Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/24/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have requested twice to be removed for sending me ad flyers via email but they continue to send me unsolicited postcards. My first request was October 2023 the second request was January 2024 but still I received unsolicited mail.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/02/2024

  
  Thank you for your feedback. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by continuing to receive unsolicited postcards after your requests to be removed from our mailing list. We have submitted both requests—first in October 2023 and again in January 2024—but unfortunately, once the mailers are in process, we have limited control over stopping their delivery immediately.
  
  However, we will escalate this issue to ensure your details are completely removed from our marketing list. Please allow us a little more time, and we will do our utmost to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
  
  Thank you for your patience and understanding.
  
  Best regards,  
  Beth Jones

  Blue Swell

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2024

  Type:Facilities Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Stay was 7/11/2024 - 7/14/2024. Went in an noticed right of the bat that the rug was filthy. Went to our bedroom and noticed the top of the canopy bedpost was missing. I pulled the chest of drawers drawer out and it fell forward and tilted almost to the floor, all the other drawers were the same. Opened the closet and there were 3 dirty towels hanging on hangers. The kitchen door area smelled like pet urine in a house that was advertised as pet free. It was advertise and a picture of an outdoor shower which is not there. The icemaker in the kitchen would not work and there were no ice trays. The 2nd bedroom had window trim hanging from window. The 3rd Bedroom box springs had 3 of the boards in the box spring broken. 1 of the living room chairs the springs were broken. You would sit in it and go to the floor. Upstairs Bunkbeds 1 was missing 3 rails that hold the mattress up. 1 of the ladders was missing both screw the secure the bottom of the ladder. The queen size box springs had a full size mattress. I took 20 pictures and sent them to Blue Swell. I Called Blue Swell. They Offered to send someone out. I told them that It couldn't be fixed in an hour or two and I didn't want to spend my entire vacation sitting in a house watching someone do something that should already have been done and I didn't want to leave a stranger alone with my stuff. After finally getting an answer from Blue Swell they offered me 10% off of my next rental if I use it in 30 days. Now WHY would I want to stay with them? They get people that save all year to go on vacation and take their grandkids to rent from them trust that the place is going to be a nice place and then after you get there its not but you have no other choice but to stay there because of cost and then they are going to not make it right.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2024

  Thank you for your feedback regarding your stay from July 11-14, 2024. We sincerely apologize that your experience did not meet the standards we set for our properties.
  We deeply regret the issues you encountered, including cleanliness concerns and maintenance problems. This is certainly not the experience we aim to provide, and we understand how frustrating it must have been to deal with these challenges during your vacation.
  Upon receiving your report, we immediately offered to send a maintenance team to address the issues. We respect your decision to decline our offer, though we want to clarify that guests are never required to stay in the unit while maintenance is being performed. Our priority is to resolve any issues swiftly and with minimal disruption to our guests.
  Regarding the 10% discount offered on a future stay, we want to emphasize that there is no time limit or deadline to use this discount. We hope this flexibility might provide some assurance that we value your business and would love the opportunity to host you again under improved circumstances. We also recognize that the 10% discount offered on a future stay may not fully address your concerns, and for that, we apologize. We are committed to improving our services and ensuring that such issues do not occur again.
  Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we have already taken steps to address the problems you highlighted. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/09/2024

  
  Complaint: 22113489
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I understand that you do not require me to stay in house during maintenance but like I stated. The person is a STRANGER to me. I would have all my personal belongings in the house. As far as the 10% discount. I will NOT be spending nor recommending anyone to spend money with Blue Swell the way they stand behind what they are selling. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Kevin ******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/29/2024

  We sent this to guest 

  Hi ******, 
  Thank you for your patience. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced. We understand that the issues you reported negatively impacted your stay, and we genuinely regret that this happened.
  However, we must clarify that we were not provided with the opportunity to address or resolve the concerns during your stay. As a result, we are unable to offer monetary compensation for this instance.
  That said, we greatly value your patronage and would like to offer you a 10% discount on a future stay with Blue Swell as a gesture of goodwill. We hope this will encourage you to give us another opportunity to provide you with the high-quality experience you deserve.
  Please feel free to reach out to us directly when planning your next visit to Panama City Beach.
  Thank you for your understanding.
  
  

  We sent this to VRBO when they complained to them: 

  "We take pride in ensuring that every unit is thoroughly cleaned and inspected before each guest's arrival. While we strive for perfection, occasional oversights can occur. When the guest reached out to us, we promptly apologized and offered to send someone to address the issues. However, the guest declined our offer, stating they had already spent one night there. 
  We want to clarify that most of the concerns raised by the guest were related to minor maintenance issues rather than cleanliness. Nonetheless, we regret any inconvenience this may have caused. We have addressed this matter with the cleaning and inspection team responsible and are implementing measures to prevent such occurrences in the future."

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/20/2024

  Type:Facilities Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We booked a condo through BRBo where Blue Swell was the owner. We us VRBO often and have never had an issue until now. We had NO air conditioning. When we called it in, we were told someone would come check it out that day. Nobody came. When I called Blue Swell to inquire she said we were on still the list for maintenance, but she would call them about when they would be there. She called back near 6:00 pm and said the AC unit wouldn’t be fixed during our stay. (They knew this even though they never came to our condo) We were told we could have a 100% refund if we left THAT night. We had just gotten ready and were about to leave to eat with family & friends. There were also no available units in our building (our family was in another unit at the same place). Blue Swell did not offer to help us find another place, just said the 100% refund was only good if done that night. (This was also the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, mind you). We felt we were stuck staying there in the miserable conditions. They did bring us two fans that were of little help. I noticed on VRBO reviews from a few weeks before our stay, there was a complaint about having no air conditioning in this same unit. So we were promised air conditioning in the ad, they knew it did not work & chose not to let us know before we came. Which would be false advertising. Also, the property is on the 11th floor, not the advertised “lower” floor it shows when you book on their VRBO ad. We did reach out to Blue Swell and were offered 27% back if we signed a contract to not leave negative reviews, report to BBB or take legal action. We asked for 50% being the non working air conditioning info was not disclosed and the conditions while there were miserable. We spent our time we should have been in the condo relaxing, finding somewhere else to go that wasn’t hot, which was very inconvenient when you paid for a place to relax! Blue Swell told us that 27% was fair, but we disagree & want others to be warned.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/29/2024

  Dear Amanda
  
  Thank you for sharing your feedback. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced during your recent stay with us.
  
  We understand your frustration regarding the air conditioning issue. Our records indicate that we promptly responded to your initial complaint and informed you of the unfortunate situation with the AC unit. When we realized that the AC couldn't be fixed during your stay, we offered you a 100% refund if you chose to leave that night, understanding that the conditions were not ideal. However, we acknowledge that it was a holiday weekend, making it challenging to find alternative accommodations on such short notice. 
  
  While you opted to stay, we did our best to make you comfortable by providing fans. We understand that this was not a perfect solution, and we apologize for any discomfort caused. Additionally, we offered a 27% refund as a gesture of goodwill, even though you utilized the property, including its utilities, bedding, and cleaning services, which incur costs regardless of the AC situation.
  
  Regarding the advertised floor level and the previous review about the AC issue, we strive for transparency and accuracy in our listings and regret any miscommunication. Your concerns will be addressed to prevent future occurrences.
  
  We value your patronage and are genuinely sorry for any distress this situation has caused. Although we stand by our 27% refund offer, we are committed to learning from this experience to improve our services. 
  
  Thank you for your understanding and for bringing this to our attention.
  
  Best regards,
  Beth Jones
  Blue Swell Rentals

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/27/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  It's UNACCEPTABLE that we were without air conditioning for 5 nights of our 7 night stay. We arrived 6/18/22-6/25/22. Blue Swell was nothing short of negligent during our vacation stay. We paid $7,055 for a weeks stay and it was miserable. The interior house temp was 90 on arrival late evening Sat. 6/18/21. 36hrs later on Monday morning we called for AC maintenance, and they sent a kid out who said the units were working and it would just take time to catch up, but told us that it was just hard for units to cool when temps are high in Florida, he set both thermostats to 66 and auto and told me not to touch them, so we didn't. Well, they never did cool the house, interior temps only went up daily. Approx an hour after the kid left, BS called and asked if we were satisfied with our maintenance and I told her no, he did nothing for us and told us it just had to catch up. We went out and purchased box fans and standup oscillating fans to help circulate air as the outdoor temps soared between 95-100degrees during our stay. We kept all windows, blinds, and exterior doors closed to prevent excess heat from entering the house. We found out on Day 5, after I called again for AC help, Jimmy from Ragan Maintenance, told us that who they sent on Monday was just a runner kid for BS, and that he is the only AC man for BS property AC maintenance. Both units had no Freon in them! We were not offered a refund for inconvenience, we weren't offered another property to stay in that had proper air conditioning. I don't want a 10% discount in a future booking because I will never book with BS again.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/26/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/30) */ Blue Swell's policy in the case of maintenance issues is for us to do all we can, within policy & reason, to accommodate the guest. Guests have a duty to report any complaint immediately and allow a reasonable time to cure. We do our best to respond to all reported issues within 24 hours. We were first made aware of an issue with the AC on 6/19/22 08:46 PM CST. This message came in after our office was closed and we put in a service order when our office opened at 8:00 AM CST. Maintenance went to the unit and did an initial troubleshooting by 06/20/22 10:27 AM CST. We were unaware that this did not resolve the AC issue until the guest contacted us again on 6/23/22 03:53 PM CST. Once we were made aware, we had an AC vendor at the unit by 5:30 PM CST who was able to resolve the issue. Our company policy is to resolve any issues as best we can. Per the Rental Agreement that the guest signed, "There are no refunds for unmet expectations, problems with the house unless they render the house useless, bad weather, natural disasters, or personal or other reasons." However, if a guest contacts our company directly about compensation, our Management Team will meet together to review their request and the circumstances surrounding their stay. This guest never reached out to our team about compensation. We would have been glad to speak with them and resolve the matter. If a guest asks for compensation for the AC not working in this home, we guarantee $50.00 for every 24 hour period that the AC is failing. In the case of this guest, they would be eligible for $250.00 compensation. We do require the guest to complete a Release Waiver before any compensation can be refunded. This waiver has been sent out to the guest at this time that this was responded to. Normally, once a guest reaches out to a channel to demand a specific dollar amount, it is considered extortion. Our company does not compensate/refund in response to threats. We do our best to attend to all reported issues and are saddened to hear that a guest considers this negligent. As shown by the timeline above, we responded in a timely manner to their needs.