WVR buys holiday-rentals,greatrentals,cyberrentals,a1,rent10

[paolo]

Triphomes.com seems to be for rental managers rather than individual owners.

The pay-per-enquiry model is one I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. WVR have issued a press release stating they wouldn't be changing the payment model on their sites. For what that's worth!

[alexia s.]

A very small number of properties advertised on holiday-rentals.com now feature a small French flag: if you click on this the web page turns up in French. Going to the home page, I can't see any way to switch from English to French.

[tansy]

yes - that is what I was trying to pm you about...this French business...I'm afraid it appears I may have ruffled a few feathers speaking on the forum...I was told in no uncertain terms that they are trying it out with 100 owners and as I had made it perfectly clear on this forum that I was not interested I'm not one of the 100.

I then had lots of emails from them highlighting my success with h-r.com of which I am only too well aware that I have had amazing results...but methinks that perhaps my questioning hasn't gone down too well...I questioned why I've not been getting enquiries recently...I've had a few just this last week but funnily enough not come to anything.

I did do a special for £50 & did get 2 weeks out of it...

So there we are Alexia - I was trying to find out if you were knowing any more than me!

So we all now have to wait and see how the 100 get on.

All the best

Tansy

[alexia s.]

Tansy,
I never got your pm.
Don't worry about no enquiries from h-r - I haven't had any either. It goes quiet for months at a time & then starts up again.

[Alan Knighting]

Tansy,

My contacts tell me that holiday-rentals have decided to try to attract far more French property owners onto their site. I am making further enquires and will report back if I can find out anything more.

Mixing French and English owned properties, with their different standards and different pricing structures, may be a good thing. On the other hand, it may not.

Alan

[alexia s.]

"Mixing French and English owned properties, with their different standards and different pricing structures" could lead to a predominantly French site, as their standards & prices are much lower and UK owners could decide to leave it. We have had a couple of guests in the past with friends renting in the same area from French owners: our guests started out being disappointed when they learnt how much less their friends were paying, but after spending time in the French-owned property they came back "home" gratefully. The huge difference in quality that they found is not necessarily clear from a web page.
I hadn't realised that the French site would be the same as the English one! I had assumed that there would be 2 separate sites.

[alexia s.]

Alan, I sent you a pm on Sunday which you haven't opened. I'm sending you a second one now. Let me know if it/they arrive/s?

[Alan Knighting]

Alexia,

Your Sunday PM is not in my Inbox. I have replied to your PM of this morning.

Regards

Alan

[paolo]

A note on Private Messages: non-arriving PMs may happen if your Inbox/Outbox are full. It gives a percentage at the top. You may have to delete to receive/send more.

[Alan Knighting]

Paolo,

In fact I had more than one PM from Alexia last Sunday so I may well have received the "missing" one.

Alan

[Alan Knighting]

The following is my reading of what Holiday Rentals are trying to do. I have no sources of information within HR nor have spoken to them about their plans.

Apparently, the thinking is that the English owned property market in France is pretty well saturated, with little organic growth, and the rental sites are now fighting amongst themselves for a share of it.

The overwhelming majority of holiday properties in France are French owned and those property owners are to be targeted by offering them a rental site in English and in French. If successful, this would vastly increase HR’s client base and thus their profits.

On the face of it, this would be of advantage to English property owners in that they would also have their entries in English and French. But, I think there is a very large and important question to be answered. Do English owners want to disappear into a website which is dominated by French properties offering French standards at French prices?

Regards

Alan

[alexia s.]

We all know the answer, Alan!
BTW, you are still assuming - as I did - that the market is the French holiday property market. Paolo's earlier mail assumed that it was French holiday makers who were being targetted, world-wide.

[Alan Knighting]

Alexia,

It would be both, wouldn't it?

However, the main drive will be to get French property owners to register and pay. After all, that is where the rental site's income comes from. The site's continuing existence will be assured through its success in attracting enquiries and bookings (back to square one).

Regards

Alan

[tansy]

This then is even a bigger worry...

It's bad enough being in competition for business when you are up against this sort of thing in the British community....I've just heard about a 'gite' conversion being marketed on Utah Beach, the gite is in a former pig house..apparently done very nicely...is 3 miles from the sea itself but in an area loosely classified as Utah Beach - they can sleep 6...but someone who looked at it said if it was 6 little people and they all sat in the lounge their knees would touch in the middle...so if HR want to advertise these sort of properties beside mine I will not be a happy bunny...never mind with what some of the French have to offer as well!

But what you say Alan makes economical sense to HR....but to owners with standards - I think not!

I have a feeling our prices may have to drop to keep the numbers up...what do others think?

[paolo]

One factor to ease your worries Tansy - holiday-rentals are probably the most expensive major listing site, and the 'pig-sties' will baulk at the cost of advertising with them.