If you're planning your next vacation you should know many travelers are giving hotels the heave -ho in exchange for privately renting a home or condo.
Many love the idea of having more space, privacy and a kitchen, but one North Texas man says that all came at a huge cost for him.
"So I actually just started work at Lockheed Martin," Tyler Rowe said.
Rowe quickly became friends with a new coworker and planned a getaway.
Skiing in Breckenridge, Colo., fit the bill. The two couples wanted to hang together but still have personal space, which is something hard to do in a hotel.
"You know, I just wanted to be able to go home at the end of the night and, you know, relax and have a beer, cook some food, hang out in the hot tub," Rowe said.
They found a place on Airbnb, but days before they were set to board the plane they got an email telling them their rental reservation was canceled.
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"I'm freaking out, going on Airbnb, trying to see if there's other rooms available, and nothing's available," Rowe said.
It turns out the owner of the house found the place had been trashed. Either a bear got inside or the last tenants threw a wild party. Nonetheless, they couldn't stay there.
And unlike hotels who plan for this sort of thing, when you're renting a home, it's not quite that simple.
They found several other places, most of them ranging $3,000 to $4,000 for the same trip. That's more than double the original price.
In a statement, Airbnb says:
"We immediately offered the guest help finding a new place to stay and a rebooking credit to cover extra costs of another listing. The guest opted for a full refund in this case."
Rowe says he opted for the refund because the credit was just a few hundred dollars. They found someplace else, on their own, farther away and saved the trip, sort of.
"It definitely wasn't what I was planning for, what I had in my mind," Rowe said.
Ski trips, remote beaches and rural cities are all tough places to find a replacement place to stay if you get a cancellation. If you're booking in a remote area without a chain, look at all your options, including local real estate agents, and ask up front about their responsibilities if the home becomes uninhabitable. Plus, make sure you have that information in writing before you go.
