If you are interested in saving money when you book your next stay then check out our top tips to book direct & save.

Did You Know?

When you book through the large Online Travel Agents (OTAs)/booking sites like Booking dot com or Airbnb you have to pay more than booking direct, anywhere from 15% to as much as 40%, in commission, service, or booking fees, on top of the actual cost for the accommodation.

So for example, if your accommodation on an OTA is £500, your chosen property might only have cost you somewhere between £300 & £425 by booking direct. It’s not only just about saving money though. If the price is already highly discounted, booking direct can get you an early check-in or a late check out for free. We prioritise our direct booking guests.

Quick Facts

• Search Engines Show The Highest Payers First: The big booking sites pay the search engines, such as google or bing, to make sure their site comes up top of the online search results, even when you search for the actual property name!
• You Are Shown What THEY Want you To See: The big booking sites don’t show you all the accommodation available. Algorithms decide which ones to show you, usually based on how much commission the site will get if you book.
• Unfair Price Fixing: Some sites tell owners who list with them that they can’t advertise a lower price elsewhere. Despite the extra commission and booking fees on these sites. And that’s even on the property’s own official website!
• Loss Leader Pricing: And if that all fails, sometimes booking platforms will offer customers a lower price than the accommodation actually costs. Just to keep you using their sites. They then top up the payment when they pay the provider. This can seriously damage a property’s business as they become dependant on these booking platforms for reservations and struggle to make ends meet.

So how do you find accommodation in the area you want to stay without using these big online travel agents?

It’s simple – just BOOK DIRECT!

Here are our top 4 tips to save by booking direct

1. Search By Name: If you see somewhere you like on one of the big listing sites, it’s always worth doing a separate online search for the name/location of the accommodation to find their own website. If the prices on their website aren’t already lower than the big agents, most will provide discounts for direct bookings. Just give them a call or drop an email and talk to them.
2. Skip Past The Ads: Watch out for those paid ads on search engines like google. You can sometimes spot these by looking for the small “Ad” box next to the result heading, although not always. Go past the ads, and have a look for the web address that lets you know you’re going directly to the “official” accommodation site.
3. Security: If you are worried about security, then pay with a credit card. That way you’ll get similar protection as you’d get using the big agents. You can also do a bank transfer if you do not wish to provide your card details.
4. Use A Book Direct Map: Our top tip is a new book direct map of serviced apartments/hotels/B&B/Cottage owners has been created to help you find properties willing to cut out the middle man. Have a look and see if there’s something that catches your eye.

BOOSTLY – www.bookdirectmap.com

The brand NEW Boostly book direct map lists nearly 300 holiday properties, with lots more to come. Check it out here: www.bookdirectmap.com

(And if you want your holiday accommodation to be included in the map – click here)

This map will show all registered accommodation with no added commission or service fees. You just click straight through to the accommodation owner so you can book directly to get the best price.

If you are looking for the perfect holiday apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland then look no further than amazing apartments and remember to #bookdirect

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