Owners Direct/HomeAway ranking metrics

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
RebelEmC
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:46 pm
Location: Italy
Contact:

Owners Direct/HomeAway ranking metrics

Post by RebelEmC »

I have quite a few properties on Owners Direct and I've been using it for many years. It was the place I used to get most bookings..not anymore.

Today, as a guest would, I searched for one of my best properties under area, specific dates, number of people and number of bedrooms. Using these criteria, this listing was on Page 10 - the last page, each page has 50 properties. This listing has 10 recent reviews (which is high for my area) and I have taken 3 recent bookings on OD and no cancellations. Above me were a huge number of properties with no reviews and no bookings (I checked Availability). On Pages 1 and 2 alone I counted over 50 with no reviews. So what am I to make of this? Reviews don't count? Last year I was on a bronze listing (no longer available) and on Page 1, it makes all the difference.

I telephoned OD and was told that guests would do a more refined search. Well some will and some won't. And this answer doesn't explain why my good quality listing is languishing behind others so clearly less well cared for whatever the search criteria. I couldn't get any more from that operator, despite multiple attempts.

My response rate was 78% and I had to question that too when looking through the 5 last enquirers almost all responses were within 5 minutes.

On online chat I did finally get through to someone who seems to have taken me seriously and is now going to look at this and get back to me ......

Even if ranking metrics work properly how does a new listing get up the listings? You need a response rate, you need bookings and you need reviews and if you are below page 2 is anyone ever going to see you?
Igor
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2017 4:27 pm

Post by Igor »

Rebel,

I don't think you say whether your properties are subscription or PayPerBooking. I assume subscription as you mention that previously you had the Bronze level.

Even though they tell us all the things that we (their fodder) should do to rank well under Best Match, following that advice seems to be little use.

It would be interesting to know whether that sort order is consistent across the Homeaway brands and on different days. A-B testing is always a possibility. But my cynical view is that PPB bookings make more money for them than subscription, and they are swayed by that.

Also note that if you have StaySavr installed in your browser, it would be reversing Homeaway's sort order - but then you would only get about 1 page of listings in the search results because it reduces the search area too, so I guess you're not using it (and indeed the vast majority of guests are not using it either).
Igor lives in Fort StaySavr, a secret location high in the mountains
RebelEmC
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:46 pm
Location: Italy
Contact:

Post by RebelEmC »

I'm on subscription, I have online bookings enabled, I don't have Staysaver installed. I know the rules and I do everything seemingly right - to no effect. Yes it's possible they are promoting PPB properties over mine, some of the properties are so low quality I think it's more likely to put people off looking on Owners Direct.
e-richard
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Algarve, Portugal
Contact:

Post by e-richard »

Igor wrote: my cynical view is that PPB bookings make more money for them than subscription, and they are swayed by that..
I don't think so Igor:
Owner pays an annual subscription
Guest still pays a booking fee on top
Owner still pays another payments fee for receiving money
Homeaway get money from the left hand, from the right hand from the back hand and also from the under hand

Mind you, most of that is only when they actually find us any bookings.

The whole thing is well and truly broken
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
User avatar
Rogthedodge
Posts: 188
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 7:07 pm
Location: Praia da Luz, Algarve
Contact:

Post by Rogthedodge »

e-richard, you are such a sage... Got it nailed.
Deary me am I real.

www.holiday-rentals.com/52179
RebelEmC
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:46 pm
Location: Italy
Contact:

Post by RebelEmC »

I've spent a lot of today wasting my time talking to OD reps or on their online chat, trying to make sense of my incredibly low ranking on the listings (whatever the search criteria) for 3 of the properties I have on there. I have spoken to 6 reps, they all said my ranking metrics were excellent. They did not however have an answer as to why I was in the bottom 5% of listings. The best I got was a "complex algorithm". Having busted a gut to get reviews I have now discovered they do not count. Having a 100% response rate and 0% cancellations does not count. If I cancelled the bookings I have I couldn't get any lower. These ranking metrics they have been raving about are completely meaningless.
e-richard
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Algarve, Portugal
Contact:

Post by e-richard »

RebelEmC wrote:I've spent a lot of today wasting my time talking to OD reps or on their online chat, trying to make sense of my incredibly low ranking on the listings.
RebelEmC, you should have asked me. I looked inside the actual code behind the OD website and this is what is happening:

Code: Select all

For each propid{
    ListingPos['propid'] = RAND(n-1);
}
Next propid
Even if you are not a programmer, you can probably guess what is going on.
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
RebelEmC
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:46 pm
Location: Italy
Contact:

Post by RebelEmC »

Wish it was random, I am persistently low.
e-richard
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Algarve, Portugal
Contact:

Post by e-richard »

It can be random and have you at the bottom every time you look.
You can actually flip a coin 50 times and always get heads, but its still random.
I believe the Lottery is random, but I never win :cry:
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
Post Reply