• Plan Ahead!
• Only work with verified owners – all owners are verified on AlaVHR.com.
• Check a trusted no booking site, such as AlaVHR.com, early in your search.
• Email the Owner for a Quote or visit their verified direct booking website using the Book Now button on AlaVHR – be sure to let them know we referred you!
• If the owner does not have a dedicated website, this step may take a few days to complete. Be patient – it’s worth it!
• If you have not heard back from an owner, contact us and we will follow up with them on your behalf.
• Ask the owner any other questions, such as their cancellation fee, payment schedule, refund policy, etc.
• Unsure about sending payment? Contact us at AlaVHR to double check the information for you.
• Book your vacation and relax! You just saved a ton of money!

A typical vacation that costs around $2500 will add a whopping $300 to $575 in unnecessary fees

You may have heard that you can save a LOT of money by booking directly. What do we mean by “book direct” and why does that save money? Book Direct means you are going directly to the owner or property manager rather than paying one of the “big sites” to book your vacation. When you use one of those “big sites” you are paying “big fees” whether they are itemized for you, built in, or both. Here is an example:

As you can see, a typical vacation that costs around $2500 will add a whopping $300 to $575 in unnecessary fees. Think of what you could do with all that extra money on your trip! You could treat your family to tickets to OWA, several rounds of golf, experience great restaurants, go parasailing, heck charter a fishing excursion. Doesn’t that sound more fun than paying booking fees???

So why don’t more people book direct? The simple answer is convenience. The big sites make it quick and easy to book – but remember you are paying dearly for that convenience! If you can plan ahead and do a bit of research, you could enjoy so much more on your vacation.

So how exactly do you book direct? Start your search on a trusted site, such as AlaVHR.com, where you can contact owners directly without any of those added fees. You can find owners through Facebook or on Craigslist, but you need to watch out for scammers. Thankfully, on AlaVHR, every owner is verified before their listing goes live so you can feel safe booking with them. In fact, you can even contact our staff if you have concerns before sending money to an owner and we can double check the information. We bring peace of mind to travelers, like you, every day!

Once you find a great match (or two), check to see if this owner has a Book Now button – this will take you to their verified book direct website. There you will be able to see current rates and usually you can even book instantly (just like the big sites!). Not every owner has a dedicated website, in that case, look for the Email Owner button to ask for a quote. Some owners post their rates but lately, more and more owners are using dynamic pricing which makes it difficult to show their rates. Good news! Our website is being upgraded to work with dynamic pricing later next year to make your search even easier!