Fees to guests causing a couple of issues

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
Sam V
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Location: Villa in Gale, Algarve, Portugal. At home in Fetcham, Surrey, UK
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Fees to guests causing a couple of issues

Post by Sam V »

So yesterday I received a deposit payment via Paypal (first time for this method) for an OD booking £107 short as she stated she has already paid that to OD - their fees

Just now I had a call from Rental Systems the guest is unhappy to have paid £200 extra to them having now seen my prices. They think they might loose the booking but she will loose her deposit.

So do I reduce my prices to cover the charges to guests from rental sites or increase them so they think they are getting a bargain?!
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Dusty
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Post by Dusty »

Hi Sam,

you have to do what is right for yourself and of course your guests. My view is quite simple, why should you make more money from guests that come to you direct than those that come via a listing site? Our guests who come direct are normally the ones that are returning or have been come via recommendation and are therefore more loyal so I feel I should be rewarding them.

I am just moving across to a commission listing on OD and will be putting my prices on their site by 8% to cover their commission costs. So far I have managed to keep all my prices across the various sites the same which keeps things simple for me but I will have to handle these additional complications in future
Nigel Goodwin
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Post by Nigel Goodwin »

Dusty wrote:Hi Sam,

you have to do what is right for yourself and of course your guests. My view is quite simple, why should you make more money from guests that come to you direct than those that come via a listing site? Our guests who come direct are normally the ones that are returning or have been come via recommendation and are therefore more loyal so I feel I should be rewarding them.

I am just moving across to a commission listing on OD and will be putting my prices on their site by 8% to cover their commission costs. So far I have managed to keep all my prices across the various sites the same which keeps things simple for me but I will have to handle these additional complications in future
Is it just me, or do your two paragraphs say the opposite things? Do you reward returning guests by having lower prices direct, or have you put up direct prices to cover commission, so you receive the same whatever the avenue?
Sam V
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Location: Villa in Gale, Algarve, Portugal. At home in Fetcham, Surrey, UK
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Post by Sam V »

Returning guests a discount.

My rates are the same on listing sites as booking direct, the only difference is that listing sites include pool and air con whereas on my site it’s just the basic rate. The problem is listing sites adding their fees payable by guests who later see my rates once they’ve booked and have my contact details and complete my booking forms, etc
TA lurkers walk among us; the LMH Walking Dead

dont mess in the affairs of cats for they are subtle and will p on your computer.

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ianh100
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Location: Sherborne Dorset

Post by ianh100 »

I find it impossible to keep the prices the same across all listing sites as the percentage for the service charge seems to vary on some sites.

I am typically a bit more expensive on the listing sites but these do give the guest some protection and I think some guests are happy to pay for that.

I find an increasing number of guests who find us on a listing site and have the sense to use google and find us directly.
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