Ripped off renting accommodation in South Africa.

Before renting a property online you should beware that some web sites are charging ridiculous commission fees. Its far better to rent the villa directly from the villa owner, firstly you will get the best rate, secondly the villa owner will tell you exactly what you need to know about the property and the community, thirdly the villa owner will give you the best advice on what’s happing in that region. And lastly the villa owner will refund you if you not happy when you arrive. I am from the US and decided to treat my family to two weeks vacation in beautiful Cape Town. I booked a stunning villa through a commission web site. They charged R85 000 upfront for the villa. Upon arrival in Cape Town we discovered that the villas roof was being repaired because of heavy rain damage and we felt that it was better to move for safety and comfort reasons.

We found a new villa through a commission free website and moved. The commission charging web site “Cape Town Villas.net” would not refund our R85 000 insisting that we did not have good cause to move. They charged us R25 500 or 30% commission for sending us some emails. The industry standard is 15% for most commission charging sites but beware there are many unscrupulous brokers active in this unregulated market. This is not good for business and tourism in Cape Town, ripping off foreign tourists.

Cape Town is a wonderful City and vacation destination, just be wary of commission charging web sites. Its best to rent directly from the owners saving you large amounts of commission that can be spent on your family instead. Only put down a 50% deposit and pay the balance on arrival ounce you have seen the villa. Always find out if there is a broker involved and ask
“HOW MUCH COMMSION ARE YOU TAKING?”

[craigieji]

Whoa, that's scary! It is sad that there are these rip-off merchants. You should also check out capetown-direct.com. They're awesome and they don't even take commision.

[Subzero]

We are running a Accommodation website, but we own all the properties on the website.

Its actually just like our show room...

The link is in my signature if anyone want to check it out.

Its that time of the year again, SILLY SEASON. Beware of the fly by night accommodation realtor's charging excessive commissions on short lets.

Capetown-direct.com has revolutionized the way I travel. Their web site provides easy access and great information on places to stay and things to do that the best travel agent doesn't even know about that region.

With Capetown-direct.com, I’ve gone on fabulous vacations with friends and even rented a Game lodge with my family for my sister’s wedding, all at prices far, far below staying in a hotel. I will never go back to staying in hotels.
Vacationing in a villa allows you to step out of being a tourist and step into the lifestyle and the culture of that country. There’s no better way to travel.