#945888 by catsilversword
31 Aug 2018, 09:51
Anyone know any independent vacation house rental companies for the US, probably Florida? All roads seem to now lead to HomeAway/VRBO/Airbnb - and the extra charges bejnglevied are just stupid.......
#945890 by markyl
31 Aug 2018, 10:58
A group for villa owners and potential renters dealing with each other without the middle man.

Each villa will have been authenticated and checked against County records, so you can be assured that
(A) The rental home actually exists.
(B) The owner has fully licensed and is in compliance with Both State and County legislation.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/413376842349716/
#945895 by Snora
31 Aug 2018, 16:08
Having used Homeaway and VRBO (now both under Expedia I believe) I have only praise for them. We have rented nearly 50 homes over 12 years and never had an issue. Owners are obliged to respond quickly, keep their calendars updated, publish reviews and personal email addresses and often phone numbers are available so a potential 'renter' can contact them directly. I doubt I would have found any of the properties without their sites online ( I know Tripadvisor is now doing this ) . All costs for properties vary and I have never felt 'ripped off'. You get what you pay for. Just wanted to bring a bit of balance to the discussion. Good that there are others providing similar around - I will check out simplyowners to see how many properties there are and where. Thanks for the recommendation.
#945896 by catsilversword
31 Aug 2018, 17:38
We have also used HomeAway for many years! Yes, of course you get what you pay for and I have no issue with that, only the additional fees they now levy on renters which they previously didn’t - it smacks of greed and is why I was asking if anyone knows of alternatives. We have been largely happy with them, though I would say that owners do not always respond within a reasonable period - but when that happens, and it has always happened at the early enquiry stage, we assume that’s how they will always be and do not go further.

Thanks for the simply owners link Vegas, will definitely check that out!
#945903 by Vegascrazy
01 Sep 2018, 07:00
Regarding HomeAway (who took over OwnersDirect) TripAdvisor (who took over HolidayLettings) - we used to be very happy advertising our holiday villa with them. We paid an annual fee of a few hundred pounds and all was good, we accepted many bookings and dealt direct with our guests, many of whom then became "repeaters" and chose to book direct with us in subsequent years.

Since the takeovers, in my opinion (but do take a look at TrustPilot for a wider view), the situation has become dire for guests & owners alike. Instead of charging us, the owners, a fee that we were happy with they now typically add on £250 for a fortnight booking for our villa *for which which the guest bears the cost*.

The worst thing though is that they prevent any direct phone communication between owner and guest until the guest has actually booked & paid money over their money to HomeAway / TripAdvisor. We are naturally very uncomfortable with this since we like to chat to prospective guests, help them make a final decision and answer any queries they have.

If you so much as try to share a phone number or email address using their mandatory portal they allow the message to be sent but replace the text you want with "XXXX" - so meaningless to the poor guest ! We are eventually allowed to communicate direct with guests only when HomeAWay / TA have the money off the guest. In the case of TA it's truly frustrating as they forbid direct communication between owner and guest until the balance is paid eight weeks before the trip. That means, for many months, we and the guests are in the terribly frustrating position of not being able to "chat" and offer the personal service we have gained our reputation on. Some guests are savvy and manage to find us on places like LnkedIn or Instagram, so there are ways around HA & TA's greed!

That all said we're still on HA & TA as it costs us nothing to be listed. We much preferred the old tried and trusted system whereby we paid an annual listing fee and dealt direct with guests who paid the true rental cost, not a hugely inflated one. We still take the odd booking here & there from HA /TA which invariably translate to repeat direct bookings the following year.

Cheers
James
#945912 by catsilversword
01 Sep 2018, 19:09
Totally agree about the communication thing - it was always useful to be able to contact owners prior to booking. It isn’t just about a business transaction, but also about building trust. Frustrating to see any attempt to communicate now by partly XXXX’d out.

We have, on several occasions, rented from the same owner, so we have his contact details. He actually advised us to book directly through him, as he is then able to offer the true price, as opposed to what has become an inflated one. Good for him, good for his customers. It was interesting to r and your take on this James.
#945969 by Sealink
04 Sep 2018, 06:31
Direct messaging was abused by scammers though, it's well documented. I would be very suspicious of anyone contacting me if I'd booked through a third party.
#945971 by Snora
04 Sep 2018, 09:33
we were almost scammed once, but VRBO were onto it . Had an email from the 'owner' of an apartment i had enquired about. He said it was available and as it was in demand wanted full payment at time of booking. As much as I would have liked to stay there I have NEVER paid the full cost in advance. So i emailed him to withdraw my interest and noticed an email in my inbox from VRBO asking if I had followed through the booking as they were aware of the owner's email having been scammed. Only ever happened once thank goodness and at least VRBO had noticed something was awry.
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