Market Research Email from Homeaway

[AndrewH]

Unless enough people ditch them to the point where it offsets the gains they'll make in creaming Traveller Service Fees from guests then nothing will change.

I feel sure that's how Dara sees it, nothing more nor less.

I believe that I read somewhere that Expedia was boasting a 30% profit increase in their vacation rental businesses taken over a year. But that in fact is a really poor showing if you consider that not only are HA/OD taking an annual subscription from subscription listers, but also a fat fee from travellers on every booking through their site (where OB/OP are enabled).

I know that some owners are bucking the trend, but the majority are noticing a major fall off in bookings through HA/OD since the service fee. My own experience is that direct owner/traveller bookings now far exceed anything that HA/OD can produce. I really believe that holiday makers are wising up more and more.

[Mouse]

I know that some owners are bucking the trend, but the majority are noticing a major fall off in bookings through HA/OD since the service fee. My own experience is that direct owner/traveller bookings now far exceed anything that HA/OD can produce. I really believe that holiday makers are wising up more and more.

I agree. Mine have fallen off the cliff BUT I have had many more bookings through my website. I do not come up in general searches (too much competition), so I can only assume that people see my villa name on the sites I am on and then google me.
I think many people are getting wiser....and actually must prefer the direct approach.

Mouse
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