How are your summer bookings?

[Happylady]

I have to say so far this year has been a big dissapointment but we only started last June so have no reference.

We had been relying on HL which we realise was a mistake. So far our first real booking is not until June but we have 4 ongoing enquiries over the next few weeks.

Still early days yet and last year when we opened in June most bookings were made within 4 weeks of arrival. If I were you I'd at least register with your local tourist info centre relying on once source of advertising is not going to get you much. Last year we spent 700 and that'll probably drop to 500 this year. Is there a local agency who you could register with. We're with one (ingrid flute) that doesn't have strict rules like the big boys such as sykes and we've got 3 bookings through them.

Getting the pricing right is really important. As soon as we dropped ours last year the bookings started coming in but of course were wary of dropping too much;-)

[Mas Nialgue]

Glad to report that I'm doing OK.

Season where I am is July/August and I've only got 2 weeks left in July and one left in August, so a good result so far.

Also pleasing that whereas in the past they were all UK bookings I've now got guests from Spain, Belgium and France as well as the Brits, diversity is a welcome thing for me.

My take is that whilst many are cutting back on holiday expenditure, there will always be those going from 5* all inclusive to SC rentals, and if you offer value for money and a good place you have nothing to worry about.

[ianh100]

Happylady thanks for the feedback, we need to look at alternative marketing routes.

We have actually had a busy few days and have what look like solid bookings to 17 days in april and a couple of weeks in june. There seems to be a lot more activity on HL for our region as well.

I was expecting more booking activity early in the year, i am beining to think that people who will search out using sites like HL are likley to book late.

[Happylady]

Happylady thanks for the feedback, we need to look at alternative marketing routes.

We have actually had a busy few days and have what look like solid bookings to 17 days in april and a couple of weeks in june. There seems to be a lot more activity on HL for our region as well.

I was expecting more booking activity early in the year, i am beining to think that people who will search out using sites like HL are likley to book late.

Think you may get late bookings this year but am sure you'll get repeats next year.

[delilah]

our first year, but pleased so far. Good bookings for July and August, but only one week for June, which i gather is always tricky. I agree with a previous comment re maybe Brits choosing uk this year, but can't see why as we had such a terrible summer last year! There is a regatta week in august i could have sold three times over for a full week, but we like to go down the last few days, so i have determinedly hung on to it. Personally, clearing off to Morocco for a few days next sunday just to see some sunshine!

[dizza2560]

Bit of an update, still no summer peak weeks booked, but today had a booking for February 2014 and a few days earlier an enquiry for August 2014, go figure!

[KAB-Dennis]

My peak summer weeks are MUCH slower this year than last - have attributed it to a few things (just guessing of course)

1. I traditionally have sold out summer after summer so this year I raised my prices a bit and may have slightly overpriced the peak summer weeks.

2. HL was a major supplier of guests in the past as we were only 1 of 8 in my location on HL. Our area literally has thousands of rentals.

Now that HL is linked to TA I think my pool of guests are diluted as they are more prone to look at the TA site as well which alone currently lists 3,278 rentals.

3. The real estate market (prices and interest rates) has brought quite a few new owners in the rental market here - causing a slight inventory overload.

[salmoncottage]

Cant see what your property looks like Kathleen, but just wondered what you might be doing to stand out from all the crowd in your area, and if it's so saturated was raising your tariffs the right way to go this year? We're also in a saturated market area so we're keeping an eye on close competitors prices and what they're offering to try to attract guests. Return guests have helped us a lot this year, maybe due to all the extra wine, good nibbles and homely touches we supplied to them last year (hic) along with taking a smaller deposit and no returnable d/d for future visits, every little helps.

[KAB-Dennis]

Hi SalmonCottage

I am pretty sure that this summer will follow suit with every other in the past ten years. Our cottages will be sold out after all of the lower priced rentals in our area are filled BUT it would be nice to be sold out now instead of entertaining all of the inquiries and tire kickers.
Our home on the other hand is new to us last year and we were successful but again mostly filling in last minute. This year we only have about 30% of summer weeks booked there.

* * *So you have made me think...... that maybe it is more important to sell out quickly than to make those few extra $$.

Any suggestions for added value?

We do make an extraordinary effort to supply guests with pre-arrival information and in each cottage we also have a huge compendium of local information and insider secrets that many first time visitors to the area say that they find extremely helpful and entertaining

We are not on-site. So, it is difficult to offer goodies, as the responsibilities of turn over staff are limited. With their small window of opportunity here (high season) most are stretched to the limit time-wise and wont take on any extra tasks such as shopping for fresh baked goodies or arranging items for gift baskets. One property has two cottages onsite and we have VERY limited storage and unfortunately making up baskets ahead is not an option. We shy away from alcohol as not everyone enjoys it and must use caution here in the us with legal issues.
Our cottages are quite rustic so added luxury amenities are not an option but could try that in the home. Not sure what to add though.
On the odd occasion when I am on-site I do buy some goodies for guests.

[salmoncottage]

We're not on site either and I hear what your saying about housekeepers/cleaners. That's why we take the time to stock up when we attend for maintenance trips etc and we produce laminated lists of arrival items to be left for certain guests which we tweak following our email exchanges with new and previous guests and wine is often substituted for soft drinks or extra goodies. We often 'haunt' our housekeepers on changeover days just to ensure things are just so. This has resulted in us going through over 20 cleaners in the last 3 or so years, but thats the front line of defence (first impressions) so we always make sure its as good as it can be from a distance. On one occasion we had to take a flight at very short notice to do the changeover ourselves when a local 'so called agency' let us down at 8pm the evening before arrival. But it's not all bad and we're always pleased to welcome back return guests who appreciate what goes into letting a holiday house.
All the very best for the future.

[Nemo]

* * *So you have made me think...... that maybe it is more important to sell out quickly than to make those few extra $$.

Is it? A reduced price to pay for peace of mind in getting early bookings?

That all depends doesn't it, on what you want from your business? Maximised income or less work later in the season?

I have upped my prices across the board; I am not the most expensive but there are a lot of cheaper offerings, including from Hoseasons who let some of the other park properties out. Did you read my stats earlier in this thread? My peak summer bookings were spread throughout all the months up until the last minute. I wouldn't want to sell out earlier for less money; my product is worth the price I charge I believe, I just have to have patience.

We often 'haunt' our housekeepers on changeover days just to ensure things are just so. This has resulted in us going through over 20 cleaners in the last 3 or so years, but thats the front line of defence (first impressions) so we always make sure its as good as it can be from a distance.

Now that (20 cleaners), for me, would be a price I wouldn't be prepared to pay. Peace of mind for me is having a reliable cleaner who does as good a job as possible and to keep her for as long as possible. I try not to put undue pressure on her, so don't provide welcome goodies - for me she already has enough to check and do. I understand why anyone of us could end up in that unfortunate position, but I'm so grateful, that as yet, it's not me!

[salmoncottage]

We simply run our business how we want it to be run, not how our past cleaners wanted to run it, We don't pay anyone for doing a job they're not up to, period.

[KAB-Dennis]

I see both of your points about the cleaners.

I too think that we and not the cleaners should run the business. I actually have a fab cleaner now. It is very helpful that English is her first language. Don't want to push the envelope with too many more requests than I already make. And I do make some unusual requests to ensure the guests are happy.

I gave her a large raise last summer for peak weeks so I probably could add a little more but feel that it is working now.

We are only 1 1/2 hours away so could do it in a pinch but traffic makes it a full days work. Having to leave extra early and depart after all of the change overs have left. There are only two bridges to get off of the Cape. So traffic can be challenging. We did it in the early years but have since opted out of the cleaning business.

[Nemo]

We simply run our business how we want it to be run, not how our past cleaners wanted to run it, We don't pay anyone for doing a job they're not up to, period.

To the first sentence I say, so do I. To the second, me neither.

So we're in agreement then! I'm just happy I haven't had the issues that you have had, because I wouldn't enjoy doing this job if I had that sort of stress caused by problems with cleaners.

[salmoncottage]

whatever....sigh