I often see, people booking through agents for there holiday villa, when I know its cheaper all round to book direct with the owner
WHY BOOK THROUGH AN AGENT?
So why do people book with the agent - several reasons, ease, security of not being scammed and I guess the option to pay via credit card… I previously would have also thought the same, until i did my research and became an owner. I would always advise research. I would want to check the owner is listed via some of these rental sites, I would search them to see if they listed via facebook and to see if I can make direct contact and check their licenses and if they are up to date with their rental taxes (Many FB villa groups verify owners to ensure they are who they say they are)
Pretty much every one of our guests have booked direct, we have a few through other booking platforms but they usually book direct the second visit. We are lucky that our guests have the trust in us, not only do many guests know of us through our other local business, but they also remember us form our stint in A Place in the Sun, with Channel 4 (more on that CH4 A place in the winter sun, aired 15 Janaury 2016)
Some agents packages dont actually confirm which home you will be staying in (AOA - Allocation on arrival) The large companies that offer these package holidays dont actually own the villas, they rent them through third parties (we have had some of these guests stay with us) (we have also seen one of these 3rd parties go bust and leave people stranded) but the agent gets a fee plus the tour operator so you pay more than direct.
Often these are allocation on arrival and whilst many villas are lovely you can’t fault them, we hear of so many that are in need of repair or upgrades - and you have no idea where you are staying before you arrive or what to expect and the brochures only show the glossy images to tempt you in, not always what you are getting on arrival
LOCATION SCAMS
When you see a FB advert saying 5 minutes from Disney thats unlikely basd on local trafiic - they may be just a few miles away - Remember - Disney itself is the size of Manchester so being 5 minutes away is pretty difficult. Always check the milage before booking to be sure you are happy with your location. I always quote milage to a central point - we have certainly got to Disney within 20 minutes - but we were out of rush hour trafiic and lucky with the lights etc.
Rental accomodation can be in a variety of places, Kissimme, Davenport, Haines & Clermont choose whats right for you. These all vary in distance and I would never say one is better than the other they are all areas zoned for short term rental.
We chose our location to be accesable to all areas and it was right for us
BOOKING DIRECT -WHY?
Firstly price !! Its very apparrent that booking direct can save up to £300 per week compared to other booking platforms wheer until you’ve handed over money you often have no communication with the owner until after a deposit it paid at the very least. The fees some site charge like VRBO and others are high to both guest and owner, so owners often infalte their prices via these sites to compensate for these charges (For an owner to maintain there home and pay there taxes rental rates should be reflected - we dont rent out to make a huge profit, its expensive running and maintaining a good villa. but is is a business, and rates are priced accordingly)
Second theres the communication, you get a perfect opportunity to build a rapport with the owner directly asking them questions about their own home - who better to know if theres a hairdryer or a dishwasher and what the local restaurants are. These owners know exactly what is located near by and what offers you can get in local restaurants, the actual distance to theme parks etc.
We are happy to chat with you ver the phone, if your local pop by and say Hi - we have nothing to hide
Third, you know what your getting with us - All our pictures are current and up to date based on our last trip (where each year we upgrade / alter / enhance the home) you have the address, so you can plan your trips, you have full details of the home and commnunity your staying in and you can feel reassured in what your paying for.
Fourth, - REVIEWS… what better way to see how good a place is that from the recommendations of previous guests all ours on our web page are either copied from our FB page or have been emailed to us and I know any previous guest would confirm what a great place we are to stay - I bet if you asked the question on our FB those previous guests would confirm.
BE SAFE & WISE
We always recommend to do your checks, check licenses are current and we can point you to where to check that, ask questions and if you would like to chat ring us up. We always recommend end supply failure insurance for your own piece of mind and remember we are sharing our home with you too, the TRUST works both ways. We are letting strangers into our home so we are sure you’ll agree its much nicer to get to know each other first.
So come on over to our WEB or FB page and #BOOK DIRECT
https://m.facebook.com/orlandovillamagsden142/
https://www.orlandovillamagsden.com/