Private accommodation abroad

Anybody ever have any dealings with Ownersdirect or any such company where you organize holiday accommodation directly with the owners?Would like to know what experiences, good or bad, you had.
Thanks,
Ardman

There was an article in the Irish Times about scams last week. Some recommendations for sites to use and tips to avoid trouble.

Owners Direct are a well known company. Holiday-Rentals.com is another very big company, they now have a money back guarantee against scams. There was another thread on this recently on AAM.

ardman said:

Anybody ever have any dealings with Ownersdirect or any such company where you organize holiday accommodation directly with the owners?Would like to know what experiences, good or bad, you had.
Thanks,
Ardman

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I have used use holiday-rentals quite a bit and so far I have had no problem. If you register with their free insurance scheme it safeguards you against a lot of things. There was a scam last year with individuals putting false properties up on Holiday Lettings and Holiday Rentals that netted the fraudsters over £1 million. With the insurance scheme Holiday Rentals refunded those involved I am not so sure about those unfortunates who booked through Holiday Lettings though.
Generally I avoid those individuals that look for a large security deposit, cleaning costs and charge for linen costs that can add quite a bit on to the basic price. The security deposit is refundable though provided you leave the apartment clean and tidy without any damage.
You can check reviews on Holiday Rentals and you can also see when the owner first advertised on the site, so you have a bit of a track record there.
I much prefer to rent than stay in a hotel. There is nothing nicer than being able to come home and make yourself a cup of tea and put you feet up rather than sitting on the side of a bed in a hotel. There is usually some satellite TV rather than the dreaded CNN that hotels serve up to you.