Lay My Hat

Does anyone actually get bookings through TA? Their ridiculous commission charges seem to drive guests away!

Maybe 1 a year, but from my viewpoint it doesn't cost us anything and provides a useful shopwindow for us and once people find us on there they can then search us out and book direct.

We get the odd enquiry. Almost all have been from overseas, so we are getting presence in areas that our other marketing doesn't cover so well.

We inflate our prices to cover the commission.
We subtly offer about 20% off for direct booking.
Of those who go on to book about 75% do it direct. So overall, the amount we contribute to HA is more reasonable.

To divert successfully, you need to have your own website. You need to explain in your response email how the guest can find your own website and then that they should make a new enquiry via that site. And, in your response email you cannot use words like "direct", "email", "google", "website","www", or any word with a dot in it or any word with an @ in it.

Game on!

Igor wrote:Game on!

A new problem with that game:

If you get too few bookings through the site, then your listing is demoted as being unsuitable for "their" guests.

Who really wants to play that sort of game ?

e-Richard. Yes. I've had only 2 TA enquiries for 2018. I accepted both. One went on to book, one did not. I'm on a warning from TA that I don't accept enough!! Bit difficult if they don't send you enquiries.

Giraffe, its actually even worse for me on HomeAway where I paid for a subscription listing in August last year and have not received a single booking (3 enquiries and no reply to any of them - despite my answering within 7 minutes)....
....which has caused my listing to decline
....which has reduced the chances of getting any further enquiries
....which has reduced any possibility of my renewing this year

Who makes up the rules of these games ????

Apologies. I read it as Greedy HA, not Greedy TA. I think it's a word-association thing. I should do more reading and less writing. Much less.

It's with HA that we are on commission and raise the price to cover commission etc. On TA we are on subscription. It's a big subscription but at least they play fair with that, so they generate the enquiries and we take the bookings and there's no monkey-business needed.

Both our properties are on TA (via HolidayLettings). Both get good bookings from TA. It makes just over 50% of our income. Our next biggest source is from our own website and then ABB and OD are the also-rans.

e-Richard. I sympathise, it's awful. After an average of 10 OD bookings per year on subscription, mine fell off the cliff for 2018. Only 2 enquiries and 1 booking for 2018. On subscription I believe you are now at the bottom of any search. I didn't come within the first 400 for my village search where there are less than 4 holiday homes! With the annual subscription at £400+ it's a very expensive method of getting business - if any.

That's why I switched from subscription to commission in February ( although that comes with it's difficulties). Since then, only 1 enquiry for 2018 but I managed to convert it to a booking. But I am now on page 1 on a local search.

I've always been on commission with TA but their enquiries/ bookings have severely declined over the last 3 years. TA's commission on holiday makers is 15%+. Once OD have everyone on commission I suspect they might go the same way. But with advent of other online booking options, and increasingly savvy customers, I think their business models could well eventually price them out of the market.

Igor, just seen your post. From your experience it would seem that TA subscription works much better than OD's, although TA's commission bookings take a much higher % than OD. How much is the current TA subscription please?

Giraffe wrote:Igor, just seen your post. From your experience it would seem that TA subscription works much better than OD's, although TA's commission bookings take a much higher % than OD. How much is the current TA subscription please?

It was about £1 change from £600. Gulp!

Thanks Igor. Did you have a large G&T when you paid? I think I would have 2!

But if you are getting sufficient bookings from TA/HL, and they are playing fair, then it's worth it. The problem with OD subscription was that they changed the rules behind closed doors and we don't know what the new rules are. It's great that LMH has been such a brilliant forum for spreading relevant information. Giraffe x

Giraffe wrote:Thanks Igor. Did you have a large G&T when you paid? I think I would have 2!

Igor drinks only vodka, while playing the Volga Boatman on the volynka.

I used to get a few bookings from Tripadvisor up to last year. Mainly through the Flipkey site. Nothing last year or this. I am on commission. Intersting that the Subscription might work better but not prepared to pay £600 to find out!
Declan

I got a booking request from TA this morning telling me I could earn £173.20 for two people for three nights. Meanwhile quoting the guests £326. Greedy TA

Just my tuppence worth.
We let TA (HL) lapse at subs renewal mid 2017 if I recall. For many months prior to that it had yielded next to nothing in enquiries & therefore zero bookings. Way too expensive to cover a switch to commission (for either us or potential visitors) so we dropped it & the 'precious' reviews which I pasted onto our own website (I know!! ... so shoot me) & in all honesty I haven't noticed a single difference aside from having the extra 599 quid to spend on something useful.
So in response to OP I agree - too expensive/greedy for limited results & I personally think the days of TA being the holy grail of reviews are numbered.