Stayz Avis 

Wish I could give it zero. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

I made a booking for a property in Marseille France for August 2026. The booking conditions indicated the upfront payment would be $0, and the total amount for the booking (1700 euros) would be charged in August 2026. The terms and conditions stated the booking was cancellable and fully refundable until 7 August 2026. Once I made the booking, I received multiple messages from the host of the property asking me to pay additional fees via another platform (and providing links). They asked for a 200 euro cleaning fee and 88 euro tourist tax. The total amount for the booking which Stayz indicated would be charged in August, already included a 200 euro cleaning fee.

I did not click the links or pay the fees as this seemed like a scam. I then checked the credit card I used for the booking and saw it had been charged $1300 AUD. I did not authorise this payment. I do not know why I was charged this amount. This amount does not reflect the total cost of the booking and, as mentioned, the website indicated there would be no deposit. I then tried to cancel the booking via the Stayz website. Despite indicating the booking could be cancelled for a full refund for another 2.5 months, the website only allows me to submit a 'cancellation request' to the host. The host has not responded.

I have called Stayz multiple times. They are unable to tell me what happens if the host just doesn't respond or refuses the cancellation. They refuse to process the cancellation themselves or issue a refund. They have not been able to explain why I was charged or whether I'll get that money back. Every time I call Stayz, they just say they will send an email to the host and tell me to wait another 24 hours.

I have asked Stayz why their website indicates a booking is cancellable and refundable, when in fact the cancellation and refund is subject to the approval of the host. They have no explanation for this. They have said if the host doesn't accept the cancellation then their property could be de-listed. So this means people are basically incentivised to list fake properties, take payments and then just refuse a cancellation and keep the money. I can only assume this is set up to allow this to happen. Otherwise I cannot imagine why you would require consent of the host to cancel in line with the terms and conditions.

Absolutely wild - avoid at all costs. I have reported this to ACCC

False and misleading advertising! Accommodation advertised as being 4.6 km from our desired location. No mention that this distance was as ‘the crow flies!’ In actual fact the distance is 30.8km by road!

A dismissive response and it looks like no chance of a refund of our money. Extremely disappointing! Will never book with Stayz again.

Just had the worst time ever at a filthy and dangerous hotel in Brighton (Number 19). I booked through Booking.com but Stayz people were the organisers.

I booked a villa in Sardinia in February for 6 people in late May. Booking was accepted. But after lack of response from host I contacted Stayz. On day of checkin we learnt the booking did not exist. Stayz took no responsibility and just directed me to villa host. So on day of checkin we discovered that even though Stayz platform said we had a confirmed booking - no booking existed. It was a backend problem.
Luckily an AirBnB host took us at 4 hours notice.
Then I was asked to complete a review by Stayz - for a booking that never existed!
After giving a bad review - Stayz sent an email refusing to accept my review because it was ‘misleading or ‘inaccurate’. Bottom line - your confirmed Stayz booking may not exist, when you have a problem they will not accept responsibility and pass you to host and they won’t accept a bad review- even when it is honest and accurate.

Had the worst booking experience with Stayz. The host kept $1500 from our booking. The booking was made 2 days prior to cancelling because we realised that the accommodation would not suit.
The host still had over 2 weeks to relist and get another booking. There was no goodwill extended and the host treated us very poorly. The stayz team did try to get more money refunded but were unable to do so. Do not use this booking system, they are very unfair.

Do not Book through stayz!!
We had a horrible experience, booked two months in advance after speaking with the host and had everything organised. The money came out of our account in full $2,264 the day before check in. The day of check in the host ghosted us basically and we never received an address or any check in instructions. Therefore had to pay more money to stay in another house. I have been in contact with the stayz/vrbo support team for 3 weeks with little to no help with the situation, I’ve been told multiple
Different things - some telling I will receive a refund, some telling me I won’t. I still have no received any refund at this stage.
This has honestly been the worst platform to book on and the worst customer support. Do not recommend.

Absolute nightmare..
My booking for Pelican Water getaways- property id 20252656- at Sunshine coast turned into a big disappointment.
Booked through Stayz /Vrbo platform and had to cancel it . I did the cancellation on time , eligible for 100% refund. No response from host Joelene Sanelliii, neither to my emails/messages or calls. Stayz team also tried to contact the host with no luck. I just wonder whether its a fake property ID or not.
Contacted Stayz customer service, advised to contact my credit card provider to get the reimbursement, Stayz care will only cover if the financial institution which I used for payment failed to reimburse. I had made many calls to the customer support at stayz , sometimes lasting for an hour ,some of the support officers were helpful, and one particular person didn't have a clue what he is dealing with. even though all the details were in front of him. Hoping to get my money back and update with the results.( Either a response from host or a reimbursement from credit card provider or STAYZ care.

Cleanliness,central location,friendly staff.

We booked accomodation at the Tamar Boat House in Deviot, Tasmania. Stayz took a credit card payment and there was some form of response from the host, however I was becoming concerned that the host or Stayz had not contacted me. On the day that we had booked our accomodation for two nights we found out that our booking via Stayz had expired because the host did not respond within a specified time; I didn't even know that was a thing. After messages via Stayz, the host did not respond at all. We lost our booking. My wife and I had organised the booking two months previously. I would never use Stayz ever again, but the remarkable thing is, they advertise on TV/Social media like they're desperate... now we know why. Their platform is not driven by the owners/host which means that Stayz wants full control of bookings. I couldn't get in touch with the host via any form. This has left a very sour taste in our mouths and we are extremely dissapointed. We live in Tasmania and we have never had any issues with booking (usually via Booking.com) but from now on Stayz is on our banned list. Catastrophic!

Host double booked and cancelled my booking. Still waiting for my $1200 refund that he says he doesn't have it. The money can out of my account straight away. Then he cancelled. Won't answer any more messages or phone calls. Been waiting 4 weeks for my money. Never book with stayz again.

Scammed out of my booking. $600 gone and an indian call center on the other end for support asking for details they shouldn't be asking for......stay far away or be ready with legal action.

Been waiting 15 days for a refund for a fully refundable cancellation and now have to wait another 7 business days. Worst service ever from Stayz and VRBO .NEVER AGAIN

After a horrible experience in my booked accommodation, where I wasn’t even able to access the room and forced to sleep in my car in the carpark, I tried to review and lodge a complaint to Stayz about the accommodation provider.

I was handballed to various people over the space of 2 hours and got nowhere. The staff on the other end of the phone, whilst friendly enough, ended my call and I have no outcome. I called back and was again placed on hold but again had my call ended. It shouldn’t be this hard to lodge an offical complaint about a host on their platform, nor should it be unreasonable to expect some kind of response or outcome from them.

I booked a place and cancelled within 24 hours and was entitled to a full refund. Its been 6 weeks and 2 phone calls and one email and nothing. I would never use them again.

I have (unfortunately) made a holiday booking through Stayz.com(Expedia) and have received the worst customer service EVER.
You cannot reach an actual human , only their VRBO Auto-chat system which is worse than the booking site itself.
The Bank flagged it and....they were right. I should have cancelled and gone elsewhere!
Buyers Beware of this site!

They double booked our property twice and then delisted our property after we cancelled their bookings. We were getting limited requests through them anyway and the local agent Fleurieu Accommodation do a far better job and generate more enquiries 5:1. Steer clear of VRBO, they are disingenuous.

DRIP PRICING SCAM - NEVER AGAIN. Booked an apartment via Stayz. Was contacted a day after booking confirmation by Host Vivian SU requesting a further $179 cleaning fee and $500 deposit to be transferred directly to their bank account (had already paid $500 deposit). I refused to pay both charges as all fee’s are required to be shown at time of booking. I requested the host to cancel the accomodation due to their failure to indicate all fees at time of booking - drip pricing which is illegal. Host cancelled, however because it was within 36HRS of booking, Stayz policy states 0% refund. I had discussed with the host that I would be getting 100% refund due to their deceit in the booking process. Contacting STAYZ / VRBO to assist with the cancellation / refund was a complete waste of time. They did not provide any assistance or support, and basically stated that I had to work it out with the host myself. Even thought the entire booking was processed through the Stayz website - zero accountability / help was provided from the STAYZ / VRBO platform.
It took almost 2 months of communication with the host, threatening legal pursuit, ACCC inolvment etc to get my full refund. I will never use Stayz / VRBO again, nor would I recommend anyone to use their platform after they wiped their hands completely of this drip pricing scam.

Do not use stays unless you want to be stiffed around.
If I could give -10000000000 stars I would.
I booked in Esperance, dates accepted money taken.
Host calls and tells me that the property has been double booked and I need to cancel, still fighting for half of payment. Been 4 months.
Absolutely disgusting customer service, everyone says they will look into it and get back to you, no one ever does. Have gone to ACCC.
As far as m concerned they should be shut down, and there should be laws against bad customer service.
Will never use them again. Have deleted the App.

I booked a holiday property in Mount Martha through Stayz and the booking was accepted and confirmed via the platform.
After the booking was confirmed, the host contacted me to say the calendar should not have accepted those dates and asked that the booking be cancelled, this was 2.5 weeks after the payment was made.

I have also previously experienced similar situations where a property showed as available for specific dates, the system accepted the booking, and I was later contacted to say those dates should not have been available. In those cases, the same dates then reappeared at a higher price.

In this instance, after being asked to cancel, I found The Hideaway dates listed on another accommodation platform at approximately double the price.
This experience makes it difficult to plan ahead with confidence. Clearer communication around genuine availability and final pricing would greatly improve trust in the booking process.

I have booked with Stayz many times, however I am extremely unhappy with how some businesses handle availability and pricing. Rather than being transparent with a final price upfront, the process can feel misleading when bookings are accepted and then reversed, only for the same dates to reappear at a higher rate. Clear, upfront pricing would avoid this frustration and build much more trust with guests.

Booked accommodation via Stayz /VRBO website in November to check in in March. Was charged 100%. In December decided to cancel. No such option was on app for my chosen property. Two lengthy calls to customer service. Finally cancelled after a week or so. Refund took 3 weeks minus 5%. Never again.