What do you think?

[Garri]

Of course, show dates which are already booked but what I meant by 'gone' was dates in the past. As someone who books s/c holidays I'm not interested in dates in the past.

Of course, show dates which are already booked but, above all, make it very easy for me to contact you about those dates.

I'm working on an experimental Facebook application that attempts something different in this field. And no, it's not another flippin' booking calendar or Google Map mash up

[Windy]

No - I was talking about dates in the past too!

As someone who books s/c holidays I'm not interested in dates in the past.

Maybe not intentionally, but you might still react positively to the fact that somewhere is obviously popular?

Showing that your place is and has been popular does no harm at all IMHO. (within certain limits obviously!)

I clear mine down every now and then (I did so last week) but normally end up showing at least some past dates. It's not just laziness. It's the same principle as busy restaurants being full I think.

J

[Garri]

Maybe not intentionally, but you might still react positively to the fact that somewhere is obviously popular?

Nope. Not interested. Just interested if the place is available when I want to book it.

But above all, and this is paramount however you choose to display dates, is: make it very easy for me to send an enquiry about an available date.

That, is the bottom line for me and I can take all the other fluff in my stride.

This is a nice website by a Hatter, but sadly he's changed it:

http://www.pervoliavilla.com/availability/

He used to have all the dates listed with an 'email enquiry' mailto link. The link then opened up your email client and automatically inserted the dates in the email. I thought that was a nice idea.

[vrooje]

I can only speak for me, but when I'm looking for a holiday rental, I do care (a little) whether the availability calendar shows plenty of bookings or not.

Obviously I primarily want to know if the week I'm interested in is booked. And by the time I get to the calendar I've already decided whether I want to inquire about booking, so if I see an availability calendar that is completely unbooked, I will still send an inquiry.

But if I see that my week is the only one left that hasn't booked, it gives me a sense of urgency -- if I want to book, I'd better do it quickly before someone else does!

However, if I had to wade through months of past (booked) dates in order to reach the dates I was interested in, I wouldn't like that much either.

[Windy]

if I had to wade through months of past (booked) dates in order to reach the dates I was interested in, I wouldn't like that much either.

Yeah well I wasn't suggesting that we should have a historical archive of bookings on view .

I was just making the point that there may be benefits in not pruning the old weeks out too hard.

J

[Garri]

This website came up on my radar recently - it's a beautiful place and so too is the website. Note the focus is on selling us Stari Grad on the island of Hvar with the villa secondary, the money shot being the view from the terrace:

http://www.villamjestocroatia.com

But, take a look at their booking system:

http://www.villamjestocroatia.com/booking/

It's not perfect, there's room for some slight improvement, but I like its ambition and clean layout.

Clicking in the dates then takes you to Step 2 of 3 whereby the date is already pre-populated in a form.

At this stage you have the option of paying a deposit online or simply sending a booking enquiry.

I'm not so keen on the colour legend in the footer and I can't believe this stunning place isn't fully booked. Is there something wrong with it?

I'm also not keen on the selection of photos on the booking page but these things are easily solved and are the least of their worries in terms of their overall website and how it communicates its message: Hvar is a beautiful island in Croatia and you can rent our villa!

[enid]

I do like that booking system Garri - thanks. I wondered why it wasn't booked too.

[Giddy Goat]

Maybe not intentionally, but you might still react positively to the fact that somewhere is obviously popular?

Nope. Not interested. Just interested if the place is available when I want to book it.

Tsk tsk Garri! And you such a guru!! You need to be objective in this matter, and I agree with Brooke, if visitors see that a property has lots of bookings, it becomes more desirable - just as an empty restaurant looks less inviting when you pass it by than one which has diners busily tucking in!

and I can't believe this stunning place isn't fully booked. Is there something wrong with it?

It looks lovely and the reason probably isn't down to one thing, but I would say that the home page, pretty as it is, doesn't do it for me - the area, I agree, needs to be sold, but I think the property itself needs to be given equal weighting. That image of three people on a terrace could be anywhere; the owner might include it somewhere on his site but perhaps exchange it for a more fetchng one of the property for that all important first click. The images could do with sharpening a bit too.

[SJ Beale]

I think your website is attractively laid out and gives a good overview of your property.

The green is very relaxing and calm as a holiday in Helmsley will be.