When Priya Engel turned on the shower in her San Diego vacation rental, the water ran cold and there was no heat. Repeated calls to the owner changed nothing, and now she wants her money back.
So why isn’t Vrbo, the vacation rental platform she used to book the home, helping her?
That’s the question I’m trying to answer as my advocacy team and I attempt to recover the $360 she lost by checking out of her rental early.
“I did everything Vrbo asked us to under their book with confidence guarantee,” says Engel. “But Vrbo says I don’t qualify for a refund.”
So let’s take a closer look at this one. Specifically:
- Do vacation rentals need to have hot water?
- Do vacation rentals need to have heat?
- What if my vacation rental has no hot water or heat?
After Engel’s experience, she could be forgiven for thinking that hot water and heat were optional amenities and that she had no way of getting a refund. But that would be wrong, because she just placed a call to the A-Team.
Engel’s case also raises a bigger question. Should the vacation rental platforms specifically guarantee heat and hot water in their contracts? Please scroll down to take our poll and leave a comment with your thoughts.
First, though, let’s talk about what happened to Engel.
“They said they would send someone to fix it”
Engel rented the Vrbo apartment in San Diego last April. Although the weather is usually warm in Southern California, it can cool off in early spring. Daytime highs on the day she checked in were only 66 degrees, dipping down to a low of 54 degrees at night. But in some places, with a marine layer, she would have really felt a chill.
“It was a very cold day,” she recalls.
So Engel tried to turn on the heat to get comfortable.
Nothing happened.
“I contacted Vrbo many times,” she recalls. “Vrbo contacted the host. They said they would send someone to fix it.”
But nothing happened.
Engel said it was so cold that night that she couldn’t sleep. She says Vrbo had given the owner a deadline of 8 a.m. to get the heat working, and again, no one showed up.
“We vacated the place immediately after being told by Vrbo that we would receive a full refund,” she says.
But a few days later, Engel received an email from Vrbo saying she did not qualify for a full refund. She could still file a claim for the night she missed — if she filled out a claim.
“I provided all the documentation they asked for to the email address and we received an automated reply saying that the email was no longer being monitored,” she says.
Engel just wants Vrbo to do what it promised. But what did it promise?
Does Vrbo guarantee heat and hot water?
Let’s have a look at that Book With Confidence guarantee, shall we?
The guarantee promises that if your property was “materially misrepresented” in the listing when you booked or if the property needs major repair and you’re unable to stay, Vrbo will help you book a new reservation.
As a specific example of when the guarantee will apply, it lists, “I arrived at the property and it’s uninhabitable.”
So how do you define uninhabitable? In San Diego, a home with no heat or hot water would probably be considered uninhabitable.
Vrbo’s preferred way of addressing that specific problem? “Contact the partner to see if they can rectify the situation. If they cannot rectify the situation or do not respond, contact Customer Support.”
And that’s exactly what she did. (Here’s our guide to renting a vacation home.)
Vrbo’s Book With Confidence guarantee also says, “We expect everything to go smoothly, but we’re here to help if the unexpected happens.”
Engel’s visit did not go smoothly.
But was Vrbo there? I wouldn’t call ignoring her messages “being there.”
Do vacation rentals need to have hot water?
Does your vacation rental come with hot water? The answer is almost always yes.
Vacation rentals must comply with building codes applicable to residential properties, including proper heating facilities.
For example, under California law, landlords must provide tenants with “habitable” living conditions. California Civil Code Section 1941.1 says that a landlord is responsible for maintaining the habitability of a rental unit, including ensuring that hot water is available.
Platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo also have standards that must be met by owners. It is commonly understood that hot water is part of that contract.
There may be some rental properties where these rules don’t apply. For example, if you’re renting a “glamping” property — basically, an upscale tent — you might not have an expectation of hot water or even running water. But that would need to be clearly disclosed in the property description.
Bottom line: Your rental should come with hot water.
Do vacation rentals need to have heat?
How about the heat in your vacation rental?
The answer is yes, vacation rentals are expected to have heat in most places. Many states and local governments have laws and regulations that require vacation rentals to meet certain safety and health standards, including providing heat. For example, in Oregon, landlords must provide “adequate heating” under Chapter 90 of state law.
Even when there’s no law that specifically requires an owner or landlord to provide heat, there is something called the Implied Warranty of Habitability. In Florida, for example, that warranty requires that a residential rental property meets certain minimum standards to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of tenants. One of those is heat.
There are exceptions. For example, when I rented a vacation home in Hilo, Hawaii, a few years ago, it didn’t have heat and there was no expectation of heat. That’s because it never gets cold there.
If you’re booking a vacation rental and are concerned about the availability of heat, be sure to check the listing carefully. Ask the owner or property manager about the heating situation before you book.
What if my vacation rental has no hot water or heat?
Could Engel have avoided this? Maybe.
A careful reading of the property reviews might have shown how responsive — or unresponsive — the owner was. But normally, renters are not paying attention to that part. Truthfully, most travelers are worried about spending too much money or if the rental is in the right location. They don’t scroll all the way to the bottom to read every amenity.
So let’s say you’re stuck in a vacation rental with no hot water or heat. What then?
Take pictures
Document everything with photos and videos. Take pictures of the thermostat at 58 degrees. For dramatic effect, you can turn the water on “hot” and then point your phone at the water to get a temperature reading (the latest Pixel phone has a thermometer). All of these things help you build your case. (Unfortunately, Engel didn’t have any photographic evidence of the heat problem).
Start a paper trail
Do not call anyone! There’s no proof of the call. Instead, send an email or a text message — and save everything. Again, you will need all of this information when it comes time to file a claim. If someone promises you something, get it in writing.
Cite the rules
Both of the major vacation rental platforms have rules, or implied rules, about heat and hot water. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with them. We have cases involving hot water problems in vacation rentals going back to 2011. I’ve even checked into an Airbnb where the heat didn’t work. Inform yourself — and then fight back.
If your vacation rental doesn’t have hot water or heat, you deserve a fast resolution from your owner or platform like Airbnb or Vrbo. And if they don’t help you, it’s time to check out and get a refund.
Will she get a refund for her vacation rental without heat or hot water?
So what about Engel? It looks like she followed the Elliott Method and sent an email to Vrbo citing its guarantee and documenting the ways Vrbo and the owner had failed to fulfill their obligations.
I couldn’t understand why Vrbo had sent her a denial with no opportunity for a rebuttal. That seems unhelpful.
Good thing she reached out to our advocacy team. We agreed with her that Vrbo could have done better, so we contacted the company on her behalf.
A day later, we got some good news.
“I can’t believe it! I received the refund in full today!” she told me. “Thank you so, so much for all your help with this process. I am so relieved.”
And I’m relieved, too. Vrbo has no business listing a home like this on its platform, and I hoped it would take whatever steps are necessary to bring this rental into compliance.
Vrbo told me the host responded in a timely manner to her request to fix the hot water, but that she checked out too soon.
“We did find an agent error,” a Vrbo spokeswoman said — and that error prompted the refund.
The rental remains on the platform and the owner is still in good standing with Vrbo, according to the company.
But her case makes me wonder: Should the vacation rental platforms specifically guarantee heat and hot water in their contracts? It seems like a glaring omission, to only imply the rentals have all the amenities you expect.
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