When traveling and choosing where to stay for a vacation, the ambiance of the surrounding area can play a critical role in deciding where to go.
If the version of your chosen accommodations do not match what you thought you were getting, this can not only be frustrating, but potentially present a safety issue.
In a video posted to TikTok that has drawn over 16.3 million views, one Vrbo guest says she chose to book her stay in a particular location because it was presented as more of a beach town than the rough neighborhood she saw when driving through.
An unexpected Vrbo experience
User Olivia (@olivialou_1991) captioned her video elaborating that she thought she was booking a stay in a beach town, rather than the sketchy area she saw when they were pulling up to the house.
“I was sold a beach town vacation,” the video is captioned. “This is a crack neighbourhood.”
The video shows several run-down homes on the street leading up to the house listed on Airbnb, which is a stark contrast in terms of how well it has been kept up, as the home has clearly been better maintained.
In a follow-up video, Olivia shares that while they were staying in the home, someone attempted to break in overnight, talking to themselves and claiming that they were going to burn the house down.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Olivia via TikTok direct message and a comment on the video, as well as to Vrbo via email regarding the video.
Per the Vrbo site, if a property is misrepresented, guests may be able to get a new reservation depending on the extent of difference between the lodgings that were booked and what is there upon arrival.
‘Barbarian’ house comparisons
Some viewers immediately pointed out that the first video showing the difference between the rental and surrounding neighborhood reminded them of the 2022 film Barbarian, in which a vacation rental in a rough neighborhood harbors a dark secret in its basement.
“Omfg that is the barbarian house i thought ppl were joking,” one commenter wrote.
“This is literally the movie barbarian …….,” another said.
“Have u watched barbarian by chance,” a third added.
Though, the Vrbo rental isn’t actually the house from Barbarian, as some commenters claimed. The set, though the film takes place in Detroit, was built from the ground up in Bulgaria.
@olivialou_1991 I was sold a beach town vacation. This is a crack neighbourhood. #crescentcitycalifornia ♬ original sound – Family guy
Others wrote that the few abandoned homes shown in the video might make the place feel sketchy, but there are other homes that look similar to the rental and that the place might not be as bad as the poster is making it out to be.
“Only the 2 houses look bad, but they look abandoned,” one commenter wrote. “The other ones seem fine?”
“The abandoned houses could be crack houses but the rest are normal ones probably w normal people in it,” another said.
“This is a middle class neighborhood in my city…,” a third added.
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