- Joined
- May 22, 2008
- Messages
- 16,103
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- 756
Was going to delete my post per info fe-mailed by a friend but this reply blocked it. Per what my friend said - I reetract the huffy.Guillum, I use the OTAs... they don't use me. All winter long, I get rooms from them. And in the summer, I give them inventory at my leisure. Most of the time they don't get weekend availability or my best room... sometimes they do, but it may come with conditions, like 3 nights instead of 2. So when someone does a search on TA, I come up with no competition. Or sometimes I have a special price on 3 days that doesn't appear with 2. They fill my half weekends and my holes. And the guest leaves with my card. The next time they book they realize they get a better deal direct and they can book the room they want. And the terms are very different. I get a deposit and a strict cancellation with the OTAs that I don't have direct.Empty Nest is a retired innkeeper. I am a current having just ce;ebrated 21 years in the innkeeping world. I am going to suggest ther removal of your last sentence. Insulting another person does you you good in any place.. IF removal is not possible, an apology is in order.I would eat the $40 as it was your fault. No way I would charge the guest. Good lesson learned....and why do you pay those OTA's such a huge commission. NO WAY FOR ME!!!.Interesting. You mentioned something in an earlier post about the help that you provide your clients on their websites. So are you actually an innkeeper, EmptyNest? Or are you speaking from past experience as an innkeeper? Are you currently competing in the B&B market, which is dominated by OTAs and STRs? Expedia has generated $$thousands$$ for me in the past year. I'm not keen on paying their 15% commission. However, the fee of $65 only sounds "huge" because it was a 3-night reservation. If you'd read my reply to Generic, you would've seen that the guest was very kind & understanding, and I gave them a gift certificate towards a future stay.EmptyNest said:I would eat the $40 as it was your fault. No way I would charge the guest. Good lesson learned....and why do you pay those OTA's such a huge commission. NO WAY FOR ME!!!
Btw, I have met dozens of guests through Expedia who have never stayed at a B&B, saw our listing, and decided to take a chance. The only way they would've found my B&B is through an OTA. Many of these guests have become valued repeat guests, and we've opened their eyes to the B&B industry. You can stay on your high horse, ma'am!
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I do not use Air or any of the OTAs - that commidssion goes into a marketing pool I could never compete with. The OTAs own nothing, take responsibility for nothing, but provide many a cock-up for the innkeepers who take the blame for everything as they try to provide the best experience possible, and do nothing for the innkeeper except tell them how wonderful they are to take their money as they ask for cancel refunds for guests who stuck it to the innkeeper. I run my business, not some corporation that will eventually see a better cash cow down the road and drop what they are doing now for the bigger dollars AFTER they have squeezed the B & B market dry.
The OTAs are putting the small inns out of business as they convince them they must use them. Those guests belong to the OTA, not to you. YOU cannot cancel them, you do not control musch until they hit your door. I earned my seat.
PS: coming in with no intro and then getting hackles up is not the way to do things and expect all things pleasant.
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Commission is supposed to be about 15% to 18%, but the reality is that sometimes the prices aren't exactly the same. Oh, they may be exactly the same for a single night stay, but I do have discounts that appear for multiple night stays and weekly stays. And even in the winter, you may not be able to get 7 nights via the OTA, when you can get it easily on my site (with a discount.)
And this year, I think I have been paid a few thousand in cancellation fees from the OTAs... rooms that (in the summer) I have resold. All in all, I'm doing okay. Don't like them, but I'm doing business MY way with them... not their way.
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Nuff said. Welcome, Notagrandma. I am a Granny. Give us an intro and let's start over.