By cutting out the middle man and booking your own flights, you can save up to 40 per cent of the cost of a holiday. If you compare this to the price of a hotel stay, the (1)____(save) can be even more impressive.　　In some of the most exclusive holiday resorts among the Mediterranean, hotels charge a fortune. Yet for (2)____ to 50 per cent less you can often get tons more space and your own private pad with the opportunity to cook up a storm and save cash on (3) exp____ hotel meals.You have to be careful, though.　　There have been horror stories (4) ov____ the years of people booking villas direct with owners, only to lose everything to phony companies or con artists.If you do choose to go direct, I would recommend (5)____(book) with one of the big listing sites on the Internet (6)____ as Holiday-rentals. co.uk.　　They have details on more than 122,000 properties worldwide, link you directly with the owner, and have been in business for more than ten years. But, if the worst did happen and your villa or owner didn’t (7) ex____, their guarantee will cover you for up to ￡3,300.　　We got Holiday! Kentals to give us the prices for private rentals in a host of (8) fav____ Mediterranean destinations. We then (9)____(comparison)them with traditional hotel holiday rates for two adults and two children for next summer on the Expedia website.　　Both the hotel and villa rentals are based on a week’s holiday for two adults and two children aged 6 and 13 in the (10) p____ season, for the week of August 15 to 22, and the hotel prices are based on the family sharing one room or suite.Here’s how we got on…