London Tourists/ What sites to advertise on?
London Tourists/ What sites to advertise on?
I'm researching the merits of buying a London flat for renting to tourists. I'm looking at something small - 1 bedroom or studio, central london, (ie westminster) with a view to marketing it to London tourists for bookings from, say, 3 nights to 2 weeks, for example. I've found various UK targetted sites which do have such properties and have had a look at rates, availability etc. Does anyone know of any websites that would be used by US, French, Canadians, Aussies, etc searching for such accommodation? Ie, maybe a couple visiting London for a week or two who want to self cater rather than stay in a hotel? I'm trying to do as much research as possible in order to decide if this idea is a go-er or not... any other tips would be welcome. ta.
Nightowl
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
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mindadowling
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Three years ago, I might have agreed about VRBO, but they have not reinvested anything into their software, it now looks awful and the results are not there anymore, although I can't tell exactly because they do provide a link to my site, so not all inquiries will come through them. Try Cyberrentals, VacationRentals, VacationHomeRentals. I would also try one ad in NY Times online to see if it works. A city apartment may appeal to corporate executives who are there for a week or two, also maybe the Washington Journal, although they don't work for us here obviously.
Waves from America
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Paul Carmel
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Kinghtowl,
I just found this on HR site. Its a bit old! And HR have 59 such listings.
26 September 2004 - The Observer
"The short cut to moving into a plush city pad"Demand for London short-term apartment lets trebled in the last year, according to a Holiday-Rentals.com spokeswoman. 'Renting a city centre apartment offers a much better deal than a hotel - far more freedom, you come and go as you please, eat and drink any time of day or night, invite your friends round, and feel more of a local than a tourist.'
I just found this on HR site. Its a bit old! And HR have 59 such listings.
26 September 2004 - The Observer
"The short cut to moving into a plush city pad"Demand for London short-term apartment lets trebled in the last year, according to a Holiday-Rentals.com spokeswoman. 'Renting a city centre apartment offers a much better deal than a hotel - far more freedom, you come and go as you please, eat and drink any time of day or night, invite your friends round, and feel more of a local than a tourist.'
Cheers
PC
PC
....looks like we need to buy in the Capital then,and let out.Cor,that would be a turn around!!I have thought of this in the past but property seemed too expensive,this doesn't seem the case any more?Ho hum 
Good luck Night Owl!!!
www.thepetitmanoir.com
Good luck Night Owl!!!
www.thepetitmanoir.com
My husband isn't keen on the idea to be honest but I think it could be a winner.
Finding the right property is not as easy as it first looks though - I got really excited at finding a studio flat in chelsea for £175k but then realised that the lease is 10 years.... no one is going to lend on that....so got to find the right property at the right price in the right location, as always.....
I work in London anyway - during the night - and only half a week, so in the mornings I'm on my way back out of London and could stop off at a London rental and could do changeovers myself at weekends and tail end of the week and I only live 40 mins from central London anyway so it would be a bit more hands on than our place in spain...
What made me think of it really was that as I go into work at midnight, all the London lights across Waterloo bridge are so beautiful, the Millennium Wheel is lit up with coloured lights, various buildings are floodlit with colour, the bridges are lit with lights, it's so gorgeous. There's people on the bridge taking photos, coming out of theatres and people everywhere. It occurred to me that right on my doorstep is a place where people want to be, whatever the season.
The price of London hotels is horrific so I reckon there's a niche there to be exploited....
Watch this space....
Finding the right property is not as easy as it first looks though - I got really excited at finding a studio flat in chelsea for £175k but then realised that the lease is 10 years.... no one is going to lend on that....so got to find the right property at the right price in the right location, as always.....
I work in London anyway - during the night - and only half a week, so in the mornings I'm on my way back out of London and could stop off at a London rental and could do changeovers myself at weekends and tail end of the week and I only live 40 mins from central London anyway so it would be a bit more hands on than our place in spain...
What made me think of it really was that as I go into work at midnight, all the London lights across Waterloo bridge are so beautiful, the Millennium Wheel is lit up with coloured lights, various buildings are floodlit with colour, the bridges are lit with lights, it's so gorgeous. There's people on the bridge taking photos, coming out of theatres and people everywhere. It occurred to me that right on my doorstep is a place where people want to be, whatever the season.
The price of London hotels is horrific so I reckon there's a niche there to be exploited....
Watch this space....
Nightowl
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
Knightowl, we do in-city rentals in Lisbon. Right in the heart of town. Central (no public transport required to reach main points) yet Q-U-I-E-T and peaceful. Not easy to find these properties but a huge differentiator when you do.
Our biz plan was to attract people who just spend a few days in Lisbon ("city breaks" is the buzzword) and/or those wanting to adjust to the time change here before heading out to explore the rest of the country.
As you noted, it's easy to beat the nearby hotel prices.
Our most critical move was to implement a 3-night minimum stay... versus the standard one week for most rentals. Whoops. I gave away the secret to success.
Other thoughts:
Our bookings seem to come later than many LMHer's. A month before is the norm. I get calls about checking in the next day. (Then again, we had Sept 2006 50% booked at one place more than a year in advance.)
Our slow season is pretty much confined to two months: November and mid-Jan to mid-Feb. Not a good time for conferences, from which we get plenty of guests. (Who then return and stay with us later with their families.)
Finally, check the competition and see what they don't offer. For us, there were mostly 1-bedroom apartments in Lisbon and only one "house", and it is not in the heart of town. So we went with houses (2 and 3 bedroom) as well as two 1-bedroom apartments in the same building (for families/friends travelling together). You may find the same in London: a family (eg, more than 1 bedroom) wanting to stay a few days in a nice, well-appointed place has extremely limited options.
Most of our bookings come from google adwords (strongest for Norway, France, Australia, etc, bookings). We also advertise on holiday-rentals (UK bookings) and VRBO (USA/Canada).
Hope that helps.
debk
Our biz plan was to attract people who just spend a few days in Lisbon ("city breaks" is the buzzword) and/or those wanting to adjust to the time change here before heading out to explore the rest of the country.
As you noted, it's easy to beat the nearby hotel prices.
Our most critical move was to implement a 3-night minimum stay... versus the standard one week for most rentals. Whoops. I gave away the secret to success.
Other thoughts:
Our bookings seem to come later than many LMHer's. A month before is the norm. I get calls about checking in the next day. (Then again, we had Sept 2006 50% booked at one place more than a year in advance.)
Our slow season is pretty much confined to two months: November and mid-Jan to mid-Feb. Not a good time for conferences, from which we get plenty of guests. (Who then return and stay with us later with their families.)
Finally, check the competition and see what they don't offer. For us, there were mostly 1-bedroom apartments in Lisbon and only one "house", and it is not in the heart of town. So we went with houses (2 and 3 bedroom) as well as two 1-bedroom apartments in the same building (for families/friends travelling together). You may find the same in London: a family (eg, more than 1 bedroom) wanting to stay a few days in a nice, well-appointed place has extremely limited options.
Most of our bookings come from google adwords (strongest for Norway, France, Australia, etc, bookings). We also advertise on holiday-rentals (UK bookings) and VRBO (USA/Canada).
Hope that helps.
debk
Knightowl, have you seen this?
www.londonperfect.com
Two 1-bedrooms, one 2-bedroom, two 3-bedrooms, one 4-bedroom.
Check the rates.
I would bet there is strong demand for this in London.
www.londonperfect.com
Two 1-bedrooms, one 2-bedroom, two 3-bedrooms, one 4-bedroom.
Check the rates.
I would bet there is strong demand for this in London.
I think a city centre apartment is a great idea. My husband is speaking at a conference in paris at the end of Feb and I was toying with going with him - now I hear that an American friend is also speaking and his wife will come if I'm there - so that''s decided that - but I really want to find a small apartment near to the venue - so much more relaxing than a hotel and better value. As deb says we aren't going to be booking well in advance and we only want to stay Sunday to Thursday. I am sure that there will be a market in London too - I would rent it when I visit my son - his place is way to small to put us up and we have to stay in hotels.
2012 olympics reminds me of Euro 2004 here in june 2004(tho the audience is different)...
although the hype was huge, i've read in a couple of places that it was a low tourism year for portugal. some people deliberately avoided Portugal that year and many who might have travelled off-season came instead -- all at once -- in june. (obviously, once you've booked your own calendar the fact that there are a bijillion extra people in town doesn't matter. being june, a popular month, i doubt there was much measurable uptick in vr occupancy. rather, off-season occupancy was down for some, along with july and august 2004.)
some more experienced vr owners told me to not advertise directly to Euro 2004 attendees, which was excellent advice. we only rented to families (all took in a few games) but even with that precaution we had our first/only disappointing renters during the games. accommodations were so short that we had "hotel" people here who just didn't get it. very rich, very filthy (these people NEEDED daily maid and turn-down service) and very lost without a 24-hour concierge and doorman.
whew. sorry for the minor vent. i do feel better though.
debk
although the hype was huge, i've read in a couple of places that it was a low tourism year for portugal. some people deliberately avoided Portugal that year and many who might have travelled off-season came instead -- all at once -- in june. (obviously, once you've booked your own calendar the fact that there are a bijillion extra people in town doesn't matter. being june, a popular month, i doubt there was much measurable uptick in vr occupancy. rather, off-season occupancy was down for some, along with july and august 2004.)
some more experienced vr owners told me to not advertise directly to Euro 2004 attendees, which was excellent advice. we only rented to families (all took in a few games) but even with that precaution we had our first/only disappointing renters during the games. accommodations were so short that we had "hotel" people here who just didn't get it. very rich, very filthy (these people NEEDED daily maid and turn-down service) and very lost without a 24-hour concierge and doorman.
whew. sorry for the minor vent. i do feel better though.
debk