AVOID AT ALL COSTS - update on previous review
This is an edited update as Owners Direct have now been totally subsumed into Home Away and no longer exist as a brand. I have written a detailed 1 star review against the Home Away brand and I just want to say here to all owners that I am compiling a complaint to the competition authorities against this rip off company for abuse of market position.
I have renewed my subscription for a year paying £299 for the privilege. In addition I have to pay a 3% payment processing fee for their compulsorily handling payments on my behalf in spite of fact that I don't get paid until 5 or more days after my guests have checked in.
If you do find a property via their site, look for it on an alternative such as simplyowners to avoid their horrendous fees.
If as an owner you wish to join my action of abuse of market power please get in contact.
Re response below - I was mistaken in stating that HomeAway were charging an extra payment fee, it turned out to be a misapplied setting which mistakenly applied a % per guest as opposed to the overall booking. This has now been corrected. However I still have major issues that this company takes money off our guests when they book but does not process the payment to owners until 5 working days after they begin their stay. There is no justification for this.
Thank you for expressing your concerns. To clarify, the cost of an annual subscription is £249. The 3% transaction fee is charged by our payment provider who are not part of HomeAway and we have no control over this. Travellers who book through our site pay a service fee which is not a payment processing fee. The service fee is between 5-12% for most bookings based on the reservation. The fee covers the cost of enhanced services and protections that we offer travellers such as 24/7 customer service and emergency re-booking assistance. We have also introduced our Book with Confidence Guarantee which means that travellers who pay the service fee will have the full amount of their booking protected. The funds are disbursed to a property owner’s bank account one day after check-in to for security reasons and to ensure that the funds are available should the owner need to refund their guests.