HomeAway Reviews

HomeAway has an overall rating of 4.4 based on 25 reviews. Customer feedback on HomeAway is mixed: HomeAway reviewers highlight positive aspects like wide selection of properties, user-friendly interface, responsive customer service, and competitive pricing, which strongly appeal to families, groups of friends, vacationers, and business travelers. However, HomeAway is often criticized for its inconsistent property quality, hidden fees, limited customer support during peak times, and occasional booking issues.

4.4/5.0

25 reviews

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All HomeAway Reviews (25)
antonio1991
May 23, 2026
"I had a good feeling about..."
I had a good feeling about the place when I got there, and it turned out to be right. The locks worked fine, everything felt secure, and I didn’t have any worries while I was there.
ReedFlight_23
May 19, 2026
"Honestly smoother than most bookings"
My reservation stayed confirmed the whole time, and there were no weird last-minute surprises. Compared to a lot of other people’s booking headaches, this one was solid.
PamelaRantz_11
April 30, 2026
"Felt secure using the site"
I was glad I could pay through the site instead of sending money directly, which made the whole thing feel a lot safer. The payment went through without any issues, although it did take a little longer than I expected to confirm. Not perfect, but overall it worked fine and I’d use it again...
GloriaGuttmann
April 28, 2026
"Check-in was smoother than most places"
Picking up the key was easy overall. There was a little bit of a wait, but compared to other places I’ve stayed where check-in feels like a whole process, this was smooth.
Mike-hankins
April 28, 2026
"Pretty good overall, even with a few annoyances"
I booked a weekend spot through HomeAway, it went better than I expected. The house looked like the photos, and the owner got back to me quickly when I had a question. The only thing that bugged me was the extra fees, they weren’t super clear until checkout, which was a little frustrating. But in the end, the place was nice, the trip went well, and I’d probably use it again.
kim_Kauffman05
April 12, 2026
"Clean place overall, with a couple tiny things"
We booked the house through homeaway and overall it was a good stay. The place felt clean when we got there, beds were fine, bathroom was clean, and the kitchen looked like it had been wiped down. I did notice a little dust under the couch when I dropped a sock, which is the kind of random thing I somehow remember, along with the fact that there was one bright blue mug in the cabinet for some reason. Nothing major though, and it definitely didn’t ruin the trip. I’d stay there again.
hello_david942
April 10, 2026
"Canceling my booking was honestly way easier than I expected"
I ended up having to cancel my booking last minute, and I was expecting it to be a bit of a headache because those situations usually are. But it actually went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would. The refund details were explained clearly, so I wasn’t left guessing what was happening or when I might hear back. I also got updates along the way without having to keep reaching out or chase anyone down, which I really appreciated. Overall, I was happy with how the whole cancellation was handled.
WilliamFuhrman_88
April 08, 2026
"Clear pricing made the trip feel easier"
I booked a short stay through HomeAway and overall the pricing was straightforward. I really appreciated that the fees showed up before checkout, because it made me feel like I could actually plan instead of getting surprised at the last minute. The cleaning fee still felt a little high to me, but at least it wasn’t hidden. For a short trip, that kind of clarity matters—it makes the whole experience feel less stressful and more worth it.
Robert-sabo
April 04, 2026
"Deposit came back, no hassle"
Booking was straightforward, and the deposit side of things, went smoothly too. I got it back when they said I would, no chasing, no awkward delays, no weird surprises.
tomas-Myers
March 05, 2026
"Nice stay, but the extra fees caught me off guard"
Overall, my stay was good, the place was comfortable and everything went smoothly. The only thing that threw me off was the extra fees — I wasn’t really expecting them, so that was a bit disappointing.
james-Sapp
March 04, 2026
"Listing was exactly like shown"
I booked a small beach house on homeaway for a quick stay, it was exactly what I was hoping for. The photos matched the rooms really well, the kitchen had the stuff we expected, and the walk to the beach was just as described.
I’m always a little nervous that a place will look different once you show up, but there weren’t any weird surprises here. The check-in instructions were accurate too, which made getting settled really easy. Overall, I was happy with the stay.
JohnBonniwell_25
February 18, 2026
"Deposit issue got sorted in the end"
I had a bit of a problem with my deposit and had to wait a few days for support to get back to me, but they did eventually sort it out fairly. It wasn’t the fastest or most perfect experience, but they handled it properly in the end. If anyone runs into the same thing, I’d say keep your screenshots/transaction details handy and be a little patient with support
MOLINA
February 15, 2026
"Policies were clear overall"
So... I booked a cabin on homeaway.com and the rules were easy to follow. The cancellation policy, extra fees, and check-in info were all shown before I paid, which I appreciated.

The only thing was that I had to click around a little to find a few details, so it wasn’t totally perfect. But overall it felt clear enough, and there weren’t any weird surprises later.
edgartaylor8366
February 06, 2026
"Place was in really good shape"
The place was clean and well kept I was happy with it overall
hello_anita862
February 04, 2026
"Refund showed up just like they promised"
I had one of those last-minute change-of-plans moments and had to cancel my booking, which made me a little nervous because I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get my money back. I figured I might have to send a bunch of messages or keep checking in, but that never happened. A few days later, the HomeAway refund showed up exactly like they said it would. It was straightforward, and I appreciated not having to chase anyone down
james2004
January 26, 2026
"Easy site and no headache finding a place"
I used homeaway to look for a place, it was way easier than I expected. I was kind of thinking, okay, here we go, another travel site where I’ll be clicking around forever, but the search actually worked well and the filters helped narrow things down fast.

I really liked that the photos, prices, and house details were all right there together. In my head I was like, please don’t make me open ten tabs just to figure out what’s included, and thankfully, I didn’t have to. Everything felt clear and easy to compare.

Booking was simple too, which I appreciated because I’m not exactly the most techy person. I kept waiting for some confusing step to pop up, but it never really did. Got through it without a headache, so yeah, 5 stars from me.
crystal1991
January 19, 2026
"Booking was easy"
Found a place quickly. Clicked around a bit, checked the dates, and that was basically it. No weird hassle, no long process. Just booked it and moved on
annie_Zolocsik94
January 17, 2026
"Decent stay, but the fees were a lot"
I booked a place through homeaway, the stay itself was perfectly fine. The house looked mostly like the photos, maybe not exactly as polished, but close enough that I didn’t feel misled or anything. The host also got back to us quickly when we had a question, so from that side of things, there really weren’t any major problems to complain about.
My only real issue was the price, because by the time all the extra fees got added on, the total was quite a bit higher than what I thought I was paying at first. I know fees are kind of normal with these booking sites, but it still feels annoying when the starting price looks reasonable and then the final amount creeps up so much. It was still a little cheaper than getting a hotel for our group, which is why we went with it, but not by a huge amount. I’d probably use homeaway again, but only if the full price was clearer upfront so I could actually compare things properly.
william_Higgins92
January 12, 2026
"Pretty helpful, just a little slow"
I had to wait a bit for support to get back to me, which was... not terrible, just a little slower than I hoped. But once they did respond, they were helpful and got things sorted out.
phyllis1980
January 02, 2026
"Location was accurate, at least"
The place was exactly where the map showed it would be, so no issues there. i was kind of expecting some confusion or wrong pin like you sometimes get, but it was accurate. Nothing especially impressive, just glad there weren’t any surprises with finding it

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HomeAway Q&A

Has everyone got the news that homeaway is going to be charging customers a booking fee? what happened to dealing with the owners direct? this is all corporate expedia's doing.

Why are guests being charged a fee by homeaway? i thought the exhorbitant fees i pay for listing covered the guests. airbnb charges guests but not owners. it should be one or the other not both. my guests think it is me making the charge

Why should i pay more for a subscription? if i describe my property well, shouldn't it show up in searches? or does homeaway deliberately block lower paying subscribers? also, in addition to my subscription fee, homeaway won't charge my renters a fee will they?

Was researching my 2016 vacations and noticed these extra fees... was surprised... didn't know what they were for... close to an extra $100 for a week rental - crazy. where is a renter to go if you homeowners stop listing your beautiful homes here...? i have always found such beautiful places on homeaway...

tinysnake528
March 05, 2016

“HomeEscape.com is relatively new but with the new Expedia Service charges on HomeAway/VRBO, the homeowners are moving over to HomeEscape in droves. Over the next year as the HomeAway subscriptions expire many of the homeowners will not renew with HomeAway if HomeEscape turns into a good alternative. In general we (homeowners) are pretty upset that Expedia is going to make over 4Billion in added income from our customers just in the first year of the fee, if folks continue to book through them. Many of us will feel pressure to lower our rental income but if you only knew our expenses you would know this is not really a big money maker for us - personally, these fees will actually put us well into the red. So, for our guests and ourselves, HomeAway will no longer be a site we do business with once our subscription expires. And, though we used to rent through them at least once a year, we're done with that as of now.”

Why should i pay more for a subscription? if i describe my property well, shouldn't it show up in searches? or does homeaway deliberately block lower paying subscribers? also, in addition to my subscription fee, homeaway won't charge my renters a fee will they?

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