When renting through VRBO, know that if something messes up and the renter doesn’t actually stay, they don’t have the ability to leave a review. So for example, if the owner cancels the week before the rental (which does happen especially if travel spikes and they can get a lot more money from someone else), the renter will be refunded, but won’t have the chance to leave a review saying this owner did that. Or if the renter cancels within a refund window, but the owner refuses to actually refund, no way for the renter to leave that feedback. So I always rent through VRBO knowing that. You can get a great deal, but there’s definitely a bit of a gamble there, so I’m prepared to roll with it. We’ve had many great experiences with VRBO, but a few bad ones too.