Turtle View Exuma Beachfront Home

10/07/2024

Happy 51st Independence Day Bahamas!

04/07/2024

Happy 4th of July from Turtle View!

12/05/2024

“A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend.”

05/05/2024

Wouldn't you rather be sipping a Margarita on the beach in front of Turtle View right now? Happy Cinco de Mayo!

22/04/2024

Happy Earth Day from our backyard to yours. 🌎

07/04/2024

A beach, a book, and a whole lot of nothing - Sounds perfect to me!

31/03/2024

Wishing a Blessed Easter to all!

17/03/2024

We hope you find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Hint......it's in front of Turtle View. Happy St. Patrick's day!

08/03/2024

Happy International Woman's Day!

22/02/2024

International Margarita Day is best spent on the beach in Exuma!

14/02/2024

Happy Valentines Day!

08/02/2024

No Need To Pay Service Fees – Book Directly With The Owner

When our luxury home, Turtle View, was completed in 2013, I signed up for a subscription with one of the big name vacation rental sites. I paid an annual fee for the advertising it provided. This site offered the guest the convenience of seeing a variety of choices, and communication between the guest and owner prior to booking was encouraged. Booking my home on this site was free to my guests.

In 2016 a well-known travel company bought this site, and now it is hard to avoid a service fee without booking directly with a vacation home owner. These fees can be significant. Even with the owner paying the listing site a subscription fee, the site now charges the guest a minimum service fee of 4% – 15% of the rental. “Service Fee” sounds somewhat better than “Booking Commission,” but it is simply a fee the site charges the guest for using its services.

There is nothing wrong with a vacation rental site charging a fee for its service, though it tends to irk me that they are getting paid on both ends of the transaction for nothing more than advertising. What is really upsetting, however, is that they make it impossible for me to communicate directly with my guests, outside of their portal, prior to booking. They block phone numbers and website addresses from portal emails. So, there is no way for me to call a potential guest ahead of their booking my home.

For these reasons, owners are banning together to get the word out about how to book directly the next time you want to rent a vacation rental property. I wanted to bring awareness to my past and future guests of the choice you have when renting a vacation rental property.

Free Vacation Rental Sites

As the big sites have tacked on fees, some smaller sites have arisen to compete by charging no service fees. They make their money strictly from homeowner subscription fees and advertising. If you want the convenience of seeing many choices while avoiding service fees, look for these sites. Here is a site that I list on, besides my own website, that does not charge a service or booking fee.

https://www.houfy.com/vacationrentals

Book Direct

Many homeowners are creating their own websites so you may book directly with them. You are reading this article on just such a website: https://www.turtleviewexuma.com . If you book direct, you communicate directly with the owner and will avoid booking fees. But how do you find such a site?
Look at your destination on Google Maps. Some rental homes, including this one, will show up. You can see where it is and whether it has a personal website.
Search on Facebook for the name and location of your destination to see if some of your favorite properties have a website or a page. From there you may contact the owner/manager directly. You can find our page, for example, by doing a quick Google search.
Use a big name vacation rental site to narrow down your choices and see if your desired home has a name. If so, plug the name and your destination into your favorite search engine. Many savvy owners name their property for this reason.

Please do your own due diligence. Read the reviews for the home in multiple web locations. Talk to the owner by phone and ask lots of questions. Then make your choice on how you would like to proceed with your booking.

Do Service Fees Provide You Extra Value?

Vacation rental companies advertise that they will guarantee your stay and give you 24/7 support during your stay. But, they don’t own any inventory they can substitute. Furthermore, how will the big travel sites help you during your stay? Isn’t it better to establish a relationship with the owner? Most owners either live closely to their vacation rental, or have a reliable source ready to help if needed. I take pride in making sure my guests have the best stay possible.
Whether a property is reserved through one of the booking sites or directly, makes no financial difference to most owners who use both. As a guest, consider the pros and cons of each method. The choice is yours. Either way, I am at your service when you stay at Turtle View in Exuma.
For more information about Turtle View, our luxury vacation rental on Tar Bay Beach in Georgetown, Exuma, The Bahamas, go to any other page of this website. We would LOVE you to follow us on Instagram.

03/02/2024

Happy Groundhog Day from Turtle View!

31/12/2023

Happy New Year to all of our family and friends! 🍾🥂. Wishing you a beachy 2024!

24/12/2023

Wishing all of the family and friends of Turtle View in Exuma a blessed Christmas full of Prosperity, Good Health and lots of Good Cheer. 🎄🍾🥂

07/12/2023

Happy Hanukkah from Turtle View in Exuma!

31/10/2023

Happy Halloween to all of you "Sand Witches" from Turtle View!

10/07/2023

Happy 50th Independence Day Bahamas!

04/07/2023

Happy 4th of July from Turtle View in Exuma!

21/06/2023

Happy National Seashell Day and 1st Day of Summer!

23/05/2023

The turtle teaches us patience. The turtle lives life in a slow and meticulous manner because she understands the importance of both the journey and the destination no matter the length of time it may take. Happy World Turtle Day from Turtle View.

05/05/2023

Take life with a grain of salt and a slice of lime! Happy Cinco de Mayo from Turtle View!

23/04/2023

There is nothing that beats being out on the water during the National Family Island Regatta races. Exciting & Breathtaking!

11/03/2023

Amazing Full Moon at Turtle View this week!

22/02/2023

We have plenty of salt at Turtle View. Happy International Margarita Day!

06/02/2023

Gorgeous Full Moon on Tar Bay Beach last night. It looked like daylight at 10:00PM

03/02/2023

Temperatures are forecast to plunge starting today, and the U.S. can expect below average temperatures for the next 6 weeks as The Groundhog saw its shadow yesterday. As Steve Simonsen's Photography indicates, here in Exuma, we saw much more pleasant shadows.

01/02/2023

Today is Book Direct Day. Save the fees that VRBO & Air B&B charge you and book direct on Houfy ( a booking fee free site)...https://www.houfy.com/2066, or with an owner on their website...https://www.turtleviewexuma.com/

01/01/2023

Wishing every day of the new year to be filled with success, happiness, and prosperity for you. Happy 2023 from Turtle View in Exuma!

26/12/2022