Hey all,
I found a place to stay for an upcoming Hawaii vacation via VRBO - when I messaged the owner (property mgmt company there who manages that particular unit) I got a reply back with more information about the property as well as a link to their website, which apparently you can also book on. Booking through their site, we would avoid an additional $60.75 fee, which is the VRBO service fee I guess and includes some note about how it's for a safer booking experience + premium 24/7 customer support.
Should I book direct to avoid this fee? Or should I definitely use VRBO? I have Chase Sapphire so I inquired about trip cancellation but it's not covered when we book vacation/owner rentals (they would only cover hotel stays). There is an option that's $80~ for "TripHedge Travel Insurance" that can be tacked on too (I'm assuming this would cover what the Chase trip cancellation benefit would have covered). Safe to proceed without that too?