The Payment Trust Gap | Why Guests Don't Book Direct and How Property Managers Can Fix it

For property managers, few topics are hotter right now than increasing direct bookings. With Airbnb’s fees climbing to 15.5%, managers are more motivated than ever to break their dependency on OTAs. But in a world where Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com dominate search results and traveler behavior, is it really possible to shift more guests toward your own site?

The answer is yes, but not without understanding the real reason guests still choose OTAs, even when the experience is often frustrating.

At Wander, we consistently drive 70% of bookings directly through wander.com. Property managers are always curious how that’s possible.

And while the full operation is complex, with world-class design, 24/7 concierge, centralized communication tools, and an elevated brand experience, one factor consistently rises to the top:

A trusted, seamless, and highly secure payments infrastructure.

Travelers don’t just book the best home.

They book where they feel the safest.

The Trust Problem:
Why Travelers Stick With OTAs Despite Poor Experiences

Airbnb’s customer sentiment is known to be notoriously bad; industry reports show NPS scores hovering around 32, and consumer frustration trending upward year after year. Travelers complain about unpredictable hosts, slow support, and rigid policies.

And yet…

People keep booking on Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com.

Why? Because no matter how annoying the experience may be, travelers trust those platforms' payment systems.

Even though the interface isn’t beautiful, it’s fast, reliable, and, most importantly, perceived as secure.

And perception is everything.

Research consistently shows that the top three factors travelers consider when booking online are:

1. A user-friendly interface

2. Secure payment options

3. Real-time availability

When so many platforms are selling the same homes, the product becomes commoditized.
That means: The experience (not the listing) is what often determines whether a traveler completes the booking.

Fraud Is Rising — and Guests Know It

Travel fraud isn’t an abstract risk anymore. It’s widespread, well-reported, and top-of-mind for consumers.

A few eye-opening stats:

• 35% of Americans have fallen victim to a travel booking scam (USA Today / McAfee).

• One in five travelers encounters a scam attempt while booking.

• Losses are significant:

  • 40% of victims lose over $1,000

  • The median FTC-reported loss for travel scams is nearly $1,200

  • During peak travel seasons, scam incidents spike—especially fake booking sites, fake listings, and payment-processing fraud.

A recent Outpayce (Amadeus) study across 4,500 travelers highlights the psychological cost of this trend:

• 70%+ of travelers say they choose travel companies based on strong secure-commerce reputation

• 35% don’t trust travel brands to keep their payment data safe

• Payment security is now one of the top purchasing decision factors in travel

This is why a luxury property manager can have the most beautiful website in the world—but if the checkout feels even slightly questionable, conversions collapse.

And collapse they do: 81% of online travel bookings are abandoned before payment.

A frictionless, credible, secure checkout is no longer optional. It’s the difference between a direct booking and a lost booking.

Why Direct Booking Websites Fail?
It’s Not the Property. It’s the Checkout.

Most PM websites fail to convert not because the homes are inferior, but because the checkout feels risky.

We spend our days talking to property managers across the Americas—and now, in just the past few weeks, we’ve had our first deep-dive conversations with European PMs as well. These conversations help us validate not just our products, but the broader market realities.

In one recent call with a property manager in Florida, we were discussing payments and checkout flows when he mentioned something that caught our attention. A guest had started a reservation on his direct booking site, got all the way to checkout, then stopped. They ended up booking the same stay on Vrbo instead, despite it being about 10% more. When he followed up to understand why, the guest told him they simply trusted Vrbo’s checkout process more.

Travelers today are scanning for red flags:

• Does this look like a real business?

• Is this payment form secure?

• Why does the process feel different from known sites?

• Who’s protecting me if something goes wrong?

This is why “having a nice website” is no longer enough.

Guests need a website that looks legitimate, feels professional, and proves, visually and functionally, that it isn’t a scam.

A weak or outdated checkout instantly triggers fear. And fear kills conversions.

What Wander Learned
Checkout Isn’t a Step > It’s a Strategy

At Wander, one of the biggest differentiators behind our 70% direct booking rate is not just the brand or the design, it’s the way guests feel completely safe transacting with us.

Our payment platform is:

• Global

• PCI-compliant

• Backed by bank-level security

• Optimized for speed and clarity

• Designed with trust signals throughout

• Compatible with modern payment methods (credit card, Apple Pay, buy-now-pay-later, etc.)

This creates an experience that feels as safe as all well known sites without any of the marketplace friction.

That trust, combined with site performance, real-time availability, curated design, and 24/7 concierge, is what convinces travelers to book directly instead of defaulting to OTAs.

Secure payments aren’t a feature; they’re the backbone of our conversion strategy.

If you, like many property managers, are planning to revamp your website to secure more direct bookings, take a moment to explore how Wander Sites and our trusted, secure payment gateway can help you get there.