During February, you may well see lots of posts across social media with the hashtag #BookDirect.
#BookDirect is a combined global movement between vacation rental owners/managers and hoteliers to show the many benefits of booking directly. The campaign began February 7th 2018 with Guest Education Day.
Considering the vacation rental and hotel industries covet the same traveller, it speaks volumes that the two have joined forces to embark on a campaign for #BookDirect Day.
What Caused the #BookDirect Movement?
Priceline and Expedia now dominate the US marketplace with a combined share of 95% (source: Investors.com). That level of monopoly can’t be good for anyone except shareholders. It’s not good for owners, who are dictated to on how to run their businesses. It’s certainly not good for consumers, who pay a higher cost for their vacation.
Expedia bought out the VRBO/HomeAway group in 2015 for a whopping $3.9 Billion. Traveller fees were quickly introduced, copying other OTAs (online travel agents) AirBnb and TripAdvisor.
Vacation rental Owners and managers have been increasingly unhappy with industry-wide changes over the last few years. And now most OTAs (online travel agents) have blocked open communication between owners and guests, it’s a step too far for many.
Lots of great vacation rental homes aren’t even listed on the large listing sites now.
How Much are these Traveller Fees?
All the major OTA’s now charge you, the traveller, an additional 5%-20% for booking your accommodation through their websites. As if the fee wasn’t hard enough, some OTAs make it impossible to spot that you’re even being charged a fee. It’s ‘packaged’ in the total without showing you a breakdown, which means you may never even know you paid a fee!
- Airbnb charge you up to 20% of the rental cost.
- VRBO/HomeAway charge you up to 12%.
- TripAdvisor/Flipkey charge you up to 16%.
Imagine paying 15% on a $4000 booking! What could you do with that $600?
Take a look at these comparisons for a vacation costing $2900:
VRBO/HomeAway Quote:
Airbnb Quote:
Flipkey/TripAdvisor Quote – Traveller View
Flipkey/TripAdvisor Quote – Owner View
Why You Should #BookDirect
Savings: Booking directly should always give you the best rate. All the OTA’s have service fees that can go as high as 15%. If you #BookDirect you won’t have any booking fees to pay.
Superior Service: Booking directly gives you that one-to-one personal service that the OTA’s just cannot replicate. HomeAway and VRBO state that booking through them will give guests superior customer service.
But how is this “Superior Customer Service” going to help you at 8pm when the air conditioning breaks down? Will they have a clue what to say when you ask them where to get the best pizza? Will they know if the house comes with a BBQ? All they know is what’s shown on the listing. And you can already see all that!
One-to-One Communication: Most owners LOVE offering personal insights, recommendations on where to go and suggestions on what to do. We have a treasure trove of tips and tricks to help you make the absolute most of your vacation. Our website is packed with pages and pages of info.
Unfortunately, the OTAs now forbid any direct contact between a guest and owner. All communication must be conducted through the OTAs platforms. That means we can’t share our email addresses or phone number. We can actually get delisted for doing so and the OTAs have filters in place to detect any attempts to sneak them into a message. It also means we can’t share our website or ANY links.
How to #BookDirect with Owners
Find Owners Directly:
The big online agencies have millions of marketing dollars at their disposal. They can afford to buy the top spots on google. But that doesn’t mean you can’t book vacation rentals direct with owners.
You might just have to dig a little deeper to bypass all the paid for ads by the OTAs.
Many owners include the name of their vacation rental in all listings with the OTAs. Just put the name of the rental in google and by-pass the results from the big listing sites. Look for a Facebook page or an owners own website. If you google Serenity Lake House Orlando you’ll see lots of ways to find us directly.
You can also copy and past any image into google to see where else that image can be found.
Use a Non Fee Website:
There are lots of listing sites that don’t charge guests any fees. Most will state that right on the home page.
The Vacation Home Rental Market is the perfect place to start for US vacations. Many States now have a regional website giving you the chance to contact owners and book without any Booking Fees. New states are being added regularly.
If you are looking for a vacation rental in Florida, then you must visit Florida Rental By Owners. It’s part of the VHR Networks mentioned above and is one of the fastest growing regional sites. To date, it has saved travelers almost $30,000 in fees enabling guests to book vacation rentals direct with owners.
The Vacation Rental Marketing Blog, ran by Matt Landau, is the ultimate gathering place of professional vacation rental owners and managers. Although currently in its’ infancy, the VRMB Map shows where members homes are located along with website links. This map is pure gold in terms of reaching highly professional owners and manager who are committed to providing exception service and guest experiences.
Worldwide Book Direct Map:
Booking an Orlando Vacation Home Rental Direct with Owners
If you’re looking for a vacation rental home in Orlando, then you’re in luck. The vacation rental concept may be new to many locations, but Central Florida has decades of experience. Thanks to Mr Walt Disney.
Orlando Vacation Rentals are professionally regulated by both the State of Florida and local counties:
- Every owner must be licensed by the state of Florida
- Every owner must be registered to pay State Sales Tax
- Every owner must be registered as a local business with the County
- Every owner must be registered to pay local Tourist Tax
How to Check An Orlando Vacation Home
There are 4 main counties covering the vacation rental locations around the Disney/Universal vacation area.
- Osceola County – Kissimmee
- Polk County – Davenport & Haines City
- Lake County – Clermont
- Orange County – Orlando
Every County has 3 websites where you can check details.
- Property Appraiser to check the owner does own the property
- County Tax Collector to check registration for local taxes
- Clerk of the Courts to check outstanding claims and liens
Osceola County
Osceola County Property Appraiser
Osceola County Tax Collector
Osceola County Clerk of the Courts
[accordion]
[accordion_item title =”Vacation Rental Communities in Kissimmee >>>”] Acadia Estates | Alhambra Villas
Bass Lake Estates | Bellalago | Bellavida Resort | Blackstone Landing | Bridgewater
Calabria | Calypso Cay Resort | Cane Island | Caribbean Villas | Caribe Cove | Chatham Park | Club Cortile | Club Sevilla Resort; Compass Bay; Coral Cay; Country Creek; Country Crossing; Creekside; Crescent Lakes; Crestwynd Bay; Crystal Cove | Cumbrian Lakes | Cypress Lakes | Cypress Pointe | Cypress Woods
Doral Woods | Double Palm Villas
Eagle Pointe | Eagle Pointe South | Emerald Island | Encantada Resort
Fantasy World Resort | Fiesta Key | Formosa Gardens | Formosa Gardens Estates
Gleneagles | Grande Villas | Grand Palms
Hamilton Reserve | Heritage Key Villas | Heritage Lakes | Highpoint World Resort | Hunters Creek
Indian Creek | Indian Point | Indian Ridge | Indian Ridge Oaks | Indian Ridge Villas | Indian Wells
Laguna Bay | Lake Berkley | Lake Marion Resort | Lakeside | Legacy Dunes | Liberty Village | Liki Tiki Village | Lindfields | Lucaya Village
Magic Landings | Mill Run | Montego Bay | Morgan Point | Oak Hammock Preserve | Oak Island | Oakwater
Paradise Cay | Paradise Cove | Paradise Palms | Parkway International | Parkway Village | Pebble Point | Pleasant Hill Lakes | Polynesian Isles
Quail Ridge
Regal Oaks | Reunion | Rolling Hills | Royal Oaks | Royal Palm Bay
Sherwood Forest | Silver Lake Resort | Solivita | Somerset | St. James Park | Strafford Park | Sun Lake | Sunset Lakes
Terra Verde | The Hamlets
The Oaks Golf Club | The Villages at Mango Key | Trafalgar Village | Tropical Palms | Tuscany At Westside
Venetian Bay | Venetian Bay Villages | Veranda Palms | Villa del Sol | Villas at Fortune Place | Villa Sol | Vista del Lago
Waterford | Whispering Oaks | Wilderness | Windsor at Westside | Windsor Hills | Windsor Palms | Windward Cay [/accordion_item]
[/accordion]
Polk County
Polk County Property Appraiser
Polk County Tax Collector
Polk County Clerk of the Courts
[accordion]
[accordion_item title =”Vacation Rental Communities in Davenport & Haines City >>>”]DAVENPORT:
Aldea Reserve | Ashley Manor | Aviana Resort | Aylesbury
Bahama Bay | Bass Lake Resort | Bella Piazza | Bella Toscana | Bentley Oaks | Bimini Bay Resort | Briargrove | Bridgeford Crossing | Bridgewater Crossing | Bridgewater Town Centre |
Calabay Parc | Champions Gate | Cypress Pointe
Davenport Lakes | Davenport Lakes Estate | Deer Creek
Esprit Estates
Festival | Florida Pines | Four Corners
Grand Reserve
Hampton Lakes | Highgate Park | Highland Meadows | Highlands Reserve | Hillcrest Estates
Island Club West
Lake Davenport Estates | Lake Wilson Preserve | Legacy Park | Loma Linda | Loma Vista
Marbella
Oakpoint
Paradise Woods | Pinewood Country Estates | Polo Park | Providence Golf Club
Regal Palms | Ridgewood Lakes | Robbins Rest | Royal Palms
Sand Hill Point | Sandy Ridge | Santa Cruz | Solana Resort | Solterra Resort | Southern Dunes | Sunridge Woods | Sunset Ridge
Terrace Ridge | The Abbey at West Haven | The Hamlet at West Haven | The Manor at West Haven | The Manors at Westridge | The Sanctuary at West Haven | The Shire at West Haven | The Village at Town Center | Thousand Oaks | Tivoli Manor | Town Centre Reserve | Tuscan Hills | Tuscan Ridge
Vistapark | Vizcay
Watersong | Waterstone | Wellington | Westbury | West Haven | Westridge | West Stonebridge | Wildflower Ridge | Windwood Bay
HAINES CITY:
Crows Nest
Villa Sorrento
Calabay Parc at Tower Lake (Careful here, there is a community in Davenport called Calabay Parc)
Southern Dunes [/accordion_item]
[/accordion]
Lake County
Lake County Property Appraiser
Lake County Tax Collector
Lake County Clerk of the Courts
[accordion]
[accordion_item title =”Vacation Rental Communities in Clermont >>>”] Clear Creek | Clermont
Dream Resort
Eagleridge
Glenbrook Resort | Greater Grove | Greater Groves
High Grove
Minneola | Mission Park
Orange Tree | Serenity | Silver Creek | Sunrise Lakes
Weston Hills | Woodridge Estate [/accordion_item]
[/accordion]
Orange County
Orange County Property Appraiser
Orange County Tax Collector
Orange County Clerk of the Courts
[accordion]
[accordion_item title =”Vacation Rental Communities in Orlando >>>”] Currently, there aren’t that many areas in Orlando City that are zoned for short-term rentals, so there’s no community list as such, but you can still use the same links above to research any owner. [/accordion_item]
[/accordion]
The Name Could Be Registered a Number of Ways
Monica & Chandler Bing could be M & C Bing; M Bing, C Bing, Monica Bing, Chandler Bing. You get the picture. You just need to try a few different ways.
Don’t Be Alarmed by Current Year Arrears
Arrears are a red flag that something may be wrong financially. Ignore any arrears for the current year. Tax bills are issued November 1st and can be paid anytime up to March 31st. It can also take time to update payments, don’t be alarmed if the current year still shows as outstanding.
Alarm bells should start ringing if previous years remain unpaid.
Are Orlando Vacation Rentals Licensed?
Yes. Every vacation home in Central Florida is regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. You can check records to make sure the owner is licensed: License Check at MyFloridaLicense
Most owners are individually licensed and should be easy to find, but some are licensed under their Management Company. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t find a license. Speak to the owner and ask them for their license number. They should be able to either show you a copy of the license or provide you with the link to the management company license.
So there you have it. All our tips to book a vacation home directly with owners securely and safely,
And remember: #BookDirect
If you have any questions at all, just fill in the form to contact us directly. We’ll be happy to answer any questions or offer any advice to book vacation homes directly.
Happy Travels!
If you are a vacation rental home owner, take a look at OwnerWebs for a book direct website.
