HomeAway was an online vacation rental marketplace that connected property owners and managers with travelers looking for short‑term rental homes, apartments, and villas worldwide. The brand has since been folded into Vrbo but still appears on legacy transactions and references.
HomeAway was a major online vacation rental marketplace, founded in Austin, Texas, that allowed travelers to book short‑term stays in homes, condos, cabins, and villas worldwide. Property owners and managers used HomeAway to list their rentals, manage calendars, and accept bookings. The HomeAway brand has since been consolidated into Vrbo, but many older bookings, emails, and bank card descriptors may still reference “HOMEAWAY” or “HOMEAWAY*VRBO” along with the website homeaway.com.
A HomeAway charge usually relates to a vacation rental booking or related fee. This can include the rental cost itself, HomeAway/Vrbo traveler service fees (often calculated as a percentage of the booking subtotal), cleaning fees, taxes, or damage deposits. You might also see a temporary authorization hold for a damage/security deposit or card verification, which appears as a pending charge and then drops off or is reversed after your stay if there are no issues. For property owners or managers, a HomeAway charge could come from an annual listing subscription or pay‑per‑booking commission that was still processed under the HomeAway name during the transition to Vrbo.
To verify or resolve a HomeAway charge, start by searching your email (including old email addresses) for booking confirmations from HomeAway or Vrbo around the date of the charge. Travelers can log into their Vrbo account (using the same email once used for HomeAway) and check “Trips” or “Booking details” for receipts, payment schedules, and refund status. If you still have questions, use the Vrbo Help Center at vrbo.com or the “Contact Us” link in your booking confirmation to reach support via chat or phone; have your reservation number, property ID, dates of stay, and the exact amount/date of the charge ready. For unauthorized or unknown charges that support cannot match to a booking, contact your bank or card issuer to dispute the transaction after you’ve ruled out family members or shared travelers using your card.
Bank Statement Variations
3 known variations
These are the raw merchant codes that appear on bank and credit card statements that we've identified as belonging to HomeAway.
Why do I see a HomeAway or HOMEAWAY*VRBO charge on my card if my trip is with Vrbo?
HomeAway rebranded and was folded into Vrbo, but some payment processors and older merchant IDs still display “HomeAway” or “HOMEAWAY*VRBO” on bank statements. If you booked a vacation rental via Vrbo, the charge may still run under the legacy HomeAway descriptor, even though the reservation is managed through Vrbo. You can confirm this by matching the charge date and amount to your Vrbo trip in your account or in your email confirmation.
What types of HomeAway charges can appear for a vacation rental booking?
Common HomeAway‑labeled charges include the rental amount, traveler service fees, cleaning fees, taxes, and sometimes a refundable damage deposit. Many bookings are split into multiple payments (for example, a deposit at booking and the balance before check‑in), so you may see more than one charge for the same reservation. In some cases you may also see a small temporary authorization or a hold for a security deposit that later reverses or is refunded after your stay.
What are typical HomeAway/Vrbo traveler service fees and why do they vary?
Traveler service fees are usually a percentage of the rental subtotal (before taxes and fees) and can vary based on trip cost, length of stay, and market conditions. On many bookings, this fee is in the single‑digit to low‑teens percentage range and is clearly itemized at checkout before you pay. The service fee helps cover customer support, secure payments, and platform operations, and it is charged by HomeAway/Vrbo—not by the property owner.
I’m a property owner. Why was I charged by HomeAway for a subscription or listing fee?
Before the full transition to Vrbo, property owners could pay HomeAway for annual listing subscriptions or pay‑per‑booking programs. If you maintained a legacy subscription, the renewal could appear as a HomeAway charge even after the Vrbo rebrand, depending on your billing cycle and region. To review or cancel an owner subscription, log into your Vrbo owner account (formerly HomeAway), go to your property dashboard, and check the “Subscription” or “Payments” section, or contact Vrbo owner support through the Help Center.
How do I cancel or change a HomeAway/Vrbo booking so I don’t get charged again?
Most HomeAway‑originated bookings are now managed entirely through Vrbo. To cancel or change your reservation, log into your Vrbo account, select “Trips,” choose the booking, and use the “Change or cancel” option; your eligibility for a refund depends on the property’s cancellation policy (flexible, moderate, firm, etc.) shown in your booking details. If you booked as a guest without an account, use the “Manage booking” link in your confirmation email to access the same options. Always review potential fees or non‑refundable amounts before confirming a change or cancellation.
How can I request a refund for a HomeAway charge or security deposit?
Refunds for rental costs usually follow the property’s cancellation policy, while refundable security deposits are typically released automatically after checkout if there’s no reported damage. Depending on your bank, it can take 5–10 business days for a refunded amount to appear back on your card once processed. To check your refund status, open your Vrbo trip details or your original HomeAway confirmation email, then use the message center or “Contact host” to ask the owner, and reach Vrbo support via the Help Center if you believe a refund is delayed or incorrect.
Why do I see a small or duplicate HomeAway charge, or a pending hold, on my statement?
You may see a small temporary amount (often a few dollars or less) or a pending duplicate charge when your card is verified or when a damage deposit is authorized. These are authorization holds, not final charges, and they should drop off or be adjusted to the correct final amount within a few business days. If a pending hold posts as a completed charge and you did not complete a booking, contact Vrbo support and your card issuer to investigate and reverse any erroneous transaction.
How can I contact support about an unknown or suspicious HomeAway charge?
First, search your email for “HomeAway,” “Vrbo,” and the amount of the charge to see if it matches a past or upcoming trip, and check with family members who might have used your card. If you still don’t recognize it, go to vrbo.com, open the Help Center, and use chat or phone support, providing your full name, card’s last four digits, charge date, amount, and any reference number from your bank. If Vrbo cannot locate a matching reservation or confirms the charge is not from them, contact your bank or card issuer immediately to report it as unauthorized and initiate a dispute.