What have you learnt from renting other people's properties

[Margaret]

There is a photo of us on our website making it obvious that we are no spring chickens!

[tansy]

Well there we are... didn't imagine you as that Margaret... I see Martin has almost the same haircut as my OH!!!

[la vache!]

Do people really want to know about the owner? Especially if the owner isn't on site. I don't have anything about me on my website like that (I don't want to put people off!), but there is some info buried on the blog if people are that curious.
If I book accommodation, I don't think it would bother me how old the owners are, but then I book the property, not the company of the owners who may even not live on site.

[Windy]

As I said in another thread, I think imposing yourself onto the scene, (whilst initially tempting maybe as we're all rightly very proud of what we've done), is the wrong thing from a marketing p.o.v.

If people call me and ask for help they get it in bucketloads, but I've decided that (for some unaccountable reason) they probably don't really want to know all about me.

[Martha]

I have the same thing - you can probably find some pics if you dig about on the blog but I don't have anything on the site itself. I think it's maybe less about the age, more about the attitude and personality of the owner, which hopefully comes over on the site to a degree anyway....

[Margaret]

Guests are always asking when and why we came here and love the full story in the information file in the apartment. The stuff about us on the website is quite tucked away I think, many people don't find it.

We have had lots of discussions on this forum about how to convince guests that they can have confidence when they book. We think that having some information about the owners on the website helps with that a lot, but that is our personal view.

[Windy]

Hmm - that's a good point about confidence, but there are quite a few "signifiers" that can be used to do that without imposing a "personal" touch that I still think may be off-putting. Holiday Velvet do have a slot for owners pics and we do have one but I'm not even sure about that.

What sort of things do people think act as indicators that the guest can have confidence? Here's a few things off the top of my head (Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread a bit - mods feel free to hive this off)

Having your own website (which we have)
Having a landline number (which we don't do)
Taking credit card payments (which we are about to do)
Tourist board ratings (which we have)

Any more?

[Martha]

I think it's very much what works for you - and if you're on-site, I think it's different...

Own website for sure. I would add that a regularly updated blog/flickr account/ picasa gallery/ whatever is just as good, for me, if not better.

Tourist board ratings - not always useful in terms of quality as they're so variable but a definite indicator that you're real!
Landline - not really bothered about this
Credit cards - I think we're going to have to do this
Independent accreditation and press mentions - these are the best for me, especially things like Sawdays and so on.

added - associations and links with other local businesses.

[Giddy Goat]

This has the makings of a good sticky!

Speed of response is another one Martha mentioned (by the way, I would be a bit concerned by the owner not offering a landline number.)

As an aside, if you were to guess the age of the owners by the images and how they furnish their properties, you'd be in for the occasional surprise I think!

I never liked the idea of an "About Us" section, except in the case of B&Bs and rental props with owners on site, but it may be increasingly welcomed by prospective rental guests, so I guess I may have to have that nip and tuck after all!

More ideas here .... ()

http://www.yourholidaymatters.com/conditions.php

[Chianti]

We're in agreement with Margaret, in Italy it's the norm in any case. I don't think much information is needed, just a short sentence telling them that you welcome them to your part of the country. We have no idea whether it makes a difference, but have increasing found that our guests don't make enquiries at other properties, they know they want to stay in our property, ask if it's available for a specified period and then book.

[Mouse]

Having your own website

I'm not so sure that's as much of a benefit as being on one of the major holiday rental sites. I often point out to people the length of time we've been on the site as a way of ensuring they feel confident that we've been around for a while and it's proven by a third party.
Dealing with someone soley through their own website wouldn't give me any confidence I'm afraid

Mouse
x

[Windy]

Dealing with someone soley through their own website wouldn't give me any confidence I'm afraid

OK I guess there are degrees here - I think maybe the content of the site has a role to play as well

A one page scrappy website is not the same as a 10 page site with loads of detail about the area. Admittedly you could set one up as a scam but not nearly as easily as you could put a fake listing on a listing site.

If you have your own web site it does indicate that you have gone to some extra trouble and expense to present yourself.

[la vache!]

We have no idea whether it makes a difference, but have increasing found that our guests don't make enquiries at other properties, they know they want to stay in our property, ask if it's available for a specified period and then book.

How do you know they don't enquire elsewhere ?

[Martha]

That's interesting Mouse - I tend to think the other way! Especially after Beanie's nasty experience.

Though here, again, there are degrees of course...being on a major site for years, like you, would be fine and I wouldn't think twice about it. But a single brand new listing might be different....

[Chianti]

Quote How do you know they don't enquire elsewhere ?

Because we ask and they tell us. Part may be due to the fact that we cater for 2 people, therefore fewer people are involved in selecting the property and the criteria may be slightly different. This also means they're dealing with a much smaller amount of money, therefore possibly less worry. Can't say why it's just something we've discovered.

We too believe that people are likely to trust a website based on content, but advertising with a reputable listing company with a link to your site may give them more confidence.

Again, we've noticed that very few visit our website using our link from our ads on the major listing sites, presumably because all of the information which they need is at hand.