Cheap holiday rentals guide discussion

MSE_Jenny

Test Test Test Test

PNEfan

Owners Direct warning

I write as a former advertiser on this site. After 10 years we have parted ways.

Owners Direct have been taken over by U.S. site HomeAway which has led to several changes to be aware of:

1) A 'Traveller Fee' is now charged, in a non-transparent way, conveying the impression that it is levied by the owner. (Copying an idea from sites such as Holiday Lettings and Air BnB, who introduced this model.)

2) You may see pop-ups stating 'This owner doesn't allow you to complete your reservation online and finalise payment on Owners Direct. You won't be eligible for our Book With Confidence Guarantee.' This is misleading as many owners have their own online booking and payments system with secure credit card integration. And I question the value of their Book With Confidence Guarantee. I have specialist rental insurance covering, for example, the cost of alternative accommodation in the event of a disaster. If something were to go awry during a guest's stay, who would they call? Me or Owners Direct? If I am responsible enough to organise maintenance, cleaning, laundry, welcome pack, key arrangements, communication with the guests, etc etc, have been trading for 10+ years with many repeat guests, I resent the implication that I am not trustworthy.

3) Adverts without a 'Book Now' button appear lower in the listings. This penalises owners who prefer to have a conversation with potential guests.

4) Contrary to the impression given by the name, Owners Direct have started taking listings from non-owners. This used to be their unique selling point.

My advice:
1) Search for the property or owner's name to see if they have their own website. Check the website Who Is registration, and use the Wayback machine to see archived versions of the website showing development over time.
2) Ideally you should be offered a range of payment methods, including secure card payments.
3) Read guest reviews.
4) Ask questions. Genuine owners will be knowledgeable about an area, spammers won't.
5) Right-click on photos, then 'Search Google for image' to find other listings.

Further info: TrustPilot reviews of Owners Direct.

dragonsoup

PNEfan wrote: »

4) Contrary to the impression given by the name, Owners Direct have started taking listings from non-owners. This used to be their unique selling point.

Much to my annoyance! My soon to be ex agent has my property listed on this site without my agreement.

PNEfan wrote: »

My advice:
1) Search for the property or owner's name to see if they have their own website. Check the website Who Is registration, and use the Wayback machine to see archived versions of the website showing development over time.
2) Ideally you should be offered a range of payment methods, including secure card payments.
3) Read guest reviews.
4) Ask questions. Genuine owners will be knowledgeable about an area, spammers won't.
5) Right-click on photos, then 'Search Google for image' to find other listings.

Further info: TrustPilot reviews of Owners Direct.

I'd also add to look on the tourist board sites such as VisitWales/Visit England. This is a guarantee that the property has been visited and assessed regularly by a quasi official body.

lessbigal

Had a nightmare. Booked a cottage in france. Waited 24 hours to here from the owner. It was not available. Unfortunately, that means my money is not returned for up to 7days. No time to book another. Would advise to be careful using tripadvisor. The accuracy of the availability is dreadful. You could check out 3 or 4 properties and have wasted a couple of weeks due to your money being tied up by your bank and still nothing booked.
The trip advisor owned holidaylettings site implies you get your money returned/ freed up almost immediately. This is certainly not true.`

athenagreece

CHEAP HOLIDAY RENTALS GUIDE

I think Martin and his team have missed a trick with this Guide. Nothing comes "cheap" when you book your self-catering property through any of the rental sites listed there.

Well, if Martin is not going to tell the full story, I will. All of these websites will charge you a 'booking fee' when you book your rental from the private owners and agencies who advertise through them. The price you are shown is the owner's rent PLUS the site's fee for the use of their site and there is VAT to be added to that. You won't be aware of this because all the sums are lumped together to make a single total. These booking fees vary for the different rental sites, but I am talking of an average of around 10% as an addition to the rent, putting the price up by around £100 and more, in most cases.

Certainly you must make use of these rental sites to find a nice property. Narrow things down by using any of the filters on offer, add in the dates when you want to take your holiday, but before handing them your credit card details STOP and ask yourself if there might not be another way to rent exactly the same property, but doing so very much cheaper.

Very often there is another way and that is dealing directly with the owner of the property. He won't be charging you a 'booking fee' it will just be the rent. I can assure you that he will be delighted to deal with you directly and not through the rental site. His phone number is more than likely to be listed somewhere on the site. As likely as not, the owner will have his own private website for renting out his property; there could be special offers and other inducements on there.

Some of the rental sites mentioned in the Guide will sometimes give you the address of an owner's private website. It won't be in big letters on the home page, but you may find it hidden away somewhere on another page for the property. If that fails, DON'T GIVE UP, because making an internet search using the name of the property and its location, should reveal all you want to know!

Lb79

newnham wrote: »

I have been using holiday rental companies for almost 40 years in the UK and for the last ten I've used Interhome for rentals overseas. This of course gives you added protection but puts up the price a little, although Interhome prices are very reasonable. I have been back to rentals I've used on packages by booking direct.
Last year I booked a rental in Biarritz which I found on Tripadvisor. We paid a deposit by money transfer to her bank and the rest in cash on arrival. It was fantastic.
This year I found a place in Rome through the same website.
Even though there are only two of us we have found apartments still save money, give you more space and flexibility (hate being cooped up in one room for more than a couple of days) and save moey because you don't need to eat out all the time.

Recently used a search string 'cottage holidays in uk', using my search engine, not a link from MSE. Homeaway came up. Used site to find a rental. Gave card details to site to make booking, I thought. But from then all info came from a third party company, who were the agents for the chosen cottage owner. The info showed me the holiday rental cost and service fee and I was required to enter my card details again to make payment. (Should have thought this odd as had already given them to Homeaway, but didn't). Also completely satisfied with before and after communications with the 3rd party agent. However, my bank statement shows that a payment was taken by Homeaway the same day as the booking made. It is 8% of the total rental cost. Upon investigation using the faq pages on the Homeaway site, it is a service charge taken from travellers to use their site. Charge taken depends on cost of rental. This charge is a recent introduction and is explained in Ts&Cs which were rewritten in May 2016 to accommodate this. They state that Travellers would be made aware of this 'service fee' when making the booking.
I certainly do not recall it being obviously apparent on any page linked to Homeaway only the service fee applied to the booking made with the 3rd party on their communication. When I tried to investigate what this charge was within my stored trip details in the Homeaway app I find my account 'suspended', no 'my trip' details at all. Further the only contact details to be found on the site pages are for owners, not travellers. I did find a customer support number
But they knew 'nothing' about it. They gave me another number but they were not connected to Homeaway!!!! I know I am at fault for not reading the Ts&Cs but I find a charge made to travellers rto use the site for the owners benefit it transpires is in my opinion unfair. I will not be using Homeaway again to search.

athenagreece

Lb79 wrote: »

I know I am at fault for not reading the Ts&Cs but I find a charge made to travellers to use the site for the owners benefit it transpires is in my opinion unfair. I will not be using Homeaway again to search.

You are most certainly not at fault for failing to read HomeAway's Ts & Cs. I speak from the other side of the fence as an owner of self-catering accommodation, and like many of us I am disgusted by the way HomeAway, Owners Direct, TripAdvisor and other large sites, charge renters a booking fee or service fee just for booking accommodation through their sites. It is not the owners who advertise on these site, but it is these predators who pocket your money. The owners are also paying them, one way or another, for their rental properties to be advertised.

In future, use any of these sites only as a directory. When it comes to making a booking and giving them your card details STOP and ask yourself whether you want to pay another £100 (or whatever) for your holiday accommodation. The alternative is to deal directly with the owner, or his property manager, because that way you will only be paying rent without the add-on. How do you find him or her? Well if you don't see his phone number on the website page, then do an internet search using the name of your chosen property and the location. If the owner has his own private website it will be shown. If he hasn't a website, then as likely as not you will also find the property advertised on less well-known advertising sites and they don't charge booking fees.

Catkins22

I own a holiday home and use a local company to market it and take payments. I just found my house on Tripadvisor and Interhome at massively increased rent and a diifferent name. On Tripadvisor the rent is double what we charge through our agent. Interhome have added about 30 per cent.
I queried this with our agent who told me they use affiliates to market properties. The affiliates can change the property name and description and charge what they like! Names are changed to stop people finding a better deal for same property.
We are not comfortable with this at all. The agent didn't mention it when we signed up with them.

richardw

Determine your agreement with the agent.

Truly,Truly

If book directly with the owner you can save the booking fee from holiday rentals websites. You can also haggle with the owner.
Down load the app from Stay s a v r and you can get the owners details .Why pay a booking fee when you don't need too.
Spend it on a good meal out.
Download the app from Stay s a v r .
Always try to speak with the owner to ensure you are getting the best deal possible. I am an owner and prefer to let the accommodation for less than have it lying empty.
Some of the websites block the owners details, but if you download the free app you can then view all the details - its magic.