I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience absolutely warrants it. From start to finish, the customer service was shockingly poor. Communication was slow, unhelpful, and at times completely dismissive. When issues came up, there was no sense of urgency or accountability--just canned responses and zero follow-through. Everything feels like a re-trade with them. Pet friendly? How about $2000 pet fee. The property itself was equally disappointing. The home was not clean upon arrival--something you would never expect from a company branding itself as "luxury." Basic standards were missed, and it felt like no one had properly inspected the home before our stay. After this experience, I took a closer look at other reviews, and honestly, I'm not surprised by the number of 1-star ratings. What is surprising is the volume of 5-star reviews, which don't align at all with what we experienced. It raises real questions about consistency--and whether those reviews reflect typical guest experiences. There are far better, more professional operators in Austin who actually deliver what they promise. This was not one of them. Would not stay again, and would strongly caution others before booking. read more

Terrible experience at 3605 Robbins Road. I rented a house on the lake, $4,000 for three nights over Fathers Day weekend. Not sure where to start. The service is terrible, after I booked I asked about the boat dock. They said the boat dock was not available to tie a boat to and asked if I wanted to cancel as an alternative with no refund (no idea why I would cancel with no refund). The house smelled absolutely horrible when we walked in, thermostats were at 88. The floor was disgusting, grimy, spiderwebs all over the stairs. The patio outside the back door was covered in spiderwebs, leaves and junk, like nobody had been on the patio in months. There was mold all over the chairs, completely unusable. The upstairs dock on the lake had construction material, lumber, saws, scaffolding covering the patio. The chairs (no cushions) stacked in the corner. I emailed asking if they could clean this off so we could use and they responded it was under construction (no apology or other concession, basically saying tough luck). The grill ignition did not work, I was able to rig it by pulling out the grades to make it work. The main photo of the listing had a trampoline float tied to the dock, that was not available during our stay. The house was nothing like the photos, was in terrible shape and Walker was extremely rude with me on basic questions about the house. This place is stealing from their guests because without the backstop of Airbnb, the guest has no options for refunds or repercussion of stealing from the customer. I will never rent from this place again. read more

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Terrible communication, says it's pet friendly and then charged us $2,000 for bringing our teacup size paddle which is a service dog!!! Charged us for cleaning although Airbnb has already included cleaning fees. Wouldn't trust these people for another stay ever again. read more

The house was lovely but the customer service was poor and their organization does not seem to understand how to operate a vacation rental. I have operated vacation rentals for 10 years. The lockbox system with a physical key is from the 1990s. They should have an electronic door lock with a code. And make sure the code is correct, unlike our check-in experience. Also, there should be a booklet or binder with clear instructions on everything in the house. I had no idea how to operate the hot tub, for instance, and that was not explained in their customer portal. They should also have a hard copy of instructions out on the coffee table or somewhere obvious for people to reference. In addition, basic amenities in the house were lacking. I always provide coffee beans, grinder, coffee filters, and creamer to my guests as well as basic cooking essentials like oil, salt and pepper. There was no coffee, no coffee filters and the basic cooking supplies seemed haphazard or nearly out. We ran out of salt during our stay for instance. Also the coffee machine was not working well and the toaster was broken. They also threatened us with hidden additional fees if we heated the pool at the house. For the rate we paid we should be able to heat the pool. The additional fee was not communicated in advance. That is just nonsense. On top of that the pool was filled with leafs when we arrived. I had to spend an hour cleaning the pool and hot tub. It looked as if no one had been at the property in weeks. Customer service was also poor. They were slow to respond or just did not respond. I understand no one likes to work on the weekends, but they are in the hospitality business. The weekend is the busy time. You need to be responsive to guests. Twice text messages or emails I sent were simply not responded to. Others were answered bizarrely or brushed off. Lovely house but I would not rent from this management company again. read more

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TLDR: WLVR books through Airbnb, breaks Airbnb's protections by communicating outside of Airbnb, asks for additional information by lying about City of Austin ordinances, and then *CANCELS* the reservation when a guest is better informed. We booked a WLVR property (The Owner's House) via Airbnb for a corporate retreat, agreeing to all of Airbnb's T's & C's, per usual. WLVR reached out to us via phone, text and email (outside of Airbnb methods), requesting that we sign additional T's & C's through their portal. "They're exactly the same as Airbnb's", says the WLVR rep. We were happy to sign the "rental agreement", despite operating outside of Airbnb's policies. We were *not* OK with disclosing all guest's names, ages and phone numbers because of the nature of work we do, and not knowing how WLVR manages data. We were more than happy to provide primary and emergency points of contact and proof of insurance. Further, by signing the Airbnb terms, we had already agreed to adhere to no parties, no gatherings and no extra guests. Should be good, right? Initially WLVR stated they need guest's info due to City of Austin ordinance. I provided them with the ordinance and asked them to help me understand where that "requirement" is stated. Their response: "We need it for emergencies." Cool. Move that cheese. We have already provided contact information via Airbnb. Show us where Airbnb requires this... their response: "We aren't comfortable with your reservation." Ultimately WLVR canceled our reservation, and we opened an investigation with Airbnb. Know the terms you're agreeing to, and know your rights, friends. WLVR might be a great concierge/property management company, but they sure aren't accurate or transparent with guests. read more

Southside of Hyades in Largo Vista 1. Attached are photos of the hot tub that was absolutely unable to be enjoyed due to its unsanitary condition. 2. The chairs on the ground level patio were very dirty. 3. The propane tank for the master balcony fire pit was not hooked up and we had to lug it from the ground floor to hook it up ourselves. 4. The beads in the firepit shattered if they got too hot, not sure if these were tempered for such high temperatures. 5. Kitchen trash cans were over half full before we added anything to them on Friday afternoon. 6. There was broken glass on the ground level on concrete and rocky areas that we did not put there. 7. There was a pan in a drawer that had still had food on it. 8. The sliding door to the master bathroom routinely fell off its track. When I brought all of this to their attention the day after our checkout it took them 2 weeks to finally get back to me to offer a discount on our next stay...when I asked if that was ALL they were going to offer us they then blamed us for dirtying the hot tub ourselves and they don't owe us anything because we didn't bring up any of our issues during our stay...total bull. Do not use this company!! read more

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Despite a global pandemic and VRBO's plead from their president "in the spirit of good hospitality, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund" during this COVID-19 virus, this company has chosen not to abide by VRBOs policy and has chosen not to refund accommodations for customers. The company has stood behind their pre-pandemic policy. If you read the original email sent - the owner did NOT offer a full credit for future dates of booking to our party. She actually stated : "we humbly ask that you refuse to contribute to the bankrupting of the people who offer it, by demanding the owner bear the loss" and "These owners are not investors or corporations; they're people, local Austinites, who are doing what they can to hold on to their Austin homes in the face of skyrocketing property taxes". The company also had only offered a 50% refund if we removed our reviews and signed a new agreement. Per VRBO (who we booked through) this is actually against their policies and the property management company can be removed from their site for issuing this bribe. IF YOU BOOKED THROUGH VRBO, they strongly suggest not signing any new agreement as this is un-enforceable and against their policies. I recommend sending these communications to VRBO and working with their fraudulent activity team to have this property management company removed for violating their policies. I will never book again with this company, a company who is choosing their profits over the health and welfare of their customers, in a time where compassion toward others is what is needed most. It seems to me as I read through reviews, that the owner has been issuing credits for future dates and 50% refunds without a new agreement, something our party was NEVER offered. I'd be interested to hear of any other customers that have booked and are unable to be refunded by this company. Please share your experience. ** they recently sent an email stating "we humbly ask that you refuse to contribute to the bankrupting of the people who offer it, by demanding the owner bear the loss" and "These owners are not investors or corporations; they're people, local Austinites, who are doing what they can to hold on to their Austin homes in the face of skyrocketing property taxes". As it stands, this reservation has not been cancelled and is still active in my VRBO account, because the owner has refused to cancel my pending request for a full and immediate refund on 3/16. ** The owner of the company cancelled our trip the day before our reservation (4/3) with no communication or refund. Legally, the property management companies must refund the service fee, cleaning fee, and the taxes, as the service was not rendered (and they don't have to pay these costs) - it's been over a month without any of these being credited back. The owner insinuates that I should have purchased travel insurance. However, travel insurance would not have covered this event as the insurance companies have established in January that COVID-19 was a "foreseen circumstance" and only would cover our party in the event that one of us was infected. read more

The folks at Walker take stellar care of my home I. Austin which is currently rented out on AirBNb. They are the premier company handling services these types of homes for buyer and sellers. I'm getting closer and closer to 8-10 years with this company and could think what life would be like without their help. I could not ask for a better group of people! read more

Walker Luxury Vacation Rentals - Vacation Rental Agents Near Me

I would never let them manage my property nor would I ever give them any business. I interviewed and had Beth Friedman over at my house to determine if I wanted to hire this company to manage our house as a short term rental. She made so many rude remarks and faces regarding the east Austin neighborhood, which is gentrified. It was appallingly unprofessional. Although she's lived in Austin all of her life, she mentioned she had never really been to East Austin. She had no clue about anything related to it. I'm surprised that Walker Luxury Rentals has this lady employed as the face for their company. I interviewed 10 other management companies in the Austin area and no other company was as horrible as her. She came to my house to view it and she was doing the weirdest things like opening our personal closets and drawers and then making faces. Lol 2-3 star Google and Yelp reviews. Make sure you read all of them before deciding to do business with these people. Nothing I'm saying is slanderous. These guys sent me some telemarketing mail which reminded me of my experience with Beth last year. If you want to threaten lawsuit to silence me, go ahead. Your threats are more embarrassing than your Google reviews. UPDATING MY REVIEW TO ADD PHOTOS FROM LAST YEAR WHEN BETH FRIEDMAN FROM WALKER LUXURY RENTALS WAS IN CONTACT WITH ME VIA EMAIL, text, and confirmed she's coming over. Sad that Sharon Walker is stalking my social media after this review and lying that they never met with me. She's trying to sue me because I'm writing an honest review about my experience with Beth Friedman. ‍ read more

We've tried multiple times to contact this company to inquire about a rental for June 2022. Spent countless times to call with no returned calls and finally spoke to an assistant. When we inquired about our dogs and having a private chef for come one night she said that they had a max of two dogs, we have 3, and would be charged an event fee just for having a chef, no additional guests or "event". None of this was specified in the listing. I would expect more professionalism from a luxury rental company considering we were going to pay $17,000+ for our stay. We went ahead and booked a luxury VRBO and the host has been extremely prompt and accommodating. In response to the company's comment- We're not having an event. We are having a dinner to commemorate a vowel renewal/anniversary. The only additional person is our chef. No extra guests or rentals. We made that clear. Maybe you can edit your hours being 24/7 being that it's so difficult for you to answer and return calls. I see that you are very prompt in commenting on negative reviews. Maybe apply that to replying to inquiries? read more

We booked a vacation rental with this company for my bachelorette coming up in April. Due to the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 we made the hard, but wise decision to postpone our plans to gather in Austin. Not one of the party is local to Austin- all of us would be flying and most of us from the worst impacted area in the country, Seattle. We reached out to the management company, told them of our intentions as soon as we could and asked for a refund. Per the email we received from VRBO- "Homeowners and property managers who list homes on Vrbo have been encouraged to adopt more flexible cancellation policies in light of COVID-19 and offer full refunds to those who wish to cancel for concerns of their own well-being." Per the Presidents advisory of non-essential travel, the Mayor of Austin banning gatherings and closing all restaurants and bars, our actions are in line with the authorities. The refund we are seeking for this horrible pandemic is not to injure the business owners of Austin but to keep their community safe and for our own health and safety as well. We've been told that they would only offer a 50% refund IF WE TAKE DOWN OUR NEGATIVE REVIEWS. That's a bribe. Walker Management's policy at this time is selfish, close minded and without regard for their customers. Don't book with them!!! read more

We've stayed at 2 properties and they were absolutely amazing. Also, wonderful customer service (above average) and easy reservation process. We will use them again and are planning to visit a 3rd location in a few months. Highly recommend. read more

If I could give negative review I would - stay away from this company with a 10foot pole. Walker refuses to refund me for a reservation I had to cancel due to COVID. They avoided my calls and then let me know that because I filed a dispute with my credit card company (which is my right after Walker denied me a refund) that they spent so much time disputing that they couldn't do anything for me. NOT MY PROBLEM - JUST GIVE ME MY MONEY AND THIS WILL ALL BE OVER They then went and re booked the house for the weekend I had booked - doubling their profits and still refusing to give me a refund. The lack of business sense and morality is appalling and I honestly could not be more disgusted with Walker. read more

*Third update * I didn't want to say this because it's worse for Walker but our reservation was for my sisters bachelorette party so in addition to her wedding getting cancelled this company is denying our claim for our refund for the cancelled bachelorette too. Just adding insult to injury for us. You have all of our information, Sharon. Let's fix this like you've claimed to fix those other accounts. You have the power to give us the refund. Don't hide behind other reviews and just do the right thing. read more

We selected Walker LVR to manage our Austin properties in 2019. They set very high expectations on their ability to market, book, manage and maintain the property. In the first year, they have exceeded those expectations and delivered a great experience for guests and us. Specifically, I have to call out their service, integrity, attitude, and innovation. Thank you! read more

Avoid doing business with this company! They are unprofessional and borderline unethical. Check the complaints with the BBB and even the Consumer Alert post on Yelp stating that they tried to modify or remove reviews. I was planning my Daughter's 18th birthday in Austin, TX. She and several of her friends wanted to stay in Austin to go shopping and to dress up and go out to brunch and dinner at some popular restaurants in Austin. I called Genevieve Gladle with Walker Luxury Vacation Rentals and asked her if they allowed an 18 year old to book/reserve one of their managed properties since an 18 year old can book a hotel room. She said "No." These girls are very responsible, have very good grades and do not party. Nonetheless, I understand that there are rules and conditions and I accepted that even though I think they should be more worried about the Bachelorette parties that I saw posted in some reviews more then some 18 year old girls that wanted to go shopping. I decided to stay with the girls (planning to sleep on one of the couches) so they could enjoy their birthday celebration in Austin. I booked the home and paid over $2K for 2 nights. Four days later, Genevieve emailed me and said that she remembering speaking to me on the phone and that she was cancelling the reservation. I told her that I was staying with the girls which is why I booked it after speaking with her. She did not care. Genevieve not only attacked my character and integrity but was very biased and unprofesional in the way that she handled the entire situation. Since 4 days had passed, many of the other rental options were no longer available and the girls had already booked airfare and made plans so they were obviously very disappointed. This is NOT a professionally run company and the employee that I dealt with was rude and borderline unethical. I would avoid them at all cost to avoid the disappointment that we experienced! read more

Had to cancel a booking more than a month out due to Covid restrictions from my state and theirs. They refused any kind of refund or credit. Highly recommend getting insurance when booking because they will not budge from their policy even in these extreme and unpredictable times. Would not recommend. read more

Walker does an excellent job managing property by taking care of guests needs and always being on call to fix any issues that come up.

We had friends coming into town for SXSW and then Corona rolled into town. They had to cancel which was a bummer. Some took the full credit and re-booked. One happily took the 50% refund. Walker Luxury went above and beyond by changing their policy during this pandemic. That was very gracious of them. It's unfortunate to see how greedy some folks are that have left reviews. My group will definitely use Walker for future events. read more

I partnered with WLVR to manage my home over a year ago, and it's been such a positive experience -- for me, for my guests, and for my neighbors!! They're true partners in every sense with high standards for service. I love their other properties, too! read more

Walker Luxury Vacation Rentals has managed our luxury property for about 2 years now. They have done an excellent job and are always communicative and thorough. They manage the guest experience with ease and keep me, as the homeowner, appraised of any issues. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a vacation rental management company! read more

Unless you're in your "late 30s" you will be denied renting from this company. Not a good look.

Outstanding customer service, had planned a trip for my engagement party on Lake Travis and ended up having to cancel due to Covid-19. The staff was amazing and took care of me and I will 100% book with them in the future. read more

We booked one of their properties in September for a reunion of ex Navy Officers and our wives for 3 days In March. People booked flights from Maine, New Hampshire,, Maryland, and Florida. 10 days before our scheduled arrival they informed us the house was not available due to the pool at the house being replastered. Seriously? There were no other available houses and we had to cancel. I would totally stay away from this firm and the owners of properties they represent. read more

My family recently stayed in a property managed by Walker Luxury Vacation Rentals and it was fabulous. Every detail of the property was perfect. The staff was great to work with to make sure we had a perfect stay. I look forward to staying again in a WLVRental when travel restrictions are lifted. read more

A group of us had booked a trip to Austin. With the current global pandemic, we've had to changed our original plans for the trip. Not impressed at ALL with the lack of compassion for the situation. We tried to contact on multiple occasions without success. When we finally did hear back from someone, we were told not only would there be no refund but that we would have to pay more money JUST to simply reschedule our original booking. Very unprofessional and near criminal. AVOID! read more

After 25 years as consumers in the Short Term Rental (STR) space, we entered into the owner category with our home in Austin. We chose Walker Luxury Rentals (WLR) as our representative for a number of reasons and our experience has been very positive. We heard many horror stories about the STR situation in Austin and it made us a bit nervous about listing our home. WLR has taken much of that anxiety away as they are local members of our community and have nothing to gain my taking a short timer approach. Sharon and her team are professionals. They have guided us through every step of the process from permitting, furnishings and even talked us into adding a pool to our home. We have had consistent bookings and have been, overall, pleased with the quality of the bookings. When problems do arise, let's be honest, they will and do, WLR has been super responsive. WLR takes on the many tasks that can prove to be a nuisance for the owner. They do the vetting, billing and provide cleaning services. Sometimes, Amy, our owner's representative, is even a bit if a shrink for the nervous home owner. We fully recommend WLR from an owner's perspective and in my experience from the comments left by my guests, they also take very good care of the visitors. Austin is a very special city and WLR is a great company to use to explore our lovely home town. read more

This company has been very rude and will not refund us or even give us a partial refund due to COVID..They also will not return my calls anymore. read more

This is the worst customer service I have every experienced from a rental property. I rented through Walker through Home Away. Not only did they make my group come in during Hurricane Harvey, the master bathroom was leaking, cable wasn't working, the dry wall on the ceiling was falling off and there was no water pressure. Because of all these things I posted a negative review on Home Away. They proceeded to bribe me $600 to remove the review, which I did, then called to tell me they would not pay. Do NOT work with this company. They don't care about the customer and will do nothing rectify a situation they messed up. read more

I had an excellent experience working with this company. Genevieve was so helpful, responsive, and extremely pleasant to work with. 10/10 would recommend and use them again. read more

I am disgusted with this rental. Due to the pandemic, we were unable to travel to Austin for the weekend. This company refuses to refund our deposit. read more

Despite a global pandemic, the home owners would not provide any sort of refund or credit for a future stay. They were extremely rude, would not return any of our calls to even discuss the matter of the situation. I would not recommend working with this home or any of the homes they represent. Terrible customer service. read more

We had the most amazing experience with Walker Luxury Rentals, Sharon was so accommodating and made our Austin experience absolutely memorable and pleasurable. We really liked her hospitality and first class service. We recommend this company and will back to Austin sooner than originally planned solely based on our experience with Sharon with Walker Luxury Rentals. read more

Dealing with this property management company was fine at first, until we entered the pandemic, I tried multiple times on their company line and no response, I was trying to reschedule before my second half payment was due, after flooding all points of contact I was finally contacted and was told the only way to be in further contact was through a cell phone of one of the employees which I found very unprofessional, they just kept trying to delay until my second payment was due, and then with a flip of a switch the employee was extremely rude and had zero empathy for the situation, we were supposed to fly in from Canada and with the current essential travel only we did not want to risk putting down the other half of the money, especially after we found out the type of company they really were, they would not defer payment, refund, or give any credit towards a future stay, they wanted $500 usd as a rescheduling fee, even with pleas from VRBO for them to have some compassion they did not. They are 100% tied to their property owners and do NOT care about the travellers, anyone reading this unless you have a very high disposable income I would certainly not risk the money as they will not help you at all, I am very upset I have had to deal with this company as even to cancel and have half of our money taken was a nightmare to deal with. read more

I have never written a review about a vacation rental prior to staying in it but as they say, first time for everything. I wanted to say what a incredible experience it has been working with Walker Luxury Vacation rentals company to date. I must give the gold star award to Genevieve as she has been professional, friendly, informative and extremely responsive as we navigated the challenges of the covid 19 world. Thanks to her responsiveness and the companies flexibility we will be able to enjoy our family reunion with all members present. Genevieve, thank you so much for all you've done to date to assist in making this reunion happen. I can't wait to write the reviews after the stay. You and your company were deserving of this review by the way you have handled our needs to date. Professional, personal companies are few and far between these days. I wanted to let anyone thinking of booking with you to know you are one indeed that rare company that goes above and beyond for your customers. read more