Booking a getaway to a private rental can often come with hidden fees such as cleaning or service charges.
The extra costs can soon add up, even putting the accommodation out of budget at times.
Sites like Airbnb and Vrbo offer countless options for travellers to choose from, but one crafty holidaymaker has shared a hack for avoiding the additional fees.
The tourist posted in /TravelHacks on Reddit and explained how they ‘recently tested a method to bypass them that actually worked reliably’.
It apparently works best for holiday destinations like ‘beach towns and ski resorts’ instead of ‘renting a spare room in someone’s house’.
The trick works by first identifying a property you would like to book on a holiday rental site.
‘Look at the “Hosted By” section. If it sounds like a company name (e.g. “Island Rentals” or “Smith Properties”) rather than just “Steve”, copy that name,’ they explained.
They then recommend searching the name of the property on Google to find the direct site.
Sites like Airbnb and Vrbo offer countless options for travellers to choose from, but one crafty holidaymaker has shared a hack for avoiding the additional fees (stock)
In one instance, the holidaymaker managed to avoid paying the $150 (£109.91) service fee listed on a property in Texas they hoped to hire for a weekend.
They continued, ‘I Googled them, found their direct site, and the exact same unit was listed there without the middleman markup.’
The crafty tourist explained how they were still booking ‘the same key code, same cleaning crew, same property’.
According to the holidaymaker, ‘The only difference is who processes the credit card.’
They did warn other keen travellers trying out the trick to heed some caution and make sure the direct websites are legitimate and have good reviews online.
The tourist also pointed out, ‘for high-traffic tourist areas, most of these property managers are desperate for you to book direct so they don’t have to pay the platform fees either’.
‘It’s a win-win,’ they added.
Chelsea, who goes by @cheapholidayexpert on TikTok, revealed last year how she managed to save 21 per cent with the same technique.
The crafty hack apparently works best for holiday destinations like ‘beach towns, ski resorts’ instead of ‘renting a spare room in someone’s house’
She bagged a characterful barge that was originally priced at £152 per night, for just £120.
‘I first found it on Airbnb for £152 but I decided to see if I could possibly book it direct,’ she explained.
The holiday expert revealed she looked out for a ‘few key words’ to help find the barge’s own website.
On the site, she managed to bag a night away for £120, avoiding the price hike on Airbnb.
‘This is a great hack, I use it all the time,’ Chelsea gushed.
