Why and How to Book your Vacation Rental Direct with Owner

KristenFeb 12, 20234 min read

By now, you have probably heard the term, “Book direct” when looking for a place to stay for your vacation. But, like most travelers, you may have questions about what it is, why you should consider it, and how to do it safely.

What does “Booking Direct” mean?

“Booking direct” means booking your vacation directly with the owner of the property rather than through a rental company or through OTA (“Online Travel Agency”) booking sites like VRBO, Booking.com, or Airbnb.

Why Should I Book Direct?

1. Save Money

Vacations can be expensive! If you are like me, you are always searching for the best price. Did you know some vacation rentals cost 15-20% more depending on the website you use, adding hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars to the cost of your stay?

*You will always get the best price when you book direct with the owner – no service fees or commission added on for the middle man!

When you book through OTA websites like Airbnb, VRBO or Booking.com, you will pay extra fees. These websites also charge the property owners a substantial commission on the rental amount. Owners will to pass these fees on to travelers in terms of a higher nightly rate. So regardless of who they are “charging” the fee, YOU, the guest is PAYING all of the fees!

FYI, here is a breakdown of the fees charged by some of the OTAs:

Airbnb:

Most Guest service fees are about 14.2% of the booking subtotal, but can be as high as 20%
Hosts pay a minimum of a 3% fee on the booking subtotal.

VRBO:

Guests are charged a 6% to 15% booking fee of the subtotal (minus taxes).
Hosts pay a 5% commission fee and a 3% payment process fee. This is a 8% total fee paid by hosts.

Booking.com

Has no traveler fees
Hosts pay a 15% commission

Book Direct with Owner

No booking fees for traveler
No third party fees for host to pass on to traveler

Important TIP: Always compare the total reservation cost (not just the nightly rate) across websites - AFTER you enter your dates.

Here are 2 examples of price comparisons - same property, same dates, booked on different platforms. (Houfy is the equivalent of booking direct because no booking fees are charged.)

Why and How to Book your Vacation Rental Direct with Owner

2. Better communication...and direct with owner of property.

OTAs insist that, “for your safety”, all communication between Owners/Hosts and Guests be done through their site . How does talking to me, the person you are actually renting from, directly make you less safe?? It doesn’t. The OTAs do this for one reason: to make sure they don’t lose any of their cut of the booking.

What this policy does do is keep you, the Guest, and me, the Host, an arm’s length apart. But direct communication is important when renting Oa vacation property! It is important for the Guest and the Host to develop a trusting relationship so that your experience can be as personalized as possible and so you KNOW will be dealing with a real person throughout the entire experience.

When you book direct, the Host is able to call, text, or email you directly with any questions, recommendations, and explanations - and vice versa.

3. Special Perks

Many owners of direct booking sites offer special deals and discounts on their own website or social media accounts! Speaking directly with the owner guarantees you the best possible rental price, access to special offers and/or last minute cancellations deals. (Look for a place to sign up for notifications of special deals or discounts.)

When you book direct and are a good guest, you develop a relationship with the owner that makes you a member of their vacation rental family. When you have this relationship, you know exactly what kind of experience you can expect the next time you book this same property. Owners love repeat guests and often give you discounts when you come back again.

HOW to Book Direct

Not all properties have direct websites, but many do! And it is always worth it to save the money!

1. Search on fee-free sites such as Houfy.com.

Join Houfy's free book direct market network. Owners never pay fees or commissions. And travelers never pay service fees.

2. Search your destination on Google maps (or other online maps) and filter by “lodging”.

3. Join Facebook groups dedicated to vacation rentals by owners, fee-free or VRBO/Airbnb alternatives.

There are quite a few, including:

Micit-Travel
Alternatives to VRBO, HomeAway, Airbnb, FlipKey, TripAdvisor & Expedia
South Carolina Vacation Rentals by Owner (& others specific to your desired area)
Vacation Home Rentals - No Fees Booking Direct
Go Travel Direct
Vacation Rentals Booking Direct - No Booking Fees
VRBO Alternatives
USA Vacation Rentals by Owners
and lots more!

4. Look for LOCAL area rental sites.

Search for “(your desination)”, “vacation rentals” or “book direct”. (for example. “Hilton Head book direct”) Scroll past the OTA paid ads to direct book websites.

5. If you find a specific property you like on an OTA site, do some research to find out if an owner does direct bookings:

Many owners list on multiple OTA platforms, book direct sites, and have their own website as well. Sometimes travelers will message hosts through popular booking platforms asking if they have a book direct site. But...these sites forbid hosts to tell you how to book directly. After all, the platforms earn revenue based on commissions.

So here’s how you find them:

1. Identify the property name (from the OTA listing)

The easiest way to search is by finding the vacation rental's property name. Hosts and guests often refer to the property by a specific name such as “HHI Tide 21” or “A Touch of Luxury Log Cabin”

Look near the title or headline.
If it's not obvious, see if it's mentioned in the listing description and/or reviews.

2. Google search the property name

If the name is a common phrase, use quotation marks before and after the search term entered. Quotation marks tell Google you want to see results with this exact phrase.
Enter the property name along with city to narrow down your search. If you don't know the exact city, just enter the general area.