Are you looking for the best listing site to advertise your vacation rental property on Eleuthera, Harbour Island or Spanish Wells in the Bahamas? Are you sick and fed up with VRBO and AirBnB, two former listing sites that have now turned into online travel agencies (OTAs)? Then, look no further than Eleutheradirect.com, the premier vacation advertising site for Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells vacation rental homes.
Owner fees
Vacation property owners who rent their homes out want to maximize their profits while better serving their clientele. One of the primary benefits of listing with Eleutheradirect.com is that you are trading variable costs, commissions charged by VRBO and AirBnB, for a low fixed cost to advertise your property. Online travel agencies like VRBO and AirBnB charge 5% plus 3% payment processing for each booking, which often results in thousands of dollars in annual fees. A flat-fee listing site like Eleutheradirect.com only charges $99 or $199 annually, depending on subscription level, regardless of how many bookings you take. That’s a huge savings!
Fees, fees and more fees
And, if the fees taken out of your owner’s profits weren’t enough, the OTAs also have the audacity to charge renters a reservation fee. Guests are charged anywhere from 6% – 15% in addition to the fees the owners are charged. Talk about double dipping! On some rentals the combined fees for a single rental are 30%. Can you imagine if a hotel charged you an additional 15% fee just for booking through their website??!! Most hotel chains charge less to use their online booking system because it reduces their manual labor cost, but not VRBO and AirBnB. They charge more to use their software.
Use of working capital
Another advantage of using Eleutheradirect.com is that you set the payment collection rules, which means you can collect a deposit when the guest reserves. That not only reduces your risk by ensuring the guest has made a commitment to complete the booking, but it frees up working capital so that you can run your business. As we all know, vacationers often book 6 to 12 months in advance. It’s nice to have deposits in hand to manage your cash flow leading up to the booking. With the OTAs you don’t receive any money until the booking is complete. That means THEY are holding YOUR money all that time. Shouldn’t your money be yours? If you are going to take your property off the market for a period of time before the rental takes place then you should at least be the holder of that capital rather than some 3rd party middleman.
Regional listing sites like Eleutheradirect.com just make sense
Using a site like Eleutheradirect.com to list your vacaiton rental property simply makes good financial sense because it helps maximize your profit. There are no commissions for owners or renters and by charging a simple flat rate advertising fee you know what your costs are going to be. The variability is taken out of the equation.
You also get acceess to your working capital when you take the booking. Why let an OTA hold your working capital? It’s your business. You should have access to rental deposits when guests book, not when OTAs decide to release funds. Renters know that the OTAs don’t release funds right away and will often dispute charges during or after their stay knowing that the OTAs will most often side with them and return your rents without you even seeing a dime.
Listing sites like Eleutheradirect.com complement your direct marketing efforts. They refer guests directly to you and your website while also offering inquiry and booking features right on the Eleutheradirect.com website. Do you think the OTAs will let you communicate with a guest directly before a booking has been taken? Absolutely not! They must ensure that their software and payment systems take the booking. To that end they don’t allow communication except screened emails through their system, which eliminates your opportunity to properly screen your potential guests.
The bottom line is that working with Eleutheradirect.com is an excellent way to maximize your vacation rental profits. We offer all the same features as the OTAs, other than payment processing, while providing a better, more owner-friendly service. Give us a try. Click this link to get started and list your vacation rental property with Eleutheradirect.com today! We offer a 3 month trial subscription and do not require a credit card to sign up.
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