Free trial listings for Jan/Feb

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
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BungleBob
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Free trial listings for Jan/Feb

Post by BungleBob »

Hi all

This being an owners forum, I thought I'd turn the tables on you all a little with a question from a web advertising firm...

On our Spanish rentals portal (no name given for fear of blatant advertising :oops: ), we normally give new advertisers/owners a 1 month trial to try us out.

Last December, loads of people jumped aboard. January/February came along and we were blitzed with enquiries as is normal for the time of year. BUT when we asked people to renew (i.e. pay) we had a reasonable number who refused. Many of these received massive enquiry levels but had the cheek to say they'd received nothing from us. Either they have the worst enquiry conversion ratio in the world or we were just getting fobbed off. It's particularly galling when getting results is a year-round effort.

So, for fear of being "pillaged" again this year we're thinking about withdrawing the free trial. Here's the question:

How important is it for advertising websites to offer a trial period?

Is this a MUST in your decision or would a solid track record and testimonials do the job alone?

Look forward to your comments,

Rich
Richard Speigal, Editor, España Breaks
Maggiem
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Post by Maggiem »

We're quite new to letting, having bought our rental property 18 months ago. We based our decision on which sites to use after having had a free trial period - the results spoke for themselves. The only site that proved to be a complete rip-off was the one where we paid upfront, I don't think I'd ever do that again! (I don't want to compromise this site, but if anyone wants to know the names of 1 dreadful rental site, and a lettings agency on the Cote d'Azur to avoid, just e-mail me.)
I think it's really sad that, in turn, people rip you off but I wouldn't consider using a site without a free trial now. Don't forget, you'll be competing against those that offer one, and provide excellent results into the bargain.
From our point of view, our expectations are fairly basic: e-mails returned promptly with a proper response to our question (hence no more French Connections); the ability to manage our own entry; an attractive website; and someone at the end of the phone if we need to ask stupid questions! It's also an advantage if the site isn't too big, otherwise we just feel that our propery is lost amongst pages of others.
Good luck with attracting more entries.
Maggie
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Sue Dyer
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Post by Sue Dyer »

Both sites I use didn't have a totally free period of listing. I think one of them came with a buy a year and and get 3 months extra. They both come out at around £75 per year so I figured I wasn't losing hugely if they didn't pan out as I'd expected.

I think as with buying any service or product you have to do your research as far as possible then take the plunge. I suppose it's the same as someone expecting to use my cottage for 3 days then deciding whether they are going to stay at another time and actually pay me!

So, personally I'm a no, I wouldn't be put off by no free trial. I would be satisfied with track record etc. Hope this helps!
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John Borg
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Post by John Borg »

Out of the 3 sites that I use for advertising, none of them offered a free trial period. What I did was scrutinise various search engines, look up the sites found in the first 2 pages, then further scrutinise the testimonials and other information available. One particular site was offerring a free year added to the first year (this was the third site). I was bombarded with phone calls etc. After 6 months, not one single enquiery!
I am more than happy with the other two sites though - they are worth their wieght in gold.
As for your question re - trial period, to be honest with you, I would be very sceptical to try another site without trying first. Getting alot of enquierys does not nessecarily mean that the particul;ar site is good! With todays massive spamming etc, I wouldn't be surprised that some wizz kid comes up with a system of sending out blanket enquieries to dupe you into thinking that they're the real thing!
Malta – always in the sunshine!
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

I think the sole criterion for picking your rental listing sites is how well they do on a search engine search for a property like yours.

As John suggests, you should look in the same way as your target market will look - type some searches into Google or another major search engine. The listing sites that consistently come up in the top 10 or 20 results are the ones you should consider.

My attitude to sites that offer a free trial is that it's a nice bonus, but it doesn't affect the decision. None of the sites I use that perform well offered as much as a free month.

The one major site I used with a 3-month free period did not do anything so I dropped them.
Paolo
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Maggiem,

I don’t want to start an argument about the relative virtues of the numerous websites available but what is it that some people seem to have against French Connections/Vacances France?

I have used them for the last two or three years and, while I am not suggesting that they are perfect, I do receive a steady flow of automatically generated e-mail enquiries which have a good conversion rate to bookings. That applies equally to the English and the French version of the website. On a cost to return basis I am quite happy and I think that it is the end result that counts.

I don’t know what ratings they have for Search Engines but, judging from the number of enquiries, people don’t seem to have any trouble finding the sites.

Also, I have found the proprietors to be prompt, courteous and helpful in their replies to personal e-mails from me.

Alan
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tansy
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Post by tansy »

it's difficult to say what attracts you BungleBob...I've just recieved another email (was it you I now am thinking ooops!) that I haven't got round to answering - why? ...we advertise with holiday-rentals.com and to be brutal we are thrilled with them..I tried shuupshop.com on a flyer email & got nothing but wasted money.

On others saying vrbo.com I've just paid out $500 and so far in 5 weeks 1 enquiry for height of summer which is booked anyway!

So I am looking for something that will give me a better spread...I know we will be fully booked in summer -

I hope this may help with your marketing strategy...it seems to me that the existing good sites are dealing with the main traffic as it were - we need more exposure for off season
Maggiem
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Post by Maggiem »

"I don’t want to start an argument about the relative virtues of the numerous websites available but what is it that some people seem to have against French Connections/Vacances France?
Also, I have found the proprietors to be prompt, courteous and helpful in their replies to personal e-mails from me."

We've been really disappointed with French Connections, particularly the length of time they took to respond to fairly simple e-mails. 3 weeks is at least 2.5 weeks too long, and to hear from someone called Gwen that it's their busy time of the year isn't really an adequate reason. If you know that you're going to be busy, you plan accordingly! Yes, we got bookings through them, but we got many more through VisitFrance, so that is our preferred site.
I was also told that they would be improving their site to make it more 'user-friendly' but that didn't happen whilst we were with them and my query re this when our renewal was due didn't receive an answer.
I wonder whether sites produce different results according to the location of your rental property? I know someone in the Mayenne who has had very limited success with VisitFrance, but they've found French Connections to be excellent.
You pays your money......
Maggie
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Maggie,

That's simply unacceptable!

It’s a jungle out there.
I wonder whether sites produce different results according to the location of your rental property?


In our immediate area we have numerous friends who run “gites� and advertise through Websites. They all have different tales to tell about the self-same sites. Some, for instance, swear by Chez Nous while others swear at Chez Nous.

On the basis of “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it� - if it works for you then why change it?

I use one brochure+Website advertiser that is always OK but relatively expensive. I also use four purely Website advertisers, three of which are complete useless, for me, but those three are free so my pages stay there. Must have a look at VisitFrance.

Alan
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BungleBob
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Let the freebies continue...

Post by BungleBob »

Many thanks for everybody's comments - it seems we'd be wise to keep the free trial! I suppose we'll just have to stomach the freeloaders. :( On they other hand they only ever get one shot at it.

BTW Tansy - I don't "think" it was us who mailed you, we don't solicit for villa advertising. Everybody seems to come to us either through search engines or more usually word of mouth - advertising money can't buy!

Since we only deal with Spain I can't make a direct comment on the French websites. However having dealt with hundreds of adverts and advertisers, it is worth underlining that service quality is in the eye of the beholder.

We have often had situations where two advertisers have put on almost identical properties but one will do great whilst the other will bomb. Although we offer advice, there is a huge gap between those who put in the effort and those who can't be bothered. Unsurprisingly the people who've obviously put lots of thought into their property AND their marketing always do best. Hence our support for Paolo's advice - it isn't in our interest to service poor adverts - we all just want to advertise something that sells! :D

I suppose the bottom line is consensus: if nobody is receiving enquiries, the advertising service is probably poor. If some are and some aren't, they deserve a little more investigation.

Thanks again,

Rich
musicmonkey
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Rental listing sites

Post by musicmonkey »

My take on this is that I would prefer a site that offers a free trial, naturally the longer the better! I'm not sure that one month is enough to give an idea of long term effectiveness for the site. Unless you have heard of a site by recommendation why pay up front - surely that is a lottery?

We have been with French Connections (because it was recommended to us) but although we've had quite a few enquiries, not many converted to firm bookings. I have found their site not very user friendly, you can't manage your own property details and they are now asking us to renew without knowing what service we are paying for.

In addition to French Connections we have also been with two or three other sites but now need to consolidate into at most two or three online sites, one of which will be Visit France.
alanrhone
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Post by alanrhone »

I recommend anyone to heed Paolo's comments above. Enter the search terms you think others would use to find your property and observe which rental sites are prominent. He gave this advice on a previous occasion which I followed with huge success. I carry out this exercise at regular intervals and the same rental sites come up repeatedly. If the same sites consistently produce enquiries then they must be good. The conversions are up to us - how we respond and, the effectiveness of our own web site. Anyone who does not already have their own web site should make that a priority.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Alanrhone,

You took the words right out of my keyboard. That is really the only way to pick a listing site. Here is a brief article on this method:

http://www.laymyhat.com/newsletters/new ... .htm#found

I will keep banging on about this until people obey me! :D
Paolo
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

French Connections: like Maggie, I have had the same problems with their customer service. In my experience it takes a long time to get a reply, if you get one at all; they charge you to change the slightest amount of text; and they tell you it is their busy time.

This is a site that has grown quite quickly but does not seem to have kept up in terms of investing in staff and technology. Any site worth its salt lets you change your ad online and live, as much as you want.

Like you Alan, I have had pretty good results from them, so despite my frustration I have kept them on. But next year I think I may vote with my feet.
Paolo
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altyfc
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Post by altyfc »

paolo wrote:That is really the only way to pick a listing site.
Whilst I agree in essence, I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that that isn't strictly true. You could have a site that gets loads of traffic by other means (perhaps offline advertising for example). They might get little directly from search engines but they might still be well worth the £50 (or whatever) fee they charge.

Don't get me wrong... I agree in principle with what's being said, but bear in mind that there can be exceptions.

Aaron
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