Can the owners do that? As a matter of fact, yes.

All kinds of travel companies, not just vacation rental owners, turn down your business when they get a better offer. The most common cancellations happen with cruises: A group books an entire ship, and individual customers are either rebooked on another vessel or must accept a refund. Airlines, hotels, restaurants and car rental companies do it, too.

VRBO spokesman Jordan Hoefar says the site doesn’t regulate cancellations but that VRBO expects rental owners to honor their contracts.

“If an owner acts in a way that is inconsistent with that policy, he or she may be in breach of contract, in which case the travelers may have a legal recourse,” he says, adding, “From a legal standpoint, travelers must be familiar with the cancellation policy in the contract.”

One of the reasons companies can get away with a cancellation and an involuntary refund is that it’s perfectly legal. Whether it’s an airline contract of carriage or a cruise line’s ticket contract, these so-called “adhesion” agreements typically apply only to the customer, not the company. So, although you can’t cancel your reservation without losing your money or paying a penalty, the company can do so without consequence.

No one knows exactly how many better offers are received and accepted in travel — except in one case. Airlines have to report their involuntarily denied boardings to the federal government. These denied boardings happen when planes are overbooked and the airline must make the difficult decision to deny some passengers a seat.

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