Best Prices For Self Catering Holiday Rentals

dragonsoup

Deleted_User wrote: »

Well,if the owners are unhappy they can always take their business elsewhere.
Seems to me the fees charged by Homeaway and TripAdvisor are very reasonable.
I get my listing on two sites with a global reach,the financial aspect of money being held in escrow means I never have to worry about not being paid and the review system means good owners who provide a great service get more bookings.
My properties are rented out for nearly 8 months a year to visitors from all over the world - I couldn't hope to target that sort of audience on my own.
And the agencies take 10% for all that which I pass onto the customer anyway ?
I'm VERY happy with the deal and all my customers seem happy with it too.

The last lot who booked with me via Holiday Lettings (TripAdvisor) paid £80 more for their 4 day short break than they would have done if they had done even the most basic search on google for me.

I had to wait 6 months for my money as HL doesn't actually hand it over until the guest checks in.


Only winner there is HL. Close on 10% from the guest and 3% from me + 6 months interest on my money.

mchale

dragonsoup wrote: »

they had done even the most basic search on google for me.

Agreed, I saw 1 advertiser on homeaway who had cleverly included a photograph of his website address in 1 of his description pictures, a nice way of playing the game

athenagreece

"Well,if the owners are unhappy they can always take their business elsewhere."
There is nowhere else to take it. TripAdvisor, HomeAway etc. are all at it.

"Seems to me the fees charged by Homeaway and TripAdvisor are very reasonable."
An owner can comfortably say that, because he is not paying the booking fees. It is the guests I am concerned about, who are being charged this booking fee (£100 and more) for the privilege(?) of making a single booking through any of these sites.

EssexExile

dragonsoup wrote: »

The last lot who booked with me via Holiday Lettings (TripAdvisor) paid £80 more for their 4 day short break than they would have done if they had done even the most basic search on google for me.

But they wouldn't be searching for you. Surely the point of listing on these sites is to get yourself noticed rather than be one of the many individual owners sites that don't have comparison tools, payment protection, reviews, maps, search facilities, etc.

dragonsoup

EssexExile wrote: »

But they wouldn't be searching for you. Surely the point of listing on these sites is to get yourself noticed rather than be one of the many individual owners sites that don't have comparison tools, payment protection, reviews, maps, search facilities, etc.

That is the only reason I'm listed there - to get myself noticed.

Once they've ( hopefully) chosen me from the listing, a little bit of googling will throw up my personal site where they can get exactly the same holiday cheaper. They may also find a few last minute discounts and special offers too. They won't find those on my TripAdvsior or AirBnB listing.

Of course if they want to pay a large extra booking fee to the middleman then so be it but I thought this was a money saving site?

Luckily most of my guests are savvy enough to book direct. The repeat ones definitely are!

athenagreece

EssexExile wrote: »

But they wouldn't be searching for you. Surely the point of listing on these sites is to get yourself noticed rather than be one of the many individual owners sites that don't have comparison tools, payment protection, reviews, maps, search facilities, etc.

An owner who runs his/her own private rental website is, at the same time, very likely to increase his/her property's exposure by listing on one or more of the major rental websites. If the holidaymaker becomes aware that there is also an owner's dedicate private site, he then gets the choice of paying the booking fee and dealing indirectly with the owner, or not paying any fee and dealing directly. If he thinks that most owners are likely to be dishonest rogues, he will play safe and do the former. If he doesn't think that, he can save himself a bundle of money by doing the latter.

[Deleted User]

dragonsoup wrote: »

The last lot who booked with me via Holiday Lettings (TripAdvisor) paid £80 more for their 4 day short break than they would have done if they had done even the most basic search on google for me.

I had to wait 6 months for my money as HL doesn't actually hand it over until the guest checks in.


Only winner there is HL. Close on 10% from the guest and 3% from me + 6 months interest on my money.

Why should you expect to get paid by guests who won't be checking in for another six months ?
The whole point of Tripadvisor and Homeaway is that they provide peace of mind and security for both owners and guests which is why they hold that money in escrow.And are you really that bothered about a couple of quid interest on that money over 6 months ?
I'm happy to pay a percentage of my fees for that and all the guests I have who are committing £700 to something many months in advance seem happy with their end of the deal.
It takes all sorts I suppose but if I'm using a professional booking agency that gives me prominence and a worldwide audience I expect to pay for that.

athenagreece

Deleted_User wrote: »

... It takes all sorts I suppose but if I'm using a professional booking agency that gives me prominence and a worldwide audience I expect to pay for that.

I agree absolutely with that, but you are missing the point. It's not you, the owner, who is paying these large extra sums (booking fees), it's your guests!

[Deleted User]

athenagreece wrote: »

I agree absolutely with that, but you are missing the point. It's not you, the owner, who is paying these large extra sums (booking fees), it's your guests!

So why should it bother me ? It doesn't affect my bottom line and if they don't like the fees they can go somewhere else.
Simples.

athenagreece

Deleted_User wrote: »

So why should it bother me ? It doesn't affect my bottom line and if they don't like the fees they can go somewhere else.
Simples.

Yes, but you are posting on a website which by its name is dedicated to saving the consumer money. So, with respect, your "bottom line" is not relevant at all.