I do not recommend anybody to risk renting a property via HomeAway.
I booked and paid for an apartment accomodation via HomeAway for one night for my wife and I, coinciding with a concert we were attending in Cardiff. Two weeks before we were due to stay at the apartment the Property Owner sent an email to me informing me that the property was not available as it was having some work done on it.
The Property Owner duly cancelled my booking and informed me that he had not received any payment from HomeAway but would refund me from his own pocket if I could not obtain a refund from HomeAway.
HomeAway confirmed to me that they had not paid the Property Owner because he had cancelled the booking and they also confirmed that HomeAway had the funds but the Property Owner should have requested HomeAway to make a refund. Following countless emails, no response from the Property Owner, and the generic responses from HomeAway quoting their terms and conditions I still do not have a refund and it is two months since my booking was made. It is disgraceful and could be described as a scam or con.