Wimdu Reviews 600

Whilst looking for an apartment in Amsterdam for May 2016, some fabulous photos were received by email following a search on Wimdu. Decided they looked 'too good to be true' and having researched some bad Wimdu reviews decided to leave Wimdu well alone. Good decision, as these same apartment photos have now appeared in New York with a different host name. Other photos are the same, firstly appearing in one country, then being removed and then they appear under a different ID, with a different host name in a different country. Be warned - do not give these people your well earned money, plenty of reputable companies to use instead.

wimdu website claim they have a trustpilot score of 8.9/10 - looking at trustpilot (no link, I had to search again) their overall score is actually 5 - and from reading the most recent reviews i suspect that if trustpilot was more sophisticated and let you see scores from say just the last six months, it would be tons lower.
thanks to all the reviewers on here for being so honest - I've abandoned any thoughts of renting the dream holiday appartment - even if I end up in a travelodge!

If I could leave -15 stars I would!!! I have been frauded out of nearly £1000 and so far WIMDU have been fairly dismissive about it. I booked an apartment for my birthday for the beginning of April 2016 with an apartment company that looked amazing. In one of the display pictures it advised me to contact the host directly because they could not update their calender and wanted to make sure those dates were free - having done that, I received confirmation that me and my party were able to have the apartment. I then received an email which claimed to be from WIMDU paymentatsecuritywimdu.com confirming all details of departure, hosts details, cost etc and also the WIMDU holding account I needed to pay into. It looked fully legitimate! Having paid that about twelve days ago, I haven't heard from that host since and when brought to WIMDUs attention, they instantly told me I'd been subject to internet fraud, never to make payment from outside their secure site and to contact my bank. Having done further research, it's clear that this hasn't just happened to me so I have to wonder why WIMDU are not doing more to protect their clients? When I logged on yesterday, I saw two or three apartments doing the EXACT same things! "Contact the host on our personal email", all apartments looking way too good and cheap to be true! I haven't even received a phone call from them or even apology that this has happened through THEIR website. Or even any request to investigate this as a matter of urgency! It's absolutely disgusting. I would NEVER use this company again and would recommend that if you stumbled across it like I did, do not use them because if anything goes wrong you have zero support. Terrible, terrible company. I now see why there are such disgraceful reviews on here. They should be ashamed.

These guys are making millions on hidden fees. They state a price, per appartment. And than when you book, you will receive as a bonus roughly 15% more to pay. I mean, 15%??!! Plus I have read the homeowners pay up to 25%! So remember, about half of what you are paying is for Wimdu...

Dear All,

My experience with Wimdu worked out in fact as a trap and a nightmare for me. I happened to mistakenly book a flat for about 5 days and everything started when I wanted to cancel it 2 hours after my booking. When I saw the cancellation policy which was within the time frame of 2 days before the checkout time I was determined that I would be successful since I am in the limits of correct time frame and I could be cancelling it. Firstly,I wanted to reach to the customer service who was taking care of reservations but it was not possible as there is a certain Hotline that people accept calls but not a direct line to the reservations department so you need to email them and their response is very slow and they do not return back for a long time. I can understand the reasons behind this as there should be a lot of customers who can complain and the only way to avoid them is to block them!Anyways,they returned with emails apologising that ''I tried to reach you'' but it is not correct either as they did not call at all. Come on we are living in the 21st century,you cannot reach by a phone?So,you are left with the mercy of the people if they return they return if not you are left on the road. Anyways,they returned back after long waitings but said that it is impossible to cancel because I should have cancelled it 12.00 am but I argued that i did the reservation after that and logically this would not have been possible and i did not see anywhere such an hour restriction limit and I proved this with a screenshot finally after 2 days' of prolonged conversations and emails they gracefully said that i can cancel the booking but they would be giving a voucher instead. I am really shocked!2 days I argued with them which made me fell into really bad states of mind and after that they happened to accept their guilt and I am offered with not a refund but a voucher. I argued to this but they told me that I had no choice but to accept.I thought that ok fine since I would be using this voucher in another stay in any other country and after that would never use their service.I accepted it reluctantly. But,this time they gave me a voucher less than the amount of the price of the booking.You agree on something and you prove that they are guilty and at the end what you get is a devalued voucher!I booked it in pounds but I got in euros and the vaue is lower than the amount that I booked and again I need to use this voucher again using their services. This is the value that Wimdu representatives give to you!So beware or if you are pursuing for a cheap stay you are welcome but do not forget that when something goes wrong it will be a nightmare and wont be resolved. You must make a decision your mood or your budget?

I Listed my property with WIMDU and suddenly someone hacked the account and placed the money to go to someone else, I WILL NOT HOST ANYONE FROM WIMDU so they will take the money from the traveller and that will be between that traveller and WIMDU I dont have anything to do with WIMDU anymore but they are using the pictures of my property and else. DONT USE WIMDU! If you want to call to their phone number dont waiste your time NOBODY is HOME!!! WIMDU HAS TO CLOSE FOR GOOD.!!

I recently rented for the first time my designer apartment in Berlin over Wimdu. It was completely devastated and furniture stolen. The documents shown in wimdu were stolen. They first investigated and send someone for an estimate about the damage which is above 60000 and then suddenly decided to let me know that they do not feel they have to pay for any damage. This is the reason they get paid to cover one in case of a disaster. Furthermore was there no customer service to reach neither by mail or phone. I knew the founder and mailed him but they simply do not respond in case of emergency or in any case! Do not rent your place wiht them! I take this case now to the press!

I own a unit in NYC and Wimdu recently provided a guest. I normally do not use Wimdu but decided to give them a try.

Now it is six weeks after the guest moved out and I have still not been paid. The guest paid wimdu $8900 for a two week stay for which I was to receive only $7100. Thats a whooping fee to Wimdu.

However a Chinese hacker broke into their system and had the $7100 paid to them instead of me.

Now in my correspondance with Wimdu they say it is under review in Berlin. This after over twenty e-mails to them with proof I never received the money.

Wimdu does not provide a number for customer service and as such there service is terrible. They do everything on line to save money.

I spoke to the guest who stayed at my unit and he ws surprised and has contacted Wimdu on my behalf. I am still waiting to hear from Wimdu. He was surprised when he learned the fee Wimdu was charging. Its far more than others. He thought it ws part of the rental expense.

I will sue them but prefer not to go through this.

My advice for anyone owning or seeking to find a place stay away from this company. They are horrible to deal with and apparently are facing stiff competition from Airbnb.

Either way these are not the kind of people you want to work with.

I Uploaded my property at the wimdu website. It was up for 3 months with no problems and no reservations even thou it was the best listing available. One day, I received an email from WIMDU customer support saying that my listing was not published because of the picture sizes what?? if it was being published even with advertising and all. Someone in INDIA ( they use indian fellows to work for less) decided to take down my listing for no reason. I have been trying to contact wimdu NO RESPONSE nobody answers the phone no toll free numbers WIMDU IS A MESS!!...

Today November 30th still trying to get my £1722 back from WIMDU paid on October 28th 2016. I paid for an apartment that has been sold and was still advertised for rent and taking bookings, my payment and possibly other unsuspecting people's payments. Today on November 30th the same apartment is still available on WIMDU to take your booking and money. The apartment is 2B modern apartment Cayan Tower, Dubai property ID P7ICPTZ6 - potential bookers you have been warned!!!!!!

This is my first and last experience with WIMDU, I wish I had read some of the alarming reviews before I even considered booking. One month since booking, no money refunded, have now involved my credit card company. Initially no contact from WIMDU despite numerous attempts to get a response, finally got a response November 25th saying the host has offered another similar property although they failed to mention that it would cost me another £800!

I don't normally make a habit of writing reviews, but I'm so incensed with their poor customer service and shoddy business practice, not to mention how long it's going to take to get my payment back that was so easy to part with but so difficult to get back, and I felt duty bound to warn others, especially over the apartment in question.

WIMDU, if you read this and you give a jot who I am, then let me give you my complaint reference number to remind you:1276764.

David H.
UK

Had a very nice apartment in Torrox Costa. The booking was accepted from the owner within less than an hour. Can't say that for the first apartment I tried to book, owner took ages getting back. You live and learn. Will not place all my expectations on the one place next time.

They don't just provide no service (no enquiries in months), but being forced to cancel a booking a long time ago they demanded for a cancellation fee.
They said they were going to withold it from future bookings.
Now, since they're basically just a very poor bad copy of AirBnb (I guess they are also experiencing cash-flow problems...), they sent me an invoice requesting the payment! So, since they're not able to do what they're suppose to do (= allow hosts to receive booking enquiries – the very basic service they shoud provide!) they now try to get some cash out of their main clients: hosts.
Stay away.

Booked flight for short break in Barcelona. All the conventional hotel booking comparison sites showed really cheap deals NONE OF WHICH WAS AVAILABLE. Found WIMDU by accident. Will now go this route every time. Seamless experience and perfect accommodation for our modest needs. Everything from booking to gaining entrance to the duplex worked perfectly. Our "host" also helped by providing local travel information and detailed advice. Great experience.

Fast and efficient site to rent flats, they charge you immediately after the booking but after that they help you with arrangements with the local dealer or landlord.

I found the apartment after a quick search on Wimdu for the dates I needed. Feedback for the apartment was excellent and I went ahead with the booking. The process was very easy to follow and confirmation and contact with the host was straightforward throughout the booking process. This was my first time using Wimdu, it won't be my last. I'd highly recommend them to others!

I've had my listing on Wimdu for several months, and all this time I had my listing as "the whole upstairs as one room" - that is the two upstairs bedrooms and the bathroom - as one whole room. I thought this would go well as many travelers do not like sharing a bathroom or other common area with other strangers. Also the two-room setup would work well with families. I am a single woman living alone and I also do not feel comfortable with two groups of strangers in my home. Wimdu just now tells me - after I've already had a couple guests - that I must create separate listings for each room. What?? I may as well remove my listing as if guests see they have to share a bathroom and the rest of the house with other strangers - they may not like it, and I will probably not get any bookings. I also risk the two groups of travelers not getting along - which can lead to horror stories.

Find an alternative to Wimdu. It is one of the most ridiculous companies I've ever made the mistake of using. I booked an apartment in Munich for 8 people only to have the host say that they 'upgraded' us to another apartment. After days of asking to see the new place, I finally get photos and the 'upgraded' place is terrible and only has one bed. Horrible host! Later when I told her that there is absolutely no chance that we were going to stay there and asked if the original apartment was still available, she said “you will not find anything better” and that we should cancel.
But when I contacted wimdu about the situation and to get my 2100 dollars refunded, there is complete silence. No phone number and no one to talk to. And it's been weeks and I sent multiple emails. In the meantime, we booked a new apartment through airbnb.
All of a sudden, Karla, the host asks if we are ready for our stay. WHAT? She told me to cancel! At the same time, someone from Wimdu finally contacted me and told me that Karla never said the apartment wasn’t available, that she wanted to upgrade us and that the original one was available for us the entire time. It was like they were teaming up against me to make me feel like I lost my mind. I pointed out the multiple parts of our conversation where Karla said that we need to cancel the apartment. They twisted it so that it sounded like I made an ultimatum for an early check-in or would cancel. At this point, I was tired of Wimdu and the host and the back and forth emails and asked multiple times to cancel. It never happened.
When you call Wimdu, you get an answering machine. There is no real person to talk to. There is no customer service. This whole website is a scam. Do not use it. I made the mistake of using it and threw $2100 dollars in the trash with no remorse on Wimdu’s part. There are plenty of apartment rental companies out there that are good and trustworthy companies. Wimdu is NOT one of them.
Moral of the story is to run far away from Wimdu and their hosts and their apartments so you don’t end up losing significant amounts of money.

I had an ad on WImdu since years, with many successful bookings. Recently I had my ad removed without explanation. Also a booking was cancelled, my guest was shocked and I lost lot of money.
The support refused to give any explanation, just that my ad (online since years and with paid features) did not conform to standards.
I created another ad and my account was deleted without notice.
It's unacceptable, Wimdu is dishonest and rude with his most valued owners!
Avois this company at any cost!!

I booked a place using Wimdu. It was a complete dump, we had to wait outside the door to be let in, and there were both yellow and red body fluids on the sheets. No breakfast was offered, and we didn't ask. Instead, we contacted Wimdu as we didn't receive what we paid for an felt unsafe.

Wimdu promised to get back to us the next day with a replacement, so we had to stay in dirty sheets the first night. I called back many times, but they only got back to us with a 25% refund after we left! No apology, despite the pictures I attached. I wrote a review about the host and as a result, got called a liar on my profile. On Airbnb, the reviews are only shared once both parties have written one.

I have had couple apartments to rent over wimdu (homeaway) they have several website online, though they are all same company. I received a booking and informed that the guest paid the total amount. Guest checked in on June 20th for 3 weeks and checked out on 3 weeks later. In my Dashboard, I have a message that I will be receiving my money after 5-7 business days. I wait. I wait. No money. I called them. I got a response that saying the credit card was duplicated so I will not be receiving money. I told them that I'ts not my responsibility. I have done my cutie by providing a very nice accommodation. They told me that they have sent me an email about the the issue on 2nd of July (which means the guest was already staying in my apartment over 10 nights). I looked into my emails. They sent warning email on July 2nd however they have sent to my personal email account and that email went to junk email box. I told them why I did not receive the information from my wimdu dashboard or my reservation email account, which I receive the booking requests... I have been told that booking and accountings are 2 different companies and they won't share all the information (Nonsense). I debated about at least Wimdu is responsible paying 10 night stay, which guest was already in my apartment 10 days when I have received the "warning email"... They have done nothing. I did not paid my money. They say it is in our policy" if the credit card declined that's mean the host have to absorbed the entire lost" . it's not fair, it is not a decent company. Stay away from them. Guest either host are not protected. Selfish, BS company. Never, ever recommend to anybody... I hope they bankrupt very soon. Additionally, guest broke my headboard, stolen one of my linen set...