HomeAway Provides Extra Security for Vacationers with New Travel Guarantee Industry Leader First to Offer Guarantee in Rapidly Growing Vacation Rental Market

Travelers booking vacation rental homes on HomeAway vacation rental websites can do so with increased confidence and protection, thanks to the new HomeAway Rent with Confidence Guarantee. With this first-of-its-kind guarantee, HomeAway sets a new customer service standard in the quickly growing vacation rental industry by reimbursing travelers in the unlikely event a vacation home listing is not legitimate. The Guarantee is free to travelers through 12 of HomeAway’s sites, including its popular U.S. sites: HomeAway.com, VRBO.com, VacationRentals.com, CyberRentals.com, A1Vacations.com, GreatRentals.com and TripHomes.com.

As the demand for vacation rentals grows, the HomeAway Rent with Confidence Guarantee represents the next step in the company’s ongoing commitment to provide the most trusted marketplace for vacation rentals. HomeAway already takes significant measures to ensure the authenticity and quality of the more than 240,000 paid vacation rental listings advertised on its sites. However, as with all e-commerce, some consumers have reservations about making payments online. The Guarantee gives travelers tangible assurance that they are covered for up to $5,000 in rental fees per property.

“Fraud rarely occurs in this industry, particularly at HomeAway where we have an experienced staff dedicated to assuring the authenticity of properties and maintaining the highest levels of trust and safety on the sites,” says Brian Sharples, HomeAway CEO.

In addition to offering the Guarantee, HomeAway recommends travelers take a proactive approach to protecting their travel investments. “There is no better way to avoid surprises than asking the vacation rental homeowner lots of questions,” says Sharples. “We also recommend travelers use safe methods of payment and insist on contracts that clearly specify deposit and cancellation policies.”

HomeAway also launched the Guarantee on the leading “holiday home” sites in France on Abritel.Fr, Germany on FeWo-direkt.de; and HolidayRentals.co.uk in the United Kingdom.

“We hope that the Rent with Confidence Guarantee enables people all over the world to discover the benefits, affordability and value of vacation rental homes and rest easy knowing their travel investment is protected by HomeAway,” says Sharples.

Terms and conditions of the Guarantee are detailed on HomeAway.com.

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About HomeAway, Inc.:
HomeAway, Inc. is the worldwide leader for online vacation rentals. Each year, more than 100 million travelers visit the HomeAway sites, which represent more than 240,000 paid vacation rental home listings across 100 countries. The portfolio includes the leading sites in the U.S.: HomeAway.com, VRBO.com, VacationRentals.com, CyberRentals.com, A1Vacations.com, GreatRentals.com and TripHomes.com; the U.K: Holiday-Rentals.co.uk and; Germany: FeWo-direkt.de and France:Abritel.fr.

Led by an experienced team of online and travel industry experts, HomeAway is based in Austin, Texas and is funded by leading venture capital firms Austin Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, American Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and Trident Capital.