As I explained earlier, it's the one sided and often flawed arguements that concern me.French Cricket wrote:I have to admit to being confused about where you're coming from at the moment, kev. You seem to be unhappy about almost everything you read on here.
I had a stupid enquiry today actually using the site to try to sell me something. It's the annoyance of wasting my time having to responds to such dross to avoid being penalised. Dare I say 'in the old days', you could have just completely ignored stupid enquiries. That to me is not progress. Oh dear, I'm droning on again....kevsboredagain wrote:Just give a silly quote to silly requests and don't get penalised. If some thought went into the subject rather than knee jerk moaning then perhaps we could gain something.
Sweeping statements, lol! I doubt that many here are actually clinging on to the past, least of all me, but they may well be struggling to keep up with the dramatic changes. I remain interested in OD and its owner HA as one of my subscriptions does not run out until October 2017, so you'd better switch off from anything I contribute to until then!kevsboredagain wrote:Many owners do not care about the experience or security of the guest but just want things done the way they've always been done in the past.
Enquiries through these sites are going down, scammers are ruining our business but no one wants to change. No one wants to budge from the good old methods they are used to. Bank transfers, payments months in advance, handling all communications directly. You're clinging on to the past and your voices will fade away along with your businesses. I don't like many of the changes either but would rather invest energy in looking for alternatives rather than constant bashing of these sites.
Finding new ways of running our business is the greatest power of this forum. Constant listing site bashing solves and gains nothing.
+1 we are all moving on but we are all entitled to air our disappointment & frustrationNemo wrote:Sweeping statements, lol! I doubt that many here are actually clinging on to the past, least of all me, but they may well be struggling to keep up with the dramatic changes. I remain interested in OD and its owner HA as one of my subscriptions does not run out until October 2017, so you'd better switch off from anything I contribute to until then!kevsboredagain wrote:Many owners do not care about the experience or security of the guest but just want things done the way they've always been done in the past.
Enquiries through these sites are going down, scammers are ruining our business but no one wants to change. No one wants to budge from the good old methods they are used to. Bank transfers, payments months in advance, handling all communications directly. You're clinging on to the past and your voices will fade away along with your businesses. I don't like many of the changes either but would rather invest energy in looking for alternatives rather than constant bashing of these sites.
Finding new ways of running our business is the greatest power of this forum. Constant listing site bashing solves and gains nothing.
Just because the listing sites are trying to make the business go away from direct contact doesn't make it the best experience for the customer. As a UK property owner there's no doubt I have a different view of the industry to those dealing with more foreign guests, currency transactions etc. Social media is a massive growth industry and that's where I put my energies into with great success.
I don't particularly see it as listing site bashing either, it's a discussion about how the sites work, the many, many problems they throw up that need workarounds and I have no doubt they are useful to many, many members.
Personally, the big listing sites don't have a stranglehold on my business at all, but I'll always be interested in anything others have to say on the subject.
TouchéHelenB wrote:I have always been willing to move with the times. Back in 2005 when I first joined LMH, I remember the gasps of horror when I set up not only a website but also activated an online booking system, with Paypal payments.
The fact I have been advertising on HA and HL for 11 years should be enough to prove that I am there, I am not robbing anyone, and that I own a legitimate holiday rental. The goalposts should not be moved midway through a subscription, my payment terms should not be changed, and my guests should not be being charged an extra 8% because they booked in July and not in June.
Felt the same when you kept on about Brexit. Thankfully you saw the light. So hopefully someone(s)kevsboredagain wrote:
I'm not complaining about newcomers. It's the same old subset of old timers doing all the HA/HL bashing for nearly a year now. It's only been a week since this very subject was discussed, so why does it help to chew over it once again? Let's do some more bashing and pat each other on the back eh? This is what this forum is degenerating into. New, useful information for newcomers is becoming an hard to find.
Just a coincidence the thread is hosted by someone who also loves to slate web designers and invoke a lot of listing site hatred as a way of increasing revenue for his own business. I watched half his promotion video once and was rather disgusted at the lies he had to tell to make people buy his training.
here can this stop going over and over this subject too. Thank you for speaking up. Not suggesting that at all but they are a company who does not listen much to their clients. We all know that. Only market forces will dictate their future, not moaning on a forum. We can either adapt and try to figure out a way to make the best of what they offer or we can go elsewhere and the company will decline. I believe the latter will happen eventually as people cut ties and look elsewhere.Bunny wrote:I put my hands up to being one of the 'bashers'. But, are you suggesting Kev, that we say nothing and let the listing sites believe that we are all blissfully happy and ignorant of all their shenanigans? What would be the point of that? They may ignore us, but equally, silence gets you nowhere. Surely it is better that they are made aware of our continued dissatisfaction?
