When Tracy Goodson-Mackay handed over her home to vacationers, she never imagined the damage they would do.
The property manager says the rental resulted in thousands of dollars worth of renovations, and the platform she used has left her to foot the bill.
“It was disgusting. I mean there was a mess everywhere,” says Goodson-Mackay who manages Cozy Cottages. “The stovetop was completely filthy. The cupboards were empty. Instead of washing dishes, they threw everything in the garbage. Same thing with pots.”
But it’s more than mess.
The long list of damages include: busted bathroom and bedroom doors; a broken window, TV, couch and chandelier; as well as scratched floors.
In the upstairs bedroom, it gets worse.
“There was blood splatter and food all over this window… there was holes in the wall,” says Goodson-Mackay.
She’s been renting properties for nearly three decades, and recently decided to try VRBO.
“We were under the assumption that this was, you know, a top tier platform,” says Goodson-Mackay. “That they had a lot of protections in place.”
VRBO’s website advertises $1 million liability insurance, but a closer look shows that doesn’t cover damage to the owners’ property. It protects them if guests are accidentally injured or damage the property of a third party like a neighbour.
Now, not only is Goodson-Mackay on the hook for nearly $20,000 in damages, she initially didn’t receive $12,000 from the rental income and security deposit.
That’s because of potential credit card fraud from the guests — the bank had reversed charges.
After CTV News reached out, a spokesperson said, “VRBO will be providing a full payout for the traveler’s booking...” adding Goodson-Mackay’s guest “will be banned from our platform permanently.”
And while VRBO won’t pay for the damages to the cottage, it will cover part of her insurance deductible.
After she got the news, Goodson-Mackay said she was pleased.
“But I’ll be honest with you, I’m a little disappointed to hear that VRBO is not going to implement any changes to their website,” she added.
The rules of what you’re protected for can be hard to understand, even for lawyer Jeff Orenstein at Consumer Law Group.
“I think something should be said, ‘hey, the insurance that you really need, that you’re probably really concerned about, we don’t have.’ That should be clearly marked.”
He adds it’s up to owners to do their research, which he says isn’t simple.
While competitors such as Airbnb do reimburse hosts if their property is damaged by guests, not all platforms do.
And, in some cases, failing to read the fine print can be costly.
