itrip.net

iTrip greatly underdelivered on our house and stiffed us on a refund

Our family booked a home in Crescent Beach, Florida, as we do every summer. We took a gamble booking from a company new to us called iTrip. If you're reading this, I am recommending you use VRBO, AirBnb, or anyone else, even if it means paying a little extra.The house we booked, called Sunrise Point, was a 4BR/2BA which cost $6,800 for a week. This was perfect for us, especially since one of the bedrooms was a bunk room for our kids. When we checked in, the first thing we noticed was the bunk bedroom had mold/mildew across about 10 feet of the ceiling. We then noticed there were 3 unexplainable square (1 sq ft) holes in the ceiling, covered by return air vent covers. These holes were allowing unconditioned air to leak out into the air conditioned room, causing water to condensate and drip onto the floor and top bunks. It also clearly is what caused the mold/mildew issue.We continued further into the main floor of the house and found 5 (FIVE) more unexplainable holes in the ceiling that should have been sheetrocked, all covered with air vent covers. These were all leaking out hot unconditioned air (it was 90 degrees outside) into the rest of the living area. We counted 10 different areas throughout the main floor that dripped water consistently from the ceiling. This is as unbelievable and uniquely stupid as it sounds.My wife is a pediatrician, and upon seeing this bunk room with the mold/mildew, along with the water dripping in 3 different places, and feeling the hot air coming down that would have affected the kids on the top bunk, decided we were not using that room. If this were your family, you would have likely made the same decision. Instead, the kids slept on the floor in our bedrooms. This worked fine, but this was NOT what we paid for.We called iTrip, and to their credit, their men on the ground were probably as helpful as they could be. Over the course of the next 3 days, they came out twice, once to check the AC unit (which didn't have an air filter, but was clearly working). They brought out towels to put on the ground until they came back days later to tape cut-out tarp to cover the holes. They cleaned off the mold/mildew with spray cleaner. And they all were flabbergasted with these 8 large holes. They said they've never seen anything like it, and apologized for not knowing about it ahead of time.To make matters worse, this wasn't our only issue. In our bedroom upstairs, there was a portable AC unit, because the condo's AC unit didn't do very well upstairs. (Ironically, it probably would do perfectly fine if not for 8 random holes cut into the sheetrock throughout the house). Well, 2 nights into our stay, the vent from the portable AC unit came detached from the window it was venting out of, around 8PM. We tried to get it back in, as it was attached with duct tape, but it would not stay. We woke up 5 times throughout the night to a vent spraying hot air into our room, fighting against the cold air the unit was producing. It woke my wife and I up 5 times, and our kids up 3 times. It was a terrible night, all because the owner and/or iTrip not doing their job before we checked in. iTrip had a person come out the next day and re-duct-taped the window, which thankfully held through the rest of the week.We've stayed in no shortage of vacation homes before, and understand things go wrong. But this house was a unique situation, and both the owner and iTrip dropped the ball with us. While we appreciated them showing up to put "band aids" on the immediate situations, this house was not even close to what we paid for.The management company was aware of all of these issues because we sent detailed info and images to them. We were told by the customer service reps that management would call to discuss a fair refund, which we believed to be no less than $1,000. But days went by and nothing happened, so I kept trying to call but it always went to voicemail. After days of calling with no answer, we did finally get an email out of the blue iTrip was sending us a $100 refund. Still no discussion, and an insultingly low amount. After I continued to try to call and text, they did finally respond via text letting me know they thought $100 was fair and there would be no further reimbursement.I considered trying to dispute a fraction of the charge with Amex, but I just got off the phone with Amex and they explained that iTrip would likely win any dispute because of their $100 refund. iTrip knows this game well.iTrip did our family wrong with this house. Instead of calling to apologize, or refunding a truly fair amount, they sent us the smallest refund they could to shut us up. It speaks volumes to their character, and I strongly recommend you work with a more reputable company if possible.Shame on iTrip. We hope they use the money they owe us to finish sheetrocking Sunrise Point.

Date of experience: Jul 13, 2024