal with that issue reflects on the overall service they are providing. It’s very disappointing Gill couldn’t be more flexible or agreeable. Maybe when she passes a charity donation box she will put in some of the money she’s kept, so at least some good will come of this situation.