We’re here for you before, during, and after your stay
From the moment you book until your trip is done, we’re here to help your stay go right. Learn more about our Book with Confidence Guarantee and other benefits we provide every time you book and pay through Vrbo.
Before your stay
Here’s how we protect your trip before it even begins.
Selecting Premier Hosts
Our Premier Hosts consistently provide great experiences for their guests. When you see Premier Host on a property, you can feel more confident about the property description, photos, and amenities.
Protecting your payments
When you pay through Vrbo, we protect your rental payment against fraud. If your payment ends up in the hands of someone other than the host, we’ll pay you back.
Screening for fraud
Verified accounts, background checks, and fraud checks are a few of the ways we are screening for fraud.
Re-booking when you need it
It doesn’t happen often, but if a host has to cancel a booking at the last minute, we have dedicated re-booking specialists here to help you book similar accommodations.
During your stay
We’re here to help your stay go smoothly.
Helping you with our dedicated care team
Our experts are available to answer any questions that come up during your stay. If you need help contacting the host or just have questions, we’re here to help.
Lodging if you’re in need
If you can’t get into the property or if you discover that it was significantly misrepresented online (fewer bedrooms, material defects, etc ), let us know in the first 12 hours. We’ll try to find you new accommodations so your trip can go on smoothly.
After your stay
Even after your trip is done, we’re still here to help.
Protecting your damage deposit
If the host wrongfully withholds your damage deposit after your stay, we’ll help you get it back.
Want more specifics on our Book With Confidence Guarantee?
Get trip insurance.
In addition to the benefits you get every time you book through Vrbo, you may want additional protection for your trip. Consider purchasing one of these trip insurance options from our partners.
Cancellation Protection
Get reimbursed for non-refundable trip costs if you have to cancel because of illness, injury, weather-related cancellations, theft of visa or passport, or involuntary loss of employment.
Damage Protection
Get additional protection from extra expenses due to accidental damage to the property during your trip.
- Credit cards
- View all credit cards
- Banking guide
- Loans guide
- Insurance guide
- Personal finance
- View all personal finance
- Small business
- Small business guide
- View all taxes
Does Travel Insurance Cover Vacation Rentals?
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .
Whether you're booking a weekend getaway or a longer trip, opting for a vacation rental property over a hotel has its perks. Vacation rentals can feel like a home away from home — but what happens if your plans change and you have to cancel unexpectedly?
If you purchased travel insurance for your trip, you might assume your vacation rental is covered and that you'll automatically be reimbursed for deposits, airfare or other prepaid travel expenses. But it's important to understand when you can (and can't) get a refund on canceled vacation rental plans.
» Learn more: How to find the best travel insurance
Read the fine print on your policy's trip cancellation rules
Travel insurance can cover both trip cancellation if you have to forgo your travel plans altogether and trip interruption if you have to cut your trip short.
Trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits can extend to vacation rentals — but it's not necessarily blanket coverage. For example, some insurance carriers specifically exclude epidemics and pandemics from their coverage for vacationers.
You could have purchased a separate Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) upgrade or rider to supplement an existing travel insurance policy, but if you have to cancel a vacation rental, there may still be coverage limits based on when you purchased it.
Keep in mind that CFAR coverage may not pay you back 100% of what you paid for a vacation rental. Depending on the insurer and the CFAR policy's terms, you may only be able to recoup 50% to 75% of your travel costs. And adding CFAR coverage to an existing travel insurance policy can make it more expensive.
» Learn more: Is travel insurance worth it?
Check your credit card's travel protections
If you've exhausted the limits of your vacation rental insurance, you could look to your credit card for additional coverage.
There are a number of cards that offer trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance for covered events. Again, you have to look at the fine print to see what's covered and what isn't.
For instance, many cards that offer trip cancellation will not cover you if your decision to cancel your vacation rental plan is based on a concern that you might get sick, so you likely wouldn't be able to get reimbursement.
On the other hand, you could be covered if you're quarantined, either by a doctor or a government entity. In those scenarios, your card's trip cancellation benefits may kick in and allow you to get back some or all of what you paid for your trip.
In some cases, coverage may be less clear-cut. For example, say you booked a two-week rental of a beachfront home, but because of weather, local government authorities issued an order closing the beach to short-term renters.
In that scenario, you'd have to call your credit card company to determine whether that qualifies under their coverage rules. You could also try to make a claim for reimbursement if your card's travel protections cover situations in which a rental property is uninhabitable.
» Learn more: The best credit cards for travel insurance coverage
Reach out to the rental company
Last but not least, stay in touch with the rental company, such as Airbnb or Vrbo , to find out what rights you have for claiming a refund or reimbursement for canceled vacation rental plans.
» Learn more: The majority of Americans plan to travel in 2022
If you booked through a local vacation rental property company, you'll have to consult their individual refund policies. Some companies include a disclaimer in the rental agreement stating that refunds are only available if the property can be re-rented.
Some vacation rental companies may opt to rebook you rather than refund your money. If you're able to reschedule your trip, that could be a good last resort for avoiding a total loss.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
on Chase's website
1x-10x Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.
60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
1x-2x Earn 2X points on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming. Earn 1X points on all other purchases.
50,000 Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Help Home keyboard_arrow_right
- Your Safety
About the Book with Confidence Guarantee
- Property access: If you’re unable to access the property upon arrival and the owner is unresponsive; or if you are unable to access property upon arrival and or after check-in time, unless the host has indicated a specific check-in window in house rules and or rental agreement.
- Payment protection: In the unlikely event of fraud or if the owner wrongfully withholds your damage deposit.
- Owner cancellation: If the owner unexpectedly cancels your reservation within 30 days of your stay, we’ll help you find a comparable property.
- Property description: If the property was materially misrepresented in the listing when you booked (for example, missing a bed or bedroom) or if the property needs major repair and you’re unable to stay, we’ll help you book a new reservation.
What's not covered
- Book online and pay securely Help Article
- About guest protection Help Article
- About your reservation Help Article
Should you purchase travel insurance for your vacation rental?
Vacation rentals booked through Airbnb and its alternatives have become popular holiday destinations for all types of travelers, from extended families staying in large beachfront homes to couples vacationing in swanky city apartments.
But what happens if these rental properties, especially ones worth millions of dollars, get damaged before you arrive or if your plans unexpectedly change, causing you to need to cancel or shorten your stay?
While the exact outcome will depend on the situation, if you purchase travel insurance , you may find you're eligible for compensation.
So how do you know if it's worth the investment before your next trip? TPG dug into the details to determine what standard travel insurance policies may cover you for when staying at home rentals — and when you may want to purchase some additional coverage.
For more TPG news and tips delivered each morning to your inbox, subscribe to our daily newsletter .
What travel insurance covers for vacation rentals
Traditional travel insurance policies offer features that will cover you and your invested travel costs, whether you're staying at a hotel , friend's house or rental property. Although the exact benefits for vacation rentals may vary slightly depending on the policy you choose, there are a few situations that most will cover.
Your vacation is canceled due to sickness, injury or an emergency
Many hotels offer free cancellations until two or three days before arrival so long as you book your rooms with flexible rates. However, this is rarely the case for vacation rentals, which often have strict cancellation policies requiring 30 to 60 days of advance notice to cancel without penalty. Some even go so far as to have completely nonrefundable deposits, regardless of the cancellation circumstances.
Fortunately, there's a workaround to this conundrum if you find yourself in an unexpected situation involving your health or the health of someone close to you: trip cancellation coverage. If you have insurance with trip cancellation coverage and cannot complete your trip as planned due to select health-related issues, you'll be able to recoup up to 100% of your nonrefundable costs.
While the exact cases that are eligible for complete reimbursement vary by policy, know that many pertaining to health are covered. For example, World Nomads ' trip cancellation insurance policy will cover you in the event you need to cancel your vacation, including any stays at home rentals, due to illness, injury or a death in the family.
You have to cut your vacation short due to a medical reason or natural disaster
In addition to helping you out when you need to cancel your entire vacation, insurance can reimburse you for early departure fees when you find yourself needing to cut your vacation rental stay short. Know, though, that you'll need to have a policy offering trip interruption protection to be eligible for this perk.
Covered reasons for ending your stay early will vary from plan to plan, but typically, policyholders can expect reimbursement due to health-related issues and natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires and blizzards. For instance, IMG's travel insurance covers sickness, injury and natural disaster evacuations when cutting vacation rental stays short.
You cannot stay at the rental due to it being uninhabitable
If you book a vacation rental that is not fit for human habitation, then the booking company or owner should refund all your costs. However, there are rare occasions when this does not happen, so it's important to have travel insurance as a backup.
To qualify for reimbursement from your travel insurance provider due to uninhabitable conditions, you'll need to read the fine print of your chosen policy. Allianz , for example, defines uninhabitable as "a natural disaster, fire, flood, burglary or vandalism that has caused enough damage (including extended loss of power, gas or water) to make a reasonable person find their home or destination inaccessible or unfit for use."
Other situations, such as having an unpleasant or dirty vacation rental , would not be enough to trigger this coverage.
Should you have to find another property or cancel your trip completely due to uninhabitable conditions at your original rental, your travel insurance plan will cover the added costs you incur.
Related: 13 mistakes to avoid on your next vacation home rental
What travel insurance won't cover for vacation rentals
As you may expect, there are some situations when travel insurance won't cover extra expenses related to stays at rental properties. To have a solid understanding of what to expect, be sure to read the fine print of any insurance product you choose. Only circumstances listed in the policy will be covered. The following are two key reasons why you wouldn't be covered.
You accidentally damage the property during a typical stay
Most travel insurance policies will not cover the costs of damage you incur at a rental property, even if it was done by accident. As a result, you must pay for a replacement or repair to any item you accidentally break or damage, such as a work of art, a garage door or wine glasses. Depending on the item in question, this can quickly add up.
If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy, know that it may include protection beyond regular limits called "umbrella" coverage, which can help cover damage caused at a rental property. Keep in mind, though, that you'll have to pay your deductible first. Additionally, your home insurance rate may rise if you submit a claim for vacation rental damage.
Should you wish to stick with travel insurance, you may be able to add extra vacation rental coverage to a traditional policy to assist with accidental damage. Faye's travel insurance , for example, has an add-on feature that offers "coverage if you unintentionally damage the vacation rental property you're staying in or its contents, while in-trip." It costs about 10% of what you'll spend on the main policy itself.
You damage the property while hosting a party
Across the board, travel insurance policies are much more strict about damage caused during parties. If you host an unapproved party or event at a rental property and damage any part of the rental, you will be responsible for covering costs associated with repairs and replacements.
Even approved events are not entirely off the hook for any damage caused to the property. Should you decide to use a vacation rental for an approved event like a wedding or family reunion, expect the booking company or owner to require you to purchase an event-specific insurance policy that covers guest liability, home damage and other items that may be specific to the location.
Related: 6 truths and myths about 'cancel for any reason' travel insurance
Bottom line
Home rentals can be a great lodging solution when you're on vacation, especially if you're traveling with family or friends. However, the high cost of some vacation properties and the cancellation policies often in place mean you should probably purchase some kind of travel insurance to protect your investment.
Typical travel insurance policies will offer coverage for your vacation rental costs should your trip be canceled or delayed for events covered under the policy, but you may be on the hook for other scenarios. As a result, it's vital you pay careful attention to your policy's terms. Doing so will ensure you know what to expect should you face an unexpected situation while enjoying your temporary home away from home.
Related: 7 things to look out for when buying travel insurance, according to an expert
IMAGES