my site

Get some feedback on your site or ad from other rental owners and techies. Also a library of online resources so you can make DIY improvements to your web presence.
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enid
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Location: Labretonie France
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Post by enid »

Thanks for giving more information on video production which is an interesting topic. Brian will thank you too I'm sure.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Brian,

If you learn nothing else from this forum, you should know that Van Gogh never went to Tahiti, but he did spend a productive part of his life with Cezanne (another artist) in Provence, a region which is famed for the clarity of its light. You are thinking of Gauguin, and as Tahiti is just a few thousand miles from the Philippines, you could stick him in your video too.
Paolo
Lay My Hat
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Chianti
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Post by Chianti »

Brian

Welcome to the forum. I liked your website and enjoyed the video, but have picked up on other points. Your staircase is a fantastic feature, I would have used this more in both the photos and the video. Also more photos of the outdoor kitchen and the covered area, which looked very interesting and some taken at night with the various areas lit would be very effective, especially as your property is large enough for weddings and corporate entertaining.

I don't object to showing a general photo of the sea, but worry only that if the photos of the beach area or the shopping center are not actual, then you may well have a problem if guests wish to be directed there.

What I would very much warn against but others have missed is; the final words on the video of a stress free vacation it's something which you can't guarantee. You are advertising your property, not a vacation, which is the task of a travel agent. If for any reason the guests have difficulties with local services, the airline, become ill, etc they might try to hold you
responsible. By just changing the wording a bit, you can portray the same idea but without the risk.

I don't know where you're based, many of us are from the UK and have a different method and way of looking at our advertising. Don't go away just because some disagree with the method used to make your video.

Again welcome

Chianti
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

A2 wrote:Finally, I notice that Brian did learn something here though....his sky is now blue, although it does look rather fake, which fits right in with the overall style. :roll:
On my screen it looks like nightfall!!

I know the area Paolo's properties are in Brian, and his claims aren't extravagant - nor do I think any guests would be disappointed on arrival.

I also believe what I say about the area etc that our own house is in. It's not "HYPE HYPE HYPE!" as far as I'm concerned! Nor do I think that our descriptions mean to convey that the separate charms of our areas are necessarily unique - they're to be found in many other parts of France/the world, but our guests choose to holiday there and return as they love its particular mix of qualities.
Brian wrote:And Enid, I think your site is boring too. REALLY boring. How do you like them apples?
You have a stunning property Brian in a wonderful location, but what's so superior about your website? I have a particular hatred of black font by the way - seriously un-cool.

For me, the best interior shots are of the staircase, as Chianti says, and of the kitchen which looks amazing.

The bedrooms by contrast leave me stone cold!

And as for the video, leaving the content to one side, the images are blurred and pixelated - is this the best technology can come up with, or should I blame it on my Mac? :)
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
Adam Apple
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Location: Oxfordshire, UK

Post by Adam Apple »

I would have to agree with GG about that large black font, it looks really dated and a bit cheap.
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

Brian

I'm a bit puzzled as to why if video is as all important as you maintain, why you have it as the last thing on the list.

Also I didn't like the lip synch (or lack of it) and I found your hostess quite hard to understand.

I have to say that if I had to choose between Enid's apples and your tarts it wouldn't be hard to decide and the French site would win hands down :lol:

LMH seems to work best when people exchange information and points of view rather than trying to ram opinions down each others throats and getting aggressive and rude when their ideas aren't universally accepted.

Just my 2 p worth.
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vrooje
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Location: Burgundy, France

Post by vrooje »

Hi Brian,

I'm a little confused... isn't your video hostess also the host of a TV show local to your rental? If so, why was she in California at all?

I do hope you will take some of these posts about your website under advisement, as there are many good pieces of advice. Your site is a decent start, but for all your focus on the video the site itself has many aspects that are rather "Web 0.5."

I think you will find that people here will be very helpful even if they disagree with you -- so long as you treat them with respect. Since you seem less-than-inclined to do so, it may be that you will find them less than helpful. However, the people here are often very gracious, so they will probably prove me wrong.
Brooke
A-two
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Post by A-two »

paolo wrote:You are thinking of Gauguin, and as Tahiti is just a few thousand miles from the Philippines, you could stick him in your video too.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Windy wrote: I have to say that if I had to choose between Enid's apples and your tarts it wouldn't be hard to decide
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

A2 wrote:
I sense that what I am looking at here is a product from a technician who knows how to press buttons, but does not have the benefit of any professional production training.
A2 makes an important point here. One of the advantages of hiring a professional video or still photographer is that they will have been taught about the law as it relates to their profession and will have been keeping abreast of current developments. There are many ways that an unwary rental owner shooting still or video pictures can fall foul of the law - copyright, model and property releases, obtaining permits before shooting in restricted areas, infringing privacy, infringing trademarks, harassment, misrepresentation ... All this stuff may seem arcane or boring when you're just publishing a few snaps on your rental site but you ignore the law at your peril.

As was demonstrated by the valuable thread a few months back discussing who could and couldn't be barred from your property whilst remaining with the law, it's easy to make assumptions that risk reaping the whirlwind.

Jim
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Holiday Ray
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Post by Holiday Ray »

Well !
Being a newbie to this forum, it seems I'm a little late joining this particular debate, having only registered a couple of days ago. Although I have been burning the midnight oil, so to speak, catching up on so many fascinating topics, I have only just been able to find this one.
It does however allow me to comment on the posts of this topic impartially, without seemingly ganging up on anyone.
Having read all your comments in the "sticky" - "Please take the time to review other people's sites" I thought I would indeed review some of my fellow members' websites, before submitting my own for review and at Brians request I tootled off to have a nosey at his.
It seems Brian may well have gone now, almost as speedily as he arrived and it didn't seem to me that he was particularly receptive to constructive criticism, or indeed friendly advice, so I shall refrain by and large from passing comment about his site, fearing such comments would fall on deaf ears anyway.
I would just like to put forward my opinion regarding some of the posts, so that peeps know where I am coming from. I think it was Paolo that suggested members might wish to get to know a little about newbies, before they spend too much of their very valuable time writing lengthy reviews.
So here's my two penneth
Brian wrote: It's always the people that book that ask the dumbest questions.
If you are still "looking in" at this Brian, you should perhaps remember that the people asking the dumb questions, are the ones putting food on your table/paying your mortgage !
paolo wrote:Brian,

Doesn't it strike you as wrong to show California when you are describing the Philippines? What about the shots of crystal-clear water, are those also from somewhere else?
Paolo
Yes it does (or at least should )
Brian wrote:All resorts do this and in different ways, you guys do to with amped up descriptions and touched up photos that exaggerate the property. This holier than thou attitude is disingenuous and you guys are holding me to a standard you yourselves don't meet.

And yeah Alan you *did* get it wrong. I can see you don't know a single thing about marketing, if you'd knock it off with your cynicism and hypocrisy, you might actually learn something. Breakthrough! Pretty girls help sell thing! Genius!
Again Brian if you are still there, may I suggest a very good book by a well known compatriot of yours Dale Carnegie,

"How to make friends and influence people"

Brians somewhat impolite and unnecessary remarks aside, I thought the initial home page of his site, was very refreshing. It did set itself apart from others with it simple but quite attention grabbing format. The exterior pics of the property made me go "wow". As soon as we step inside though it's like "oh", that's a bit dissappointing. Apart from the staircase shots, the interior needed much more "dressing" and thought.
There didn't seem to be an awful lot of thought put into the photos page either. All a bit boring really. Personally, when I go on holiday I don't want to be cooking in an "industrial" type kitchen, but that's just a personal preference.
His information page, I thought, was a little bizarre. All the info crammed into a small box that you have to scroll down ?. Not very user friendly.
Unfortunately, I couldn't run the video. Can anyone give me a clue as to why this might be. Am I missing a plug-in or media player or something ???
Although I am not a fan of video on rental sights, I would have liked to have had a shifty. I think people get bored too easily if the video is not running at the the right speed for them. Without wishing to generalise, I think a lot of people like to see a decent sized gallery of thumbnails and then choose the pics they want to view and enlarge them.
If you are having a sneaky look Brian, I hope these comments are of some use to you. I'm sure I'm not going to convince you on the video question, but it is my wish that you might find something of value in what I and others have said.
Regards
Ray
Ray
Adam Apple
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Location: Oxfordshire, UK

Post by Adam Apple »

Holiday Ray wrote: Unfortunately, I couldn't run the video. Can anyone give me a clue as to why this might be. Am I missing a plug-in or media player or something ???
Ray
I think it's a problem when websites put too much emphasis on a fancy video or Flash animation - not everybody is able to view it. I can think of no bigger turn-off (not that Brian's site necessarily does this) than clicking onto a website only to be told that I have to download a piece of software in order to see it.
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

I agree - and there's a danger that the website owner relies too heavily on the marketing value of the video, to the detriment of the other content, as seems to be the case with Brian's perhaps.

Mind you, I don't do brief so I would say that! :wink:
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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