A quick update everyone should add to their VRBO rental agreement

[Mike V.]

I own and self manage several properties in Hawaii via VRBO and AirBnB.  I've never had any major problems but i've recent incident that caused me to make an adjustment to all my rental agreements going forward.

I had a guest book one of my 3 bedroom beachfront condos via the Italian version of HomeAway.  Had a few weird messages with her before the booking, but chalked it up to her being on the high maintenance side.  (This is a $3000+ a week condo so its not unusual to get some questions first).  

Guest arrives arrives, checks in, and gives me a call that evening.  She asks where the other beds are.  Confused, I ask her what she means and she said, you advertise it sleeps 8 but there are only beds for 6.  I explain to her that there's both a pull out sleeper sofa and a brand new self inflating queen air mattress for their use, essentially sleeping 10.  She got upset and said the listing didn't disclose they'd have to sleep like animals.  I sent her a screenshot of the description where I clearly describe all the sleeping arrangements with a special note in caps saying groups larger than 6 will use the pull out couch or air mattress.  I fully disclose everything in my listings- I hate when expectations aren't met.  

She sent a screenshot back of the Italian version where that note is not present and demanded a significant refund.  After verifying she didn't edit the screenshot, it appeared there were a few sentences missing from the Italian version in my description.   

I called VRBO, they also verified it was missing, and pointed me to this policy:

11. Translations
If any user-contributed content created by members or users is translated for display on the Site or any site of any affiliate of HomeAway, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or quality of such translation and the user is solely responsible for the review, verification and accuracy of such translation.  

Apparently it's our responsibility to check every version of their affiliate sites in every language for each listing.  I explained the situation and the VRBO rep confirmed the discrepancy and said per this policy it's basically on me and they won't help in any way.  Now she's using this policy as an excuse for a charge back, and is threatening me with her 'legal team'.  I'm 99% sure they're scammers and i'm not concerned with anything beyond their charge back claim, but a simple solution is to add this into your rental agreements.

ERRORS AND OMISSIONS: All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. We are not responsible for errors or omissions. All information provided on the VRBO / Homeaway listing was posted to the U.S. English version of the website and owner is NOT responsible for any translation errors or omissions caused by VRBO / Homeaway incorrectly translating from this original version. Guest agrees this policy supersedes VRBO / Homeaway policy.

I'm not a lawyer so i'm not 100% sure this would hold up, but it seems like it should do the trick when sending to credit card companies as proof for disputes.  Seems like a quick and easy way to cover yourself going forward, granted i'm probably the only one this has ever happened to  lol 

[Mike V.]

@Ken Latchers not sure you read my original post. Listing was completely as advertised, and VRBO mistranslated it on a foreign version of their site. That was my only point. They use google translate to transfer your listing to 50+ other languages and then point to the host as being our responsibility to check each translated version.

Without such a disclaimer in your rental agreement you would be stuck suffering the consequences of any mistranslations.

[Ken Latchers]

Yes I read it, and I responded

[Stacy Yu]

@Mike V. just came across your threads, thank you for the tips. I'm very new to managing vacation rentals and have a lot to learn. If you don't mind can you send me a sample rental agreement? Thank you!