Owners Direct

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
Maro
Posts: 34
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 5:40 pm
Location: London and Siena, Tuscany

Post by Maro »

OD are by far the best site for us in Tuscany. I also have an advert on HR but OD beats it 5 to 1. I will not be renewing HR when it comes up, as this year has been really really bad, not even the odd person enquiring about availability and then never getting back to you!
Maro
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pepsipuss
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Location: Bédar, Almeria
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Owners Direct

Post by pepsipuss »

Very poor response of late from OD, in fact literally no enquiries for several months. Will definitely not be renewing. Are they simply getting too big? We had a similar thing a few years ago with Choosespain - great to start with and then tailing off.
For true domestic harmony it is essential that dogs know their place, which is below all cats

LMH Accommodation Offers Report
www.villa-rental-andalucia.com
http://www.fincalaserenidad.com
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roxytoo
Posts: 1701
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 8:23 am
Location: Spain Costa Blanca

Post by roxytoo »

thanks for replies, its as I thought!
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Partridge
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Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:31 pm
Location: Costa de la Luz
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Post by Partridge »

Just had an e-mail from OD, they will be charging for their special offers section soon :cry: Here's a couple of snippets.

Special Offers

The facility to display special offers on our site has become a very popular and successful feature with our advertisers. To accommodate this demand, we will be including more prominent areas on the Owners Direct website where renters can search for and browse special offer pages more easily. These special offers will be priced at £10 per two week period starting in May 2008.

Traveller Guarantee

Owners Direct is committed to ensuring that our website is secure for both our owners and renters. Within the next few months, we will be launching our "HomeAway Rent with Confidence" guarantee. This guarantee gives renters peace of mind when they rent a holiday home by protecting them against fraud. Under the guarantee, the renter registers their trip with us on the site and becomes eligible for alternative accommodation and a payout of up to £2500 if their booking results in fraud. We believe that implementing this guarantee will help renters feel even safer and more secure booking properties with Owners Direct.
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.

Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Hells Bells
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Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
Location: French Alps
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Post by Hells Bells »

H-R/Homeaway at work again, another one bites the dust :cry:
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pepsipuss
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Location: Bédar, Almeria
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Post by pepsipuss »

I just got the newsletter from OD. It refers among other things to changes to their Terms. I clicked on the link and decided life is just too short to be ploughing my way through it :? . If anyone has the energy to do so perhaps they would be kind enough to post a précis of the bits we really need to know!
For true domestic harmony it is essential that dogs know their place, which is below all cats

LMH Accommodation Offers Report
www.villa-rental-andalucia.com
http://www.fincalaserenidad.com
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linda147
Posts: 264
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:03 pm
Location: Costa de la Luz, Spain
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Post by linda147 »

I have e-mailed OD this morning after receiving this newsletter. I don't see how now charging for special offers is an enhancement!
Also complained about their filtering of e-mails and how it can take an hour and a half for an enquiry to come through. If someone is making enquiries through several listing sites they could have booked something else before an OD enquiry gets through!
See what response I get back.
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Chianti
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:51 pm

Post by Chianti »

[quote="linda147"] I don't see how now charging for special offers is an enhancement!


Linda

I see clearly the enhancement for charging for special offers. It fills their pockets :!: :!:

Chianti
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Liane Goodlife France
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Bernac, Charente
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Owners Direct and Holiday Lettings

Post by Liane Goodlife France »

I rang Holiday Lettings, they are owned by Owners Direct!
'Life's a garden, dig it!'
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

Since when?
I don't think they are, I think Owners Direct are owned by Holiday Rentals.
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Liane Goodlife France
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Owners Direct and Holiday Lettings

Post by Liane Goodlife France »

:oops: Sorry! It's so confusing all these sites with the name holiday in, I get brain ache!!!!Thanks though for pulling me up.
'Life's a garden, dig it!'
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Big Sis..
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Post by Big Sis.. »

My Renewal for OD is due.......
From being my best performoing site its gone downhill of late and has got more expensive...........Also now theyre owned by H-R Ive been put off a bit :roll:

Party I think you said you were trying Spain-Holidays!!

Any Good??
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Partridge
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Post by Partridge »

Yes Ros, I've posted in another section about getting a French enquiry from them after the first week BUT looks like it was a scam :twisted:

I had to let Hlettings go as it wasn't performing but kept OD as 95% of my bookings were from them. However, I have noticed that my hit rate has plummeted over the last 6 weeks so am slightly concerned. It was way up in Jan Feb Mar from the same time last year but is way down for April and May from last year, quite strange.

The hit rate on Spain-Holiday for the first week has been huge for me but whether that will translate to enquiries I will have to wait and see. I decided to leave off the calendar in an effort to guage it's effectiveness seeing as I don't have much left in July and August.

Seeing as HR were also useless for me I thought I'd give Spain-Holiday a try, also they come up high for relevant searches. Mind you, looking at that comparelistings site there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of choice left of listing sites.....worrying.
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.

Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
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Big Sis..
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Location: Torrevieja and Norfolk
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Post by Big Sis.. »

Thanks Party :) If I do go with Spain-Holidays is there any offer on the table for you, recommending me.If so let me know and I will quote it..
I have looked at them in the past and they seemed expensive, but not now. :roll:
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Partridge
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Post by Partridge »

Thanks for asking but no offer that I am aware of Ros. Paying by cc is 130 euros, so more expensive for us than in the past but hey ho.

I like the idea that it is translated into umpteen languages but am also worried as to how to deal with such enquiries if I get them i.e booking form T&C's etc :shock: Can't seem to find any answers at the mo.
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.

Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
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