Couple sought refund because of Helene, says Vrbo kept refusing

CHARLOTTE — Joanne Gonnerman and her boyfriend wanted to visit the North Carolina mountains last fall, mainly for the fall leaves. So they booked a place on Vrbo.

But Helene hit about a week before their reservation was supposed to start.

The town they were going to issued a State of Emergency. Roads closed. The North Carolina Department of Transportation “urge[d] people to avoid travel in western [North Carolina].”

“I said, ‘I don’t think this is going to be realistic for us. We probably should cancel,’” Gonnerman told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke.

It was disappointing, but they thought at least they’d get their money back. After all, Vrbo has an “Extenuating Circumstances Policy” which applies “[w]hen broad scale travel disruptions prevent or legally prohibit Vrbo travelers from completing their reservations.”

But the company said no. According to emails Gonnerman shared with Action 9, the company said the storm didn’t damage the host’s property so they could have stayed there, but chose not to.

“National news covered Hurricane Helene and what happened to western North Carolina,” she said. ”It wasn’t an unknown or just a personal request. It seemed like the country understood what had happened to our state.”

They pushed back for months, but couldn’t get it resolved.

“One of my other big concerns is if my partner, Dave, and I are struggling with this, how many other people are being affected?” she said.

Stoogenke emailed Vrbo. Two days later, Gonnerman told him the business reversed course and promised a full refund.

The company emailed Stoogenke. It still believed her booking “did not fall under” Vrbo’s refund policy, that it was at the host’s discretion. After all, you can imagine how much business he lost during that time.

But Vrbo also emailed, when Gonnerman spoke with customer service, the representative “may have” given her “conflicting information.” So the business was giving all $1,100 back as a “courtesy.”

Vrbo’s full statement:

Thanks again for reaching out about Ms. Gonnerman’s experience. We’ve reviewed the situation and confirmed that her booking did not fall under Vrbo’s extenuating circumstances policy that was activated during Hurricane Helene. For reservations in non-covered counties or that fall outside of the date range of policy coverage, the host’s cancellation policy still applies. In these situations, Vrbo encourages the guest and host to work together to find a solution that benefits both parties, such as a refund or credit for a future stay. However, we recognize that when Ms. Gonnerman spoke to our customer service team, she may have received conflicting information. As such, we will be providing a full refund for her booking as a courtesy. This update has also been shared with Ms. Gonnerman.

The takeaway here: Vrbo has an “Extenuating Circumstances Policy.” But the company can be strict about which addresses — or dates — qualify. And, a lot of times, it lets the ‘host’ decide whether to give you money back, not the ‘company’ itself. So know that going in.

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