Why it’s better to reserve your spot at our private Jamaica villa directly rather than through a third party
Most of us begin online when booking a trip. We compare prices, read reviews, and hunt for the perfect spot to book our Jamaica vacation.
Online travel brokers like Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, Expedia, Booking.com, Travelocity, Priceline, and Kayak make it easy to review a lot of options and ratings. It’s a good way to start your vacation planning.
But once you’ve gotten the lay of the land and decided on a vacation spot, you’re usually better off booking your reservation directly. This is certainly true when booking your stay with a private villa like Coconut Cottage. The advantages of dealing directly with us outweigh any savings you think you’re getting by booking through a third-party site. Here’s why.
Your reservation won’t get lost.
Unfortunately, reservations do sometimes get lost. When you book through Airbnb and other third-party sites, you’re their customer, not our customer. What if the travel broker you booked with fails to pass your information on to us? It’s just one more chance for something to go wrong.
Avoid this risk by booking directly with us.
The terms of your stay can be more flexible.
What if your flight is canceled, someone in your family gets the flu, or for any other reason you need to cancel your reservation or change the dates of your stay? Getting a refund is often much harder when you are dealing with third-party sites than it would be if you simply deal with us directly. Many broker sites have a no-refund policy. They often make it impossible to modify your reservation unless you pay fees. It’s like pulling teeth.
It’s different if you’re dealing with us directly. We can be more understanding and flexible. We’re not locked into the original stay dates. Even if you cancel a reservation too late to receive a full refund, we’re often able to work things out with you. After all, we don’t want to lose you as a guest.
Building rapport with owners and staff goes a long way.
When you book with us directly, you can start getting to know us right away and get answers to your questions about the villa and its amenities. And we can start getting to know you and your preferences and any special requests. You’ll also have immediate access to insider info that will help you make the most of your stay, like where the locals eat and go to have fun. It’s a more personal and satisfying interaction.
The customer service teams at third-party booking agents are usually call centers. The service representatives are detached from the circumstances relevant to your booking and your stay with us, and they are bound by rules and policies. There’s only so much they can do for you.
If you deal directly with us, though, we give you personalized customer service. And there’s more accountability. We can be responsible for what we tell you, not what some third party tells you. We have a much bigger stake in making sure you’re happy with us and with your accommodations. We want you to love your stay in Montego Bay and to keep coming back.
You save money.
No booking fees! Airbnb guests pay a fee of 14.2% of the booking subtotal. And we pay a service fee of 3%. HomeAway and VRBO charge fees of up to 10% at checkout for the properties they list. But if you book directly . . . no fees.
Ready to book your next Caribbean getaway with us? If you have any questions about our villa and its accommodations, view our full list of Coconut Cottage amenities or contact us for more information. We’ll be happy to hear from you!