spain-holiday.com

[brendan]

I´ve used spain-holiday for years and I like them.The problem is that their performance has dribbled away to practically nothing in the last year or 2.

Is anyone else having similar issues?

I used to find them particularly useful for filling the shoulder months with Northern Europeans. One reason may be that British guests book earlier and the weeks have been booked before the Europeans even start looking.

My renewal date is some months off yet but I´m just not sure what to do. My head says dump them, my heart says don´t. And then there´s the tricky question of becoming almost entirely reliant on OD for bookings.

How is the site performing for everyone else?

[Marks]

My enquiries are 56% down year on year.

[donnylu]

Yep it feels like a slow death. Great company, bought me many bookings in the early years but performance has slowly been degraded. Out of 3 properties, I have delisted 1 and the others are clinging just barely on. Fecking corporates. One thing I notice is they don't seem to spend money on google ads. You ain't spending on this you ain't earning.

[roxytoo]

I've been with them since they started, 2002? Enquiries are down too but then I expected that as I was downgraded for not showing bookings on my calander. Although paying a yearly sub, as I didn't update my calander, they penalised me after a certain amount of enquires sent. Now they say their algorithm will know how many bookings I SHOULD be having to the amount of enquires so will be penalised again if I don't update. Conversion rates are very low in my area. Not sure if I will renew.......

[brendan]

Well....at least I´m not alone!

The adwords thing is interesting - I took a look at this and I think you´re right, donnylu.

So, what happens if I don´t renew when it comes due and then decide to use the site again at a later date? Do I lose all my hard-earned reviews? Do I have to rebuild the ad all over again?

Anybody know?

[Marks]

I think if you don't renew but decide to re-list later you can just go to your account and pay to re-activate your property. Check with their customer services, they are very helpful.

I've used them for about 15 years so feel some loyalty to them but if they don't perform in 2016 then we may have to part company

[Clauss]

Hi there,

Just a quick message to update you guys on your concerns.

We spend many resources in making Spain-Holiday.com a profitable advertising channel for owners and we will continue to do so.
But during the past few years we've received many complaints from renters that owners don't respond, their prices don't match, their calendars are not updated etc. So we've this year taken a few steps to make Spain-Holiday.com a better place to be a renter. We anticipated that these steps would mean less enquiries but at the same time introduce new positives:
- Enquiries are closer to become a booking because your adverts now answer questions on total price and availability
- Time is saved for both owners and renters because less communication is needed

Usually renters would send an average of around 2,7 enquiries, that's now down to 1,4. So the vast majority of enquiries you receive now is the only one sent from that potential renter, who is already informed of the total price and availability for their desired period.

First we installed a 'view total price' box where renters can get a fast overview of the cost and availability of their total stay.
Second we removed properties from search results which did not show a price for that period.
Third we have many owners and agents who never update their calendars which is frustrating for renters and our support team.

Reg questions on Adwords and PPC. We spend lots on these channels but less during off booking season. Also we target on language and location so if your location is Spain with a PC set to UK culture, you might never see our ads.

Our traffic is up 16,4% this year compared to 2014 and our enquiries are 8% up and without having the specific numbers, we don't doubt that the booking conversion rate is up significantly.

We expected that some owners who have been with us for many years would find this year out of the ordinary. But when 2016 ends please try to count your bookings instead of your enquiries. Hopefully you will see your bottom line ROI is just as good as the past years.

The booking season is right around the corner. I wish you all good winds for your rental business 2016.

[brendan]

Thank you very much for your comments. It is heartening to know that spain-holiday actually cares enough to engage with concerned owners.

My renewal date is in May next and I´ll be keeping a very close eye on the site´s performance. I really don´t want to leave the site but I can´t continue to throw money at it if it doesn´t perform for me.

[joddle]

I have two properties on SH and in 2015 was very disappointed with the enquiries and also the number of bookings I achieved. One of my properties used to get regular enquiries and bookings but now I hardly get anything. In fact I only got 2 bookings last year! I did complain to SH about 18 months ago saying the way they identify suburb areas of a city in Spain works against many renters but they would not change the system which currently works against us so I may well have to consider changing although I really would prefer not to. Against all that I do find it possible to talk to Claus or Helena and for the most part they are very helpful albeit a little unwilling to properly appreciate some of the issues I have raised.

[kevsboredagain]

Thank you very much for your comments. It is heartening to know that spain-holiday actually cares enough to engage with concerned owners.

+1

SH still provide the greatest proportion of my bookings in Spain so I have just renewed. I don't count enquiries because those stats are fairly meaningless to me. I receive just as many enquiries through HL as SH but almost zero bookings through HL.

[fincafern]

Best site in Spain for me. I have just taken a 15 night double house booking for July, only last night. Very helpful staff with the personal touch.
Lots of bookings from Scandinavia each year.
Innovative and security conscious, I think they are one of the best.

[Casscat]

Interesting discussion. I don't get much traffic from Spain Holiday it has to be said, but they're still second behind Owners Direct for me. A long way behind to be fair (OD accounts for 60% of my bookings) but I will stick with S-H because I do get the non-British northern Europeans including bookings out of the peak months.
I have just dropped Rentalia after a 12 month experiment during which I did not receive one single enquiry let alone an actual booking. Home Away is likely to be another casualty at renewal as I think I can fill my calendar via only OD and Spain Holiday. My own web site and Facebook generate zilch.

[brendan]

Just received what seems like a fairly solid enquiry so I´m pleased about that. At least the subscription costs are covered if it pans out.

I do hope that SH are really focusing on their advertising in the Scandinavian countries as well as Holland and Belgium cos´that´s where I get my SH guests from and it would appear to be a similar case for others.

[Casscat]

Of the four bookings I've had via S-H one has been from the UK, one from the Netherlands and two from Denmark. The total value of the bookings has been c.£3,800 so I think I'm happy with the annual subscription. I'd like more bookings though!

[brendan]

That booking came through (Dutch) and then I got a phone call (found my details on SH) which resulted in a last-minute booking for 5 nights which more than paid for the slap-up meal we had last night (New Year´s Eve). A good start to 2016 then!