That's so true. Posting for feedback on a public forum means the potential for humiliation is huge, and some people just won't recognise when enough's enough.la vache! wrote:Yes, but no-one ripped your initial efforts to shreds on a public forum because you never put it up for public scrutiny.
No bookings or enquiries
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Giddy Goat
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Last edited by Giddy Goat on Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
But the forum consists of several different people, just because one member built it, it doesn't mean to say that it wouldn't have benefited from a critique of others. My site was re-built by a member of the forum, but both of us wanted to get public scrutiny from the other members before it went live. You weren't brave enough to do that with yours, so please lay off Pelly now!Chianti wrote:La Vache
I didn't need to put it to the forum, it was built by a kind member of the forum.
La Vache
I'm more than happy with the website built for us, it works very well. Why would we then need to put it up for scrutiny? I'm perfectly aware of what areas which we would like to add or change and will try to learn how to do this myself in the future. I've mentioned that many people don't view our website before booking because the listings have all of the info which is needed and more photos too. It will however become more important in the future, if we wish to cut our reliance on the more expensive listing sites.
You haven't asked the others who don't show their website but have made suggestions on this thread to put theirs up for comment.
Pelly has now viewed my website and listings so I'm sure she will have learned from it.
I'm more than happy with the website built for us, it works very well. Why would we then need to put it up for scrutiny? I'm perfectly aware of what areas which we would like to add or change and will try to learn how to do this myself in the future. I've mentioned that many people don't view our website before booking because the listings have all of the info which is needed and more photos too. It will however become more important in the future, if we wish to cut our reliance on the more expensive listing sites.
You haven't asked the others who don't show their website but have made suggestions on this thread to put theirs up for comment.
Pelly has now viewed my website and listings so I'm sure she will have learned from it.
Chianti
Tecno twit, but I can tie my shoes !
Tecno twit, but I can tie my shoes !
Re: No bookings or enquiries
Its interesting how this thread has wandered and got bogged criticising Pelly's website.
So, a simple question for Pelly: are you saying you get very few enquiries, or are you saying that you find it difficult to convert enquiries into bookings?
Each of these has a myriad of solutions worthy of further discussion.
Oh yes, a website is one of the many aspects that help convert an enquiry to a booking, but IMHO its only one of many and given the success that some here on LMH have with conversions and have no website, it cannot be the be all and end all that reading this topic would have us believe.
So, Pelly, things to look at may include your selection of listing sites, the advert wording and pictures, how you respond, how quickly you respond, your pricing, and so many other similar things that I don't have the right answers to, but over the years have read many useful ideas in various posts here on LMH
Now, I don't really know about all of you, but I'm sure there's a large number who, like me, get a very small percentage of their enquiries from our own website. The vast majority originate at Listing sites, repeats or friends.way back at the beginning, Pelly wrote:...we have had only a couple of bookings from enquiries
So, a simple question for Pelly: are you saying you get very few enquiries, or are you saying that you find it difficult to convert enquiries into bookings?
Each of these has a myriad of solutions worthy of further discussion.
Oh yes, a website is one of the many aspects that help convert an enquiry to a booking, but IMHO its only one of many and given the success that some here on LMH have with conversions and have no website, it cannot be the be all and end all that reading this topic would have us believe.
So, Pelly, things to look at may include your selection of listing sites, the advert wording and pictures, how you respond, how quickly you respond, your pricing, and so many other similar things that I don't have the right answers to, but over the years have read many useful ideas in various posts here on LMH
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
Well it is a website review topicgot bogged criticising Pelly's website.
I think Pelly has had some excellent advice here, and has evidently taken at least some of it.
You are of course right Richard that there are other dimensions that could be the cause(s) of the problem. It's quite hard to diagnose any of this stuff without benchmarks though isn't it?
Looking at my own booking pattern (booking lead time, number of enquiries, conversion rates..) this year against last was very interesting and quite reassuring when I got concerned about the lack of forward enquiries a month or so ago. What would be even more valuable would be some reliable data on what other people are experiencing - without that it's very hard to draw meaningful conclusions.
And then there is the location issue - my issues in the Lake District (poor summer weather etc) are probably caused by factors that are very different to those experienced by Pelly (cost of aviation fuel etc).
Having said that, it would be useful to know how many enquiries Pelly has had and how many converted as there may well be other, non-webby, things at play here as Richard points out.
As a matter of comparison we get nearly all our bookings on line. 80% come via our own web site and 15% from one other locally focused site which is the only other site we pay for, so our site is vital to us.
Isn't it interesting how this stuff works so differentlt for different people? Maybe that's why this forum and it's free pooling of experience can be so valuable at times!
So - Pelly - let's hear some more detail from you. Don't get put off by the varying "styles" of delivery of the help - just accept it gratefully!
John