Villa Owners question

**Miss AliJS** · 26 Apr 18, 07:45 AM

Hi
Hope you don't mind me asking but when advertising on HomeAway are your rates higher than your own websites because HomeAway takes a cut of your profit? Would just be interested on how it works booking direct as opposed to through a company like HomeAway.

Thanks

Carolynmf · 26 Apr 18, 11:03 AM

HomeAway add on a service charge which is a percentage of the rental total. This is on top of us paying to advertise there, so it appears more expensive than owners websites but is not passed onto the villa owners.

**Miss AliJS** · 26 Apr 18, 11:17 AM

Thanks, that makes sense.

BnDamo · 26 Apr 18, 11:47 AM

They are just a "middleman" taking a cut and you will deal with the owner anyway through them.Save yourself some money and deal direct with the owner most of who have their own websites and the Dibb Villa section is a great place to start.

ianc · 26 Apr 18, 01:24 PM

When an owner lists on HomeAway he has the option of paying an annual fee, or going on a purely commission basis with no fee. Which is more cost effective depends on how many bookings that listing generates. The Dibb is not free either, as there is an annual fee. Other villa sites operate with a variety of methods: commission, fees paid by the owner, fees paid by the guest or combinations of those. A low fee is not necessarily better than a high fee, if it doesn't yield sufficient bookings. Effectively these fees, however calculated, are just part of an owner's overheads.

HomeAway used to operate as a list of adverts, but has now changed to a booking platform model, i.e. they handle the financial side, so their fees are partly to cover that. For an owner to take credit card payments directly instead, he would need a merchant account which is not free, in fact it is quite expensive. PayPal charges fees, as do banks. Some of the listing sites I use don't pay the owner until the day after the guest checks in - i.e. only if the villa really does exist and the guest is happy - a very effective anti-scam measure, which booking direct doesn't offer. Dealing direct potentially involves other fees. Apart from all that, the owner sets the rates, so can charge different rates in different places if they wish, e.g. special offers, sales, or promotions to enourage new business - different web sites have different audiences in different countries - I have listings in both USD and GBP, which are never exactly the same due to exchange rate fluctuations. Most of my guests are from the US, not Brits, and I have had guests from Europe, South America, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand.

The costs are not as simplistic as some people try to make out.

Guest · 26 Apr 18, 02:26 PM

A significant cut:
- the guest is charged a service fee - in the region of 8%
- the owner is charged a payment processing fee - in the region of 4%
- the owner is charged $500 to list an annual subscription ...
- ... or alternatively, is charged per booking a commission - typically 5% and potentially higher if the booking is via a third party to HomeAway.
- I also charge an extra 10-15% for the significant hassle factor, compared with direct booking (see below).

Some guests may think it is worth paying extra for the simplicity. But in my experience, middlemen only add to the complexity.

I had a pretty irate guest who insisted he had paid via HomeAway, whereas HomeAway insisted that he had not. It took me over two hours on the phone to both guest and HomeAway to get to the bottom of what had happened.

I also had a guest threatening to sue me, because HomeAway hadn't returned a security damage deposit, that I had authorised them to.

There are countless other examples I'm afraid.

Such a huge increase in their fees might be justified if the service was good, but I must say from an owner's perspective their customer service has been truly appalling. Getting a straight or satisfactory answer to even the simplest of questions is very difficult. Getting recompense for things that have gone wrong on their side is also very difficult, due to the one-sided nature of their contract wording.

And judging by their feedback (google "HomeAway reviews"), guests feel much the same way. Would any guest choose a villa that was rated this poorly? (I doubt you'd actually find any villa rated this poorly!) Some of the comments say that the "protection" offered is worthless, again due to the one-sided nature of their contract wording. If you arrive at a villa and something is less than perfect, are HomeAway going to sort it out? No, they'll just tell you to talk to the owner!

Unfortunately - there are also some people listing villas on HomeAway who are not the owner - several owners I know have reported this, and HomeAway are slow to pull down the rogue advertisements.

So I would look at it the other way around. Make your first contact directly with the owner, so there is no question of "circumventing the system" and use HomeAway only as a research tool to check details vs the owner's website, to read reviews.

Make your own enquiries, as follows:
* follow the steps in the 'sticky' at the top of this thread
* read the owner's website
* look at reviews from a variety of sources (we have 100% record of excellent reviews, you won't find a less than 5 star review across 3 villas, 8 years and every site we list on including HomeAway).
* check what is on the owner's website is current, and consistent with what is on the listing site.
* above all, talk to the owner and ask them any questions you have.

**Miss AliJS** · 26 Apr 18, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Magnificent

A significant cut:
- the guest is charged a service fee - in the region of 8%
- the owner is charged a payment processing fee - in the region of 4%
- the owner is charged $500 to list an annual subscription ...
- ... or alternatively, is charged per booking a commission - typically 5% and potentially higher if the booking is via a third party to HomeAway.
- I also charge an extra 10-15% for the significant hassle factor, compared with direct booking (see below).

Some guests may think it is worth paying extra for the simplicity. But in my experience, middlemen only add to the complexity.

I had a pretty irate guest who insisted he had paid via HomeAway, whereas HomeAway insisted that he had not. It took me over two hours on the phone to both guest and HomeAway to get to the bottom of what had happened.

I also had a guest threatening to sue me, because HomeAway hadn't returned a security damage deposit, that I had authorised them to.

There are countless other examples I'm afraid.

Such a huge increase in their fees might be justified if the service was good, but I must say from an owner's perspective their customer service has been truly appalling. Getting a straight or satisfactory answer to even the simplest of questions is very difficult. Getting recompense for things that have gone wrong on their side is also very difficult, due to the one-sided nature of their contract wording.

And judging by their feedback (google "HomeAway reviews"), guests feel much the same way. Would any guest choose a villa that was rated this poorly? (I doubt you'd actually find any villa rated this poorly!) Some of the comments say that the "protection" offered is worthless, again due to the one-sided nature of their contract wording. If you arrive at a villa and something is less than perfect, are HomeAway going to sort it out? No, they'll just tell you to talk to the owner!

Unfortunately - there are also some people listing villas on HomeAway who are not the owner - several owners I know have reported this, and HomeAway are slow to pull down the rogue advertisements.

So I would look at it the other way around. Make your first contact directly with the owner, so there is no question of "circumventing the system" and use HomeAway only as a research tool to check details vs the owner's website, to read reviews.

Make your own enquiries, as follows:
* follow the steps in the 'sticky' at the top of this thread
* read the owner's website
* look at reviews from a variety of sources (we have 100% record of excellent reviews, you won't find a less than 5 star review across 3 villas, 8 years and every site we list on including HomeAway).
* check what is on the owner's website is current, and consistent with what is on the listing site.
* above all, talk to the owner and ask them any questions you have.

Brilliant tips and advice. Thanks very much.

26 Apr 18, 11:47 AM	#4
	26 Apr 18, 11:47 AM BnDamo Imagineer
BnDamo Imagineer Join Date: Apr 04 Location: Staffordshire BnDamo's Reviews Restaurant Reviews: 3 theDIBB Guidebook Pages Created: 1 Guidebook Photos: 12	They are just a "middleman" taking a cut and you will deal with the owner anyway through them.Save yourself some money and deal direct with the owner most of who have their own websites and the Dibb Villa section is a great place to start.

26 Apr 18, 01:24 PM	#5
	26 Apr 18, 01:24 PM ianc Apprentice Imagineer
ianc Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Jun 10	When an owner lists on HomeAway he has the option of paying an annual fee, or going on a purely commission basis with no fee. Which is more cost effective depends on how many bookings that listing generates. The Dibb is not free either, as there is an annual fee. Other villa sites operate with a variety of methods: commission, fees paid by the owner, fees paid by the guest or combinations of those. A low fee is not necessarily better than a high fee, if it doesn't yield sufficient bookings. Effectively these fees, however calculated, are just part of an owner's overheads. HomeAway used to operate as a list of adverts, but has now changed to a booking platform model, i.e. they handle the financial side, so their fees are partly to cover that. For an owner to take credit card payments directly instead, he would need a merchant account which is not free, in fact it is quite expensive. PayPal charges fees, as do banks. Some of the listing sites I use don't pay the owner until the day after the guest checks in - i.e. only if the villa really does exist and the guest is happy - a very effective anti-scam measure, which booking direct doesn't offer. Dealing direct potentially involves other fees. Apart from all that, the owner sets the rates, so can charge different rates in different places if they wish, e.g. special offers, sales, or promotions to enourage new business - different web sites have different audiences in different countries - I have listings in both USD and GBP, which are never exactly the same due to exchange rate fluctuations. Most of my guests are from the US, not Brits, and I have had guests from Europe, South America, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand. The costs are not as simplistic as some people try to make out.

26 Apr 18, 02:26 PM	#6
	26 Apr 18, 02:26 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	A significant cut: - the guest is charged a service fee - in the region of 8% - the owner is charged a payment processing fee - in the region of 4% - the owner is charged $500 to list an annual subscription ... - ... or alternatively, is charged per booking a commission - typically 5% and potentially higher if the booking is via a third party to HomeAway. - I also charge an extra 10-15% for the significant hassle factor, compared with direct booking (see below). Some guests may think it is worth paying extra for the simplicity. But in my experience, middlemen only add to the complexity. I had a pretty irate guest who insisted he had paid via HomeAway, whereas HomeAway insisted that he had not. It took me over two hours on the phone to both guest and HomeAway to get to the bottom of what had happened. I also had a guest threatening to sue me, because HomeAway hadn't returned a security damage deposit, that I had authorised them to. There are countless other examples I'm afraid. Such a huge increase in their fees might be justified if the service was good, but I must say from an owner's perspective their customer service has been truly appalling. Getting a straight or satisfactory answer to even the simplest of questions is very difficult. Getting recompense for things that have gone wrong on their side is also very difficult, due to the one-sided nature of their contract wording. And judging by their feedback (google "HomeAway reviews"), guests feel much the same way. Would any guest choose a villa that was rated this poorly? (I doubt you'd actually find any villa rated this poorly!) Some of the comments say that the "protection" offered is worthless, again due to the one-sided nature of their contract wording. If you arrive at a villa and something is less than perfect, are HomeAway going to sort it out? No, they'll just tell you to talk to the owner! Unfortunately - there are also some people listing villas on HomeAway who are not the owner - several owners I know have reported this, and HomeAway are slow to pull down the rogue advertisements. So I would look at it the other way around. Make your first contact directly with the owner, so there is no question of "circumventing the system" and use HomeAway only as a research tool to check details vs the owner's website, to read reviews. Make your own enquiries, as follows: * follow the steps in the 'sticky' at the top of this thread * read the owner's website * look at reviews from a variety of sources (we have 100% record of excellent reviews, you won't find a less than 5 star review across 3 villas, 8 years and every site we list on including HomeAway). * check what is on the owner's website is current, and consistent with what is on the listing site. * above all, talk to the owner and ask them any questions you have.