The safest and best way to book with us is via our own website. The same goes for any other genuine accommodation provider. With the single exception of TripAdvisor, the other tourist accommodation sites where we are genuinely listed are referral sites that redirect you to our website. We are listed on legitimate sites such as Five Star, Discover Ireland, Failte Ireland. SelfCater, PureCork, etc.
When your accommodation is listed on website sites data is often copied to potential scam/bogus sites claiming there are deals to be had and that you can book through their system(s). A quick search of Google finds many who claim this. Of course, you can do no better if you are looking for deals, to deal with the accommodation provider directly. The use of poor quality screen captures and fake calendars empty of bookings should be a warning flag that they are not the real deal. Strangely, even Booking.com falsely claims to have us as “Hotel Ballynoe” even though we are not listed with them!
There are sites in various countries who gather tourist information and provide the link to our site (and these are appreciated). The others are not. A site called lodging-world.com has obviously copied our drone image and then added some unrelated interior images from elsewhere. Other sites to avoid include lastminute.deals and trip.com. There are too many to list here.
Why book direct? We prefer that 100% of the money you pay for your stay goes into the local economy. Otherwise, a sizeable chunk goes into the pockets of the owners of monopolistic high commission TPAs such AirBnB and Booking,com (and their many affiliates on the first page of Google). They extract millions a year from local economies all over the world. Even big hotels will thank you and may give you a better deal or upgrade for booking direct! In these cost conscious and economically difficult times, a little more consideration of how to book can benefit us all.