I have never experienced such a terrible host as Alan Caron. The host comes with the house, and in this case that is not good. We rented this house for Memorial Day weekend and week. I want everyone to know that I have pictures of all of my claims and my immediate concern is for the safety of future renters.
To summarize:
• It was a terrible experience.
• The property was not safe for renting.
• The house was not prepared for our visit.
• The owner had construction going on during our stay.
• The owner did not disclose his rental was under construction.
Now for the details. (Unfortunately, VRBO limits the amount of text used on a review so I am very limited to the details I can include).
Upon arrival we notice the property was under construction. Boards and construction debris were scattered throughout the area including across the path to the dock and pond.
At the front entrance to the rental, there were many nails, screws, broken glass and sharp cut aluminum trim waste. After picking up many, many pieces it became a real concern.
We were informed on Sunday at 8:59am that a construction crew was coming to our rental to work. They were arriving at the same time we received the call. Alan said the work would be completed in 1 day. They returned Monday (Memorial Day) and Tuesday. The work was still not completed. Alan also stated the hot tub was not ready for use.
On Monday I texted Alan that we were not comfortable with the construction crew working during our vacation. I also made him aware of the very dangerous situation in his front yard including many sharp pieces of cut aluminum, broken glass, discarded nails and screws. He claimed he would have the construction crew quit, but they also returned on Tuesday. He came to the rental multiple times to remove the dangerous objects but failed to secure the area. My brother ended up with a flat tire from one of his screws. Luckily, we were not injured.
Alan later admitted that previous contractors used that area in front of the entrance to his rental as a “construction debris pile”. So, Alan knew about this and never insured the area was safe.
Alan is a perfect example of why people have concerns renting from websites like VRBO. We paid nearly $3,000 for a quiet vacation and we had to deal with his ongoing construction and entering the rental through a “debris field”. We ended up with a flat tire but it could have been worse. Renters now have our experience as evidence.