They found toxic mold in their Vrbo rental — can they get $19,500 back? 

Cindy Bonde expected a peaceful getaway in the Vrbo rental she’d booked in Park Rapids, Minn. Instead, she and her family stepped into a conflict that featured rampant mold, an uncooperative host and a tone-deaf booking platform — and left them fighting for a $19,500 refund. 

“We want a full refund of our rental, reimbursement for hotel stays, and a refund for the food we had to throw away,” she told me.

This case is unusual because the Bondes took matters into their own hands in a way I’ve never seen. She and her husband fought the owner and Vrbo with such determination that my team and I couldn’t bear to see them lose, which is why we got involved. 

The case of the moldy vacation rental also exposes the risks of renting through Vrbo and the uphill battle consumers face when things go wrong. And it raises several questions:

• What should you do if you discover mold in your short-term rental?  
• How much evidence do you need to prove a rental is uninhabitable?  
• When a platform like Vrbo drags its feet, what recourse do you have?  

But before we answer those questions, let’s return to the woods of Minnesota and the Bondes’ filthy vacation rental.

Mildew in a drawer of a Vrbo rental in Park Rapids, Minn. (Photo by Cindy Bonde)

Mold, mildew and warped wood

The Bondes had booked a pricey vacation rental in a picturesque part of Minnesota known for its forests and lakes. OK, that’s what all of Minnesota is known for, but Park Rapids has a reputation for being one of the nice areas, and well worth paying the extra money for a quiet getaway.

But when the Bondes arrived at their rental, they immediately noticed a musty smell. Soon, their irritation turned to respiratory distress. 

A peek under the master bathroom sink revealed the source of the smell.

“Opening up the cabinets underneath the double sink we saw mold, mildew and warped wood,” she says. “The drawer had mold inside, outside and underneath. Our symptoms — breathing irritation, coughing, stuffiness — seemed to have gotten worse the longer we were in the house.”

They documented everything. They took time-stamped photos and video of fungal growth. They took notes. And then they did something I’ve never seen before: Bonde went to a hardware store, purchased a mold test kit, and took samples. (Here’s our guide to renting a vacation home.)

And then they left.

Bonde asked Vrbo to cover the $450 a night she had to spend on a hotel. And here’s where things really started to fall apart. The company asked the homeowner to address the mold problems, and the next day, the Bondes returned. 

“We asked the homeowner to do a professional mold test by a professional company,” she says. “Instead he called in his cleaning person to wipe, bleach and paint over all the areas.”

The next day, they returned again to see if the place was inhabitable, but the owner had changed the entry code.

Oh, and those mold tests the Bondes conducted? All positive.

Vrbo agreed to cover a new vacation rental or hotel for the duration of their stay.

“We asked for a refund and were refused,” she told me.

Rotting wood and mold under a kitchen counter. (Photo by Cindy Bonde)

What should you do if you find mold in your rental?

If you find mold, act fast. Your health — and refund — may depend on it. 

The Bondes left immediately, mitigating further harm. They preserved evidence through photos, videos, and $15 Mold Armor test kits from Home Depot.  

Vrbo’s terms require guests to report issues within 24 hours, which the Bondes did. But documentation alone doesn’t guarantee refunds, and rental platforms often side with owners without having performed physical inspections. 

We’ve had numerous cases where the platform, and even the credit card companies, don’t even bother to give complaints more than a cursory review.

You could have documentation, mold test results, photos and videos, and still lose your case. 

So if you find mold in your rental, start taking photos and videos and buy test kits — but know that even with all the evidence on your side, things may not go your way.

And if you’re wondering why, it’s simple. Platforms like Vrbo and Airbnb are increasingly relying on automation and AI to process consumer complaints. The systems are programmed to reject even perfectly valid cases, which means unless a human sees your complaint, you’re outta luck. 

The bots just don’t care. 

The mold kit from Home Depot, showing a positive result. (Photo by Cindy Bonde.)

How much proof is enough?

Overdocument. 

The Bondes’ 72-hour mold tests, photos of remediation attempts, and lockout video created an irrefutable trail of documentation. Vrbo initially dismissed their claims, calling DIY tests “unreliable.” But consumer attorneys argue visual evidence of active mold often outweighs lab reports.  

Based on the correspondence Bonde supplied, it appeared as if Vrbo was trying to wear them down and make them give up. That’s a dismayingly common corporate tactic. Ask for more documentation, then reject the documentation and ask for more.

But the Bondes were not so easily discouraged. They logged 40-plus hours communicating with Vrbo, saved every email, and filmed their exclusion from the property. By the time they reached the end of their rope, they had seven open cases with Vrbo. Now that’s gotta be a new record!

So the answer to the question: “How much proof is enough?” is: There’s no such thing as too much proof. Save every invoice, receipt, email, text message, test result, photo and video file. Because you will probably need it, especially when $19,500 is at stake.

So this is what it’s come to

When it comes to vacation rentals, one thing has always been clear. The real customers of platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are not guests, but hosts. Vrbo seemed to do everything it could to deny the Bondes a refund for their mold-infested vacation rental.

If something goes wrong, platforms seem to be making the burden of proof so high that it’s all but impossible to prove your host is negligent. Customers like Bonde are trying to keep up, and they’re taking extraordinary steps to prove their point.

But it wasn’t enough.

This is what it’s come to, my friends. You can have all the facts on your side, but still lose. Sure, they could have appealed again or filed a credit card dispute, but I’m not confident it would have changed the outcome.  

I contacted Vrbo on Bonde’s behalf.

The company responded by offering her a full refund for the unused nights.

“There was no explanation why, but just several emails directing us how to access the money,” she told me. “It’s now in our account. Thank you.”

Vrbo responded to our questions about the case.

“Vrbo’s Trust & Safety team reviewed the photos to assess the risk,” a representative told me. “Higher risk areas include AC units and showerheads which are health and safety concerns. Mold in places like walls, ceilings, and windows are considered lower risk.

Vrbo said its Book with Confidence Guarantee does not cover the mold found under the sink and in the drawer. 

“We also consulted a third-party hygiene and safety expert who reviewed the photos and confirmed this as lower risk,” a representative added.

“In reviewing the case, we found that the host promptly responded to the issue by sending cleaners. Although the guest requested a full refund, the host denied this request while trying to resolve the problem. We investigated and found no prior complaints about the property. Our team is now collaborating with the property owner to ensure the mold is thoroughly cleaned and removed.”

Bonde’s lesson for anyone else who finds mold in their vacation rental? Overdocument. 

“Had we not kept up the calls and emails and finally reached out to you, I am very sure we would never have seen one penny of this,” she adds. “It makes me very upset and sad with the way we were treated and the stress we went through.”

Well, that makes two of us.

Need to contact a Vrbo executive?

Vrbo’s automated systems and “low risk” assessment failed this family. When the bots won’t help, it’s time to find a human. Get the executive contacts →