Introducing Myself and Request for Advice

Get some feedback on your site or ad from other rental owners and techies. Also a library of online resources so you can make DIY improvements to your web presence.
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Bohinj Badger
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Introducing Myself and Request for Advice

Post by Bohinj Badger »

Dear All,

Firstly let me introduce myself as Bohinj Badger (continuing the Normandy Cow and Gascony Goat theme!). I find this forum a fantastic source of information and have now registered and intend to be an active member of this forum. My wife and I appeared on C4s 'A Place in the Sun: Home or Away' in January where we looked at properties on the Kent Coast and Slovenia, and bought in Slovenia where we got married the year before. It is a country that we have great affection for. We bought a traditional wooden chalet on the shores of Lake Bohinj, which is a majestic glacial lake in the Julian Alps. Being geologists by day, we find this area a haven from the south-east of England and the daily grinfd of the commute.

We bought primarily for our personal use but have decided to rent it out to part fund upgrades that we would like to do over the coming two years. The programme put us in touch with a lady who was setting up her own management business and she looks after it for us. To date we have been using listing sites (HL, HR etc) to advertise but have also set up a website with additional information for guests. As this is our first year of rental, I also used the Google ad programme (c. 30 GBP per month) to obtain web visibility and have been pleased to have three bookings this way. I would certainly recommend this for other owners as you can have a ad programme which just lasts a few months to fill the quieter periods. Something to consider. Overall we are quite pleased with our bookings this year but will need to be more focused next as we could target the ski season as well as the summer holidays. (We have a ski runs literally on our doorstep)

My feeling is now that I want to use the listing sites to direct guests to our website where we are able to show more photographs of the area and chalet as Slovenia is not that well known. As our chalet is traditional and rustic, I also want potential guests to see this themselves with our photos and thereby manage their expectations so they know what they are booking. We would appeal to outdoor types (including families) who enjoy mountain walking or beginner to medium level skiers. We are set in the Triglav National Park in the Julian Alps and the location is one of our selling points. Most of the alternative accomodation for Bohinj sits outside the national park (e.g. modern chalets and hotels) and this could also provide a selling point for us.

Our site is a bit rudimentary but I would be very grateful for your advice on what is good and what is bad. I have also added some home movies of filming 'A Place In the Sun' and a story of how we came to buy the chalet. I am not sure if these work as our intention was also to 'stick in the minds of guests' over and above our competition. Some guests have chosen to stay with us because of the programme, but I am worried that having this angle may scare others away. Basically would the website put you off staying with us.

I realise that many people who have requested a review have not posted back, but having also introduced myself I intend to be an active member of this forum.

Kind Regards
Bohinj Badger

www.slovenia-chalet.com
Hells Bells
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Post by Hells Bells »

Welcome to LMH. I'll check out your website later. Trying to pack for my holidays :D now.
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enid
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Post by enid »

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your rentals.

I too have had only a quick look ( as usual I'm checking this forum when I am supposed to be doing something else!!) - the home page background in black just doesn't shout holiday for me and although the text is informative is is a bit long and the font is too small for my poor old eyes.

I'll try to have another look later - looks a great spot and property.
Reta
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Post by Reta »

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, wow, what a stunning location. Your chalet looks lovely.

My only gripe is the black background like enid says, its quite offputting to be faced with that on arrival to the site.

Other than that, no major problems that I can see :)
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Bohinj Badger
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Post by Bohinj Badger »

Many Thanks

I'll definately replace the back background on the home page and shorten the text and increase the font size. I had not even thought that the back background was not inviting for a holiday. Seems common sense once it is pointed out, but I could not see it!

Bohinj Badger
www.slovenian-chalet.com
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

Welcome to the forum BB - I remember seeing your programme back in January.
Regarding the website - I'm afraid I agree with Enid on the colour scheme, I don't like black with white text at all, it wouldn't encourage me to look any further on the site. I think there is too much text on the homepage - I would have more and larger pictures, with less unessential information, like the paintings on the wall and the fact there has only been one previous owner.
I'd split the paragraphs up with photos and reduce the text to essentials, how many the property sleeps, where it is, local attractions, winter and summer resort etc. Perhaps also a little general info on Slovenia in the homepage text, for idiots like me who know nothing about it - like the summary that Jasmine thingy did in the programme at the beginning.
The text isn't very easy to read as it is I'm afraid.

On the photo gallery - I'm usally a big fan of lots of photos, but I think there are too many which all look the same to me, so I'd again have larger photos but less of them. Otherwise there is just too much wood!
The photos are also a little too dark, but you can lighten them easily using Picassa (see e Richard's example on this thread here)

I think it would also be an idea to have a map and transport links page so it is easier for people to work out how to get there - UK airports, airlines and also your distance to the airport, car hire companies etc.
I'd also reduce the number of pages - do you really need a seperate one for weather, prices and availability and what is the administration page for??
I hope all this doesn't sound too negative
:oops: and good luck with the rentals.
Martha
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Post by Martha »

hello and welcome!

The chalet looks lovely - people keep telling me about that area, and it does look really beautiful :)

I agree with what's been said - break the text up more, maybe with relevant pictures - and add links where appropriate.

Perhaps it would be good to make it clear that it's self-catering? Many chalets aren't, and with the pics of you, it looks a bit like it's a hosted, catered chalet...are you on site?
(I did find all this info in the end, but it was a bit of a hunt)

The maps are handy but it would be good to see a bit more information about where the nearest shops, lifts etc are...Many people have very little idea about the geography of Slovenia, and it would be great to see exactly where it is.

Also there are a lot of unfamiliar names in the opening text - maybe use photos of the places rather than just names?

Maybe take some photos with the beds made up etc, with some throws? It looks a little bare with just the mattresses...

It would be good to have some clearly marked photos of the views - there are some stunning pictures of the surrounding country especially the lake - amazing! but it wasn't entirely clear to me which are views from the chalet. I'd put some of these into the chalet photo page - and I agree with removing some photos - just choose the best..

"In Pictures" should be pictures - at the moment there's a lot of text at the top, including airport info that should really have its own page.

How do you get from the airport if you haven't arranged a pickup?

All the activities and so on look really great - do they speak English at the places that organise them? I'd be a bit worried about the language barrier - maybe a bit of reassurance for potential visitors and a few words of Slovenian e.g. hello, thank you for people to try out?



I think there's lots of great info on there, but it just needs to be organised and linked to be more accessible.

Hope this isn't all a bit much :oops: - I think you have the makings of a lovely site, and the place is really special :)
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
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Bohinj Badger
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Post by Bohinj Badger »

Moo

Your website looks fantastic and you were certainly not being negative. It is this advice that I need to hear. Clearly I have a lot more work to do but it will be fun, and I will have to make it much more organised. Will let you know how it comes on. Your site is an inspiration.

Many thanks again

BB
istrianholidays
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Post by istrianholidays »

Hi,

Echo the words above about the colours. Also - I would put more pictures on every page as a chance to better show what your place and the area looks like. Pages with writing only are a little off-putting. I would take the pictures from teh "exploring" page and distribute them across the rest of the site. I think the look on your availability page is the sort of look you should go for - although perhaps is a little too stark. It seems to take rather a long time to load each page - I am not tech-y but there must be a way to compress the pictures which would make the refresh quicker.

I do like the inclusion of the Place in the Sun story. Also, your "some ideas" section is good - and gives a good impression of the area. I guess when you have some more summery pictures this will help also.

Hope this helps - it is a lovely area and no doubt you will do well!

Regards,

Jen
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Ju
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Post by Ju »

Hi BB

Welcome to the forum.

I agree with alot of what has already been said so I will summarise.

I like:

The look of the chalet
The location and view
The photos of the area
the shhh sign at the bottom of the availability page - good idea!

I would change:
The black!

The font size

The front page to make it clear it is a holiday rental, how many beds? How many people?

Make the beds up before photos are taken

The menu bar so I could see where to go for details - I thought the In pictures page would be just photos so I was looking for another option.

I personally would remove the "our chalet story" bit; we have discussed this in the past - some people like the personal stories; I don't. if I am renting a property I don't care about your past I care about the property.

HTH a bit.

Ju
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

Ju wrote:
I personally would remove the "our chalet story" ... if I am renting a property I don't care about your past I care about the property.
As echoed on many threads here, the most important task for any new rental enterprise is getting guests through the door. Anthing that sets your property apart from the 'opposition' during those tricky early years is vital for your survival.

Exposure on TV is like having a huge spotlight directed at you and your enterprise. BB has become a small part of TV celebrity culture and I wouldn't easily give away that potential competitive advantage. It's unlikely to last but it should carry him through a couple of seasons.

Jim
Fraise
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Post by Fraise »

Hello and welcome !! :lol: Lovely spot. I echo the rest,the black is offputting, the text too small, too many pictures that look similar BUT with some tweaking it could be great! I clicked on all the pages ( there are a lot! Too many?) but once I'd clicked on admin- what on earth is that doing there?- I could not get back to your site ! I was totally Mac-ed out !
I would probably make more of your fame through A Place in the Sun for now, it won't last but if it brings you a higher visibility for a couple of years that's a bonus ! Your place looks like it is special- I would prune your site considerably and let it shine through. This could be a case for less is more. Put all the things that people want to know in an accessable place- how many bedrooms? Washing machine etc? Bathrooms? TV? Self catering? How far from nearest airport? Car hire? You may have a hidden gem on your hands here- make it shine !
Hope that wsn't too brutal? I was trying to be helpful !! Good luck :lol: :wink:
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Bohinj Badger
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Post by Bohinj Badger »

All,

Thanks for all these great suggestions. I very much appreciate them as it is feedback that I can work upon to greatly improve the site. I will make a start this weekend (as my wife is away visiting friends). Some of you have fantastic sites to be proud of. Rather than just work adhoc, I will have spend alot more time planning and almost sketch the individual web pages out before I touch the computer.

-As for celebrity it was more of a case of embarrassment -but luckily people's minds are very short!

Many thanks again to all
BB
Martha
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Post by Martha »

Definitely the best place to start - you'll find some good resources here for how to go about it.

Also, looking at it again, a few more thoughts.

I had no idea that Slovenia had chalets like this (sorry for my ignorance!), I would think you'd be offering something quite unusual and unique? Maybe play on this a bit more. It looks like a really wonderful place to be, a uniquely authentic experience - you could bring this out much more I think.

"the chalet is ideal for families" - You could go a lot more into why this is and really push this angle, as I imagine it's a super place for families and much less expensive than the French/Swiss Alps.

I'd split it into summer and winter sections as it's two separate markets.

What's the snow record like? Do you have some local piste maps you could put up?

good luck with it all! :)
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
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boberry
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Post by boberry »

Interesting site-the black background-I'm not sure about. Is that right that the local tourist board sets the prices-I thought French beaurocracy was tight!
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