What's happened to Owner Holidays?

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
Codliveroil
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:10 pm
Location: Algarve
Contact:

What's happened to Owner Holidays?

Post by Codliveroil »

I did a search, as a traveler, for my property, clicked on "contact owner" tells me I have to log in. Tried to book a week same thing, I have to log in. There is no place to log in or even register as a traveler, or am I missing something here?

I sent Nigel a couple of emails about this and after a week have not heard back.

Any-one know what is going on?

Thanks
FelicityA
Posts: 2816
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:54 pm
Location: Cotswolds
Contact:

Post by FelicityA »

It is working for me. I just logged in and updated my calendar. Perhaps a temporary glitch?
Codliveroil
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:10 pm
Location: Algarve
Contact:

Post by Codliveroil »

FelicityA wrote:It is working for me. I just logged in and updated my calendar. Perhaps a temporary glitch?
Me too, but I am not talking about logging in as an owner. Log out. Then google the site and do a search as a traveller/guest and try any property, you can't contact or book any property anywhere.
AndrewH
Posts: 1499
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 1:17 pm
Location: Kefalonia, Greece
Contact:

Re: What's happened to Owner Holidays?

Post by AndrewH »

Codliveroil wrote:I did a search, as a traveler, for my property, clicked on "contact owner" tells me I have to log in. Tried to book a week same thing, I have to log in. There is no place to log in or even register as a traveler, or am I missing something here?

I sent Nigel a couple of emails about this and after a week have not heard back.

Any-one know what is going on?

Thanks
I did a similar test today, searching as a traveller, on my own OH listing. I completed and submitted the contact form with my "enquiry" an hour ago, but so far it has not reached my inbox. However, I was not asked to sign in as you were. The link to my website worked fine.
Codliveroil
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:10 pm
Location: Algarve
Contact:

Post by Codliveroil »

Hi Andrew H and others

The website link works that is not the problem.

I can also replicate what you have just done and you will not receive the test message you send to yourself because you are still logged in, in other words it recognizes you from when you logged in last time as an owner to adjust your prices or edit your details or whatever. It is probably not meant to work in the "Owner Logged in" state anyway.

You will not see the "you have to log in first" message that I referred to in my post for the same reason, "because you are actually still logged in". You will never see the site as Joe public sees it whilst you are still logged in.

To see the website as Joe Public, which is what is important and what I am referring to, you have to log out first.

So go to your desktop shortcut or whatever as if you were going to edit your site, once its up, look at the very bottom of the left hand menu, click logout. Now you are properly logged out (don't log in again and close that page), You are now Joe Publicand can then open your browser and google owner holidays as Joe Public would (do not use your desk top short cut), find the site OH, open it, click on search, find any property, yours if you like, and try the Contact Owner or try to Book the property, both will say you have to log in to do either.

Then as Joe Public you scratch your head because you cannot see anywhere to log in or even register. So as Joe public you give up and close the site and go else where, (or hopefully click the website button).

The above is how I see it, using windows 10, firefox or chrome its the same.

Please make sure you have logged out first and try the Joe public please and let me know your results.

There is an opportunity for Joe Public to sign up on the home/entry page, maybe that would solve the problem, but no Joe Public is going to do that, they go straight to search, if you go OD,HA,TA,Abnb,VRBO or any other 3rd party site you just search, you don't have to register first. Once Joe has started a search its too late to register anyway.
FelicityA
Posts: 2816
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:54 pm
Location: Cotswolds
Contact:

Post by FelicityA »

Ah....see your point!
Nigel Goodwin
Posts: 707
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:50 pm
Location: Newquay Cornwall
Contact:

Post by Nigel Goodwin »

I'm still here. I will check any emails over the weekend.

Yes, as a traveller/guest there is no need to login or register.

Still free to advertise.

I am quite proud of the map based searches I improved earlier in the year, but still much to do.

Particularly marketing.
Codliveroil
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:10 pm
Location: Algarve
Contact:

Post by Codliveroil »

Nigel Goodwin wrote:
Yes, as a traveller/guest there is no need to login or register.
Hi Nigel, Glad you posted.

The problem is exactly that, as a traveler/guest the site asks you to log in if you click "contact Owner" or if you try to "book", and there is not the opportunity to login or register. This needs to be fixed, and the necessity of a Traveler/Guest to register or login be scrapped completely or if you want to collect email addresses have some other incentive for them to enter their details and keep it separate.

The map based search is an improvement, but at the scale that it first appears it looks like Portugal and Spain have zero properties which does not invite guests to continue looking if they want Iberia.
Last edited by Codliveroil on Sat Jan 20, 2018 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
FelicityA
Posts: 2816
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:54 pm
Location: Cotswolds
Contact:

Post by FelicityA »

I agree with Codliveroll. I am much put off if I am searching for a property and I have to register in order to click a link. I tend to walk away at that point. But perhaps I am just a difficult customer!
Codliveroil
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:10 pm
Location: Algarve
Contact:

Post by Codliveroil »

FelicityA wrote:I agree with Codliveroll. I am much put off if I am searching for a property and I have to register in order to click a link. I tend to walk away at that point. But perhaps I am just a difficult customer!
No not difficult, just the same as any one who does not want spamming to death. No telling what happens to your email address once given to a site, not saying Nigel would do that, but it is what people think will happen and more often does.
Nigel Goodwin
Posts: 707
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:50 pm
Location: Newquay Cornwall
Contact:

Post by Nigel Goodwin »

OK, I understand, I will try to fix that so you don't have to register before clicking a link to contact an owner. But let me first check exactly what other sites do.

If there wasn't some kind of check, owners would easily get bombarded with spam.
Nigel Goodwin
Posts: 707
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:50 pm
Location: Newquay Cornwall
Contact:

Post by Nigel Goodwin »

Codliveroil wrote:
Nigel Goodwin wrote:
Yes, as a traveller/guest there is no need to login or register.

The map based search is an improvement, but at the scale that it first appears it looks like Portugal and Spain have zero properties which does not invite guests to continue looking if they want Iberia.
OK I see that.

Most sites display a top 20, say, and have a listing of that top 20, and you cannot see any other properties on the map.

What I have tried to do is to show all properties on the map, and then highlight the top 20 in the list. This should be much easier for guests to see what is available. It took a bit of work to make it perform well (as tens of thousands of properties have to go on the map, and it is one reason why I changed from a Google map to a Leaflet map and leaflet clustering which is much much faster).

As always, I reach for the stars and fall a little short. I can probably fix the problem by reducing the default number of properties in a cluster.
Igor
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2017 4:27 pm

Post by Igor »

I find OwnerHolidays impossible to use as a traveller. I tried it again just now to see if it has become better. Yes it has. But only a little bit.

There seem to be 2 versions of the website, depending on cookies or something. On the first one, the header bar contains: ☰ OwnerHolidays ⚙
and under it is a big picture of a holiday complex.

First, where do you start? There's no place to enter criteria for your search until you press the mysterious ☰ symbol and then you can click on Find Vacation and then on Search.

Now, when I put in Cyprus (this is the improved bit) the map of Cyprus appears. Now I enter the dates and number of people and oooops, the map of cyprus has been replaced by solid blue and if I try zooming it out until I can see where I am (just off West Africa) now the list of properties that were below have disappeared.

If I repeat the search and don't worry about being dropped in the Atlantic, I can see the list of properties but I have no idea which part of Cyprus any of them are on because there's no map.

The second version of the website shows a much more populated header with the "Find vacation" link already visible. I can follow that and type Cyprus in the location box and if I wait at that point the map appears. If I try entering dates, then again the map changes to Atlantic and I can make no progress.

I now realise that if, having typed in the location and waited for the map to appear, I use the map to zoom in where there are multiple properties, I can then get to the property pages that I wanted to see. I really don't think that any real users would have the patience to work out how to get there.

Sorry, Nigel, but the mustard has not been cut. I know you've been concentrating on gaining inventory and that's really important, but it needs to be useable too.
Igor lives in Fort StaySavr, a secret location high in the mountains
Codliveroil
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:10 pm
Location: Algarve
Contact:

Post by Codliveroil »

Nigel Goodwin wrote:OK, I understand, I will try to fix that so you don't have to register before clicking a link to contact an owner. But let me first check exactly what other sites do.

If there wasn't some kind of check, owners would easily get bombarded with spam.
Nigel.

Other sites do two things. Firstly: clicking on "Contact Owner" should not reveal the owners email address to anyone, it should bring up a form that they fill in, the guest has to put their email on that and it gets sent Secondly: usually after doing an anti spam quiz or something. You as the site owner can glean an email address at that point if you wish, I am sure that you might have all of this already, its just not working.
Codliveroil
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:10 pm
Location: Algarve
Contact:

Post by Codliveroil »

Hey Nigel now that we have your attention, lol.

I for one want to see your site succeed and when it functions correctly and I can get bookings from it. I will subscribe or pay commission, if reasonable, I don't mind either way but you are miles away from doing either.

There are plenty of folks on LMH that can help you get there I hope that you can implement changes and accept suggestions as they come.

Igor has very valid points about the map, I mentioned this in my email to you and in this post, it works but only to a degree and it is far from user friendly, it needs sorting out soon.

Get rid of the guests have to register or login completely, this stops any inquiries and is one reason why I have not had one inquiry since I listed. Nor have I had one click through to my website, the reason is mentioned below.

Your site is 95% geared to owners and getting new properties, whereas now with 300000 properties listed it should be geared to travelers and guests.

You don't want travelers and guests being directed to read all the blather under the tabs, News, Owners, and all its subheadings, this should all be hidden from the guest/traveler under say one tab "Owners" with no drop down menu, which takes you to a separate page or site opened in a new window, geared for owners only.

The site Ownerholidays.com should be geared to help traveler/guests find the right property, feel secure, and make a booking without the distraction and confusion of what owners get up to.

And the biggest problem of all is that OH does not exist according to Google, Bing, yahoo and every other search engine. Because virtually zero SEO has been done, (any site audit will reveal this). No matter what search terms are used to find a cottage, villa, house, apartment, anywhere, OH does not appear in search. If it does not appear in search then the site is pointless. It costs nothing, only effort and time to get your site into the top 10 for about 50% of search terms, top 20/30/40 for the rest.

The problem with SEO is that it is time consuming, Link building, one of the major contributors to Ranking should have been started when the site was created. You cannot get away with buying links they have to be created naturally at a reasonable pace, so its better to start straight away.
I hope you take this the right way, I am frustrated at seeing all the work you have done and whilst the site is 90% complete it might as well not exist at all if it is not Guest/traveler user friendly and search engines cannot find it.
Post Reply