Lay My Hat

After 3 years with OD, due to my dissatisfaction with the company, I have not renewed my subscription with them this year. There are numerous reasons why I have left their 'clutches' most of which have been discussed on LMH and also by the reviewers on Trust Pilot.
I am currently on 3 sites, Independent Cottages, Holiday Home Rental and have just recently joined Simply Owners Direct in September this year.
Independent Cottages have been very good, I have had a reasonable number of bookings through them over the last 2 years and I rate them highly.
After 2 years I have had only one booking through Holiday Home Rentals, however no money is payable until after 20 referrals then a fee of £20.00 is requested.
It is 'early days' with regard to Simply Owners, I have had only one booking through them as yet.
I do not have a website and am wondering whether to 'bite the bullet' and have one for my holiday cottage.
My question is what extra benefit would a website be for me bearing in mind my property is currently being advertised on three holiday rental sites?

Drax wrote: I do not have a website and am wondering whether to 'bite the bullet' and have one for my holiday cottage.
My question is what extra benefit would a website be for me bearing in mind my property is currently being advertised on three holiday rental sites?

I think in todays marketplace you not only 'need' your own website it will probably be expected of you by the vast majority of potential independent visitors. Listing sites may be working for you now but it's fair to say they were working for most of us at one stage or another, now I wouldn't be so sure. By all means spread your bets, it's a wise move but even wiser to have a site of your own if only for further info & better verification
The obvious question for me would be why wouldn't you have one?

COYS wrote: The obvious question for me would be why wouldn't you have one?

+1
Go for it.

Thanks for your comments COYS and greenbarn.
The reasons I have dithered on having a website is one of not having the expertise to set my own up (technophobe) and of cost, having to pay a computer expert to do it.
We only have a small holiday bungalow to rent out and we do try to keep our rates competitive. It sometimes seems that more money is going out on costs than is coming in on rental income.
However you have finally convinced me on the merits of having my own website.
Having explored the various companies that offer websites I intend to go for 'Promote My Place'. It looks good and some people on LMH have recommended it. The basic price of £69.00 appears very reasonable and I will have a 'go' at designing my own site with back-up from this company.

Hi Drax -I use Promote My Place and it is easy to set up/use with excellent customer service. I like the layout of the websites although there are some who think they all look too similar. I see that as an advantage as potential guests, if looking at several including your own, will find them easy to navigate around. If you decide to go with PMP please do ask for my referral code for £10 off.

Hi Rosie,
Thanks for this and your kind offer and support.
I have just joined Promote My Place and have started the process of trying to set up my website.
I will need support from them because currently I am struggling to import photos. (There is an error code showing and it is refusing to accept all the photos I wish to import) Also I am unsure how to activate the availability calendar.
Anyway I have had enough for now and I am breaking off to have a shower and then a cup of tea. (Then watch 'Escape to the Country' on the TV.)
I will keep you 'posted' on my progress if that is OK?

Rosie wrote:Hi Drax -I use Promote My Place and it is easy to set up/use with excellent customer service. I like the layout of the websites although there are some who think they all look too similar. I see that as an advantage as potential guests, if looking at several including your own, will find them easy to navigate around. If you decide to go with PMP please do ask for my referral code for £10 off.

Yes, they do all look a bit similar, but I am a happy PMP customer - it's a no brainer compared with doing it yourself. There may be other holiday villa template providers too, but PMP works for me.
When setting up I had a few questions too, but their support folks are quite helpful (and do repsond.)

Is iowners still going? Used to be free.

Yes, Independent Owners is still going. We have had a website with them for several years now, with a few of their paid-for upgrades. Their support is very good.

Just over a year ago we took up the offer of listing our 3 properties with three newbie listing websites (all who offered a complimentary listing for a year). These were "Owner Holidays" (which have generated zero enquiries - therefore zero bookings), "The Melrose Directory" (one enquiry but zero bookings) and "Simply Owners" (27 enquiries and 6 bookings). Not a fantastic tally, but at least shows that one of the three is making headway in the fight against the evil OD/HA empire!