I always prefer to book directly. My rental is a whole home and Air is the riskiest site for me to book through. Knowing that a guest can book my prime Christmas week for the year, and then produce a Drs. note is just a bit unnerving. I only require 7 night stays three times a year. Especially now that guests can be refunded for weather issues not even in my own area is also disturbing.
I have used reviews on Air, VRBO, Flipkey, etc. in order to gain an inquirer’s trust, but I do let them know that they can save the service fees and spend their hard earned money on a nice dinner out. It isn’t a good idea to send guests to all of your competition on those sites (even though I am guilty). But the service fees are high and hopefully guests will come back to you to book your property. I can only take this approach because my property has some unique features.
I did make a mistake last year offering a weekly discount (no matter how they booked) and what do you know…the guest ended up booking through Air and paying high dollar booking fees. That was a lesson learned and I was having a huge brain fart. They had actually used Air before and I guess preferred to pay the fees versus writing me a check…even with my Air reviews. I had only assumed they would want to save the money. Some people get great rewards on their credit card or they can’t afford the upfront cash. Lesson learned and not a big deal.
I have been very blessed with any cancellations/major complaints happening to be through other sites. It was to my discretion what amount I thought was fair to refund back.
My Flipkey guests this Christmas paid $249.00 in service fees to FK just to book for one week. I always follow up (if I want the guest back) to let them know they can save all those funds and book directly next time.