Where have all my bookings gone ?

[cumulus]

Hi all

I'm relatively new to this, so no real experience of how bookings pan out during the year, but so far May has been a total dud ! I'm getting about a quarter of the enquiries I was receiving in Jan through to April, and most of these are one nighters, and/or don't reply to my email answering their initial enquiry.....

Is this normal ?

BTW I have good tripadvisor reviews, and this is one of my main marketing tools, but a recent one, although 5 stars etc did perhaps inadvertently make me sound a bit like a saloon bar bore, which I assure you I am not ! Could this be the culprit ?

What do you think ?

Thanks

[voltaire]

I seem to have started this thread with the wrong username .... don't know why I have 2

[La Chouette]

After 7 years I can honestly say that almost nothing's normal! This is the first night in May when we've not had guests or cooked a table d'hôte meal and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to a quiet night in, so to speak!

Every year seems different, with almost no pattern to it, so if I were you, I'd rest while you can and look forward to being busy later.

Are your enquiries just English speakers or are you hoping to attract the French market? No matter what, you do need your website in French too here as you're running a business in France. I haven't looked, but are you listed with Google places so you come up well in searches?

Bon courage,

Jan

[pete]

Well done Jan for being busy, we are having a quiet May compared to last year but its ticking by and paying its way.

Volaire,

I do think that if you are in a stopover route (as we are too) you will get your fair share of one nighters, we dont mind, they usually eat and then move off in the morning quite promptly.

I also dont point people to TA as a guest book, not just because we dont like one of the reviews but, because once there the site itself is aimed at bookings so there are loads and loads of ways of making your potential guests look somewhere else.

I also read through half a dozen or so reviews of yours and could see nothing at all offputting, quite the opposite.

Im sure things will pick up, BBs are traditionally booked up later than gites,

good luck,

Pete

[voltaire]

La Chouette, Pete, thanks for your replies. I guess I'll just have to sit tight and be patient ...

[Nightowl]

May was very quiet and June so far only has half the weeks booked, when last year both apartments were fully booked.

[Mouse]

Checking up on others availability calendars it looks like May has been atrocious and June isn't shaping up to be much better.

Strange year, and I'm very grateful to have the bookings I have.

Mousie
x

[B&B netherlands]

pete, i think you're in a more touristic and geographically speaking, better region. this is my 3rd year as a B&B, but much busier than last year in april and may. lots of onenighters though, people who cycle distances like 100 kms per day, never stay long. and book very late - sometimes the day before!

i hardly have up to now, any bookings for july and august. it all depends on the weather in the netherlands... or special occasions like 'ride for the roses' first weekend of september, for which i started receiving enquiries... november 2010! could have easily 'sold' twelve 2-bed rooms up to now - unfortunately, only have two available. some 10.000 cyclists are expected to gather in aalsmeer, 5 kms away from here. and hardly any other B&B's OR hotels here, except for those on schiphol airport. and these hotels are for too expensive and do not offer a safe place to put (sometimes really expensive) bicycles.

foreign guests i get as well... several from the USA and recently israeli's. for the rest, mostly from european countries: UK, denmark, france, italy, spain, belgium, germany. they all love the fact that 'this is NOT a hotel'. recently had a young couple from italy with a 3yr old (cyclists!!!) having suffered a lot in a prebooked hotel the night before in the center of amsterdam. 'not clean, bad breakfast and noise all night.' the 3yr old slept very well - his mom had to wake him up at 8.30 when i came to serve breakfast... these are the things i enjoy so much, though i had to run to the supermarket 10 mins before closing time the night before as they wanted milk for the little one...

[brenda]

B&B netherlands - It is little touches like being prepared to run out for milk late at night as you did that people appreciate in a B+B rather than a hotel. We recently ran a new arrival to the local Farmacia late at night when she knocked on our door in a panic as she is an Asthma sufferer and had forgotten to pack her inhaler.

As for bookings this is a strange year for us. After a very busy March, April, May and first half of June we have a 4 week gap in both rooms (last 2 weeks of June and first 2 weeks of July). I am currently advertising these at a special price but still not a whisper of interest. First half of August full but nothing for the second half yet then September very busy.

A lot of repeat bookers this year or friends of previous visitors and an increase in UK guests.

Tried a couple of different advertising sites this year - lower cost than the big guns but haven´t bought in any enquiries let alone bookings so less effective than free listing sites that do bring in the odd booking; won´t be renewing these when the ads expire in October.