Holiday-rentals

[Alan Knighting]

Paolo,

Somehow I don't think it was supposed to be a pretty word. In modern parlance it means "up your's" and that's not at all pretty.

I prefer "fluffy" but I'm biased.

Alan

[Clexane]

Ross,

Firstly let me say I really love your site layout and functionality though I do agree with comments here that the link should be free. Perfect Places, who do provide a free link, have a better conversion rate than any other site we are paid up with including H-R, Vrbo, Abritel - so I think what you gain may be outweighed by what you lose, that is, enquiry conversions.

I have just come to an end of my three month trial with your site and I must say I am a bit disappointed. During this period I have only had two enquires while other sites have generated a number of bookings for next year. I do take on your comments above about why this may be the case though.

Ross is there a compromise here. Can I pay for a three month extension to see if it really will work out (main booking season coming so there can't be a better test time). Are you prepared perhaps to offer a 'Lay my hat' deal to us here where we get free links perhaps since we are more commited than normal with understanding our conversions.

[enid]

Sorry I have come late to this thread - had to move the office down into the depths of the cave - then my computer got sulky! We are signed up with FR - they refused us a link to our site as they said it had too many external links that would lead people away from their site - as they advertise themselves as a portal I thought this was OK myself!!! Our links are to places of interest etc so I do want them on my site. We've had very little business from them but HR has pâid for itself and much more already this year - so like others my view is biased by results.

[Giddy Goat]

....." 'Champerty': Alan gets the prize for the prettiest word of the day" (Paolo)

Yes, it has a sort of goatish ring to it. I've just looked it up - and it does! It comes from the Latin 'campus', meaning field, and 'pars' meaning part.

'property' has a pretty nice ring to it too.

[Giddy Goat]

Just been thinking about Holiday Lets and their 3 month free trial. I agree, they aren't ideal: a) there's no web link, which is a help to those who have them, b) may start at a quiet time of year and are therefore not representative, c) if they start after the advertisers already have a good number of bookings for the year, it leaves few slots to attract a satisfactory number of extra inquiries.

I think a 3 month trial is a worthwhile means of attracting new business, both from established advertisers, and from those new to renting their properties, but more of a true test if built in to a deal which offers the first 3 months free of a 12-month or 15-month subscription. Perhaps some listing sites already offer this, I don't know.

I am already happy to stay with the 2 listing sites I used this year, but I will take a chance and sign up for a year with Holiday Lets, after my free trial is finished, to see how they deliver. I think, realistically, if your property, photos, copy and prices are good, and better still, if you have that little old website (plus link..), 3 decent listing sites should do the trick.

This humble view is not based on much experience as yet and I may be forced to eat my words in a year or so's time!

But eating's never been a problem.

[ashtondav]

A three month test is plenty of time. I would (and have just done so) start about now or January, I would also not fill in the availability calendar. I will simply see how many enquiries/orders I receive by March 12. If sufficient I will buy. Very simple.

This thing about 3 months being too short for a google ranking is silly. A lot of people search for the same location and will browse some or all of the properties listed.

Nothing would convince me to sign up with a new site unless there was an unconditional free offer or money back guarantee.

[Giddy Goat]

Surely, to fill in the availability calendar is a very important part of the trial - otherwise, if you keep a calendar up to date on your other listing sites, it becomes an unfair comparison, as one of the key variables is different.

If the property's ad is competing with a lot of similar properties in the area, the visitor is more likely to inquire of the advertiser who seems to be showing availability - yes, by and large they will want to double check the calendar is up to date, but will pass over those whose availability is just one big question mark. Garri will disagree, but on the whole people who use this medium for finding a holiday will narrow their list down according to their personal criteria, including that it's theoretically free on their chosen dates.

This has been discussed before on other threads, but it doesn't hurt to be repeated perhaps. Is it correct that if a family do a search for available dates on a site, yours will also come up. It won't if the calendar is not in use?

[ashtondav]

There are 2 issues here: (1) an honest portrayal of availability and (2) a test of a new advertising site. I am talking about (2) and do not wish to be on the moral high ground

If your existing sites have sold 60% of your summer weeks you are not going to really test a new site by blocking out those dates on its calendar. You will simply test its ability to sell the other dates. By all means 'amend' the calendar frequently so it shows as 'updated'.

Some people would say you should never show a 'real' availability calendar. The reason is you will never get the emails of those who are interested in your property but deterred because their favoured dates are taken. No email addresses means no potential to contact them with other offers. In other words you've lost a potential customer contact.

Your mailing list is one of your most valuable marketing weapons - you want to build it with people who show interest in your property. Maximising that list means encouraging people to contact you, not deterring them by showing no availability.

Oh, and another thing. Sites like HR and HL which do not let you link to your website can be very useful for 'experimenting' with different price structures. Because they are effectively 'closed' systems you could offer different prices, discounts, offers on different sites and assess their effectiveness.

Realise all the ethical and moral implications etc, but to be honest i've never had an enquiry yet that doesn't start "have you got availability for........" even on those sites where i religiously update availability.

So, decide what you want to test on a site and configure it accordingly.

[Giddy Goat]

My first reaction is that there may well be people who are busy surfing, and find your propery on a number of sites, then see an anomale existing on one of them in terms of pricing, offers, or availability - do you think the odds are low of this happening?

The issue of showing true availability: as I mentioned in my 2nd para, people will still tend to seek confirmation that their chosen dates are free, as they may have been booked overnight or whatever. I would do the same in their hooves! And I do get inquiries from people who want to check that the dates are indeed already spoken for, but it would be interesting to find out from the holidaying public what their surfing habits are in this regard!

Anyway - you've given me some food for... well, sitting and thinking. Thanks!

[Alan Knighting]

Jane,

If I was trialing a new site I think I would prefer not to have, or not to use, an availability calendar on it. After all, one of the main reasons for the trial would to find out if the site attracted enquiries. If the calendar showed the property as unavailable I couldn't really expect an enquiry, could I?

After the trial, I would want to have and to use an availability calendar - I would not want to waste my time or that of my potential guests. Or would I and is it a waste of time? Often I am able to negotiate different weeks or point people in the direction of other properties. Part of me wants to attract people to my property; part of me wants to help people to have a lovely holiday. If they don't ask I can't do either.

Alan

[Giddy Goat]

I haven't shown availability on Perfect Places, but have used the calendar on the other 2 trial sites. To be honest, I probably won't continue anyway after the trial with one of those, as I started it some few weeks ago when we had more availability anyway, and we haven't had a peep. As regards Holiday Lets, I will give them a whirl after the trial with them finishes, making a total of 3 listing sites, and see what the next year brings. They do, as Ross says, offer a web link, and who knows, by then they may have lowered the premium for this.* They have a lot going for them, so between the three, I'm hoping we can fill in our main weeks in 2007, and more of those more difficult shoulder weeks.

* Hi Ross

[gh]

Your mailing list is one of your most valuable marketing weapons - you want to build it with people who show interest in your property.

In total agreement with you ashtondav, especially re mailing lists. An example of mailing lists in particular are garages, how many of us have had in the past bough a vehicle, mot, service, new tyre or simply a bulb replaced? Then, you receive a postcard, stating your mot is due for renewal or current special offer. All from your initial contact with them. Do you go back? Yes or no, they will invariably still postcard you incase you bite next time.

[Giddy Goat]

Mailing lists: in case other people may miss this thread, and since it's important, I will start it up as a new topic, and see what experience other's have had, as it's another important tool, potentially.

See youse later!

[ashtondav]

Good idea Jane.

Tudor
www.frigiliana-apartment.com