Are Holiday Rental Sites Safe

I considered booking a holiday rental through www.spain-holiday.com

I contacted them and asked if my up front payment was safe, who they were, how long they had been trading and who were the owners.

Their answer was ‘’ we are not able say’’.

Some are, but if you do book, always pay with a credit card. One of the scams is for you to be asked to pay by bank transfer, if anything goes wrong your money is gone

We used to take bookings through Niumba. They took the payment from the guests and held it until the end of the holiday, when it was paid to us. They are a part of a bigger group, so perfectly safe I would say.

Holiday rental sites are no different to any other business and carry the risk of going bankrupt or running off with your money. The size of the company guarantees nothing and neither does their fancy website. If any company refuses full disclosure they are high risk and to be avoided.

We used spain holiday to rent out our house years ago. They must have been trading for over ten years or so. From what I remember the payment is made directly to the home owner but as an owner you had to prove ownership of property. 

As I stated, this was a long time ago and things may have changed, perhaps someone may have more up to date info.