Meredith Lodging Avis 

We just returned from our stay at Dock of the Bay 308, and I'm sorry to say we will probably never stay in another Meredith Lodging property again. Our struggles started with the customer portal not submitting our payments. We finally figured that out after 3 calls to customer service and confirmed out trip.
When we arrived we discovered the dishwasher, garbage disposal, and kitchen sink were all out of order. I can understand the disposal and dishwasher not being repaired in time if the issue was recent, but the kitchen sink?? That should be considered essential. How on Earth are 5 people supposed to cook and clean without a kitchen sink? It was awful.
Also, there were posts everywhere about starting a load of laundry before we departed, but our place didn't have a washing machine!!
I did give two stars because the location was amazing and did have a wonderful view.

I recently stayed at a beach house (390 High) booker through Meredith Lodging and it was literally disgusting. Bedding had stains that had hardened, furniture was ripped up and riddled with stains, kitchen supplies we filthy. After the trip I complained (2weeks ago) and provided multiple photos as evidence and I got NO RESPONSE from their service team even after prompting them in follow up. Clearly they do not oversee quality of basic housekeeping or sanitation of their property.

This company lacks any sort of "hospitality" they are taking full advantage of the pandemic trying to take $$ from people where-ever they can. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS UNETHICAL COMPANY.

My friends and I had a reservation for a friends wedding in the area, Covid closures hit, and the wedding was cancelled. numerous friends called/ emailed to cancel or at least reschedule our reservation, however this company was completely unresponsive. they strategically called us back 51 days out from the reservation to tell us cancelling now doesn't fall within their 60 day notice policy.... after we had been blowing them up for weeks. They refused to reimburse, they refused to reschedule our reservation. Instead they cancelled our reservation 51 days out and stole our money in a time of hardship. after being refunded from the CC company, they escalated to take our money again.

I studied hospitality business management at University, and worked in hotels constantly interfacing with industry professionals nationwide... I have never experienced such an unethical/ unpleasant experience as I had with Meredith Lodging.

The customer service is awful. They do not respond to emails or answer the phone. The houses are not properly stocked with hand towels, towels, soap, or dish pods. The house was not properly cleaned; we found an ear plug under the bed and the dishes were dirty. I have reached out to the company multiple times with no response. We accidentally, unfortunately, left some expensive items and have been trying to have them mailed but no one responds. Then I was charged $240 for 2 blankets that had dirt on them. There are no outdoor rugs and the ground walking to the hammock is covered in thick slivers. The hot tub water was dirty. Bikes were provided without helmets. Still waiting to hear back. Do not go through this company

In response to their reply: This company sure is more professional and respectful when the review was left on a public site- the email responses from this company (that took an extremely long time) were extremely rude, inconsiderate, and careless.

Also, the blankets that were charged for I offered to pay for, but they were not worth $240 For 2 blankets that were already old and dirty. I tried to come to an agreement for a reasonable price for the blankets but the company stopped responding and when they did, it wasn’t helpful. I have disputed the charges and waiting to hear back from my credit card company.

Again, DO NOT GO THROUGH THIS COMPANY. I wish I wouldn’t done my research before booking, they have awful reviews from numerous people.

Worst experience ever! We paid almost $700 For a beach house with a hot tub and bbq specifically because that’s what we were looking to do for a rainy weekend beach trip. No propane, hot tub didn’t work, the breaker box in the house kept turning off the electricity in the entire house all weekend long. Ok sure we’re upset but it what it is! I called Meredith Lodging to advise them and see how it was going to be resolved and they tell me to speak with guest relations Monday Since June 9th I have called 10 times and waited 15-20 minutes each time only to be told to wait longer or hung up on or sent to voicemail. I finally spoke with women named Jade that I was mostly on hold for almost an hour, who promised a call back even if her “boss” Aaron wasn’t able to! 2 days later and I’m still waiting for someone. It’s been like 22 days since our stay and they can’t contact me about their screw up! Never Again

Seriously every review about this company is spot on! I booked the wrong home and contacted them right away and was told I would get a FULL REFUND I even recorded the conversation to them telling me I will get a full refund, I check my email and they tell me I have until June 30th to use my CREDIT they gave me? WHAT!!!?!? I’ve been calling them all day of course no answer what a terrible company I will never book with them again they take advantage of everything then don’t answer your calls!

**EDIT** 9/9/2020

Thank you Meredith for taking care of this situation and doing what is right. The representative who contacted me was extremely nice and considerate. She made the necessary changes and was able to do a price match for the same date in 2021.

Thank you again Meredith Lodging!
(Linda Falk & Michelle Powell)

I made a request on May 5th via Meredith website to cancel due to COVID. I did not hear back for a few weeks and I understood as businesses were closed etc.. After a few weeks of no contact, I did contact Meredith on their 1-800 number (left three voicemails) and reached out via email/ website comments a few times and did not hear back until second week of June, which was now less than 30 days from our check in.

(Linda Falk & Michelle Powell)

I am currently renting from Meredith Lodgng. The house is nice,but there is no 24/7 service, and no number to call where you can talk with someone if you have an issue. I arrived an planned to work while here but the internet password was unavailable. After spending hours on the phone Saturday, Sunday, and today I still do not have internet service. Since phone service is limited I cannot use my hotspot for work. The solutlion by Meredith when I did reach a human was to hop onto the service of the house next door. It works intermittently since signal is weak. As nice as the house is, I will never rent from Meredith again. I cannot even reach a human to tell them the refrigerator ice machine does not work, and the toilet runs in downstairs bathroom.

I have never experienced such bad customer service as at Meredith Lodging. I called 3 of their numbers trying to get a hold of a live person online. No one answers the phones and you are put on hold forever. I wrote several emails and the lady who called me back could barely articulate a sentence. Seemed like a 3rd grader. All I want to do is pay my balance but they are making it very difficult. We will not rent from them again. These are very questionable people with the worst customer service.

FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD!!! Shady business do not rent from them!!! We booked a house via VRBO, Meredith Lodging canceled due to COVID-19 and will not refund the money. We cannot get a manager on the phone, instead they have someone email us to pay an additional $2000 for a future stay.

We found another house of VRBO and thought we could use our credit to that house, wrong, only Meredith Lodging.

It is their policy: No refunds or compensation will be given if the Property is unavailable (or if it is available but difficult to reach) for any reason outside of our control, including but not limited to adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, mechanical failures, acts of government agencies, or utility outages. We advise our guests to obtain appropriate travel insurance. In addition, for any unforeseen circumstance Company reserves the right to relocate guests to another similar property, cancel the stay, or issue a credit for a future stay.

Pretty much we can cancel for any reason, move your date for any reason, and we do not owe you a refund. This is not readily apparent on the VRBO website.

Guys use AirBnB, as a consumer at least you are better protected!!!

Never again! Seriously, google “Meredith Lodging reviews” and look at their complaints on Better Business Bureau and you will see I am not the only one. This business is taking advantage of the pandemic and keeping as much money from reservations as they possibly can by hiding behind vague contract references. Do not be fooled by their responses to reviews and their messaging on their website about how “we are all in this together.” When it comes to non-public, direct communication, they will not give a straight answer and they will stonewall you with a “sucks to be you” attitude. We reached out to them 60 days ahead of our check-in date because, as essential workers, we already know from our employers we will no longer be available for travel in July. Our group includes a nurse and other emergency response workers. We are working around the clock and doing our part. We tried to do the right thing and be proactive. They could easily issue us a refund, we could part ways, and they could re-list our dates. Instead, they are refusing us a refund and have stopped communicating. I promise you, we have been nothing but polite and reasonable. Booking through AirBnB did not protect us from them.

If we we get a refund (NOT a travel “credit” or future stay voucher that we cannot use), then I will update this review.

Update 5/20: Following our social media outreach attempts, Meredith Lodging did promptly have the right person who could help us reach out and they resolved our issue with a full refund, as requested. For this we are very grateful. We understand they were low staffed and also acknowledge we were in need of an exception that their primary phone and email staff may not have had the authority to provide. We recommend continuing to advocate for what you need. If a travel credit works for you, it seems those are readily available. Once we were in touch with their leadership, their communication was polite, professional and they made solid efforts to repair our previous loss of confidence in their processes. Their PR rep staffing their social media accounts was also responsive and reassuring.

Since posting the below review, i have found resolution to my issue. The COO of the company contacted me and provided me with a respectful and timely correction in the result of a full refund. I was very appreciative to finally have a positive interaction with Meradith Lodging staff. He assured me that my experience would be taken as an opportuntiy to train his staff. I am disappointed it took speaking with the COO of the company to get this resolved, but i appreciate his efforts and the positive and respectful interaction he gave me. Hopefully his communication skills and leadership will be passed down to his team. This issue has been resolved and ended with a slight hopefulness in this company moving forward. The leadership this company has, gives me hope!

THE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER BEEN IN CONTACT WITH! BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE!!!! The "policies" that this company holds state they can CANCEL ENTIRELY, CHANGE DATES, or MOVE HOMES AT ANY TIME, for ANY REASON without ever issuing a refund. They state that despite their ability to cancel due to Covid-19, they would only issue a "future stay credit" despite the fact that there is no other weekend in the next year that we can make the 8 hour drive on a holiday weekend ( memorial day) and the other dates they offered only included week days, or winter month stays and no other holiday options. Additionally they stated that any other weekend that we could make work would be charged additional fees and costs on TOP of what we have already paid!!!! We pleaded with them that if we could make another time work, we would have but it is not possible with my husbands job and we kindly asked for a refund. They refused. They stated no matter what they would not issue a refund and could not guarantee that if we did book a different weekend that they would not continuously cancel or move our reservation AND HAVE NO OBLIGATION IF THEY DID KEEP CANCELING TO EVER GIVE US OUR MONEY BACK. THEY ARE STEALING PEOPLES MONEY WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE. We booked through VRBO, and did not agree to these outrageous and unethical policies of Meredith Lodging, nor would we EVER agree to those terms. We are currently working with VRBO to get a refund and will continue to take legal action if Meredith Lodging continues to rob us of our money. NEVER BOOK WITH MEREDITH LODGING AS THEY WILL FIND A REASON TO CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR RESERVATION AND NEVER GIVE YOU MONEY BACK. SO ILLEGAL AND SO UNETHICAL!!!!!!!

Our experience is the same as many that have complained! Our contract states thirty days to cancel the reservation but Stephanie from ,Meredith Lodging said we needed sixty days! The lock down had not happened yet. The only reason we canceled was because of the pandemic. Not sure why our reservation was not under the policy of the Covid -19. Shame on VBRO for renting houses through this company! And shame on Meredith Lodging for stealing our money!
Meredith Lodging rents properties at the coast .. beware renters!

Unethical , don’t return calls , all other rental companies have followed suit to not charge the booking fee if you need to cancel due to Covid. We had rented several houses for our sons wedding all through different sites. This is the only one that didn’t work with us to rebook fir a different date and charged us a lot ! Would not use them again !

Horrible Cancelled because of pandemic..still charged booking fee and cancellation fee....shame on them for collecting fees...i wont be back...

I rent many air b and b’s. Worst customer service ever. Worst communication ever. Basically unethical company that won’t compensate in any way when the state evacuates rentals. They ‘say’ they will give credit for days mandated to vacate, but again no communication to that effect. Calling gets answering machine. You risk throwing money away for nothing by reserving with them.

Another canceled reservation due to COVID-19 yet this company wants to keep my money. While I understand the mandate is out of their control, they should not keep money for a service they are not able to provide.

Rebooking at higher rates or taking a Future Stay Credit that expires December 31, 2020 are the only options they provide.

DO NOT GIVE THIS COMPANY YOUR MONEY. Since they are listed on the Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce Website, contact them and let them know of Meredith's practices as well as your credit card company.

Meredith Lodging has made my family’s life a living hell. Long story short they cancelled our reservation in May within 10 days of our arrival because of the Coronavirus (understandable) and now has given us 2 options. Option 1, fork up another whopping $2,000 to stay in the same beach house in the summer because of different rates. Or Option 2, don’t pay an extra $2,000 for the house and lose out on the $2,000 we already paid for, because no refunds within 30 days of arrival. We didn’t cancel, they did. Doesn’t seem legal.

Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. I booked thru Vrbo and received a receipt from Meredith Lodging saying I could cancel within a certain period. I cancelled well ahead of the stated time period and they told me the cancellation policy was not valid because it was through vrbo but the receipt I received was very clear and they refused to honor it. They do not stand by their printed word.

I had booked a house in Manzanita for a week’s stay over the Easter break. I had paid in full and was coming from Canada. Then Covid-19 hit. My employer told me not to travel. My provincial government told me not to travel. My Federal government told me not to travel. Then, both the Canadian and the U.S, governments closed the border to non-essential travel. No surprise... my holiday is not considered essential. Then, Manzanita closed. Meredith Lodging gave me a credit. The dates within which I could use the credit varied depending on the person I was I contact with. The only time I can use the credit is next April (Easter). I looked into that and the price had more than doubled. I contacted Meredith Lodging and asked if the price match dates would cover a booking at that time of year. Still to receive a clear answer. Just get a repeat of a few price match dates and a reminder that I can’t possibly get a refund...see policies. These policies were written before this pandemic.
I did not cancel on a whim. I could not get to Oregon if I had sprouted wings and flown over the closed border. This is not how I wished my much anticipated holiday would end. I would like to know what has been done with my money... money spent on a service I did not receive-through no fault of my own. This may not seem like a lot of money to Meredith Lodging but it is to me. I worked hard for it and I saved for a little treat by the beach.
This is a time for flexibility and compassion... not price gouging.

Update- May 23, 2020.
I have now emailed Meredith Lodging three times since their response to this initial review and have not received a reply. My booking of Pelican Peek in Manzanita was originally for 7 nights. The credit Meredith Lodging gave me would not even cover a 2 night stay at the newly increased prices.
I would love to know what Meredith Lodging is doing with my money...

Update May 22, 2020
It took some time and some tenacity but we finally got this sorted out. Once I reached out via social media, someone contacted me and graciously offered a solution. I am grateful a solution was found as I was very disappointed to have missed my much anticipated holiday. My trust in this company has been renewed. Thank you.