At Rentalsintherockies.com we have always tried to keep things simple. We have no hidden fees and other than the tax, which we have to add by law we don’t charge any extras. Many businesses try to show a headline figure for their product or service and then add additional charges. Airlines add taxes, theatres add charges for booking and credit card fees. We just think the price you see is what you should pay. These businesses are entitled to make these charges, but they don’t always make it completely clear what the fee is and when you pay it.

At the end of 2015 Expedia bought the Homeaway network of vacation rentals listing web sites, for close to 4 billion USD. We have listed our condos on these sites for some years, the sites include Homeaway.com, VRBO.com, Vacationrentals.com and Booking.com. All of these sites are very popular and give us an opportunity to receive enquiries for our vacation homes in Canmore Crossing We understand that visitors don’t wish to get scammed and feel that dealing with the sites guarantees them the accommodation, although sadly, this is not always the case and these listing sites try to hide the identity of the guests to prevent them from booking direct.

The goal of these massive companies is to force all owners to advertise in this click and book way. Bookings must be completed within 24 hours, which doesn’t always allow enough time to answer all of a guests questions, considering we have enquiries from all over the world and many time zones.  These companies are free to conduct business in any way it sees fit and as an OTA (Online Travel Agent) they can charge fees in any manner they wish. However, some potential guests have started to complain or ask the vacation owners to swallow the fee, but even if things change back, who knows what the future brings.  Will this mean higher fees to both owners and guests? To be fair to booking websites, they have come from a hotel background. If you stay in a Hilton at London, it’s going to be pretty similar to the Hilton in New York. In this case clicking and booking with little contact works.  Besides offering unique individual homes, we have local knowledge and can offer information which will improve the enjoyment of your vacation. There is little or no point in contacting a booking web site, when you need a hand wih somthing. Other listing sites have also come under scrutiny during the covid crisis in 2020 Airbnb accused of ripping off both guests and owners.

We enjoy speaking with and emailing directly with our guests and we try to make the experience as enjoyable as we can. We also have a genuine desire to give our guests the best value. No one is going to sit in our condos for their entire visit and not go out! If communication is hard then how can you offer individual advice of what there is to see and do near your vacation home. Half the fun of a vacation is looking forward to the trip. Clicking a button doesn’t seem quite as exciting.

“Even if you wish to stay with other owners in Canmore or anywhere in the world! Please remember the point of a vacation rental is personal contact and to stay in a unique home and enjoy the neighbourhood. Happy traveling.” Best wishes Richard and Dallas

We would love to welcome you to Canmore!