Wednesday, February 7, 2024, is #BookDirect Guest Education Day! So, what exactly is Book Direct Day? Keep reading to discover the meaning behind the Book Direct movement and the perks you enjoy when booking directly with a vacation rental management company like Akers Ellis.
About #BookDirect Guest Education Day
#BookDirect Guest Education Day, or simply Book Direct Day, is an annual initiative focused on educating guests about the advantages of booking directly with short-term rental management companies and individual owners.
With a wide variety of ways to book a vacation rental, we're partnering with vacation rental providers worldwide to educate guests on the advantages of bypassing third-party channels. We want to make sure our guests get the best rates available, plus we want to provide a stress-free booking atmosphere.
Although we champion for guests to book direct year-round, Book Direct Day serves as a day for property managers across the globe to unite in educating guests about the perks of booking direct.
When is Book Direct Day?
Each year, Book Direct Day takes place on the first Wednesday in February. This year, Book Direct Day will fall on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
Once you learn about the perks of booking direct, you may just treat every day like Book Direct Day!
What Does it Mean to Book Direct?
While shopping for a vacation rental, you may see several companies using the term "book direct." This phrase refers to booking straight through a rental management company. The book direct process cuts out the middle man, also known as third-party sites, which disrupts the direct line of communication between the guests and the management company.
Book Direct: Booking directly with property managers and owners instead of third-party companies or OTAs.
What are Third-Party Sites and OTAs?
Third-party sites or OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) refer to companies like Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb. These organizations advertise vacation rentals for rental management companies on their respective platforms.
Drawbacks to Booking through OTAs
The truth is, these sites have never even seen the specific property, and odds are, they have never even been to the area either. Not only are these sites not helpful when trying to understand the lay of the land, but they also charge guests an extra fee on top of the standard rate.
This additional fee can be up to 15% higher than the rate you get when booking direct. That is a large sum of money that could be better spent on items like food, golf, tennis, spa services, and beach chair rentals while on vacation.
Advantages of Booking Direct
Akers Ellis is committed to excellent customer service, and we want to give our guests the best possible experience from start to finish. We value our guests and want them to know there are many perks to booking direct.
The top 7 advantages to booking directly are:
- We make planning your Kiawah Island vacation easy. Vacations should be relaxing. Whether you need equipment rentals or food deliveries, let us take the stress out of planning.
- We have a local, knowledgeable staff. Our staff has over 175 years of combined experience in hospitality and property management, with much of that on Kiawah Island. Need local suggestions for places to eat or things to do? We have you covered!
- We're committed to excellent customer service. Call or email questions at any time.
- We give you the ability to securely reserve rentals online in minutes.
- No third-party fees with direct bookings!
- No one knows our properties better than us. From one-bedroom villas to large oceanfront homes with room for the whole family, we can help you find the perfect vacation rental for your needs.
- Best rate guarantee on our properties!
How Do I Book Direct?
We have a mobile-responsive, user-friendly website that makes narrowing down specific details of your rental as simple as possible. Find a unit based on your preferred dates, number of bedrooms needed, location on the island, specific community, or private/community pool access. Once you have found the perfect rental, you can book online with just a few clicks.
Prefer to book your vacation over the phone? Give us a call at (888) 909-8110 or email rentals@akersellis.com anytime to talk about our vacation rental options or to reserve a property. The conversation will end with you having a better understanding of our properties, our company, and Kiawah Island as a whole.
Remember to Book Direct!
We hope our guests now feel educated on the advantages of booking directly with Akers Ellis Rentals. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are happy to help! Again, we highly recommend booking directly to ditch the hidden booking fees and enjoy a relaxing booking experience with our local and knowledgeable reservationists at Akers Ellis Rentals. We value your business and hope to keep our guests as loyal customers for many, many years to come.
