Holiday Booking Fees

Id be horrified to pay more if the holiday was more expensive to be honest.

We have had our own rental property in years gone by and i think you have to look at similar properties and see what they are doing. If the only difference between two properties is that your fees are higher and price is the decider for the renter you will have lost that booking.

We have been going to Florida for many years and now we book direct with owners that we have stayed with previously to avoid that booking fee. The owners know us and we know them so cutting out the middleman makes great sense .

Good luck with your venture.

I try to avoid booking through the cottage companies as they seem to charge much more than when booking direct with owners through owners own websites or sites such as Airbnb or Owners Direct. One cottage we booked in Scotland was £200 more with a cottage company than booking direct, so I now avoid them. The last time we booked with a well known cottage company we had a list of complaints and they did not deal with them, so not worth the extra premium in my experience.

I guess the holiday company is acting as an "agent" as once you receive the booking the agreement is technically between you, the owner, and the hirer. They are introducing the customer to you, though why they can't just include a booking charge in the total amount seems strange.

I hate extra add ons, even the security deposits and protection cover irritate me, although I can see they need to be separate.

Personally, I think the same booking fee should apply whether the holiday booked is for one week, two weeks or a month. They only have to send the confirmation and collect the money once.

Happy New Year to you too! I find 'booking fees' extremely annoying, whether it is for holiday accommodation like your cottage or theatre tickets. You can't get these things without booking, so why on earth put on a charge which is really just part of the price? I would rather just pay whatever the price is, without anyone trying to pretend that part of it is something else! When you're paying for something you know perfectly well that the price includes all the background admin stuff that is necessary. Does the company break down the marketing charge to you, NudeJude, or just quote the price - in which case why can't they just quote a price to the customers?

(Please don't think I'm criticising you at all, NudeJude; it's not your responsibility! )

The holiday company's charge far too much money for advertising a holiday rental. When we had a cottage, we used The Cottage Guide so that people could, in effect, book direct.

To be honest, we found that by the time we had listed the cottage with a holiday letting company, paid their commission, paid for cleaning, paid for laundry, paid for repairs and maintenance, council tax, gas and electric etc, etc, there was very little profit. In fact, in winter, we often made absolutely nothing, or were even in slight loss but just had the advantage of the cottage being heated courtesy of the paying guests.

I think the booking fees they charge are too much. You would think they would make enough money with the % charged on the total weekly tariff never mind adding a booking fee as well.

Happy New Year!