Owner cancels vacation rental after a condo booking error

Earlier this year, my wife and I booked a vacation rental through TripAdvisor. A few weeks later, we paid a $1,254 deposit on a unit in a condo development on Marco Island, Fla. The total price for three weeks came to $4,284.

In August, more than six months before our stay, we received an email from TripAdvisor saying that the owner had canceled our booking. “Cancellations simply shouldn’t happen,” the company added. “To make it up to you, you will receive a full refund, and we’ll help you find a new rental fast.”

The owner told us he had double-booked the unit because of an “error” with the calendar. I emailed TripAdvisor expressing my disappointment over the cancellation. It had been four months since our booking. All the units we would have liked were gone.

TripAdvisor sent us two listings. One is in Naples and is not acceptable. The other is too far from the water and likewise is not acceptable to us. I feel that TripAdvisor should vet its properties to ensure that owners know how to manage rentals of their condo units. There is no excuse for waiting four months before canceling our reservation. I want to be compensated fairly by TripAdvisor.

— Marvin Herman, Delavan, Wis.