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Dates
listed as AVAILABLE (green) will AUTOMATICALLY appear on the
late bookings lists. However to give specific dates that extra
boost we manaully maintain specialist pages. If you would
like to be included on these pages then
send us an email with your property name, dates
and any offers/prices. Current specials pages running include:
These pages do work for people so its always worth letting
us know if you've got dates you need to shift. There is no
charge for using this service and we use information from
these pages to choose the cottages on the homepage.Make the
most of what we can offer you.
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| Below
are some tips and resources to help you promote your cottage
and get the best from your ad. |
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| Late Bookings
Listings |
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Our
late bookings system is now up and running and will
include properties listed as "available" or
"enquire" for the next 6 weeks. If you are
using the availability system then your properties will
automatically be included. Please use the info box to
display any discounts or special offers. Unlike the
search by date function which includes ALL properties
(even if you are not actively using the system so as
not to discriminate against owners who do not wish to
use it for whatever reason) the late availability only
includes properties using the system to ensure that
the list is not overlong and is more accurate. If you
have any questions please contact
Katherine.
During
popular periods we run specials pages to help with late
bookings. Unlike the main late bookings page this page
is updated manually by us and you can enter details
of any special offers and price reductions. Again please
email us if you wish to include any weeks.
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| Tracking
Referrals |
| You
can monitor the effectiveness of your ad on Preferred
Places using the following methods: |
| 1.
Phonecalls: If people call you then you can ask them where
they found you. |
| 2.
Email: If people email you from Preferred Places then
this will have the heading "Enquiry from Preferred
Places" . |
3.
Referrals to your own web site: The best way to monitor
referrals is to add a counter to your homepage This site
uses
www.thecounter.com which is an excellent counter (approx
$10 per year) which can be set to be invisible. You can
set it to monitor referrals from a specific source such
as Preferred Places or and it will also tell you the other
means people use to find your site and even the search
terms used on the search engines. Its very simple to use.
For details of free counters check out:
http://www.thefreesite.com/Webmaster_Freebies/Free_counters_and_trackers/
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| 4.
We can tell you how many hits you ad has had but we can't
tell you how many off these translate into enquiries or
bookings. Using the above methods will allow you to monitor
the success of your ad. Obviously the better your ad,
the more likely people are to follow it up so help us
to produce the best ad for you. We want to help you get
those bookings. If your ad is not performing as well as
you'd like then we'll be happy to make changes for you |
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| Protect
Yourself |
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Make
sure that your insurance is up to date and that you
are covered for any damage caused by guests. Its also
worth checking to see what else you are covered for
such as cancellations etc.
The
following company provide specialist insurance for Holiday
Cottage Owners.We do not have personal experience of
this company however, if as an owner you feel able to
personally recommend someone then please let us know:
/www.schofields.ltd.uk/
We
would always advise owners to ask for a damage deposit.
Although accidents do happen, at least if you have some
funds you can use you can use your own discretion as
to whether or not to charge the guests for the damage.
This also encourages guests to respect your property.
Finally
many cottage owners do not accept bookings from single
sex parties or from parties below a certain age. Although
the internet makes it easy to make bookings via email,
we would suggest that speaking to your guests prior
to their holiday will give you a better idea of the
nature of the group and of what they expect from their
holiday.
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Guest Blacklist
Every now and then a guest or group turns up which are bad
news - either they leave your property in a mess, upset the
neighbours, cause damage or some other horror. And of course
you don't want them back. Its been suggested that we start
a guest blacklist for such cases. so owners can share this
info. Not sure about the ethics of posting peoples details
on the web without their consent but wondered about an emailable
list which I could send out on request. Any suggestions welcomed.
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| Getting
the best from your photographs |
| Good
quality pictures can make a big difference to your ads.
Here are some tips to take the best shots: |
| 1.
If you are taking internal pictures then try to get hold
of a wide angle lens for your camera. This will allow
you to get as much of the room in as possible. |
| 2.
If you can't get a wide angle then it it may be better
to focus on a specific feature rather than getting parts
of furniture in the shot or funny angles. Try focusing
on the view from the window (use a flash to avoid the
rest of the room coming out too dark) or the fireplace |
| 3.
If your view is part of a terrace then its often good
to take a portrait picture (rather than landscape) to
focus on your property. We have no problems with portrait
shot for your ad but please bear in mind that the tiny
picture which comes up on the results page is a standardized
landscape size. If you supply portrait shots for this
image then they will be shrunk down to fit (although sometimes
we can crop them). It may be best to supply an additional
landscape view for this picture or perhaps provide a picture
of the view. This picture needs to be the best possible
as it will determine whether people click on to view your
ad. |
| 4.
What pictures should you use? We can include up to three
pictures in your main ad plus the picture on the results
page (this can be the main picture of your cottage or
an additional picture). We would recommend a view of your
property, an internal shot and perhaps one of the view
or local area. However its up to you, if you have particularly
good internal shots then by all means include 2 of these.
However bear in mind that views often make excellent pictures
and internal shots can be dark |
| 5.
You can supply your pictures in digital form (via email),
or raw originals (we will scan them and return them) or
send a brochure. Please bear in mind that the quality
of the pictures we receive will determine the quality
of your ad. |
| 6.
Good lighting is essential for good pictures. A picture
with blue sky or a fantastic sunset will be far more appealing
than a stormy sky or gray clouds. It may be worth waiting
to get the right picture. However we will update your
pictures at any time if yet get a better one later. Inside
make sure you have any lamps on as these can add atmosphere
and if you have a real fire then light it. |
| 7.
Sometimes pictures which look wonderful in normal size
become difficult to see when made smaller for the web.
The biggest problem is busy pictures with lots of detail.
This works well at normal sizes but when made smaller
it becomes difficult to work out the detail. Try to keep
your pictures simple and uncluttered to achieve a better
result. |
| 8.
Keep your camera parallel when taking the shots. If you
tilt it to get more into the shot then the image will
be distorted. |
| 9.
Take the time to set the scene: Spend a few minutes arranging
cushions, put an attractive throw on the sofa or a colourful
bedspread. Put some flowers in a vase or arrange some
books. If its a dining table or kitchen you could even
lay the table. It doesn't take much to grab peoples attention
and those tiny details can make the place look so much
more homely. |
| 10.
You can achieve fantastic results with a basic camera
but if the perfect shots are eluding you then it may be
worth your while to bring in a professional. Digital cameras
mean that they can take lots of pictures and shouldn't
charge you much for the service. Or why not try to borrow
a digital camera from a friend. You can experiment with
lots of different views then without it costing a fortune
in developing. |
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| Promoting
Special Offers and Discounts |
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Offering
a small discount to people can often help secure a
booking. Perhaps you might offer a discount to couples
or to people booking more than one property if you
have several. Some owners offer discounts for last
minute bookings or for repeat visitors. There are
all sorts of things you can offer that make people
feel they are getting a better deal.
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| We
want this page to be a useful resource for you. If you have
any suggestions for things which would be useful to include
here then we welcome
all your feedback. |
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