Normally I would just book through a hotel directly. But this was a 6 week trip, through multiple countries and multiple cities, with a friend. So instead of us

Normally I would just book through a hotel directly. But this was a 6 week trip, through multiple countries and multiple cities, with a friend. So instead of us both spending $120 each, we could spend $120 a night on an apartment. We had 4 reservations through VRBO, and the other 3 were perfect for us. But that 1 bad experience really put me off of ever using their platform again. They could've just accepted responsibility and refunded our money, but they decided against it. I'm now traveling alone, and am paying around $80 a night for a decent hotel. I agree, peace of mind is worth paying for, traveling these days is already stressful enough.