02/06/2019
Do you know that when you rent a property on VRBO, AirBnB, TripAdvisor etc (AKA OTAs -online travel agencies), you and the owner of the property are assessed a huge service fee, sometimes costing you up to 20% extra in « service fees ». These service fees provide you with absolutely no added benefits.
The Service fee goes in the pocket of the OTA in exchange of providing the owner with a place to advertise his property.
In addition, the OTA controls which property is being displayed to the guest searching for a property and only displays properties based on a « secret algorithm », which means thar it displays the properties that will bring up the most Service fees to the OTA, not necessarily the property that the guest is looking for.
is a movement that brings back the vacation rental business to how it used to be 20 years ago. You contact the owner of a property management company that doesn’t charge service fees and you exchange your information and discuss your rental needs directly.
The owner provides a contract and a secured payment method and you book directly with the owner and saves on service fees. You book the exact property you want and don’t provide your personal information to a third party. Everything stays with the owner.
This is what we do here at MountainSide Condos. 60-70% of our bookings are processed directly with our guests and the percentage is slowly growing each month. This means that guests receive a better value and can freely communicate and ask questions prior to booking a property.
Please consider all your vacation rentals in the future wherever your travel plans take you. It is EASY.
1) google vacation rentals in your desired area.
2) look up listings on the OTAs and note property names (any established VR owner will have a property name for vacation rental)
3) google the property name and find the owner’s contact, page, website.
4) inquire with the owner directly and book after receiving all the information you need to make a decision.
When , it is important that you do the following:
- just like any other online transactions, always pay with a credit card. Don’t pay with a cashier’s check, western union etc...This protects YOU. All legitimate owners are set up to collect a credit card payment. For returning stays, ask the owner if a check or a wire transfer directly to his bank account would be an option. This may save you additional $$.
- sign a contract.
- show an official ID if asked. This ensures that there is no problem with ID theft.
Wishing all of you a great day!!!
