Availability calendars - thumbs up or down?

[Christine Kenyon]

A question to forum members:

Do you include an availability calendar on your website or not?

I'm asking because I wonder what the advantages are. I don't include an availability calendar for the following reasons:

1. If your calendar says you're full, the likelihood is that you won't get an enquiry.

2. If you are the full for the week that the customer is enquiring about, you may be able to convert them to another week (and we often do).

3. We have two cottages and if one of them is booked, the other may be available.

4. If both cottages are booked and the customer doesn't want another week, we still have a useful contact for future marketing contacts.

So, please convince me that I should include an availability calendar!!!

Christine
www.stybarrowcottage.co.uk
www.troutbeckcottage.co.uk
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[Sue Dyer]

I've just the one property but include an availbility chart. I'd not really thought about the pro's and cons - just had such a successful season that I feel it's worked. I include one because of how I'd feel as a potential renter. I'm really impatient for information and the internet has certainly made me and I'm sure others want info immediately. I like to see availibility (and more importantly) price at a glance without the too'ing and fro'ing on email. IMHO!!

However, although my site is quite easy to click to from the sites I advertise on (one has an up to date availibility chart too) and the dates easy to find I still get folk asking if such and such a week is available. I've offered alternative dates but people seem pretty fixed in their first choice. I have though referred them (successfully) to neighbouring cottages. Anyone in Northumberland coastal area want to join in !!

[paolo]

Christine,

I'm just like you - 2 houses and no calendar, for the same reasons. But I agree with Sue's point about a calendar being more user-friendly.

I do use calendars on my ads, because I don't want to be one of the advertisers that don't use one. I try to stand out, so I do the calendar and pay for extra pics.

[BungleBob]

Our web stats show very high visitor levels to availability calendars (we're an advertising service) - the only thing I can throw in definitively is that renters like to see them!

Rich

[Darren]

I like the idea of the renters.org availability calendar - I've listed my parents apartment on various sites, and it's impossible for me to update all of them.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason other advertising sites don't want you to link to the renters.org calendar which is pretty poor IMO.

Darren

[paolo]

The renters.org calendar is great - I guess the reason listing sites don't want you linking to it is because it is a product of 4 of the big US listing sites, and they don't want your custom leaking to them.

[Linda Freese]

I'm a big fan of availability calendars. I have several properties that I rent out (not all mine!), so it´s useful for me too - sometimes I don´t have a hard copy of my availability on hand, so it´s easy to check on the internet! Holiday rentals.com encourage you to update your calendar, by moving your property to the top of the listings when you do!! Great incentive!

[Darren]

I guess the reason listing sites don't want you linking to it is because it is a product of 4 of the big US listing sites, and they don't want your custom leaking to them.

I never thought of it like that, personally I think that's a blinkered view, and probably the reason why these four companies have moved on ahead of it's competition in the US or Europe.

Holiday rentals.com encourage you to update your calendar, by moving your property to the top of the listings when you do!! Great incentive

.. and a great idea too!

Darren

[New_Hampshire_Skiing]

I use a calendar and think it helps attract bookings. While I agree that you'd like to hear from someone who may want a booked date so you can offer an open date, I think there's a flip side...

If a guest is looking at my place and one or two others who don't have a calendar, I think I'm more likely to get the first phone call (about half my bookings are from callers who want to book right away) and teh first shot at selling my place.

I did this myself when booking a trip to London... places that had a calendar got my inquiry before those that didn't... and I did end up booking a place that did have the calendar.

M.

[Christine Kenyon]

Thanks for the view from the "flip side", Mark. And good luck with enticing the Brits to New Hampshire.

Cheers

Christine

[DivineMrsM]

I would agree. We recently added a rentors.org calendar and I find it very easy to use.

As a punter, I would always prefer an availability calendar. I'm one of those impatient ones who will contact the calendar person first.

[HolidayWebs]

When we first rented out our apartment I chose not to use a calendar as I wanted to collect names of potential renters for subsequent years but we did get a lot of unnecessary time phone calls & emails.

We then offered advertisers on our portal the option to link to rentors.org & I used it as well for my own property. I agree with the comments above that you actually get more relevant enquiries because people know you are likely to have availability.

We have now added our own calendar to the rental site (& ditched rentors.org) as we wanted to offer visitors the option of searching on availability. Some of our advertisers were initially sceptical of using calendars but have all come back to us saying how useful they are. We also offer them the option to link to our calendar from their own sites so they only have to update one & can link to it from anywhere. I also got our designer to ensure that the calendar was included in the page & is not a separate pop-up as so many people don't realise there's a calendar when you need to click on an icon or link. See http://www.puertopollensa.com/rentals/p ... boquer.php The calendar is towards the bottom.

[oskar]

On a different angle to this subject, what, as a customer and a potential renter, would your reaction be to a calendar that shows no bookings?

If we take Holiday Rentals site for example, some advertisers have more than one property, so put on an ad for one of them and leave the calendar blank. I assume that's to get the enquiry in, and if that particular property is booked, then they can offer one of their other properties that isn't. What they do I think (and I'm guessing here) to keep their ad near the top, is to go in every so often and 'book' in dates which have already passed.

I just wonder if a blank calendar might put people off the property as they may think there's something wrong with it as it looks as though no-one has booked it. Is that disadvantage outweighed by the advantage of people enquiring when the advertised property is in fact booked?

Any thoughts?

[Linda Freese]

Hi Oskar

That´s an interesting point. I must admit that when I first advertise a property on Holiday rentals and don´t have any bookings, I do invent some! From a personal viewpoint, I would rather book a property that is popular than one that appears to have no bookings. Perhaps I am suspicious by nature. It´s the restaurant syndrome - have you noticed how people always veer towards restaurants where there are already diners?

Linda

[Christine Kenyon]

Very valid point, Oskar. I think if you go to the trouble of having an availability calendar, it should be up to date - or at least reasonably so.

Like Linda, I would be put off if it appeared that a cottage had no bookings. The other impression is that the owners can't be bothered to keep the calendar up to date - and that same attitude may be true of the rest of their service!! Am I getting cynical in my old age!!!

Christine
www.stybarrowcottage.co.uk