Travel Zone

Travel specialist Helen Cobb examines the pros and cons of booking your chosen accommodation through an agency or directly with the owner.

Where and with whom do you select your holiday home? The internet over the last few years has seen two key sources emerge.

Reputable agencies online have grown in number over the last 10 years. They ensure that the properties they have listed and the surrounding environs have been inspected.

The other most popular source is to find your property through one of several websites that merely list the owner’s properties and you can book through the owner direct.The obvious advantage to you the customer is that you buy direct from the owner which is often cheaper than booking a through an agency.

The aim of this article is not to criticise those who chose to book direct with the owners. Not at all, you should have choice and choice can be healthy. The author’s aim is merely to make you aware of the potential pitfalls that lie ahead when booking direct with an owner thereby minimising the chance of being let down and ruining your hard earned holiday experience.

Here are some thoughts to bear in mind when making your choice:

Q. Will an owner be honest and transparent enough to upload truly representative pictures of the exterior and/or interior of their home and then write in the description that the pictures have actually been cleverly taken to make the property look better than it is reality?

A. So many clients have tried the “buy direct” route and the following year I hear horror stories from clients of how in real life a property looked completely different to the pictures on the internet.

Q. Will the description of the property by the owner state exactly what the property and its locale are like?

A. Once again the tales I hear of customers arriving to find that the description the owner made on the internet was in many respects different from what they experienced upon arrival. Sometimes worse than that the owner has seemingly purposely omitted to include key pieces of information that may have influenced the decision to book the property – for example the property has a noisy railway line nearby or perhaps is under the flight path of a local airport etc.

Q. Would you expect some key basic services as part of your booking direct with the owner or do you face being greeted by a dark lifeless home and a lengthy instruction manual which you need to sit and read through to discover for yourself how everything works!

Perhaps bare cupboards or empty fridge await you (or if you’re lucky stocked with some cheap wine, bread and milk) requiring you to spend the first day of your vacation finding the local shops do get food and drink?

A. Reputable agencies will have a “meet and greet” service at the airport and/or at the property. They will provide a personalized tour explaining how things work and provide you with a good back up service during your stay. An advance shopping list can be carried out on your behalf and be delivered and stored for your convenience.

Q. You’re unhappy at the standard of holiday accommodation promised by the owner and you want to get some compensation?

A. It is traditionally very difficult to get compensation directly from an owner. However an owner that is registered with a reputable agency will be more inclined to offer compensation should standards have fallen short of what he was contractually obliged to provide through his agent. A good agent will be worth many bookings and revenue to owner and it is in the owners interests not upset the agent and face being sued by an established company that he/she is contractually bound by.

Also if paying by credit card through a holiday agency (it’s unlikely an owner has this facility) you may complain to your credit card issuer and claim back some or all of the monies paid due to not having received the goods/service you paid for. Agencies need positive feedback and referrals to succeed in their business as opposed to some owners who often go from year to year “duping” unsuspecting holiday makers coming to their home knowing what is being promised doesn’t quite match up with the reality.

You can therefore for the price of a nice bottle of wine a day reduce the risk of these highlighted dangers and feel much more assured that the holiday home you booked is what you will find when you get there!

Helen Cobb is a travel specialist #1 and has been looking after her villa rental customers for over 15 years. Helen and her team at Luxurybreaks #2want to ensure that your next holiday villa rental experience is one to remember for all the RIGHT reasons.

Before you book your next holiday vacation home, make sure you check out Helen Cobb’s excellent free article on why paying less direct with an owner could end up costing you more in the long run,