What to Be Aware of When Accepting Bookings via OTAs

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Airbnb, can be valuable tools for increasing your property’s visibility and filling booking gaps. Many owners have found they can attract new guests and reach a wider audience by being listed on these platforms-especially during quieter periods.

That said, OTAs do operate differently from our direct booking system, and there are some important limitations to be aware of. We want to be transparent about these so you can make an informed decision, with a clear understanding of both the benefits and the risks.

The following guide sets out the key things to bear in mind when accepting bookings through OTAs.

1. Limited Control Over Guest Screening and Communication

• You won’t receive the guest’s real email address-communication must go through the OTA’s internal messaging system.
  
• There’s no way to screen or filter bookings based on party makeup (e.g. adult/child ratios) or highlight key property features before booking.
  

2. Weak Damage Protection

• None of the OTAs allow us to collect guest card details directly or require a formal security deposit (Airbnb doesn’t allow them at all; Booking.com and VRBO do not manage them well).
  
• Damage claims must be backed by photos and receipts and typically exclude:
  
  • General cleaning (dishes, laundry, rubbish removal)
    
  • Wear and tear
    
  • Rule-breaking like smoking
    
• If damage occurs, we may have to handle recovery ourselves-and in some cases, there’s no practical route to reclaim costs.
  

3. Guest Refunds Without Owner Agreement

• Guests can request refunds for a range of issues, and OTAs often side with the guest-even if the owner disagrees or the issue is minor.
  
• Booking.com, in particular, has issued refunds independently of owner input.
  

4. Reviews Are Permanent

• Reviews can’t be removed-even unfair ones-unless they violate very narrow content guidelines (like hate speech or false claims).
  
• This lack of moderation means one poor review can have a lasting impact.
  

5. Cancellation Complications

• Cancellation policies vary by platform, but generally:
  
  • Guests are offered generous cancellation terms.
    
  • Hosts may be penalised if they cancel-even weeks in advance.
    
  • Booking.com may try to rehome the guest and charge us for the cost difference (though this hasn’t happened yet).
    
  • Airbnb charges hosts 10–25% depending on how close the cancellation is to arrival.
  • Vrbo Cancellations:
  • Less than 48 hours before check-in: 50% fee
  • 48 hours to 30 days before: 25% fee
  • More than 30 days before: 10% fee
  • If a guest can’t check in and Vrbo can’t reach the host quickly, it will be treated as a host cancellation.

6. OTA Cancellation Policies

• We’ve selected the OTA cancellation options that most closely align with Dioni’s own policy, based on what each platform allows:
  
  • Airbnb: Firm cancellation policy. Guests receive a full refund if they cancel 30 or more days before check-in, 50% refund if cancelled 7-29 days before; no refund within 6 days. Guests who book 7 or more days before check-in will get a 24hr free cancellation window..
    
  • Booking.com: Guests can cancel free of charge until 60 days before arrival. The guest will be charged the total price if they cancel in the 60 days before arrival.
    
  • Vrbo: Bookings cancelled at least 60 days before the start of stay will receive 100% refund.
    

7. Inflexible Property Listings

• You can’t fully customise listings with detailed house rules or “additional info” like we can on Dioni.
  
• Some platforms (like Booking.com) are more suited to hotels than cottages, which can limit how well your property is represented.

Airbnb-specific note: Airbnb listings can be set with an overall maximum guest capacity, which includes both adults and children (aged 2–12). Infants (under 2 years old) do not count toward the guest capacity limit. We can mark a listing as not suitable for children and/or not suitable for infants, but this does not automatically prevent guests from booking with children, it relies on guests following the house rules.

Airbnb has a fixed platform rule that up to 5 infants (under 2 years old) can be included in any booking. This limit is set by Airbnb and cannot be reduced or blocked, even if your own property rules only allow 1 infant through direct bookings with us. This means a guest could, in theory, book your cottage with the maximum number of guests allowed plus 5 infants.

8. Pets and Fees

• Platforms vary in how they handle pets:
  
  • Limits on dog numbers aren’t consistently enforceable.
    
  • Only Airbnb allows a set pet fee-otherwise, we add a small pricing uplift to cover the potential costs. All guests pay the higher rate, even if they don’t bring a pet as a result.
  • Pets not showing on booking for owners(Vrbo)

9. Poor or Inconsistent Support

• Responses from OTA support teams can be slow, inconsistent, or unhelpful-particularly with Booking.com.
  

Final Thoughts

While OTAs are a useful tool for filling availability gaps, they’re not without trade-offs. They offer less control, weaker protection, and more risk of disputes. For that reason, we continue to prioritise direct bookings through dioni.co.uk, where we can maintain a more personal, secure, and consistent service-for you and for our guests.

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