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OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

G'day!! Calling all holiday makers - with new or old sandals: what catches your eye the most when you scroll down a page of rental listings - a very attractive property, or a very attractive pool?
Last edited by Giddy Goat on Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

G'day! (are you sure your name isn't Sheila? )
Frankly, the web sites are awash with fabulous pools so you have to dres that one up - champagne & glasses on pretty table in foreground, for ex.
As for pretty properties - there must be 50,000 to rent in Provence alone so you need to do something there, too. Wishing well with roses? Pretty property plus fabulous view?
I'm thinking of showing gold-panners in our river (see earlier post), or showing our cave(dressed-up). And I'm only half-joking. The number of great houses to rent is soaring. The most imaginative owners will survive!
But, to answer youir question: I don't know. Choose whichever photo stands out from the crowd. A team of architects is best qualified to do that, so you will have no problem.
Best,
Alexia.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

That's a very interesting question, and a very relevant one.

I think most houses with pool include the pool in their thumbnail, and as Alexia says, that makes for a wallpaper effect of blue water on a page of properties.

But is it a good idea to stand out by showing something else? Mmm, don't know. My instinct is that people looking for a summer rental with pool will click on those pics that show a pool, because that is the sine qua non of their holiday. If that is true, they will skim past a pic not showing a pool, even if that house has a pool.

Does your house rent easily in July-August, but also gets bookings in the months around that? If so, I wouldn't show the pool, I'd focus on something aimed at the non-summer market.

As with everything on the internet, you can research this easily and effectively - scroll down pages of thumbnails and see which ones make you go "Oooh!"

This is a seemingly minor but actually major consideration. You can find the best websites for your property, take stunning pictures and write dazzling descriptions, but if that little thumbnail doesn't make people click on it, it's all for nought.

To answer your question though, as an accommodation seeker, the pool will catch my eye if I am a summer seeker, and otherwise it will be a stunning exterior/view/interior.
Paolo
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Unfortunately our pool is a little distance from the house, and it's difficult to capture both in the same shot without losing the view, which is a major selling point. The Midi-Pyrenees properties have much less competition, so it will be a long time before I have to airbrush in punters successfully panning for gold - lucky one way, but of course the area has much less pull than, eg, Provence. Thus, we do very well for the summer months, but have to work harder to attract bookings outside those periods. I guess, in our case, this means sticking with the thumbnail of the house.

Conclusion - it depends on where your property is?

PS Alexia - the architects were our vendors!
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alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

Oh, bad luck!
Best,
Alexia.
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