No bookings or enquiries

[Windy]

there are loads of different birds here alot of unusual ones like golden orielles(sp), ive already mentioned the hoopoes. In fact its a hive of wild life here . not uncommen to see wild boar, pine martins, and you can hear the wolves and if very lucky they do make a rare appearance , and we have otters, water voles, and somthing else which looks like a giant guinea pig . would the abunance of wild fruit trees appeal to people, where you can just help yourself to many different types growing along the tracks and roadsides .

Yes Yes Yes! Now you're cooking!

Things that delight the eye and lift the soul - all that nature stuff.
As to the eagles, if they are there they get a big mention. No need to worry how high they fly!

And I think I'd be taking a bunch of flowers into that local shop too

[vrooje]

Oh, dear. Whenever I come to LMH and see that a thread has added five pages overnight, I know it's not going to be all good.

But it's good to see that it is mostly sorted now, and I'm glad Pelly is still with us. I can definitely see MG's point, that the totality of posts was probably brutal for Pelly. If I had been in her situation, even the gently critical posts would probably have crushed me. Hopefully I'd be able to shake it off, appreciate the free advice, take the criticism on board, and come out of it with a better website, as she has done.

(oh, dear, I hope I don't have that pronoun wrong.)

The current discussion is much more amiable and will certainly continue to help.

Coming back to Pelly's website, I have a couple of continuing suggestions:

1) You have some text at the bottom of your home page:

heres a website you might like a look at http://www.my-french-house.com/regions/midi-pyrenees/

I suggest that you alter that text so that it really describes what that page is. If you are allowed to insert links into the page, do so, and mention that it is a site which goes into a lot of detail about the Midi-Pyrenees region.

Better yet, include your own description of the region (including the obvious facts, like where in France it is) in the "Local Info" content, and then direct people there.

2) Generally I recommend that you add a few more line breaks here and there on your pages. For example, add a space between each line on the "details" page, so that instead of a block of text describing the house, it's a series of smaller bits of text that are much easier for the potential client to digest.

3) As to the photos, I know you've already been given a lot of advice. To that advice I will just add that I have found it very helpful to look through home decorating magazines or upscale furniture catalogs to see how they stage rooms. They seem to have a way of making rooms seem "impeccably lived-in," so that the reader can imagine themselves there but isn't turned off by signs that other people have used the room. And all of these techniques are things you can duplicate.

As a bit of an aside, I think it's perfectly fine for those with no "www" link to give advice on websites. Anyone can get a feeling for whether they'd rent a property based on a website, whether they have one of their own or not. However, those who don't publish their website here should take care to be as gentle as possible out of respect for those who are braver than they are. That certainly wasn't the case in this thread.

[Hells Bells]

Good advice for everyone as usual Brooke.

[Jimbo]

However, those who don't publish their website here should take care to be as gentle as possible out of respect for those who are braver than they are.

Brooke, I don't publish my website for security reasons. However, I didn't understand that not so doing made me a second-class citizen on this forum, unable to express my thoughts without being 'gentle' to people who are 'braver' than me. Time to go.

Jim

[Giddy Goat]

Jimbo, it's unthinkable that you should go! I hope that was a knee-jerk reaction! Anyway, you don't have to watch the way you say stuff - you're about as gentle as they get - just comes naturally!

[Hells Bells]

Jim, I didn't think Brookes comment was directed at you.

[vrooje]

Jim,

Oops! I didn't mean to offend you and I apologize. I don't at all think of people without "www" links as second-class -- in fact, until your last post, I hadn't even noticed that you haven't published a website! I just don't pay attention to whether a regular poster has a website unless it is explicitly pointed out. You give great advice and have always done so with tact and class.

Of course everyone should be as gentle as possible when giving a criticism of someone's website. I just meant that, for the owner of the website in question, the pill is probably even more bitter when they can't look at the reviewer's website to see an example of a reviewed-and-improved site, and they're thus more likely to be defensive and the review is more likely to expand into an 11-page argument over whether a photo is or is not of the rental property (or similar).

[Hells Bells]

Brooke, is it time to lock the thread now, so Pelly can still read the advice if she wants too, but no more feelings can be hurt?

[Giddy Goat]

For what it's worth, there are still new, and constructive ideas emerging which might help Pelly, so maybe we ought to keep this open until they dry up - as long as the posts are monitored, they can be (cough) "moderated" if need be?

[Pelly]

It looks as though the family of 3 who came today could possibly take the gite on for at least 6 months; maybe longer. They said it was lovely and the area great:

[Big Sis..]

It looks as though the family of 3 who came today could possibly take the gite on for at least 6 months; maybe longer. They said it was lovely and the area great:

OOH Pelly Im really pleased.........Good for you!!!!!!
I still would continue with your website improvements though[and buy those flowers that Windi suggested]

See its funny this renting lark you never know whats gonna pop up.......Ive just had an enquiry for 10 models and a photographer[the mind boggles]
Which Im in the process of declining.......

Take Carexxxxxx

[Hells Bells]

Pelly, that's great, but be careful with letting for long periods. There are laws in France which say you can't evict tenants during the winter months, and they will be due to leave in January/February. Make sure you have a proper contract with them.

[Pelly]

we will get a contract written up by our friends husband , he is a QC and also well informed on french law . it has been suggested before that an empty calender can put people off because they assume that something must be wrong with the place if its not booked up .

[Giddy Goat]

Great news Pelly; sounds as if you're in good hands from the point of view of protecting your rights. And you're correct, there's certainly an advantage to be had by being able to show some bookings on your availability calendar. If it comes off, (hope so!) as BigSis says, in the meantime do work on those ideas - just after Christmas and January are two very busy periods for enquiries so you want to be in the best possible position to grab those bookings for next Spring and Summer!

[Ju]

Pelly

I think the bird watching thing is a good way to go. Surely anyone interested in birds knows that eagles fly in they sky and don't land 50m away.

And as for the fish in the stream, does that mean you have never seen any, or never caught any? Either way you could put something like "you can take advantage of our own private stream for fishing, we have never caught anything, but can think of few more pleasant ways of passing the afternoon than casting a line onto the water"