If you've found us through Airbnb, Booking.com or another platform, welcome — and here's something worth knowing before you confirm your reservation: booking directly with us will almost certainly save you money, give you more flexibility, and mean you're dealing with real people from the moment you arrive.
When you search for accommodation on Airbnb, the price you see on the listing is not the price you pay. By the time you reach checkout, you'll typically find:
A guest service fee of between 14% and 16% added on top
Cleaning fees that can add £50–£150 to a short stay
Additional taxes depending on the booking
On a typical week-long Cambridge stay priced at £900, that's potentially £130–£280 in fees added before you've confirmed anything.
Booking.com works similarly — the platform charges the property owner a commission of typically 15–20%, which means owners either absorb that cost or build it into the nightly rate you see.
When you book directly with JTAP Properties, none of that applies. You pay the property rate. That's it.
OTA platforms are built around standardised booking processes — fixed cancellation policies, automated messaging, limited ability to accommodate specific requests.
When you book directly with us, you're talking to Tricia and Jim — the people who actually manage and maintain every property in our portfolio. That means:
Flexible check-in and check-out where occupancy allows
Early or late arrival arranged without the need for a platform request
Extended stay discounts negotiated directly rather than through a pricing algorithm
Specific requests — a particular room setup, extra linen, parking arrangements — handled by a real person who knows the property
For corporate guests, contractors and anyone staying longer than a few days, this flexibility makes a significant practical difference.
Our properties attract a lot of guests from the Cambridge corporate and research community — staff visiting AstraZeneca, ARM, Addenbrooke's Hospital, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the city's many university departments. These are typically mid-length stays of one to several weeks.
For stays of this kind, OTA platforms are a poor fit. They're designed around short holiday bookings, their pricing models penalise longer stays with compounding fees, and their communication tools aren't built for the kind of back-and-forth that makes a long stay work smoothly.
We can provide a company invoice for expense claims
We can arrange flexible payment terms for corporate bookings
We can discuss block booking rates for teams with multiple guests across different properties
You have a direct phone number and email — not a platform chat thread
JTAP Properties is a local operation. Tricia and Jim live and work in the Cambridge area — they know the city, they know the properties, and they're invested in every guest having a good experience because their reputation depends on it.
When you book through Airbnb, a significant portion of what you pay leaves Cambridge entirely and goes to a US technology company. When you book direct, your money stays with the people who maintain the properties, employ local cleaners and tradespeople, and reinvest in making the accommodation better.
That's not a small thing.
1. Browse our properties at jtapproperties.com
2. Check availability using our booking calendar
3. Or contact us directly at reservations@jtapproperties.com or +44 7731 549999 to discuss your requirements
For corporate enquiries, extended stays or group bookings across multiple properties, we'd always recommend getting in touch directly first — we can usually put together something that works better than anything the platforms can offer.
If you've found us through Airbnb or Booking.com and had a good stay — thank you. We'd genuinely love it if you'd take two minutes to leave us a Google review as well. Google reviews help guests who are searching independently find us directly, which means we can keep offering competitive direct rates rather than having to factor in platform commission costs.
*JTAP Properties offers serviced accommodation across Cambridge and Cambridgeshire, including city centre apartments near the historic colleges, and larger properties in Bar Hill and the surrounding area. Ideal for contractors, corporate guests, visiting researchers and families. Book direct at jtapproperties.com.*
