How many FREE listing sites do you use ?

[kevincohr]

There are many "FREE" sites, offering for example free trial periods or a 'basic" free ad that can be upgraded.

I am interested to know to what extent people use these sites. Any comments on their effectiveness ( or lack thereof) would also be welcome.

Thanks,

Kevin

[debk]

OK... I may be the lone dissenting voice but here goes:

I found free sites to be a waste of time. Mostly because of the time required to update them (eg, prices, change of terms, new photos) but also because they seem hesitant to delete your listing once you've posted.

When I got started with VR, I kept seeing emails from other owners listing 20+ free sites. So one evening I sat down with a glass of wine and signed up for those that seemed relevant to our area.

The setup time was less than half the equation; more time consuming for me was keeping all the sites updated. I believe that having out-of-date information for a potential guest is as embarrassing as having out-of-date furnishings or broken appliances. First appearances are important and I don't want my initial reply to include "I'm so sorry, but rates have changed" or "That availability calendar is not up-to-date." (Proprietary rental calendars should be illegal! )

Rather than keeping my listings fresh and updated, the maintenance overhead of the free sites made me inclined to NOT update on a regular basis. This was the kiss of death.

Finally, the free sites generated very few inquiries... and NEVER a booking for other than our busiest months (which we could fill many times over already).

Again, I think I'm fairly alone in this perspective because I keep seeing owners mailing out ever-growing lists of free sites and encouraging everyone to sign up everywhere possible.

I don't know why I personally failed to receive the payback others tout from free sites... rather only problems (out-of-date info regarding my properties) and a major time commitment (updating) for no real payback... but the last time I voiced this opinion in an attempt to help other newbies that might also not understand the ongoing maintenance implications, a man replied that he obtained weeks of bookings for his USA rental (can't remember the stats but it WAS impressive) from free sites and updating them was "no problem at all" because he did it while watching TV in the evening.

So maybe my problem is simply that I don't watch TV!

Seriously, though, I wish that, as a newbie, I had thought this through a bit more thoroughly before originally sitting down with that delightful glass of Vinho Verde and my cut/paste routine primed and ready for action...

[alexia s.]

Deb,
I can see that you would spend more time than most updating availability, because you take very short-term bookings (3 days min). But, how many times a year do you change the rates? I change mine once, maybe twice.
The most profitable site we had in 2005 - cost per booking ( & I calculated this on a "what it would have cost me if I'd paid the going rate") was a free one! When they extended my free period I was delighted - it also brought in bookings - and I am now a fully paid-up subscriber to their site. I know it doesn't work for everyone - no site does - but there could be other free sites out there that work just as well for another property.

[debk]

Hi, Alexia -

Good points. You've got an excellent memory!

I actually did this free site whirlwind when I was just starting out... so I was changing text around with some frequency.

And I was strictly doing one-week stays at that time, too. The short-stay is a (happy) new experiment. But not relevant to my free site experience.

I wondered more if it had to do with our location? It seemed that many of the people using free sites were in the USA. But I've since read about good results for European rentals.

It is a bit of a mystery. Everything I posted to free sites was equal to what was posted on paid sites... with excellent results from paid sites. Mostly, I just wish someone had given me this type of heads-up when I was starting out. Another side of the coin perhaps. Newbies are often still tweaking their text, prices, fotos, etc...

And I'm looking forward to learning more here to see if I missed something obvious? Wouldn't be the first time!

[Fraise]

Hi,I'm on 4 free sites but have never had an enquiry from any of them!!I was on more but some of these then decided they wouldn't be "free" any longer and asked for money..which I didn't pay .One site that I did have a 3 month free trial with,and didn't hear anything,keeps e-mailing me saying I have enquiries and I must pay to see them.I deleted myself ( I mistakenly thought I would drop off automatically)

www.thepetitmanoir.com

[alexia s.]

Deb,
Maybe the "something obvious" is that you might have better luck with free sites now that you are an experienced VRO - for a start, you would know how to reserch them to ses if they fitted with your profile.

[debk]

for a start, you would know how to reserch them to ses if they fitted with your profile

lol. Alexia, I'm afraid you're giving me way too much credit here!

My first "research" was painfully straightforward: if they accepted listings for Portugal, I listed.

You are right, though. With more experience under my belt, I could now reduce the number of free sites using more, um, "sophisticated" criteria... but since I never got a worthwhile booking from the whole lot, it doesn't seem like having fewer in the pot would have yield more bookings. Less update time, yes. But if even a hint of payback had been there, I'd have happily spent time identifying what was working, and where and why, and today would be contentedly updating free sites and singing their praises.

Instead, I try to keep tabs on free sites to see what new things are developing. As someone around here says, "It's all a learning curve."

When they extended my free period I was delighted - it also brought in bookings - and I am now a fully paid-up subscriber to their site.

Alexia, this sounds like a free trial for a paid site, and not a free site. I, too, have had success with free trials. Vacationrentals.com, being one example. Got three bookings during their free trial and paid up the rest of the year. Never got any more bookings but was happy with the results overall. Definite win-win from my perspective, though I didn't renew given the long term results over the year.

I'm on 4 free sites but have never had an enquiry from any of them!!

Fraise, I feel your pain. I also found that as sites were close to expiring suddenly a random inquiry would finally show up... but only inquires that led absolutely nowhere.

[Fraise]

Ah, free trials are different.I had a few of those and the ones that performed I subscribed to-those are my 4 paid sites now

www.thepetitmanoir.com

[paolo]

Deb,

My experience is the same as yours, for me free sites have been a waste of the time needed to upload the information, size the pictures to their particular requirements, etc.

Sites that I do consder worthwhile are some of those giving a free trial for a month or two. These are holidaylets.net, perfectplaces.com, and vacationrentals.com, all of which have given me enquiries. Holidaylets.net was the best of them.

But as Alexia points out, the effectiveness of sites, whether free or paid, varies for each individual property.