A lot of people are looking online for ways that they can save money when they travel. But are those mega search sites really as good as they claim to be? Now there’s a new way that you can enjoy a vacation and save money, that’s by booking direct.
What Exactly is Booking Direct?
Usually vacation rentals are managed by independent owners and operators of properties or property managers. Recently, there’s been a big growth in the travel and listing sites that are putting themselves in between guests and managers.
This isn’t being done to improve the guest’s travel experience. The big sites market themselves aggressively so they can make money. But if you’re able to save some money, you should do it. That’s why booking direct is a better option.
Is Booking Direct Cheaper?
Booking directly is cheaper. There are a couple of ways that the sites increase the amount you have to pay to make money. Many of those fees can be avoided by going directly to the property manager and booking through their site. Below are two of those extra fees.
1. The booking sites have service fees. This will be directly billed to you along with any type of rent that you’re going to charge. Based on the site that you are using, it’s usually able to be seen by clicking on “View Details”. The rate will run between 5-15%.
2. The sites charge really high commissions or listing fees for every listing. These go from 5-20%. A lot of times these types of commissions mean that the home’s rent has to go up to cover this additional cost.
Each time you are booking through a travel site, smartphone app or listing site, you are going to increase your costs which means that you have less money to spend on your vacation.
Does Booking Direct have any other benefits?
Of course! Below are some of the other benefits you enjoy when booking direct.
1. Listing sites don’t always have the lowest prices. A lot of times they will have rates that aren’t updated daily and any last-minute offers aren’t reflected. Or there’s a higher price because the listing cost is being covered. Plus there’s that annoying service fee. After all of this you might be paying the rate you’d normally pay rather than having a discount.
2. A lot of properties aren’t always on those sites. Because of high listing cost, a lot of properties that already do well don’t bother with listing on them.
3. You’re going to be in direct contact with the manager while you’re booking. The listing sites require that the managers are only communicating with guests through their system. They hide the contact information and remove the important information from the messages such as links. If you’re interested in saving money and avoiding paying a service fee, they’re going to lose the money. They only want to make sure that you’re booking through the site so their profiting from you.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, booking direct is a great choice when you want to save money on travel. Check it out and see what they have to offer. You may just find a whole new way to travel and save money!
