Couple sought refund because of Helene, says Vrbo kept refusing
Joanne Gonnerman and her boyfriend wanted to visit the North Carolina mountains last fall, mainly for the fall leaves. So they booked a place on Vrbo.
But Helene hit about a week before their reservation was supposed to start.
The town they were going to issued a State of Emergency. Roads closed. The North Carolina Department of Transportation 'urge[d] people to avoid travel in western [North Carolina].'
'I said, 'I don't think this is going to be realistic for us. We probably should cancel,'' Gonnerman told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke.
READ: Couple learns they still owe mortgage insurance after thinking it was paid off
It was disappointing, but they thought at least they'd get their money back. After all, Vrbo has an 'Extenuating Circumstances Policy' which applies '[w]hen broad scale travel disruptions prevent or legally prohibit Vrbo travelers from completing their reservations.'
But the company said no. According to emails Gonnerman shared with Action 9, the company said the storm didn't damage the host's property so they could have stayed there, but chose not to.
'National news covered Hurricane Helene and what happened to western North Carolina,' she said. 'It wasn't an unknown or just a personal request. It seemed like the country understood what had happened to our state.'
They pushed back for months, but couldn't get it resolved.
'One of my other big concerns is if my partner, Dave, and I are struggling with this, how many other people are being affected?' she said.
Stoogenke emailed Vrbo. Two days later, Gonnerman told him the business reversed course and promised a full refund.
READ: Woman says car buyer scammed her out of money meant for son's college
The company emailed Stoogenke. It still believed her booking 'did not fall under' Vrbo's refund policy, that it was at the host's discretion. After all, you can imagine how much business he lost during that time.
But Vrbo also emailed, when Gonnerman spoke with customer service, the representative 'may have' given her 'conflicting information.' So the business was giving all $1,100 back as a 'courtesy.'
Vrbo's full statement:
Thanks again for reaching out about Ms. Gonnerman's experience. We've reviewed the situation and confirmed that her booking did not fall under Vrbo's extenuating circumstances policy that was activated during Hurricane Helene. For reservations in non-covered counties or that fall outside of the date range of policy coverage, the host's cancellation policy still applies. In these situations, Vrbo encourages the guest and host to work together to find a solution that benefits both parties, such as a refund or credit for a future stay. However, we recognize that when Ms. Gonnerman spoke to our customer service team, she may have received conflicting information. As such, we will be providing a full refund for her booking as a courtesy. This update has also been shared with Ms. Gonnerman.
The takeaway here: Vrbo has an 'Extenuating Circumstances Policy.' But the company can be strict about which addresses — or dates — qualify. And, a lot of times, it lets the 'host' decide whether to give you money back, not the 'company' itself. So know that going in.
WATCH: Couple learns they still owe mortgage insurance after thinking it was paid off
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
How new technology is keeping the power on in NC during major storms
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — With hurricane season now underway, Duke Energy is confident they are more prepared than ever to handle incoming storms. For more than two decades, Anthony Gibbs has worked to keep the power on at homes across the state. He's a senior distribution operator at Duke Energy's power distribution control center and is known there as the 'mayor'. 'You can come in on a sunny day and say, you know, hey, I'm going to sit back and nothing's going to happen. And then the whole world explodes. Thunderstorms come through in the evening,' Gibbs said about his daily work. Information put into online outage maps and information that crews receive in the field comes from the control center. Customers calling in with power issues could very well be speaking with someone in the facility. Gibbs is always ready when a major storm hits. 'You may get a chance to eat and you may not, but you come in, you know you're going to do 12 hours and we know you got to get the power back on as soon as possible,' Gibbs said. Advancements like self-healing technology are helping his team do that. You can think of it as a GPS for the power grid. It can automatically detect an issue with power and then find a new route for that power in under a minute. Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks says this system doesn't take a fallen tree off a line but it can significantly cut down response times. In 2024, it saved more than 1 million customers from a power outage. 'The benefit of the technology is it gives us a new, real-time blueprint of our electric grid so that we can see at any one point in time what's going on, on the system. And after a major storm, that blueprint is essential to help rebuild the system,' Brooks said. This—paired with other technology—is helping Duke Energy be more prepared for a storm than ever before. 'We have advanced damage modeling systems that can tell us we need to shift resources and crews to these different locations. And this facility is pivotal on any day of the week,' Brooks said. As we move into the future, technology is only expected to advance further. Some of those advancements may be using drones to get images back faster or using satellite imagery to be able to help assess damage. Hurricane Helene showed the importance of merging human hands with computer technology. 'For us, the lessons and experiences we had in Helene have absolutely driven improvements and opportunities to continue to make our response better. And when we think about this hurricane season, we know that eventually we are going to see storms on the coast. We will see more storms in the mountains. So we have to be ready in every county that we serve and drill and practice and get our crews ready and make sure we have the inventories on hand to be able to supply thousands of poles,' Brooks said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
State will hear firm's protest of Helene homebuilding management bid
A chainsaw operator cuts down debris collected from the bottom of Lake Lure in Rutherford County, North Carolina, on April 14, 2025, to make it easier to load into dump trucks for disposal. The submerged debris is made up of vegetative and man-made debris washed into Lake Lure when Hurricane Helene impacted the area. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Michael Davis) North Carolina officials have agreed to schedule a hearing with a firm that is protesting how the state awarded a key hurricane rebuilding contract, according to the company. IEM International, which is based in Morrisville, filed a complaint in late May about the contract to manage homebuilding efforts in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. The firm believes its bid for the contract was improperly disqualified. State officials have said IEM did not submit proper financial documents. A spokesperson for IEM told NC Newsline that the firm's request for a hearing had been granted. The NC Department of Commerce, which is overseeing the contract, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. State officials awarded the $81.5 million contract to Horne LLP, a Mississippi-based firm. The award has quickly come under scrutiny from state lawmakers, who cite Horne's involvement in past troubled recovery efforts. It is not yet known when the hearing will take place, or the broader timeline for IEM's protest. The firm has requested that the contract be re-bid; the Department of Commerce has said it believes 'this procurement was conducted fairly.' North Carolina rules state that the meeting between the state and IEM will be scheduled within 30 days. After the meeting, the state will decide if further review of the contract is needed. In its original statement detailing the protest, IEM said it believed its bid's disqualification was 'highly irregular and concerning.' The firm's bid, obtained through a public records request, shows that it provided a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow data from three fiscal years. It added: 'As a privately owned company, IEM's financial statements are not public. IEM can provide to DCR [the relevant Department of Commerce division] upon request.' State officials have cited a 2024 appeals court ruling that bars agencies from asking vendors for more information once bids have opened. Stephanie McGarrah, who is leading the Department of Commerce division that oversees Helene contracts, said during a hearing that it meant the state could not adequately follow up on IEM's financials.
Associated Press
12 hours ago
- Associated Press
Nice-Pak Reaches Donation Milestone of $7 Million in Products To Support Communities in Need
Partnership with Good360 ensures wipes are quickly deployed for disaster recovery 'Our work with Good360 has reached an important milestone, and our long-term partnership is a reminder of the critical role wipes play in disaster response.'— Deb Fillis Ryba PEARL RIVER, NY, UNITED STATES, June 3, 2025 / / -- Nice-Pak, a leading provider of wet-wipe solutions for retailers and brand owners, today announced it has reached an important milestone—over $7 million worth of personal care and surface wet wipes donated to nonprofits, including disaster relief and recovery efforts. This was achieved through its ongoing partnership with Good360, a global leader in product philanthropy and purposeful giving. Celebrating Eight Years of Impact with Good360 'Wipes are one of the top-requested items from our nonprofit partners because they help alleviate hygiene insecurity and the health risks that come after a natural disaster,' said Morgan Loomis, Vice President, Disaster Response and Recovery, Good360. 'Nice-Pak has been instrumental in providing convenient and portable hygiene to so many who have been affected by fires, hurricanes and other disasters over the past eight years of our partnership.' According to Good360, the donated wipes—valued at $7 million in fair-market terms—have positively impacted more than a million lives. Since the partnership began, Nice-Pak's products have been distributed to over 700 nonprofits and have supported recovery efforts across over 30 different disaster sites, including the Southern California wildfires and Hurricane Helene flooding in the Southeast, as well as regions affected by conflict, such as Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Wet wipes play an essential role in recovery, providing cleaning, disinfecting and hand hygiene when clean water is scarce. 'Our work with Good360 has reached an important milestone, and our long-term partnership is a reminder of the critical role wipes play in disaster response,' said Deb Fillis Ryba, Global Director of Environmental and Social Impact at Nice-Pak. 'Good360 is the ideal partner to help get our products quickly into the hands of those who need them most, and we are honored to support their mission.' In 2021, Nice-Pak became a Resilient-Response partner with Good 360 to focus on proactive donations so that relief organizations can be prepared before disaster strikes. Nice-Pak donations are based on a quarterly needs assessment, which enables Good360 to pre-position the product with its extensive network of nonprofits. With donations already on site at regional distribution hubs, Nice-Pak wipes are quickly deployed to areas of need. Nice-Pak began its donation efforts in 2017 with shipments supporting recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Since then, Good360 has distributed Nice-Pak wipes to more than 700 nonprofit organizations across the U.S. and around the world—delivering the right products to the right people at the right time. About Nice-Pak Headquartered in Pearl River, NY, Nice-Pak is the go-to solutions partner for surface and skin hygiene for both private label and brand owners, providing expertise in sourcing, formulation, consumer marketing and insights. Over the years, the company introduced numerous innovations in wet-wipe products for consumer, healthcare, foodservice and commercial markets. About Good360 Good360 closes the need-gap by partnering with socially responsible companies to source essential donated goods and distribute them through a network of more than 100,000 vetted nonprofits. In doing so, Good360 supports communities in crisis, empowers nonprofit partners and reduces landfill waste. To date, Good360 has distributed more than $21 billion in donated goods, thanks to generous donors like Nice-Pak. Good360 is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at Diana Hatton Nice-Pak Products, Inc. [email protected] Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
