• Home Escape

Overview

Home Escape has a rating of 4.19 stars from 21 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Home Escape ranks 23rd among Vacation sites.

  • Service
    2
  • Value
    2
  • Shipping
    1
  • Returns
    1
  • Quality
    1
How would you rate Home Escape?
Top Positive Review

“Greatness”

Precious t.
2/11/23

It is indeed a good one Its difficulty makes you realise how great you are The more you beat the hard level the higher you realise how focused you can be

Top Critical Review

“Beware of Scams!”

Christy H.
2/8/22

I don't believe these properties are truly vetted. Beware of scams on here. We were scammed by "Kevin" who listed a property in Maui - Luana Garden Villa. We lost $15,000! The real vacation property is listed on VRBO. I found it too late. He took pictures of the actual pictures and posted in significantly cheaper. I have tried to contact anyone at Homeescapes and I am blocked. I can no longer log into my dashboard and no one has contacted me from Homeescapes after multiple attempts. I believe there are other fake listings on here as well. Use carefully.

Reviews (21)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Thumbnail of user christyh240
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 8th, 2022

I don't believe these properties are truly vetted. Beware of scams on here. We were scammed by "Kevin" who listed a property in Maui - Luana Garden Villa. We lost $15,000! The real vacation property is listed on VRBO. I found it too late. He took pictures of the actual pictures and posted in significantly cheaper. I have tried to contact anyone at Homeescapes and I am blocked. I can no longer log into my dashboard and no one has contacted me from Homeescapes after multiple attempts. I believe there are other fake listings on here as well. Use carefully.

Thumbnail of user lauried202
1 review
3 helpful votes
March 16th, 2021

The owner of the property sold his property and canceled our trip 6 months ago. Home Escape has not returned our deposit. Should I hire an attorney to get it back? We get no help from the company.

Thumbnail of user chrisb1132
1 review
5 helpful votes
July 23rd, 2019

We have a listing on HomeEscape for two years now and on the other popular platforms (The ones that form a monopoly/duoploy). We receive a small number of bookings on HomeEscape annually (like 1-2) and have been paid promptly by their site's payment platform. I have no complaints and my bookings are in addition to what I received on the other sites, so it is paying for itself. We have to support sites like HomeEscape to help break up the Monopoly or at least try to keep it more honest. Book fee and hassle free. Thanks Home Escape

Thumbnail of user kandid3
1 review
7 helpful votes
August 25th, 2020

I cancelled a trip due to a death in my family. Owner was great and issued a refund immediately through Home Escape. Problem is Home Escape has not sent me my money back yet. It has been over a month and 2 support tickets and back and forth emails and STILL DO NOT HAVE MY ALMOST $1000. 00 back! I WANT MY MONEY!

Thumbnail of user djs22
1 review
19 helpful votes
April 9th, 2017

You have any trouble with the owner of this site or ask question your account will be immediately deactivated with no questions asked. I was one of the first too register on this cite in my city. That means your potential guest will be lost in the madness. I would certainly think twice before leaving other popular sites to go to this one. Just use as an adjunctive do not put your business in on crazy man hands. And for guest beware!

Thumbnail of user davidj258
1 review
19 helpful votes
March 8th, 2017

Called today for some assistance in my 5 houses posted. The response was. " We will just deactivate your listing!" I was shocked at the response since I take several thousand dollars a week in on vacation rental. I will stick with VRBO. Although the expenses are more they certainly have been around to help me and my guest in difficult times. Good luck on your growth Home Escape. Guess that is why few of your properties have any reviews.

Thumbnail of user bobq4
4 reviews
56 helpful votes
March 28th, 2016

Homeescapes timing on entering the vacation rental market is impeccable. For many of us owners, communication with our guests is paramount to the success of our businesses. After many successful years of diligently paying to advertise on other sites like VRBO, HomeAway and FlipKey as well as considering AirBnb. HomeEscapes offering is a welcome surprise-no fees for anyone and completely unencumbered communication. Let's hope they reshape the VRBO marketplace.

Thumbnail of user gisellel4
6 reviews
29 helpful votes
March 14th, 2016

I listed my two properties in Florida on this site and I am very pleased so far. I was looking for alternatives to Homeaway. The site is easy to use and lets me have direct contact with guests and collect payments on my own. I signed up a couple of months ago and have received several inquiries and two bookings. A lot of people seem to be migrating over because of new fees on VRBO as well. I am really glad I found an alternative and really hope they keep growing so that I don't have to depend on Homeaway anymore.

Thumbnail of user hillarym14
1 review
15 helpful votes
November 15th, 2017

I was recently scammed by an individual posing as a home owner on a vacation rental website called Home Escape. Home Escape claims to perform a rigorous review of home owners listing properties, but did no such thing for this property. The individual was able to send confirmation emails from the Home Escape email address. Clearly their website is deficient in security. When I informed Home Escape of the scam, they simply removed the impostor from their website and did absolutely nothing more. Do not use this company if you are interested in a vacation rental.

Thumbnail of user katej37
3 reviews
5 helpful votes
August 19th, 2017

I know it is not my computer because I have attempted to access this site from home and from other locations using my phone. I was able to register as a new property, they sent me an email which led me to the page to list my property. I got started but was unable to load my photos because they were "too high resolution" and the file size was too big. Why would I want to upload lo- resolution photos of a luxury property?
So I attempted to upload low-resolution photos and it said those photos would not work either. Then the site quit loading and it hasn't loaded for me since.

I had high hopes and wanted to on board while they offered the $199.00 special, but now I am very leery. One online article said it was started by a former HomeAway employee. While I will leave HomeAway at the end of my contract and not renew I was hoping for a similar platform that I could pay to list my property on.

I am now very suspicious of this person and his website. Doesn't look like he can deliver what he is promising. Not really crazy about having to buy "points' and then bid to have my property at the top of the listings each month. Why not just put everyone on an auto rotate system? The chamber of commerce's website in our town does that.
One search you are number one, the next search you might be number 5 but everyone gets a chance at first spot.

This is what leads me to believe he is not about creating this awesome platform where he connects homeowners to travelers. He is interested in making money by making property owners bid against each other time and time again to get into the top spots.

I want all vacation rentals to succeed, it is an awesome market. My friend VRBO's across the street from me, why would I want to get into a bidding war with a friend.

I will stick with Trip Advisor. Everyone knows up front that they pay a booking fee for using Trip Advisor, Trip Advisor pays me 24 hours after my guest arrives. I have earned an award of excellence and my position has moved up in Trip Advisor search. HomeEscape contract says 5-7 days after your guest arrives your will receive payment. No thanks! My contract says you pay me 60 days in advance.

So while I had high hopes there would be an avenue to list once I left HomeAway - HomeEscape is not going to be that platform.

Thumbnail of user tomw156
1 review
23 helpful votes
July 20th, 2017

This is a good company. It was easy to use and any questions were answered right away with nice, helpful people. The new yearly fee is small compared to other companies. Everyone knew they would have to charge something in order to get the marketing they must have. We had to leave an other company because they have decided to charge all our guest extra fees and we had no contact with the renters before they rented. Homeaway/VRBO's "greed" is showing". THIS IS THE NEW "WAY TO GO" in vacation rentals.

Thumbnail of user susans381
1 review
18 helpful votes
September 4th, 2017

I had been happy listing my home with VRBO over the last 3 years, but didn't renew under their new pricing structure. They are adding to the cost of renting my home by adding a processing fee to renters, somewhere between 5 & 12%, or less or more. Also, I want the option to vet my renters prior to renting to anyone. I will no longer be able to do this through those sites. Lastly, my payments would be accepted by VRBO ONLY. I prefer to be paid directly. Thank goodness for competition! Homeescape maintains the original VRBO format prior to them being purchased by Expedia, allowing free postings, or greater service for a much smaller fee. Homeescape's format allows the homeowner to remain in control of their property while still being able to post on a vacation rental site.

Thumbnail of user robr80
1 review
14 helpful votes
April 2nd, 2018

I'm very glad to have found this site. After being a HomeAway/VRBO User for years, they have gotten so greedy that the vacation rental experience is no longer positive with them. I will gladly pay a subscription fee to HomeEscape to list my property. They have to be able to operate and they're doing you the service of listing your property. I'm happy to pay this fee because they still allow you to manage your own property. It's important to be able to communicate and vet your potential renters, which the HomeAway/VRBO network no longer allows you to do. If you try to community outside of their platform, they will shut down your listing. On HomeEscape you have the option to community, decide to rent, discuss rental terms, and take payment outside of the platform. As long as HomeEscape stays this way, I will continue to pay the Subscription Fee and use this site.

Thumbnail of user donaldt33
4 reviews
27 helpful votes
May 9th, 2016

I just signed up with homeescape.com. While small it may become bigger than VRBO. No fees to traveler. I hope they grow and start taking credit cards and offer damage protection. I leave a note in my units telling them they will save travelers fee using this site.

Thumbnail of user ambery3
2 reviews
38 helpful votes
February 22nd, 2017

I wrote a review for HE several months ago (a positive review), but now after having been with them for 7 months and completing over 10 successful transactions through them, I wanted to again rate them as excellent! They are a travelers and owners BEST alternative to VRBO/Homeaway and I hope slowly but surely travelers & vacation owners learn of them and start using them... why wouldn't they? It's COMPLETELY FREE... owners don't pay to list. Travelers don't pay the bogus "traveler service fee". Which is really a booking fee - there's no extra service given. It Exgredia at it's finest... earning more $$ for less service since taking over VRBO/Homeaway last year. Another plus. They don't hide owner or traveler phone or email information like Homeaway/VRBO do. Allows owners/travelers to freely communicate. VRBO/Homeaway aren't going to be there when the A/C goes out or you as a traveler get locked out... the OWNER is. So why pay them extra for nothing? Book through HOMEESCAPE, you won't be sorry!

Thumbnail of user enag3
1 review
21 helpful votes
October 20th, 2017

We have had ten wonderful summer vacations with our family in NOTL. All our bookings have been with Angelo and Kerri and we can't say enough about their attentiveness. For the past nine summer vacations we have stayed at the Avalon. This house is a gem. It is a beautiful period home that has been updated to meet everyone's needs. Think about it, and it's there. The location is perfect. We walk everywhere... for groceries, to the main street, the park, etc. Of course, you don't even have to leave since there is such a lovely pool in the backyard. We can't say enough about the beautiful homes that Angelo and Kerri share with their guests.

Thumbnail of user sandrah1298
1 review
2 helpful votes
April 11th, 2021

It is like pulling teeth to get paid thru this company. They started out good but last year 2020 and so far this year, it has been awful getting paid. I call repeatedly to their support person and every time I am told it is being "escalated". Then eventually they usually do pay but this year, I am still wondering since I have had 2 guests already check in and depart and no $. This could be a great company - too bad they are pulling these stunts. I think this will be my last subscription.

Tip for consumers:
use another payment source - HomeEscape is very very slow to pay owners.

Products used:
vacation rental booking

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user sandyt20
1 review
13 helpful votes
February 25th, 2016

I would love to leave VRBO. But they have 7,600 units in Myrtle beach. HomeEscape has five. I can not live on this for advertising.

Thumbnail of user skipperc
1 review
24 helpful votes
March 22nd, 2016

I am a renter and frequent user of VRBO and other sites. I came across Homeescape when looking for alternatives to the new fees VRBO and others are charging the renter. I have not found any listings in the areas I am looking for currently, but have been back to homeescape site several times hoping for more listings. I am leaving sites that charge me as the consumer and so is everyone ( a lot of people) I have spoken to about this. I want to encourage homeowners to list on here, it doesn't matter how many listings VRBO or other sites have because I won't even go there to look. We are here, waiting for your listings to show up on homeescape.

Thumbnail of user jackieh57
1 review
6 helpful votes
March 24th, 2017

If you are a traveler looking for a vacation site with get deals and no service fee this is a great site to book your trip and save.

Thumbnail of user precioust17
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 11th, 2023

It is indeed a good one
Its difficulty makes you realise how great you are
The more you beat the hard level the higher you realise how focused you can be

Tip for consumers:
never forget your email password

Products used:
Other

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality

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From the business

Our advanced interface makes searching for vacation rentals easy and fun. Find vacation rentals in over 50 countries and contact owners directly. No booking fees. No restricted communication. For more information about HomeEscape please visit www.Home...

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user jessicad78
Jessica D.

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