Owners Direct to become Homeaway - now official

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
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AngloDutch
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Owners Direct to become Homeaway - now official

Post by AngloDutch »

Just received the following email -


HomeAway will be the new home for your business

Hello, we value your partnership, and want to be completely transparent with you about a recent change in our business strategy. On 13 June, 2018, Owners Direct will move to HomeAway.
We understand that your first concern will be how this change impacts your business. But rest assured, this move to one global brand comes with many benefits that will allow us to grow your business, and increase our own global brand presence.

What this change will mean for you
This is undoubtedly a positive change for your business. All of our resources, attention and spend will now be focused on a single brand, which means more traffic directed to your listing. And more traffic means more bookings.
You don't even need new login details: you can use your existing Owners Direct details to sign in to HomeAway from 13 June, 2018. You'll find all of your listing data and details, so you'll feel right at home.
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

HA have also put out a video clip about the merging of OD with HA, featuring their Chief Commercial Officer, Jeff Hurst:

https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/lp/thene ... ect-owner/

It only runs a few minutes and I think that those owners still with OD are going to have a huge amount of questions for OD/HA about this - especially because this is happening so fast with the date of the changeover being only two weeks away (on 13th June)!
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cleanforum
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Post by cleanforum »

So does that mean they are merging sites? will they respect our OD reviews for example...
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

I'm sure they will cleanforum. I expect that al our details have just been sitting in a HA template with OD decals instead of HA and now they will just switch.

Having not had a single enquiry in the past 9 mths (and only 3 in the last 18mths) I can only hope this does increase visitor numbers.

I won't hold my breath though!

Mousie
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p.s what an absolute shame that such a good, productive website has come to this.
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cleanforum
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Post by cleanforum »

Shame, I guess so, although I came to them late and so suspect
I did not really ever see the best years of OD..
COYS
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Post by COYS »

Has long been on the cards, so no great surprise for most I’d guess as the OD brand is completely incompatible with their current business model. Probably means they can distance themselves from the grim trustpilot ratings & other online vitriol with a smug grin & fatter wallets.
Perhaps it leaves a gap in the searches market for someone else to take up & perhaps not but personally as an ex-customer it would make my day to see an alternative thrive or for HA to fall flat on their arses. Either one - I’m not fussy.
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gardenboy
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Post by gardenboy »

Welcome od migrants....i m on ha and they do actually perform. No i m not the ceo posting here. Just increase your prices to absorb the fees, use the 50 photos, and tick every box you can.

Well thats what i do, i so wanted to start taking it easy and was hoping ha business would dry up. But it hasnt, and as you know, most of your spanish villa costs are fixed so i may as well go for it.

Also, you can sneak in your contact details on the ad, but that will change when they find out.
Annew
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Post by Annew »

What Gardenboy said!
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Dusty
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Post by Dusty »

So that's goodbye to OD, I wonder how long it will be before the others under the HA brand (abritel et al) are lost also.
AndrewH
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Post by AndrewH »

Dusty wrote:So that's goodbye to OD, I wonder how long it will be before the others under the HA brand (abritel et al) are lost also.
+1 (for the European side of the Atlantic)
Sam V
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Post by Sam V »

🤔I wonder what effect this will have? I still get more enquiries/bookings via OD despite being on both sites.
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

Sam V wrote:I still get more enquiries/bookings via OD despite being on both sites.
It always amazes me when I read that people are actually getting bookings through them. They've literally fallen off a cliff for Ibiza properties (if mine and 2 friends are anything to go by). I'll never understand why some sites work for some and not for others.

Mousie
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Jenster
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Post by Jenster »

Mouse wrote:
Sam V wrote:I still get more enquiries/bookings via OD despite being on both sites.
It always amazes me when I read that people are actually getting bookings through them. They've literally fallen off a cliff for Ibiza properties (if mine and 2 friends are anything to go by). I'll never understand why some sites work for some and not for others.

Mousie
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Me neither...od still work for me so it will be interesting to see the impact of the merge. I almost hope bookings through HA dry up so I can drop them without a qualm...
ManxRed1
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Post by ManxRed1 »

I can't help noticing that everytime HomeAway post an ad on Facebook it's not long before people post horror stories about their terrible experiences and the complete waste of time that is the Book With Confidence guarantee.

This seems to put other posters off. Give it enough time and HA's social media reputation will be down there with OD's anyway.

Glad I got out, although I'm frustrated that it may take years for someone to properly take OD's place, that I can build the business back up again.
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Post by Zur Alten Weinkelter »

its all properly due to instructions from Expedia Group which they are part of
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