Home to Go Review

Friday, January 17th

2025 Vacation Rental Site Reviews

Home to Go

• Displays wide range of lowest-priced listings pulled from various partner websites
• No direct booking through HomeToGo; acts as an intermediary between the customer and partner site
• Transparent pricing to ensure no hidden fees and taxes

HomeToGo is a vacation rental search engine that claims to offer the "largest selection of vacation rentals” worldwide. Founded in 2014, the Berlin-based company operates in 25 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and the Asia-Pacific region.

User-friendly interface and efficient search experience

HomeToGo's user-friendly interface allows you to search and compare prices on vacation rentals from multiple platforms, offering a comprehensive inventory of listings. The site provides standard filtering options to narrow down your search based on accommodation type, amenities, and more. Additionally, the platform offers a convenient "search in the description" feature, allowing you to keyword search and quickly find specific details within lengthy property descriptions. This is particularly useful when looking for unique features or specific requirements.

Wide range of vacation rental options, but there may not be reviews

HomeToGo aggregates vacation rental listings from various partner websites, giving you access to a wide range of options. However, we noticed that there were some properties without any customer reviews either because the property was new or because the partner vacation rental company chose not to provide them. In such cases, you may need to visit other platforms to find reviews for a particular property, which is inconvenient.

No direct booking through HomeToGo

While HomeToGo simplifies the search process, it acts as an intermediary between you and the actual property holder. When booking a property, you're actually submitting an inquiry request to HomeToGo, who then forwards it to the property holder. The property holder has 24 hours to accept or deny your request. It's worth mentioning that you might not always be approved, and there have been issues where the partner company is slow to respond to a request to book. In some cases, you might click on a HomeToGo listing and be taken instead to the partner company's website where you can book directly.

Fees, cancellation terms, and customer support dependent on partner company

HomeToGo strives to provide transparent pricing, ensuring there are no hidden fees or taxes. Once you click the "start booking" button, you'll see the full total, although the level of detail in the breakdown of taxes and fees may vary depending on the partner company. It's important to note that HomeToGo is not responsible for setting cancellation terms. These policies are determined by the partner, and it's advisable to review their terms before making a booking. While HomeToGo offers email and phone support Monday-Friday during regular business hours, you should contact the partner company with issues involving the nitty-gritty details of your stay.

Search results have mixed booking types

When looking at consumer reviews of HomeToGo, the experiences are mixed. Some users really like HomeToGo because it's easy to use, has convenient search options, and doesn't have hidden fees. They say it's a good alternative to other vacation rental companies that make it harder to tell at a glance how much you'll be paying for your stay. However, some individuals have encountered issues with HomeToGo. A common complaint is that they need to enhance the filtering options to display only rentals that can be booked through HomeToGo. It can be frustrating to click on a listing with the expectation of paying one price, only to be directed to another platform without information about additional fees, resulting in a higher overall cost than you saw on HomeToGo.

Disappearing bookings after payment

Some users have raised more serious concerns. For example, there have been cases where customers paid in full for a rental through HomeToGo, but didn't receive any information or confirmation about their booking. One person even had their listing disappear after booking, and their credit card was charged with the money going to a company in Belarus. HomeToGo denied having any record of the rental or any association with the other company involved, leaving the user out of pocket with no help from HomeToGo.

Unexpected charges with no explanation or compensation

In addition to these incidents, other users have reported discrepancies regarding payment issues. For instance, one user booked a vacation through HomeToGo but had to cancel due to family circumstances. Despite HomeToGo's booking conditions stating that only the deposit would be taken as a penalty, they charged the full amount and hadn't refunded the money despite multiple attempts to contact them. While the partner company was responsive and investigated the matter, HomeToGo has remained unresponsive to the reviewer's inquiries about the unexpected charge. The reviewer expressed disappointment and mentioned the possibility of resorting to legal action to get their money back. Note that as of this review, HomeToGo was not accredited or rated by the Better Business Bureau.

Useful as a search tool, but book elsewhere

Based on these reviews, it's pretty clear that although HomeToGo may initially help save money by finding the cheapest deals, its disorganized handling of the booking process with partner companies could ultimately cost you. HomeToGo appears unwilling to take responsibility for their mistakes and are content with holding onto customers' money, often blaming the partner companies. It's probably a good idea to use HomeToGo to find the best deals and then book directly through the partner site to avoid any potential problems. For most of your vacation rental needs, we recommend our higher-ranked services.