How safe to book villa with check or bank transfer

[JAF]

Did you check what you agreed to in a copy of the terms and conditions you signed as most owners we have rented from seem to have a set of t&c’s which sets out their conditions for hiring out their villas? Depending on what you signed up to would have thought travel insurance should be first route. It is always important to make sure any travel insurance you get covers all aspects of your holiday. We always upgrade our annual travel insurance to make sure it covers everything we think might occur. Fortunately for us this time we were also covered.

[JanetteP]

I had 2 Dibb villas booked this year. First one was cancelled in April, and I claimed on my travel insurance. I have another booked for September, deposit only, and who knows whether we will be going or not, hopefully so. The problem I see for the future is that everyone will be looking for a safe way to pay, and this is not always possible with a private villa, and for sure any future bookings will not be covered by insurance. We can see that some villa owners are going above and beyond to help their guests affected by this, but unfortunately, some aren't.

It won't stop me booking a private villa, indeed I have booked again already for next year. It just begs the question as per the original post, which is the best way to pay and would villa owners be more flexible?

[SussexFamily]

Originally Posted by JanetteP

I had 2 Dibb villas booked this year. First one was cancelled in April, and I claimed on my travel insurance. I have another booked for September, deposit only, and who knows whether we will be going or not, hopefully so. The problem I see for the future is that everyone will be looking for a safe way to pay, and this is not always possible with a private villa, and for sure any future bookings will not be covered by insurance. We can see that some villa owners are going above and beyond to help their guests affected by this, but unfortunately, some aren't.

It won't stop me booking a private villa, indeed I have booked again already for next year. It just begs the question as per the original post, which is the best way to pay and would villa owners be more flexible?

See more...

I do all my payments by bank transfer. Works for me.

[JanetteP]

Originally Posted by SussexFamily

I do all my payments by bank transfer. Works for me.

See more...

As have I in the past, but it gives you no protection whatsoever. So I just wondered what other methods of payment will be acceptable to villa owners to give the renter some protection.

[EssexSue]

Originally Posted by JanetteP

As have I in the past, but it gives you no protection whatsoever. So I just wondered what other methods of payment will be acceptable to villa owners to give the renter some protection.

See more...

I take your point but there has to be mutual trust. If you are a good guest you would not believe what a lot of guests see as their right to remove.

[SussexFamily]

Originally Posted by JanetteP

As have I in the past, but it gives you no protection whatsoever. So I just wondered what other methods of payment will be acceptable to villa owners to give the renter some protection.

See more...

In my circumstances it’s based on mutual trust and it’s never failed me to date. That’s why I use U.K. owners and I’ve spoken to them during the process.

Booking a dibb villa offers no greater protection either at the end of the day it’s down to trust.

[tootsie rolls]

I have booked the dibb villa that we booked last time,we could pay through PayPal with credit card , loved the villa last time and the lady who owns it is fantastic 😀

[cumbrian lakes]

We have paid a deposit on a villa £200 but owner will not refund. Travel insurance company are taking excess of £50 per person if we want to claim. That will be £200. I used bank transfer.

[tootsie rolls]

That's why I was reluctant to do this now ,sorry to hear your having trouble .

[TelfordWolf]

Originally Posted by tootsie rolls

That's why I was reluctant to do this now ,sorry to hear your having trouble .

See more...

We have booked a villa like this the past 5 times, go with your gut instinct when you communicate with a villa owner
We have used the same people the last few times so have built a good trust between us and they are very helpful
If you don’t have that luxury then do your checks on the property as others have said
Check the villa is actually owned by who they say they are
Check that all taxes have been paid - this is freely available on the appropriate website for each county or area
Speak on the phone to the owner if you can and have insurance in place before you start
Pay by CC if possible but some owners do not have the facility to do that due to costs I would assume
If everything stacks up then go ahead ...
never gone wrong yet ... he says 😃