BookDirect
The #BookDirect Movement has been steadily more vocal over the last years on the internet web text and social posts will often have #BookDirect as part of the text, alongside other industry words such as OTA. There is an international BookDirect day, 4th Feb this year, but what does this actually mean and is it safe to book with an unknown owner versus a well-known agency? This article is trying to take an objective view to look at the safety and benefits of booking direct versus other options based on my knowledge of the UK market.
Before I start, to introduce myself, I am an English owner / director of 6 holiday cottages, I am in several networking bodies such as PASC (the Professional Association of Self Caterers), Visit England and I am also a holidaymaker.
Firstly, what is book direct?
This was a phrase that started to gain significant moment around 2018 / 2019 but it’s something that has been happening for decades but has only recently gained a name. Quite simply it means that as a customer you are interfacing directly with the owner of the accommodation. In some cases this means that the customer has telephoned the accommodation, or emailed or maybe just used a private website and online booking system. In the 1970’s when our business started, guests used to write to us to secure a holiday cottage, something we can’t imagine now ! The main thing is that with “book direct” the customer is liaising directly with the owner/manager of a holiday accommodation.
What is the alternative? What is an OTA?
The alternative to booking directly with an accommodation is to book via a travel agent. Traditionally, these were in the High Street but nowadays most of us use online agencies for UK vacations. OTA is simply the shortened version of “online travel agent”. These are travel agents that only exist online; some of the well-known ones being Expedia, booking .com, Airbnb….. Of course there are still travel agencies with office space in addition to online presence.
What are the advantages of an OTA or other agency?
Many holiday guests use travel agencies because they are very professional and good at what they do. Online it is very easy to select a date, select a location and then see a large array of properties that hopefully suit you. It is easy to refine options such as “dog friendly”, “ground floor bedroom” and then it is very easy to pay and book with this agency. There are reviews that can be checked and it is usually a very slick, easy booking journey for the customer. Guests will be staying either in a property owned by a large property company or potentially owned by a single family/person.
So why book direct ?
Guests that “book direct” have a closer relationship with the owner /manager of the property that they are staying at. Typically, this would be a smaller business or an individual owner and they will be on hand to answer any of your questions either by phone or Internet before the time of your booking and during your stay.
It is easier with a direct booking / conversation to change arrival time, have a non standard length of stay or other tweak to the system that is harder with the standard guidelines of an OTA dealing with many hosts and many guests.
Owners have a pride in their business, we generally delight in talking to potential guests and making sure that the fit is right between the guest and our properties. Most of us would never accept a booking that would not be right for the holiday maker because that would lead to an unsatisfactory situation for both owner and holiday maker, don’t forget we feel your pain when you have issues because we pride in providing you with a great holiday.
With book direct, the booking goes directly to the owner, reducing the risk of any double booking and the payment goes directly to the owner, more on that later.
There is, of course a charge for using an agency, they have to make a living. This charge will either be paid by the host or the holidaymaker, meaning that either the holiday price seen on OTA will be more expensive or the host will get their margins reduced or both. Do your research, it may be cheaper to book direct because the middleman costs have been removed.
A direct conversation between owner and potential guest is often more satisfying because the large travel agencies have “one size fits all models” which doesn’t allow for variation that you may desire. There may also be more availability, I for one only advertise some of my dates / cottages on OTA's and keep others for direct bookings.
How do I know that it is safe to book direct and that my payment is going to the right place?
Recently on the BBC One Show consumer section there was an article about a holidaymaker that accidentally paid a scam artist via the VRBO app, unfortunately rogues are around. There are sadly, from time to time, stories of holiday makers that have been scammed by paying the wrong people or arriving at holiday destinations that don’t exist. However, there are ways to confirm the safety of your potential holiday destination whether it is an OTA or private landlord.
How can I tell if the holiday cottage / hotel genuine ?
A simple way to test if a holiday website seems genuine is to just pick up the phone. Most book direct websites have a telephone number with a real person (the owner) on the other end, although if it is a small business don’t forget that this won’t be manned 24/7. A website should have a contact email address to which the owner should reply to any of your questions. Many authentic websites also have information about your host and will definitely have an address.
Reviews.
We all live on reviews nowadays. An online travel agency will have reviews for each property often with replies from the owners. However, most private websites nowadays have reviews too. Follow back some of these reviews and see if the reviews are the same on different places. Many of us will have been reviewed in numerous places such as Google, online travel agencies, maybe on social media. Some of these reviews will be on our website, there may be more online.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that all properties are on TripAdvisor, many private hosts choose to stay off TripAdvisor for a number of reasons.
In addition to online reviews there are a number of things that authentic, reliable holiday let owners can do to let you know that they are authentic.
Independent Quality audits.
Online travel agencies do not quality assess the properties on their listings, they rather rely on guest reviews but many private properties pay for external assessments so that they have an outside, impartial view of their offering, thus making sure that they are in line with the latest industry standards. Things to look for within a private book direct environment are external assessments by bodies such as Visit England, Quality in Tourism or AA assessments. These audits are physical assessments, following a strict criteria, by one of the trained assessors, either on an announced or an unannounced visit. Assessed properties will probably displayed the logo on their website. Visit England now list all their assessed properties on the AA Rated Trips website AA Rated Trips Spreacombe Example
Many private hosts also enter award schemes to demonstrate expertise in certain areas. These will also be listed on their website.
Professional networks and guidance
A professional host will be well connected to the latest rules, regulations and standards. As well as having a regular quality audit look on the website of your intended location to see if they are members of bodies such as local tourist boards, Woolacombe tourist information in our case, national cooperatives, such as Farm Stay UK or professional guidance bodies such as PASC, (Professional Association of Self-caterers). Woolacombe TI, Spreacombe Listing A professional website/host should be able show you these validations. Being a member of a networking body keeps the host up-to-date with the ever-changing regulations such as the recent fire regulation changes for holiday lets and will advise on the best professional advice to help you to adhere to these rules.
Payment
Online travel agencies will ask you to pay through their portal which should be safe if you follow their procedures. However this will a cost either picked up by owner or the traveller.
If you are booking directly it is more important for you to feel comfortable with the validity of the accommodation. Many owners prefer to take bank transfers rather than credit cards because it is cheaper, but often you can ask if they take a credit card, which in many cases will have travel insurance included. The more developed the owner booking system is, the more payment options are available.
I also return back to the authenticity of the accommodation; if a hotel or self catering cottage has been in business for several years, is listed with the local tourist information and has good reviews it will almost certainly have a reliable payment method.
The most important thing for a business owner is consumer trust and that would be very quickly lost with an insecure payment process.
Conclusion
Looking back at my original question “Is it safe to book direct, #BookDirect or should I be using a reputable travel agent?”
I personally do not hesitate to book directly with an owner for a UK holiday cottage or hotel. I make sure that I’m happy that the accommodation provider seems authentic, has good reviews and doesn’t operate as an island, by which I mean our advertised in several places including a local tourist board. However, I still use online travel agencies because often they have just have the right accommodation where I want, when I want it. My preference would be to find a small privately owned establishment and try to book directly with them for hopefully a better service, maybe a better price and possibly more local tips and hints when I get to my holiday. There is room in the market for both travel agencies and private operators, I would not hesitate to use either.
