There is a logic behind the hosting platforms that it makes sense for certain profiles: a variety of options, quick comparison of prices, a system of reviews that reduces uncertainty. For the casual traveler looking for a room in an unknown city, it is a real service.
For the executive, often with defined standards that travels to Bogota with corporate agenda, that same logic begins to generate more friction than it solves.
In summary
Book direct with the operator of accommodation in Bogotá has specific advantages over using platforms intermediaries: price with no fees, direct access to who can solve problems, more flexibility for changes and extensions of stay, and a ratio of a service that you do not have to go through a messaging system platform. For the executive who travels frequently and has discretion about what you need, when you book directly removes a layer of intermediation that does not add value and that, at critical moments, can be an obstacle.
What happens when you book through a platform
The platform charges a commission to the operator, and in many cases also to the guest. The commission has to come from somewhere: the final price of the margins of the operator or of the quality of service that we can offer.
Beyond the price, the structural problem is the intermediation in the communication. When something fails during the stay, the first contact is usually the platform, not the operator. The platform opens a ticket, the operator responds through the system, the platform manages the answer. In the best cases, this process takes hours. On the worst days.
For the executive who has a meeting in three hours, and the WiFi does not work, this process is not served.
What changes when you book direct with the operator
The first change is the price. No commissions platform, the operator can offer most competitive rates or additional terms that platform are not available, without compromising the quality of service.
The second change is to access. When you book direct, you have the contact of the operator from the beginning. If anything changes in your schedule before you arrive, call or write directly. If something fails during the stay, the operator responds in minutes, not hours, because there is no intermediate system to manage.
The third change is the flexibility. The platforms have cancellation policies and change that respond to their own interests, not necessarily to the host. An operator with whom you have a direct relationship can be adapted conditions, depending on the context: a flight is delayed, an agenda that changes of dates, a stay that extends. This type of adjustment is much more difficult to manage through a platform.
The myth of the safety platforms
One of the reasons why travelers choose the platforms is the perception of safety: if something goes wrong, the platform average. That is true in theory. In practice, the mediation platform is slow and bureaucratic, and not always resolved in a satisfactory manner.
The real security is not given by the platform. Given to you by the operator. An operator who has protocol inspection prior to each entry, which guarantees the state of the space and has support available during your stay you do not need the coverage of a platform to be reliable. Their reliability is operational, non-contractual.
The standard operating VEZRA includes inspection verified prior to each entry, equipment in real conditions and direct support with response times defined. That is what makes it predictable for a stay, not the cancellation policy of a platform.
Direct booking and corporate program
For companies with executives who frequently travel to Bogota, the direct booking opens the possibility of conditions that the platforms can’t offer: corporate rates negotiated, centralized billing, management of multiple bookings simultaneously and a single point of contact for the area of travel.
It has value actual operating for the department that manages the travel of the company. Less friction administrative, more predictability in costs and a service relationship that is built over time rather than start from scratch on every booking.
The corporate solutions VEZRA are specifically designed for this type of client: English contracts, payments in us dollars for international clients and management directly without intermediaries.
When it makes sense to use a platform
Honesty obliges us to say it: the platforms have sense in some scenarios. When you do not know the city and is needed to explore options without committing to a specific operator. When the stay is very short, and the variety is more important than the depth of the service. When the budget is the main variable and the conditions of service are secondary.
For the executive with defined criteria, known destination and stay more than three nights with corporate agenda, none of these scenarios apply. The reservation directly with an operator verified it is in this context, the decision to be more efficient.
Before deciding where to book accommodation in Bogotá
- Check if the operator has the channel of direct booking with support available
- Compare price platform with direct price, including commissions
- Ask the operator to conditions of change and extension of stay
- Confirm response times to incidents during the stay
- Consider if the frequency of travel justifies a corporate rate negotiated
- Verify that the operator has the protocol of inspection prior to entry
Intermediation is a cost that is not always visible
Commissions platform, the bureaucracy of the mediation problems and the stiffness of the policy change are real costs that are paid in price or in time. For the executive who travels once a year, these costs are manageable. For those who travel often, you accumulate.
The reservation directly with an operator, reliably removes that layer. And in Bogota, where the supply of residences with direct operation and standard verified it exists, doesn’t make much sense to pay for it.
To confirm availability and terms and conditions of booking direct in residences VEZRA in Bogotá, the team is available to respond in less than 24 hours.
What the executive question on direct booking of accommodation in Bogotá
Why is it better to book direct with the operator through Airbnb or other platforms?
Because it eliminates the committee on platform price, gives direct access to the operator for any management and offers more flexibility for changes, extensions, or special conditions. At critical moments during the stay, the direct access to the operator can be the difference between solving a problem in minutes or hours.
Is it more expensive to book direct through the platform?
In most cases, no. Platforms charge fees that are reflected in the final price. When you book direct, the operator can offer you the same rate or better without that commission. In addition, there may be additional terms and conditions that in the platform are not available.
What happens if I need to cancel or change dates when you book direct?
Depends on the policy of the operator in direct booking tends to be more flexible than that of the platforms. An operator with a direct relationship can be adapted conditions, depending on the context, something that a platform can not because his policies are standardized.
How do I know that the operator is reliable if there is not a system of reviews of platform?
The reliability of an operator does not depend on the reviews of platform. Depends on your protocol operating: if you have inspection verified prior to each entry, if you can accurately describe your process and if you have support available with response times defined. These are the questions that reveal if an operator is reliable.
What VEZRA has a corporate program for companies with executives who travel frequently to Bogota?
Yes. The corporate program includes negotiated rates, centralized billing, management of multiple bookings and single point of contact for the area of travel. Contracts available in English and payments in dollars for international customers.
How long does it take VEZRA in reply to a query of direct booking?
The team responds to queries in less than 24 hours. For guests during the stay, the support of concierge has response times defined according to the type of application.
