With a multitude of new travelers searching for vacation rentals, vacation rental managers and homeowners are joining forces for one day with a singular message to let travelers know that there are many advantages to bypassing third-party channels to book directly with management companies and homeowners.
On February 7, on this inaugural non-branded Guest Education Day, managers and owners are encouraged to:
- Ask employees to use the hashtag #bookdirect on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to bring attention to the many advantages of booking vacation rentals directly with the manager or homeowner instead of on third party channels.
- Send out an email campaign to their past and prospective guests with a message about the value of booking direct, booking local, and booking smart.
It only take a about 1,200 #bookdirect tweets and retweets to trend, which will draw attention from the media about the value of booking direct and educate consumers about the hundreds of dollars they are unnecessarily paying in fees to third party channels.
Industry influencers will be supplementing the message with national media press releases and story lines.
Related: Vacation Rental Managers Share #BookDirect Messages
Here are some ideas for messaging:
- Book direct and save: Did you know that Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and TripAdvisor add hundreds of dollars of fees to your booking total?
- When you book direct, you have direct contact with the manager or owner: When booking a vacation rental, peace of mind is important. Want to know if there is a grill, a kayak, 24/7 service, a grocery store close by? When you book direct, you can find out many of these important questions and more before you commit to booking.
- The best price isn’t on the OTAs: Unlike hotels, OTAs and aggregators (like Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, VRBO.com, HomeAway, TripAdvisor, and FlipKey) don’t have the best price for travelers. In fact, you can save hundreds by booking direct and booking local.
- Many of the best vacation rentals aren’t event listed on the major sites: Because of the cost of using the big sites, the best vacation homes with the highest demand cannot be found on the big websites. Along North Carolina’s beaches, alone, only 30 percent of the homes for rent can be found on the big websites. By limiting your search to the aggregating websites, you might be missing out on the best vacation home for your family or group.
- Mangers and owners have intimate knowledge about the destination: They can direct you the best rental for your needs and send you to the best activities, restaurants, and area service providers.
- If you have special needs, a manager or homeowner can help: Looking for help with your family’s special needs or help with pets? A manager or owner can work with you directly to help with any of your individual needs and give you these assurances before you commit to a booking.
- During non-peak travel times, managers and owners have special offers available: From events and activities to special rates to onsite services, with direct communication with managers and owners, you get insider knowledge and the best offers.
While the vacation rental industry often pits managers and owners against each other, the fact is that there are both management companies and owners who strive every single day to provide amazing vacation rental experiences for guests. OTAs and third party sites have made recent changes to their business models that have been detrimental to both guests and vacation rental providers (including managers, owners, and hosts).
Coming together as an industry in this small way on this one day provides the industry with a valuable cooperative effort to push back on OTA changes and provide guests and media with much needed education about the industry.
Join vacation rental providers on February 7th using the hashtag #bookdirect to help educate guests on the advantages of booking directly with you.
Comment below with any suggestions about messaging and ideas.
I am DEFINATELY in on this. I am so tired of all the big OTA’s and their rule changes. They keep taking a larger and larger chunk of our hard earned money. When my subscriptions to trip advisor and vacation rentals.com run out in March, I am done. Booking.com I have already shut down availability. I think what angers me the most besides the financials is the fact that they no longer allow the guest and the owner to talk before booking. That has to be the most unfair rule to both sides. Guests want to ask questions and I want to know who is staying in my cottages. I am not a big Twitter user so somebody please educate me on what I need to do. Thank you and thank you for starting this initiative to whomever did it.
SunTiki cottages of Indian rocks Beach Florida
Thank you for the initiative..I have been in business 25 years and manage over 30 quality condos, villas and homes on beautiful Manasota Key in SW Florida. I advertised heavily with VRBO when they first started in business and was one of their strongest supporters….what has happened to this industry is basically a money grab by executives that have found a cash cow. They have no commitment to the travelling public and have turned the industry upside down. Can’t even begin to tell you how many guests have contacted me in desperation when they found out the VRBO property they reserved and paid for, was double booked and they were without a place to stay. The Homeaway guarantee was a joke..3 nights in a local motel and money back weeks down the road. But people are convinced that this is where you need to go to book a vacation rental. It is definitely time for property managers and owners alike to join forces and bring back customer service and some semblance of sanity and ethics to this industry . Any help you an provide is much appreciated!
Marg Johnston
Sunshine Vacation Rentals