TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin VRBO fee?

Maybe this should go in People Talk; if so, feel free to move it.

I've just confirmed a reservation at Blue Marine in Maho for November/December. When communicating with the owner regarding the deposit, there was a discrepancy between the deposit stated in his rental agreement vs. what my card would be charged per the VRBO website. When I asked about the discrepancy, he said it was a new fee VRBO was levying and that the difference goes to VRBO. He wasn't pleased about it, nor am I. It appeared to be about 5% of the rental amount.

Does anyone else know anything about this? Have you experienced a fee levied by VRBO?