John Saar Properties

Do not trust this property rental company!
My friends and I were so excited to try out one of the vacation homes listed on VBRO (vacation rentals by owner) managed by John Saar. I searched Big Sur for the best properties and booked a large one SIX MONTHS in advance for Dec 27 — Dec 30.
I received an email 6 weeks prior to our booking date informing me that the owner had simply cancelled on us and a refund payment of the deposit ($ 2.1K) was on the way. No help to get an alternative property, just an email that’s like «OK, sorry bout that. Good luck on your ruined holiday» kind of thing.
Legally, there’s nothing I can do (30-​day no explanation cancellation clause), but remind the owner that people book things six months in advance for a reason. Obviously the best properties are booked half a year in advance, and this behavior from the owner is just poor form and poor business practice. Don’t list your property if its not available. Don’t take two thousand dollars from someone only to cancel on them and cast their plans to the wind for a bogus reason.
My friends and myself included were coming from the east coast. We had vacation days set aside, we had flights booked, and the costs of this abrupt cancellation far exceed that of the refunded security deposit. If I could award this company zero stars, I would. John Saar & the property owner wouldn’t allow this review to be published on VRBO, because «technically» we never got a chance to actually stay at the property.