Lisa in Ottawa
500+ Posts
I think this is the same company that sends me endless emails. I somehow got on their mailing list and can't get off. Yuk!
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CONTACT US if you have any problems registering for the forums.
Listing sites and their hidden charges for travellers
- Thread starter Felicity
- Start date
Felicity
10+ Posts
No unsubscribe is dreadful. I think all the listing sites are guilty of the endless spamming which results from just one enquiry. Maddening. I had a look at that listing. I think it is a lazy agency who couldn't be bothered to describe their listing properly as it says in one place that it is for four houses in the same complex so I assume this was meant to be for all four and somebody in the office just slapped anything on to incite interest. Well, it doesn't incite mine....
Lisa in Ottawa
500+ Posts
Just managed to unsubscibe to Vacation Rentals owned by Homeaway, vrbo, arbitel. I had to scroll down what seemed like 100s of pages and finally got to the correct page and then was redirected to the site with all the above listed. We'll see if this stops my almost daily influx of ads. I think I got in their snare when I booked an apartment in Rome but not through their website but the owner mentioned she advertises with them so I guess it was then automatic. Totally irritating.
Felicity
10+ Posts
Lisa - What probably happened is that the owner put you on the calendar she keeps on the site and put your email address in there for her own records. Or she may have got you to pay through holidayrentalpayments which are affiliated so they exchange information. I NEVER do that - I give them no information about who has rented at all and is one of the reasons I backed out of their payment system as once they have your address they never leave you alone, spamming you endlessly, and, as you say, make it really difficult to work out how to remove yourself. I just hope that people will have the nouse never to enquire through their system ( Google me instead) and be snared in their service fee trap and then spammed even if they do not go on to book.
Lisa in Ottawa
500+ Posts
I actually booked through her own website as I avoid these places if possible. But simply impossible. Vacation Rental is the worse. I don't get anything from VRBO( I think). I may have used another email add. I also don't get anything from Airbnb and have used them a fair bit.
It's interesting that the internet, the tool that in theory should have made it easier for small businesses and customers to connect with one another, has instead fallen headlong into the big business model of the brick and mortar world. I'm glad that my first venture into European vacation rentals came in the "old" Slowtrav days, with the big glossy book Pauline mentioned, and an agent (someone I found on Slowtrav) who knew the properties and could talk to me about them. Even though Slowtrav isn't active anymore I still check there for reviews, just in case.
A couple of years ago I needed to rent an apartment in Rotterdam and couldn't find anything on Slowtrav so I went through Trip Advisor with a listing that allowed me to e-mail with the owner before making a decision. It worked out well and I liked the idea of a money back guarantee, although I don't kid myself that it would be easy to get if something had gone wrong.
A couple of years ago I needed to rent an apartment in Rotterdam and couldn't find anything on Slowtrav so I went through Trip Advisor with a listing that allowed me to e-mail with the owner before making a decision. It worked out well and I liked the idea of a money back guarantee, although I don't kid myself that it would be easy to get if something had gone wrong.
Our Paris rental for next month just disappeared from VRBO. Holding my breath..............
I can breath easier now. Just heard from my landlord. We still have an apartment.
By the way, our London apartment was also removed from VRBO earlier. I have communicated with the property manager and the rental is still a go.
Neither rental (Paris & London) has a website at the moment but we have stayed in both apartments in the past, so I feel okay renting them again. The Paris one gave me pause, however, when I didn't see it on VRBO. My hope was that it was due to the change at VRBO and not because of the crackdown in Paris.
Neither rental (Paris & London) has a website at the moment but we have stayed in both apartments in the past, so I feel okay renting them again. The Paris one gave me pause, however, when I didn't see it on VRBO. My hope was that it was due to the change at VRBO and not because of the crackdown in Paris.
Roz, the Paris apartment is back on VRBO today. I don't know what happened there. I told the owner that the VRBO link wasn't working a couple of days ago.
The London apartment was taken off VRBO by the property manager.
The London apartment was taken off VRBO by the property manager.