What enquiries, what bookings?

[debk]

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Overboard, I can't resist. Could you please expand upon this craigslist suggestion over on this other thread? I'm very interested in learning more about this... which cities do you post in (a few major ones; hundreds)? how often? etc?

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</thread creep >

[The Olive Grove]

My enquiry rates and booking rates are atrocious. What am I doing wrong? How can I get my gites noticed? Advertised on Your Holiday Matters, Holiday Lettings, Owners Direct, Visit France, Apartments Direct Ireland, Homelidays, Lost in France and French Entree. And my own website where I am currently upgrading the photographs.

That's why I am taking a 6 month long-term rental for La P'tite Boulangerie when it is finished.

Your advice gratefully received.

Despondent LL

Enquiries dried up here too, this is our first year so I don't really know what to expect, or what is or isn't usual.

[Hells Bells]

Nothing here either, although summer is not really high season in the Alps, I was hoping we may attract some kayakers, or cyclists. We do show up well in Google searches, and I am on almost every site I can think of at the moment.

[shazza]

well i think your gites look fabulous.we have gites also.so far bookings have been good ,but mostly returners and i don't think the advertising seems to have done very well so far.
we have all of july available in our larger gite which is a bit worrying as that is a large chunk of money.
keep your chin up i am sure we will get the last minute bookings.
all the best i think it all looks fabulous so i think you are doing everything right!!
shazza
www.gitesdumarigne.com

[Musetta]

my place is advertised on craigslist already a lot of the listing sites (mostly the free ones I think) do it automatically (Perfect
Places, vrconnection, etc.)...links to their sites though...so don't know if it got anyone looking...Criagslist is rather strickt...so if your "ad' looks like one that a listing site already has on, they won't let you post a duplicate. I had great luck with craigslist for a long-term local rental of mine...but don't really know where to put the vacation rental...don't know if people wouold look on their local craigslist (i.e. NYC, SF, etc.) or look for a vacation home in the place they want to go...i.e. Italy...know what I mean?? Craigslist is also very strickt about not letting you post it in more than one city...unless, I guess, you change the wording completely and use a different email so they can't tell but...it is free...and it gets a LOT of traffic in the US.

[Overboard]

I actually asked one rental site to stop advertising my houses on Craigslist. Firstly I think its a bit 'cheap' of them and secondly I want to use Craigslist for special offers etc and have full control of removing dated ads/inserting new ads. If they already have an advert on there I can't very well add a new one.

On topic though, this last week has really seen a pick up for July enquiries. H-R just got us a 2 week September booking, this may just be their saving grace as renewal for Edinburgh is coming up. 5 enquires last Sunday, I think thats my record.

[Hells Bells]

I've had two enquiries this weekend. The first one for a four day break, at the end of July, the second for a two week stay , also at the end of July. I have told both the dates are available.

[Normandy Cow]

I'm very confused about this craigslist website. If I type in craigslist.org it seems to take me to "San Francisco Bay Area" automatically. But there seem to be loads of craigslist editions. If I wanted to advertise my gite in Normandy, where on earth should I place the ad? I had a look, there does seem to be a "Europe" edition, but it doesn't have France, just Paris. When I looked on there it seems that nearly 100 ads have been placed just today for holiday rentals in Paris. But where would I advertise Normandy?

Help please!

Daisy

[Musetta]

SF i think is the origional...anyway...once you visit a few times, it will automatically take you to the "local" craigslist you visit...go too the list of places on the right and click "France" you should get a list of areas in France and if none is near you, there should be a link to click to "suggest a new" location. Hope this helps! You could also try listing somwhere were you get a lot of guests...for instance, when you click on NY or London or wherever, you will see vacation listings for everrywhere...not just in that city. That said...I have yet to get a response from Criagslist for my vacation rental.

[Big Sis..]

Hi All..

My enquiries are down on last year... ...Mostly for peak times as well...

but I have had a couple of bookings this week 1 for next year......

Lou Have you considered what Sue says..
Most of my bookings are for Large Groups and there really is a shortage of those sorts of accomodation...

I know if I was just advertising mine as 3 bedroomed I would be struggling as a lot of my friends are and dont forget I would have 2 to fill...but 2 x 3[6] bedroomed..sleeps 8-16...does the trick..
you have to make sure that the rental site puts you in that category though..its no good once people have found your website...some websites will put you on both...

Go into any of your websites tap in whatever your largest capacity would/could be and I bet theres not many to compete with...

Lots of people enquire with me and THEN ask where I am
..I send details and then most book...But theyre biggest concern is SIZE..then Location...
.As Long as its in Spain theyre Happy..

Imagine if it were the same for you...A Large Group who want to stay anywhere in France ..that really would open up your market....

You wouldnt be competing with all the other smaller places then......

Just a thought..

[gpck]

We've noticed enquiries and bookings picking up over the past month. Up until we went to Florida for three weeks in May, we still had most of June and all of July available - we now have June fully booked and nearly 3 weeks booked for July - we just need August filling, so we can go back out ourselves in September...

[Giddy Goat]

Interesting Feathers - your market must be a bit different there - great news, and sounds as if Sept will soon be going the same way!

[enid]

Interesting what you say about large groups.I have a gite for 4 and a gite for 4 which has an annexe which extends the accommodation to 8. Following advice form this forum I advertsised the second one as a gite for 8. I have had no requests for the gite for 8 - only being let out to returners. All the enquiries have been for the gite for 4 so I have let them have the second one in its smaller form. We have passed our financial objective for this year with still one week in August left(following a cancellation) but larger groups haven't been flocking to us.

I like the fact that I have this flexibility of accommodation but this year it's smaller groups that have been enquiring and booking

[la vache!]

Has anyone had any contact from Louise? Since posting she has received loads of advice about how to improve bookings on this and another thread and there has been no response from her, I hope she is OK.

[Stu]

We've had a steady stream of enquiries in the past few weeks. All for the high high season! All from the one & only listings site that we're currently advertising with. Looking at our bookings, we're mainly full with repeat guests on last year, and have been since December 06, which is why I took the decision not to renew with certain listings sites, but to have a re-think on our marketing strategy (and budget).

The campsite's a different beast altogether. We just leave it to get on with booking itself, and word of mouth, repeat bookings, and our website have ensured that we're packed from May - September. During the low season we get a trickle of guests who're travelling south for the winter sun, and we get them on their way back too. There are over 12 thousand camping grounds in France. less than 900 of them are open all year!