Why Book Direct With the Owner?

Most online travel agents such as Booking dot com and Airbnb work on commission. This means that if you are booking using the agency website then you are paying them a cut as well and this cost is built into the price. This is a big problem when it comes to the amount of money you will need to spend if you want to make sure you are getting the best deal as sometimes the amount they take can be up to 30% of the total cost of the holiday.

Owners are often priced better than agencies as they don't have to pay this commission to the agency so are happy to give you a better deal.

Owners will often only release selected dates to online travel agents and booking agents. There will often be more choice of dates available on their own website. Some owners only release last minute availability to agents if they haven't sold it privately on their website.

Agencies such as Sykes Cottages are often too busy to give you individual attention. Booking direct with the owner gives you an advantage as owners will know the destination intimately and can advise you personally on things to do in the local area. Owners also have an interest in your satisfaction, because it helps to increase their business.

You can always do a search on Google (or any other search engine). Look for the individual businesses not for the agents.

You might see an advertisement listing site such as Independent Cottages or Simply Owners. These sites take paid adverts from the owner so don't charge guests commission.

Don't use agencies or online travel agents. Well no, do use them. Look up a property you might be interested in and then use a Google to search for them directly by name.

You can also check on Facebook listings. There are many Facebook groups set up specifically to bring together owners and guests directly.

So remember owners are often priced better than agencies as they don't have to pay commission. Some owners only release last minute availability to agents if they haven't sold it privately. Owners will know the destination intimately and can advise you on things to do in the local area. If you're not booking directly with the owner, you are paying them a cut of the total cost of the holiday. If you're booking through an online travel agent you could be paying them a cut of up to 30% of the total cost.