Robert W.

We joined Owners Direct in 2004 with our holiday villa in the Algarve, Portugal. HomeAway took them over, increased the fees owners paid however still operated a good service. We paid the top tier of the subscription offers and obtained most of our rentals from HomeAway.
Now that Expedia have bought HoweAway the whole formula has changed. Now we pay a much reduced subscription but our renters are saddled with a very significant commission and we get charged a 3% fee as well.
I don't want our guests to have to pay any more than the rental advertised. Once they have enquired I don't like them being saddled with the rental commission on top and I resent not being able to contact them direct until HomeAway say I can. How dare they stop me chatting to potential guests by direct email or telephone. They are my guests not theirs.
I don't mind paying them a hefty sub and then being left to deal in my own personal and friendly way with potential clients but I really hate the new Expedia driven money grabbing scheme they have imposed on us holiday home owners.