Sykes in disguise!

OTA = Online Travel Agency, which means those sites that sell the booking and take the payment for you.
zebedee
Posts: 1270
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Sykes in disguise!

Post by zebedee »

I have judt received this as an enquiry on my website.
Message:

Dear Cottage Owner

Sorry to use your enquiry form but couldn't find your email address

We have recently completed our new Holiday Cottage Getaways website and in order to rank well on Google, we are offering a free advertisement

to cottage owners who have their own website promoting their own property. All we are asking in return, is a link back to a page on our site.

As you probably already know the main criteria for ranking high on the Google search engine, is to have as many inbound links from related websites as possible.

Rather than just asking for links (which rarely works) we believe that offering something in return for a link will be more likely to produce a response.

The advertisement will feature a photograph of the property and some descriptive text and will link directly to the cottage owners website.

We will provide the link code to anybody who is interested in this offer.

You can read full details here https://www.holidaycottagegetaways.com/ ... sample.php

Thank you
Best Regards

Peter

Name: Peter

Email: peter@holidaycottagegetaways.com
Last week I had notification of a new follower in Twitter. When I checked it out it was a nearby cottage which is listed with Sykes. I haven’t done anything about that yet, still mulling over whether or not to block them.
Today, this enquiry arrived. I clicked in the link, and the sample add says in the small print full details on Sykes site.
I then clicked on the “about us” page and it is a site set up by Sykes to promote their own cottages BUT if you are not listed with them they will display your property on EBAY!

Beware, I’m sure others may get this misleading email as well.
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CSE
Posts: 4414
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 3:34 pm
Location: Galicia

Post by CSE »

how did you make that connection?
https://www.holidaycottages.co.uk/contact
At the bottom of the page.
Holidaycottages.co.uk is a trading name of The Travel Chapter Limited | The Travel Chapter Limited is registered in England and Wales. | Registered office Travel Chapter House Gammaton Road Bideford EX39 4DF Company No. 02431506 | VAT reg: 143053210
Website for the said company.
https://www.travelchapter.com/brands


Location of the offices. https://goo.gl/maps/EFWRK1VxaaP2
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
zebedee
Posts: 1270
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

You have misread the link.
It’s holidaycottagegetaways, not the site you mention.

(I didn’t make it up, honest!)

Edited to add.

Here is the link, again.

https://www.holidaycottagegetaways.com/ ... sample.php
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greenbarn
Posts: 6146
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 6:41 pm
Location: The Westmorland Dales, Cumbria

Post by greenbarn »

When someone is already a bottom-feeder, how much lower can they sink?
Ask Sykes... :roll:
newtimber
Posts: 1945
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 5:57 pm
Location: Brighton
Contact:

Re: Sykes in disguise!

Post by newtimber »

zebedee wrote: I then clicked on the “about us” page and it is a site set up by Sykes to promote their own cottages BUT if you are not listed with them they will display your property on EBAY!
I don't know why you think it was set up by Sykes. It's an affiliate - ie Sykes pay them for referrals. It doesn't say anywhere who owns the website or have any postal contact details or phone number and even the registrant details of the domain owner are hidden
zebedee
Posts: 1270
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

So does that make the contents of the email to me ok then?

He will want to take payments for selling my property on EBay. In my view the wording makes it sound like a new listing site hoping to get people to sign up by offering free listings to the early signers, not unlike many reputable sites which have developed.

In my mind it smacks of misleading and misrepresentation.
User avatar
CSE
Posts: 4414
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 3:34 pm
Location: Galicia

Post by CSE »

zebedee wrote:You have misread the link.
It’s holidaycottagegetaways, not the site you mention.

(I didn’t make it up, honest!)

Edited to add.

Here is the link, again.

https://www.holidaycottagegetaways.com/ ... sample.php
Flip-in-hell sure did.:oops: :oops: I just googled the name rather then give them credits for hits and links to increase google ranking.
There is scant information on the website. The who is locked away too.
But when you dig further the bit about cookies also explains that
Holiday Cottage Getaways is an affiliate website which advertises holiday rental properties on behalf of two of the UK's most trusted online companies, Sykes Cottages and Ebay.
Really their words. :roll:
Their privacy policy really breaks the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations. I do not give my consent for my data even cookies to be shared.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
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