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Changes to HomeAway’s short-term rental platform are the subject of a new HomeAway class action lawsuit brought by an Oregon property owner.
Plaintiff James May is suing the short-term rental website and its new parent company Expedia. May says that after acquiring HomeAway in 2015, Expedia changed HomeAway’s business model in ways that amounts to a “bait-and-switch” pulled on existing HomeAway property listers.
Among the changes May takes issue with are new fees assessed on HomeAway renters. May also challenges HomeAway’s new listing algorithm that allegedly gives preference to property listers who allow online booking of their rentals.
May says this new algorithm unfairly penalizes property listers who don’t use online booking by pushing their listings farther back in search results.
Even listers who paid extra for a premium HomeAway subscription – in part to get favorable placement of their listings in search results – have seen their listings get downgraded in favor of those who allow online booking, May says.
According to this HomeAway class action lawsuit, the website formerly used what May describes as a “marketplace” model, under which HomeAway functioned more as an advertisement vehicle than a forum for transactions.
Under this model, HomeAway generated revenues by charging property listers for advertising their rental properties. The website did not charge renters for booking rentals through the website, May says.
The plaintiff says he has been listing properties on HomeAway since at least as far back as 2013. He says that in September 2015 he renewed his VRBO Platinum Level Subscription for a full year, at a cost of $1,299.
May argues that his subscription should be governed by the terms and conditions that were in effect when the subscription was renewed. Language from that version of the terms and conditions guarantees that rates in effect at the time of renewal will govern for that renewal, he says.
But in February 2016, May claims HomeAway changed the rules of its own game. May says the company started charging fees to renters who book through HomeAway websites. May argues these new fees are a breach of the terms and conditions governing his and other potential Class Members’ HomeAway subscriptions.
May is proposing to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all vacation home owners and managers who purchased a subscription to a HomeAway website between Feb. 9, 2015 and Feb. 8, 2016. He also proposes two subclasses that would respectively consist of Class Members who reside in Oregon and who purchased premium-level subscriptions.
The plaintiff seeks a court order barring HomeAway from continuing its allegedly unlawful conduct. He is also asking for an award of damages, including treble and punitive damages as applicable, plus reimbursement of court costs and attorneys’ fees.
May is represented by attorneys Robert C. Alden of Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson LLP, Thomas S. McNamara of Indik & McNamara, and Michelle K. McClure of The Sieving Law Firm APC.
The HomeAway Rental Bait-and-Switch Class Action Lawsuit is James May v. Expedia Inc., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-01211, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
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4 thoughts onHomeAway Class Action: New Rental Terms are Classic ‘Bait and Switch’
I have been with VRBO since 2008. I was contacted by them in 2016 stating that if I renewed during July 2016 that my listing would not change if I paid $899 (which included the extra $150 so no changes would be made) for my Gold Tier Subscription that month. I would be renewed until February 8, 2018 with no changes. Therefore, I took their offer. Now, this week I received a message from VRBO that my listing is not in compliance with their rules. The deactivated my account. Said I had to take my contact phone numbers off to get it reactivated. They definitely changed horses in the middle of the stream from what they guaranteed me when I renewed early. I would definitely like to know if I have grounds for a suit.
they just did the same thing to me, did you remedy?
We have been with vrbo since the beginning. We’ve been doing vacation rentals for 30+ years. We noticed less inquiries and our listing was moved to the bottom since we elected not to do online booking. We chose not to do online booking after trying it and noticed vrbo was charging for children! Babies! We allow children 16 and under to stay for free. They told us to remove the per guest rate. Well, that didn’t go over well since we’ve been charging a base rate and additional guest rate for 30+ years. It allows guest with a smaller group stay for less. We get more bookings this way, too. But not lately. We also noticed we receive an inquiry on our phone, (we can’t respond via our phone) so we go into our dashboard, and it’s not there. The inquiry will show up sometimes as late as 7 days!! And, by the time we respond, the guest has already found something because he/she didn’t hear back from us. Vrbo is turning into a scam! I definitely need info on this class action law suit.
I have vacation property in Idaho. I have had 2 listings since 2010, and have suffered financially from the HomeAway Mess. I would like info on joining this class action.
paulawalla22@yahoo.com Paula Dorris
208 906-4153