My VERY first attempt at a listing

[Musetta]

so...here it goes my first attempt! I would love, love, love some honest optinions...feel like this is really a rough-draft that I'm testing out! If you have a few moments to check it out, I would really appreciate it. Thank you all for the much-needed advice!

http://perfectplaces.com/SouthernItaly.htm

(added to my "sig.", biut I don't know if it's showing up yet (?)

p.s. I am a bit limited with my chioces of photos until I can get back over and take some nice summer shots...do have a couple others I could try and swap though if I need to. thank you

[The Olive Grove]

Looks very good for a first attempt. I'm new to the listings game too, and it took me ages to do our first. Still keep going in and editing them if I notice something not quite right.

Not come across this listing site before, how did you decide to use them?

If you really want honest opinions, there are one or two spelling mistakes in there, which you may like to correct. Hope you don't mind my mentioning this.

[Fil]

I think the photos are very good. The focus of the description might be too much on the facilities. I would assume that you are offering location and historical experience rather than domestic facilities. Therefore would stress more the description of the local town. Probably would re-arrange paragraphs in the order 4-2-1-3.
Good luck.

[Big Sis..]

Hi Musetta. .



This does look good for your first listing.....The photos are lovely[would be nice to see some of them bigger]and maybe some explanantion of what they are...
Also the writing seems to run into each other a bit with no spaces..[but this might be how PP have done it]

Good Luck with your bookings

Im sure the other more techy lot will give you more advice..



Olive Garden [welcome to the Forum by the way ]

quite a few of forumers are on PP there was a free trial listing at one time[which Im on]....

[stuart888]

Very nice. It tells the story the customer needs to know. You probably should put in your exact refund policy, in as much detail as possible. In Florida, that is a big deal, as weather or personal situations can have people changing their minds. Many won't book a unit unless they know the complete refund policy.

Very Best Regards,

Stuart

[Big Sis..]

Hi Stuart welcome to the Forum...

[Musetta]

THANK YOU ALL! It sure helps to have extra sets of eyes!!

Olive,
that's what I get for typing at midnight thanks! I think I got all the typos...but...please, let me know if I missed others! not offended AT ALL! thanks. As for PP...found it on the LMH forum, of course Seriously...I wanted to test out something with a free trial and play with it a bit before I paid...and I liked the format.

Fil,
I reordered it...if you gfet a chance, would you please take a peek?? is thsi what you ment? does it sound better now...or it is kind of confusing?? I agree though...the house itself it not a selling point... I think the central location should be the main point...we are within driving distance to lots of stuff (guess I could even list more?), but not really RIGHT near anything, if you know what I mean? (well...there are other towns, of course...but not main tourist sights)

Big Sis,
do you know if you can make them bigger with PP? or are they all just small until you click through the slide-show thingy? I thought I entered captions...they show when you click "next" on the photos...so you know if there's a way to add them to the little ones too? Thanks!!! (double checked my spaces...yes PP did this and it doesn't seem like I can fix it.

Stuart - thanks...I hadn't thought of that at all! will make sure I outline that!

so...if you don't mind what do you think of using that front photo as the thumbnail?? (my husband thinks it's a horrible photo...I like to see thte front of places before I book...but that's just me maybe) but...would a different one catch attention more do you think?

Also...like I said before...does the wording seem to ramble too much now? or do you think it's logical?

Thank you. I, seriously, can't say that enough!

[guest 4]

Hi Musetta,

I think the location of your place looks amazing, and the house looks so cozy and comfortable.

I like to see a picture of the front of the property, if there isn't one I start to wonder why? what are they hiding?

But, because that view of 'The Medieval Hill Town of Calitri in Campaina, Italy' is so beautiful, I would probably go with that one. The house is there for all to see when they go through the slideshow. You could perhaps put a caption underneath like 'come and explore the beautiful medieval town of Calitri, right on your doorstep'

Another thought, I wouldn't put in the bit about the buses being a pain, just say that 'to really appreciate the surrounding areas a car is recommended'

Why don't you add the cleaning cost into your rental? Is this the norm for rental in your area?

I know you have a flat rate but I found it difficult to spot, seems to be hidden away, Perhaps you should fill in the rental rate chart to make it stand out more.

I think you have a lovely property, well done.

Ruth

[The Olive Grove]

Hi Musetta. .
Olive Garden [welcome to the Forum by the way ]

quite a few of forumers are on PP there was a free trial listing at one time[which Im on]....

Thanks for the warm welcome "Big Sis". Have been lurking for a while, but found the site so useful thought I should join in - not that I am able to give much back in return right now - I am very new to this game.

Margaret

[Musetta]

Ruth,
firstly ,thank you
funny you should mention that photo it is the onoe I first put on...then I switched becasue when I lightened it (they seem to come out really dark on that site), the sky looks kind of grey and not blue trying to figure out how to use my "paint" program to fix that but maybe I'll put it anyway...I have another...with better colors...from a little different angle, so I don't like it as much...but the shy is nice and blue...but...that one was taken in winter and there are no leaves on the trees, so I thought it looked out-of-season. think you may be right thouogh...I can put the Borgo photo back and then just keep trying with the sky-color until it looks nice and blue the house is nothing spectacular, so that's why I was going back and forth!

good point about putting a positive spin on the bus situation I'll fix that one right away!

cleaning rates...ah...the question I have been asking over and pver and driving my husband CRAZY with...so much so he told me to not talk to him about the house any more and "just take care of it and do whatever" *laugh*

It is standard here in the US to charge a separate cleaning fee...but, in Italy, in general, I think it is more common to include it.
There is a management company in my town that has a couple places they are renting without the final cleaning included...they range in price from 279-344/week for a one bedroom (sleeping 2),344-474/week for a 2 bedroom that sleeps 4.
My place is bigger then the one bedrooms (since I have the extra loft with two beds), but not a full 2 bedroom really....so I was trying to stay competitive...I was afraid that if I included it, my weekly rate would be on the high end.
Felt, I guess, like I should add it on as a final fee since that's what they were doing....not really any other nearby comps.
wow...just looked...didn't even realixe I could add the cleaning in the rate table. thanks! will help make it more clear!

[Big Sis..]

Oh Margaret ....

Im sure theres something you can share....none of us know it all especially me but we all learn together here...thats how I feel..and theyre a great bunch ...

Your clever than me cos i only found this after renting a few years and to begin with didnt post...now they cant stop me[though I bet they wish they could ]

How is your towel knowledge...thats one of theyre little pet threads.....

Or you could always pop into the cafe[especially the chatterbox club ] we do have a laugh....

Weve had a lot of people start to post lately and I think its great...More the merrier

[guest 4]

Did I hear the 'T' word?

Ruth

[Topcat]

Hi Musetta. It's a nice site, with all the information needed, though I agree about putting the price in a more obvious place. The picture of the hill town as your thumbnail is I think a good one - it just speaks 'Italy' to me, whereas the photo of the front of your house is rather bland.

My only gripe with it is probably something you can't do anything about. That's the way the pictures enlarge in the box at the top. Because I didn't start clicking until I got a little further down the page, I thought nothing was working. Perhaps PP would like to think about that.

But you have some nice photos, and it looks a lovely area. Good luck with it,

Pauline

[Musetta]

Thanks for the encouragement yes...just learning that every listing site has it's own little quirks!
I entered all the detailed info. in the rate table and tax/fees explination...and I have the box clicked to show it...but it dosen't show I must be doing something silly and wrong! I emailed PP...but no word yet how I can get it fixed. Anyone else have that problem with PP?

[Moon Dog]

Hi Musetta,

What a lovely place! Your writing conveys the atmosphere wonderfully and the pictures are stunning. I'd be signing up or a week if my own rental place didn't keep me so cash-strapped!

My only thought is- does the site allow you to add a map? Or if not a link to google maps? It would just help people who are not so knowledgeable about Italy get a handle on exactly where your place is. Not an essential item but handy if you can.

Good Luck!