Just found out that Flip Key have cancelled all bookings after November 1 2024, with refunds to all customers. I had booked accommodation through them as part of a holiday in 2024, with other dependa... See more
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See what reviewers are saying
I've been using FlipKey & VRBO for years now and their service just keeps getting worse the more I use it. I spent over a week trying to book a place, only having the place never respond. It take 24 h... See more
Company replied
OWNERS BEWARE: Apparently this company isn't smart enough to accept an EIN in place of a SSN for owners. They are refusing to release a payment for a booking in early December. VRBO and AirBnB ha... See more
Company replied
Unfortunately I ended up getting sick the day before we were to arrive at Laurel Ridge near Nantahala River in NC to stay in a cabin. I was admitted to the hospital and had explained to TripAdvisor an... See more
Company details
Information provided by various external sources
See over 200,000 verified guest reviews and find great deals for 100,000 vacation home rentals at FlipKey.
Contact info
226 Causeway Street, Second Floor, 02114, Boston, United States
- (877) 354-7539
- www.flipkey.com
1.3
Bad
2K reviews
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
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We rented a place in Crescent City…
We rented a place in Crescent City through Michael Hamilton and flipkey. We were charged $200 too much! When I inquired as to why they said, "we apologize. It was a weekend rate." That should have been made clear before I booked!!! Very poor business and I would NEVER rent from them again!!! They are deceitful and will find a way to charge you more! Stat away from Michael Hamiton's rentals or flipkey!!!
August 27, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Denise,
Thanks for your review, and I'm sorry to hear that there was some confusion with the price on your booking. I'd be glad to provide an explanation.
The price that appears before adding your dates is the standard rate without any adjustments. However, when you enter in your specific dates, the price adjusts if there is a weekend rate or seasonal rate that applies. Nevertheless, the price is made clear at the time of booking, and if you're not in agreement with the rate, you should feel free to look for a rental that better meets your specifications. We recommend using the price filter option to narrow your search and find properties within your budget.
I've sent you an email now with a more detailed explanation of the pricing on your booking. If you have additional questions, you can reply to my email or give us a call at 1-877-354-7539.
Many thanks,
Meridee - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
I just made reservation with…
I just made reservation with TripAdvisor /Flipkey....who knew....
I tried to cancel it 24 hours later just to find out after 41/2 hours that I was late by 20 minutes (1 hour on hold from original phone call) so I can get only 50%of my booking money - 187$ usd for booking fee , realy.
I told thecall center people in India that I was put on hold (3 of them ) but no luck or help.... they said you passed 24 hours so maybe owner will be kind and give you money back but you still have to pay booking fee but there is no guarantee. I’m just blown away from lack of any customer service or attempt to help.
I use TA and Flip key for last 20 years but for sure I won’t ever again.
100% negative experience .
I hope that property is any good.
August 15, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Sasha,
Thank you for your review. We're sorry for the experience you had with cancelling your booking. We let you about the owner's cancellation policy and how it works (i.e. the 24 hour cooling off period) ahead of time and after your booking is confirmed, in case you need to cancel it. Since your rental contract is with the owner, any refund you're requesting for is at the owner's discretion, so we always recommend to travelers to discuss with the owner about a cancellation and refund.
Again, we apologize for any negativity you had with this booking and we appreciate your feedback. We hope you have a great stay.
Many thanks,
Jen - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
I booked a vacation house in June and…
I booked a vacation house in June and have been trying to get ahold of someone to get my damage deposit back and have had no luck. Spoke with owner of property and was told all was good and I should get a full refund but have yet to receive it. Property owner also tried to contact FlipKey but no luck. We even helped clean the house and watered plants and washed all the laundry for the property owner so there is not one single reason for a claim but Flipkey has not sent it back. 7 weeks is certainly not 10 days their website indicates.
Anyone else using them, good luck getting your damage deposit back!
August 3, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Emily,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm sorry to hear you've had trouble getting in contact with us in regard to the status of your damage deposit, I can imagine your frustration due to this. We do have a contact form on our site which provides our 24-hour global Customer Support Team's phone number if you ever need to get in contact with us https://bit.ly/1XpQMeg. I understand the property owner advised you she would call us about the matter but I am unable to see any recent contact from this owner within our system.
I have looked into your booking and can confirm that the damage deposit was not collected upfront but rather we saved your payment details in the event that the owner raised a successful claim. This information was provided to you at the time of submitting your payment details and also within your Manage my booking platform it states "Damage deposit: $300.00. Your payment method won't be charged or authorized (for a hold on funds) unless the owner makes a valid claim within 10 days of your checkout." If you have any further questions about this matter, please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.
Many Thanks,
Sarah - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
They let unreliable owners book on their site
FlipKey allowed an owner to cancel my booking 3 days before my stay! Her excuse was it was double booked. WHAT? I had it booked and paid for over a month and had communicated with her a week ago with no mention of a problem. I was going to a small town for my h.s. reunion with my family and dog. Being this close to the stay, I have no other viable options. The reviews mentioned her doing the same thing to someone else. I should have taken note (my fault) and since this has happened in the past, she should not be allowed to rent thru them. Also, they were supposed to call me when alternatives and it has been 24 hrs and I have not heard from them. I leave in 48 hrs!!!!
July 31, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Amy,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm so sorry to hear your booking was cancelled by the owner so close to your check-in day, I can imagine your frustration. I attempted calling you today to discuss this but unfortunately, I've been unable to reach you. We take cancellations by owners very seriously as we understand the negative experience and inconvenience this causes to our travelers. I can assure you appropriate action is taken against an owner's account when a booking is unable to be honored.
To help secure a new booking, I have sent you alternative properties in the area and have been reaching out to owners to confirm the availability of these properties. As I have not been able to reach you on the phone, I've sent you an email to discuss what I have found so far. Please feel free to reply to my email with any questions you may have and our team will do our best to help you secure a new booking.
Many Thanks,
Sarah - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
Flipkey is a bad company to use
I rented a house through flipkey, after i looked for houses on TripAdvisor rentals, fpr a trip with my family. In the house description it said that it was a home that was totally redone, tastefully decorated, and it had a new heated outdoor pool. The house smelled like mold, the curtains were ripped, the beds and the night tables were broken, the dinner table was a pool table with a piece of wood on top, with dangerous corners sticking out. The pool was green with algae which the pool manager said was because the pool had holes in it. the floor was disgusting, and the vents were full of dirt. I called flipkey and they told me they would give me a call in 2 hours to give me a new place to stay. I waited the 2 hours until midnight and never got a call back from them, i called them back instead and they told me i would have to wait a little bit more and they would call back. I waited until 5 in the morning and i got no call, i had to call back after being up all night, and they told me that they still did not have an answer.i paid 4532.19 for 6 nights,. that is a lot of money for a place of this caliber. I decided to go and look for a place to stay because they didn't give me an answer and i didn't want to stay at the place with my family, especially the kids. i rented hotel suites after that for the same price, walking distance from the beach with the clean pool. the suites had a kitchen, living room, dining room. This was in a good area, the house was in a really bad neighborhood, we felt scared just going out of the house, there were couches and beds on the street in front of the houses in that neighborhood.
July 31, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Dorian,
Thank you for taking the time to write your review.
First of all, our sincere apologies that the rental did not meet your expectations and that you faced these inconveniences upon your arrival. Our aim is to provide the best customer service and we're sorry that you feel this was not the case when you contacted us.
Your case was escalated to our Customer Relations Department for further investigation, a member of the team has contacted you by email today. We certainly appreciate the time that you've taken to discuss your booking experience with us.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you do have any additional questions regarding this matter.
Many thanks,
Adrian - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
NOT User Friendly…
I've never been so frustrated when making a shore rental reservation. The owner extended my balance due date and Flipkey would not recognize this extension, thus cancelling my reservation despite my having paid the deposit. I then had to go back and forth with the owner, which can only be done through Flipkey in order to be able to rebook the week in question. Flipkey opened the reservation, but would not allow the owner to adjust the price, so I have to repay the deposit and balance, and then wait for my refund of the original deposit. I spoke to customer service twice, and where as they we helpful, they had very thick accents and they were difficult to understand. Somehow my name was changed and my middle name replaced my last name, so they would not discuss anything as the name I gave them did not match. NEVER AGAIN!!
July 24, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Hilary,
Thanks for your review, and I'm sorry you've had such a frustrating experience with this booking. That's never something we want for our guests, and I'm sorry that was the case for you.
I see that the owner agreed to extend your balance due date, but she didn't notify us of the change. The due date was never officially changed in our system, and since your balance payment was missed, the booking was cancelled automatically. We're able to change the balance due date with the owner's authorization, but in this case we didn't receive any notification.
I'm glad to see that one of our agents was able to help you to re-confirm your booking and receive a refund for the cancelled booking, though I understand they didn't enter your last name correctly. I've sent you an email offering to assist in updating the information. Feel free to reply to my email or call us at 1-877-354-7539 if you'd like our assistance in updating your information or if you need any help at all. We'd be glad to help.
Many thanks,
Meridee - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
Cheated to orders
We got a house but not what was ordered from Denmark, we were moved to another resort without notice. We booked with a private pool and access to a magnific pool house, we only got a minimal communal pool with a fitness center and no possibility of to stay outside. No tennis or playground for the kids, no barbecue as was the order. Upon inquiry to Flipkey Manager Angela we were given no explanation or compensation
July 23, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Paul,
Thanks for taking the time to write a review. I'm sorry to hear you were moved to another property without notice. I can imagine your frustration and disappointment as you described the alternative property not having nearly the same amenities as the original. I can assure you this is not the typical situation for our travelers. However, when a property that was booked is not available upon check-in, we do have our Payment Protection plan. This guarantees our travelers a full refund if they are prevented or denied access to the property or if the property is significantly not as described. We must be contacted upon the day of check-in about the matter as otherwise the fund automatically release to the owner/property manager.
While the payment is facilitated through our site, the booking contract is directly between the traveler and owner/property manager. I have looked into your booking and see as we were not contacted about this situation, the funds have already been released to the property manager. I understand you reached out to the property manager, Angela, of Tropical Villas Orlando about this but did not receive a response. We understand this was not the experience you were expecting but we would be happy to help and attempt to negotiate with the property manager. If you wish to receive our assistance, please reach out to us directly on our contact form https://bit.ly/1XpQMeg.
Many Thanks,
Sarah - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
The house itself is beautiful
The house itself is beautiful. However it is in a town called Current in North Eleuthera which requires a lot of driving to decent restaurants. The picture on the website is very confusing. To get down the walk into the beautiful Bahama water is perilous with part of the walkway not repaired from a hurricane and a steep climb through volcanic rocks.
July 22, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Woods,
Thanks for your review. I'm glad to hear that your stay at the property was pleasant, though I'm sorry to hear there were some issues with the surrounding areas.
We encourage you to leave your review on the listing page. You can go to our site, find the property you stayed at and select the "write a review" option in order to share your opinion about your experience.
If you need any assistance from us, don't hesitate to reach out to us (https://bit.ly/1XpQMeg).
Many thanks,
Meridee - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
Poor customer service
Owner accepted my booking request on acccident instead of declining. He doesn’t want my group to stay there which is ok, but flipkey will not return my money even after numerous conversations with them where they said they would. Both the owner and I want the transaction cancelled but flipkey is providing no help. They keep saying they will call me back or email me as a follow up, but I have gotten nothing.
July 22, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Patrick, thanks for providing your feedback on your recent booking experience.
I'm sorry to hear that you have experienced issues with the booking process, as it looks that the property that you tried to book was not available, and the owner made a mistake accepting your request. This is certainly not the experience we would like for our travelers, and I can assure you that we hold our owners accountable for making sure their calendars are up to date, and their properties are available to book when they should.
I also understand that this booking is still standing and it hasn't been canceled yet, and you are frustrated as you haven't yet received a call back to sort things out. I'm currently unable to find this booking in our system just going by your name, but we'd really like to sort this out for you as soon as possible so you can get your refund quicker! Could you please give us a call on the +1-877-354-7539, so we can have a look at it? We'll be happy to also help you find an alternative property, so you don't have to go through all the booking process again.
We'll be looking forward to hearing from you, please do not hesitate to call us.
Many thanks,
Michael - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
This is the 2nd time my Family and I…
This is the 2nd time my Family and I use flipkey and we are feel extremely confident that we made another great decision .
July 21, 2018
Unprompted review
Extensive range and competitive prices
I found FlipKey to offer a very extensive and really competitive list of the type of accommodation I was looking for. The site was user friendly and on booking, I was immediately in touch with the owner of the apartment to ensure arrangements were in place.
July 20, 2018
Unprompted review
Find great accommodations at reasonable prices.
I have used FlipKey in my travels in Europe and have found them to be an excellent means of finding great accommodations at reasonable prices. I usually rent stand alone homes/apartments/cottages and have had very good experiences.
July 20, 2018
Unprompted review
We found the place to stay easily
We found the place to stay easily, the process to complete the rental was quite smooth.
July 20, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Cecil, thanks for taking the time to write a review.
We're happy to hear that you've had a good booking experience with us and that you've easily found the perfect place for you. We hope to see you soon again on our platforms!
Many thanks,
Michael - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Barbara, thanks for leaving your feedback!
We are glad to see that you were left happy and satisfied with our service and the booking process. We hope you'll enjoy your holiday very much!
Many thanks,
Michael - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
Fast and easy booking with quick…
Fast and easy booking with quick response time!!
July 20, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Brandy, thanks for taking the time to share your feedback.
We are happy to hear that you are completely satisfied with our booking process! We always strive to offer our travelers the best possible experience, and we are sure yours will be a trip to remember for years. We hope to see you soon again on our platforms!
Many thanks,
Michael - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
So far it’s been easy.
July 20, 2018
Unprompted review
TripAdvisor booking unflexible and disadvantages customers
Even if FlipKey/TripAdvisor told me and the owner to solve the problem, that I wanted to change the booking a second time and the system does not allow this (strange system !!!, I'm IT administrator, so it is configured by TripAdvisor like this, maybe they want to get more money to make it impossible) nothing happened. I would never book via TripAdvisor again !!!
This disadvantage the customer and may be a topic for European law.
July 18, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Renate,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm sorry to hear of the trouble you experienced editing your booking, I can understand your frustration. Currently our system does only allow one amendment per booking to be made. We want to empower our users to enter in all the correct information when they confirm their booking. However, we do understand sometimes details may need to be changed which is why we allow an amendment to be made if both the traveler and owner agree. If more than one amendment needs to be made to the booking, we assist our customers as best as we can by helping to facilitate conversation between the traveler and owner to ensure their booking proceeds as planned. You can learn more about editing a booking on our platform here https://bit.ly/2jphmVI.
Many Thanks,
Sarah - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
Flipkey is the Worst Vacation Rental Platform
As a property manager, working with Flipkey has been a challenge from the beginning. Flipkey is owned by Trip Advisor, which is already bogged down in bureaucracy and poor customer service--and which has gone downhill in the past few years.
I had my entire account--with 12 listings--permanently cancelled, because they had sent me notifications (which I didn't receive), and I didn't respond. The employee told me that there was simply nothing that could be done. This is an opportunity cost of thousands of dollars for us--but Flipkey seems only to care about filling their stockholders pockets.
In today's day and age--thankfully, there ARE alternatives!
July 2, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Kent,
Thank you for taking the time to write your review.
We do have a Trust & Safety team in place who can take strong actions if the guidelines are not met.
We certainly appreciate the feedback but we aim to provide a reliable and secure booking platform for our travellers.
Many thanks,
Adrian - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
extremely unprofessional experience…better sites do exist
extremely unprofessional experience when called in for cancelling my reservation just 2 days after booking that was made for a trip that was still 3-4 weeks ahead. i agree the return policy stated it cannot be cancelled but due to some circumstances i had no choice but to cancel it . when i contacted the owner , she was quite understanding and okay with refunding however flipkey kept 200$ saying owner may have lost other potential reservations !! .. did you hand the 200$ to the owner or kept it with you ! .. compare this with hotels.com, expedia or even Airbnb where you can cancel your plans even the day before.. and in my case when i informed 3 weeks in advance you fine me ! ... moreover the agent was extremely rude to me and spoke to me as if it was a personal favor from her end to refund the remaining $400 dollars back to me . well i deserve this .. coz the same house was listed on airbnb with flexible cancellation policy and i somehow booked it via Flipkey... never again and i would make sure no one in my circle uses Flip key. you earn business by reviews and you'll lose more than $200 by this review.. this is going on every internet searchable review place that exists .. flipkey .. keep this up and see what ppl have to say to you.
July 1, 2018
Unprompted review
easy to use lots of choice
easy to use lots of choice. good descriptions and photos of available properties with maps
June 5, 2018
Unprompted review
Reply from FlipKey
Hi Shirley,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts in the forum about our booking process. Flipkey strives to create a positive and easy to book experience for all our customers.
Your opinion is highly valued and we wish you enjoy your stay at the chosen destination.
Many thanks,
Jose - TripAdvisor Rentals Support
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