Book direct

Same homes. Same calendar. Better deal.

We list on Airbnb and Vrbo, and those are fine ways to book. Booking direct simply removes the middleman: no platform or service fees when you book direct; pick your dates and the full all-in price appears before you send a request, then compare the same dates on Airbnb or Vrbo, and answers straight from the owner.

How it works

1. Pick your home and dates. Every property page has the live calendar: tap check-in and check-out and the all-in total appears on the spot, with the nightly rate, cleaning fee, and Florida/Manatee lodging taxes (13%) itemized. No platform fees, nothing added later.
2. Send the request. Right under the price: your name, email, and anything we should know. Returning guests drop in their code and watch the total fall. Nothing is charged at this step. Sending a request does not hold your dates: they are reserved when the deposit or full payment clears.
3. We confirm, you pay the deposit. We check availability and email a secure Stripe payment link (card or US bank transfer), usually the same day. 20% reserves your dates; the balance is due 45 days before arrival. Stays starting inside 45 days are simply paid in full.
4. Sign and arrive. Standard Florida rental agreement, then full arrival details and door codes before check-in.

Prefer email? info@happyislandcottage.com works exactly as well: tell us the home, dates, guests, and pets, and we take it from there.

Direct booking terms

Cancellation policy

Plain English, three rules:

1. 30 days. Cancel 30 or more days before arrival and you get a full refund, every guest, every direct booking. Inside 30 days the stay is not refundable, unless one of the two rules below applies.
2. Hurricanes. If a hurricane warning or a mandatory evacuation order for Manatee County covers your stay dates, you get a full refund whenever you cancel, even the day before arrival. If a storm cuts short a stay in progress, we refund the unused nights.
3. Returning guests. Cancel anytime, full refund, no storm required.

Bookings made on Airbnb or Vrbo follow the cancellation policy shown at checkout on that platform, plus each platform's own extenuating-circumstances rules.

Common questions

Is booking direct really cheaper than Airbnb or Vrbo?

Our nightly rate matches our Vrbo base rate, and direct bookings carry no guest service fee. Pick dates on any home page and the full all-in price appears before you send a request; compare it with the same dates on Airbnb or Vrbo and the difference stays in your pocket.

Is booking direct safe?

We are a licensed Florida vacation rental operator (DBPR #123613) and the same owner you would meet through Airbnb, where we hold a 15-quarter Superhost record. You get a written rental agreement and an itemized invoice, taxes are collected properly, and payments run through Stripe, the same processor behind millions of online businesses.

What do returning guests get?

Our Best Returning Guests code: 20% off, plus no pet fee, no reservation deposit, cancel-anytime full refunds, and preferred dates before they open to the platforms.

What happens if a hurricane threatens my dates?

Full refund, whenever you cancel. If a hurricane warning or a mandatory evacuation order for Manatee County covers your stay dates, every direct booking is refunded in full, even the day before arrival. Stays cut short by a storm are refunded for the unused nights.

Our homes: Happy Island Cottage · Happy Turtle A · Happy Turtle B. Operated by Happy Island Cottage LLC, Holmes Beach, FL.