The next International Book Direct Guest Education Day will be on Wednesday 5th February 2025. Hospitality owners from around the world will come together again to promote the #BookDirect message and explain to potential guests the advantages of booking directly with the business owner of the property they choose, rather than through one of the huge Online Travel Agents (OTAs) such as Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb or Tripadvisor.
What’s the problem with big Online Travel Agents?
OTAs do provide a quick, convenient search and booking service. They can become familiar over time and therefore habitual to use. They may also reward loyalty.
However, did you realise that they charge property owners up to 20% for every booking? On top of this, some add a substantial service fee for the guest to pay. Current examples – policies do change – are Airbnb, Homeaway and VRBO.
In total this could be 25% more in commissions and fees via an OTA rather than booking directly with the property. For small businesses – such as ours – this is a large slice to lose.
Another concern is that some OTAs have recently been found to be misleading potential guests.
They’ve been exposed for giving inferior ranking in search results if the owners aren’t paying extra fees to rank highly or if the property has a cheaper price quoted elsewhere.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority says it has been investigating after it became concerned that OTAs were using pressure tactics and reported that “giving a false impression of a property’s popularity or not displaying the full cost of a property upfront could mislead people, stop them finding the best deal and potentially break consumer protection law”.
So why do we at Cotswolds Place use Online Travel Agents?
Like many other small business owners we try our best to be as visible as possible online, however:
- The OTAs have *enormous* advertising budgets and can therefore reach far more widely than we can on our own
In addition:
- Some of our guests feel more reassured by booking through a large company
- Some travellers prefer to book all their accommodation through one site for convenience
Why should I Book Direct?
- Direct contact with us means that you can ask any questions you may have before you book
- We can tell you more about the apartment, village and area to be sure that this is the right property for your needs.
- If there are seasonal variations and happenings we can tell you about them
- We may be able to offer certain extras to make your stay even more special eg early/late check-ins, pre-arranged supplies for your arrival
- You won’t find a lower price anywhere else
- OTAs don’t protect you any more than booking directly with us. In fact you’ll get a better customer service experience by booking direct as we’ll go above and beyond to make sure your stay is as wonderful as possible
- You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re supporting an independent family business
What can I do?
- Book direct with the owners for any accommodation you trust, whenever you can
- Encourage others to do likewise
- When you get a great experience by booking directly, tell the world!
- Share the message using the #BookDirect hashtag on social media
From time to time we publish offers that are only valid when you book direct on our website.
To receive these, you can:
- Sign up to our Cotswolds Place email list
- Watch out for them on our Facebook page
- Keep in touch on Instagram
We thank you for your time reading this and supporting us. Small businesses globally really do appreciate all the help they can get 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Julia and Tarkan xxx
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