VBRO, Global Travel International, HomeAway Bait and Switch at HomeAway Companies Internet

Be warned of bait-and-switch tactics at HomeAway and its many subsidiaries like VBRO and Global Travel International. An article in Fortune Magazine lists 17 companies acquired by HomeAway--see http://fortune.com/2014/03/12/growing-quietly-in-airbnbs-shadow/, which compares HomeAway to its better rival AirBnB.

Surprisingly, VBRO and Global Travel International (GTI) are large advertisers on TripAdvisor.com, whose reviews often inveigh against underhand tactics in the travel industry. As one can verify in the vacation rentals section of TripAdvisor, these HomeAway companies list Las Vegas  rentals at absurdly low prices, like $200-300 for ten nights at the Flamingo or Wynn Encore.

The next step is to try to bait-and-switch the customer into "ordinary" hotel rentals at prices no better (and likely worse) than Hotels.com or Expedia offer. Prominently placed ads show the "bait" offer, while fine print several screens away acknowledges that the eye-catching offer may not be available. Online inquiries about the deep discount result in an email that directs you to call center where an experienced pitchman or woman then hopes that you will be naive enough to rent a "regular" hotel room at the same or higher price than anyone could obtain with little shopping.