Cummon You Lot, Get your Fingers Out

Up, down, could be better? How to get more bookings is our number one obsession. Talk shop here.
e-richard
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 11:33 am
Location: Algarve, Portugal
Contact:

Post by e-richard »

OTA - Online Travel Agents. What used to be "Listing Sites", but now they get a bigger share of rentals, so they are OTAs
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
-Chris-
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 12:27 pm

Post by -Chris- »

e-richard wrote:OTA - Online Travel Agents. What used to be "Listing Sites", but now they get a bigger share of rentals, so they are OTAs
Thanks Richard.
honeysuckle34
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:32 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Post by honeysuckle34 »

But Airbnb spy on the Airbnb Facebook forums.
Stewart
Posts: 131
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:32 pm
Location: Fife, Scotland

Post by Stewart »

Any commercial outfit who are serious are going to look/spy/shufty at what's going on. I sense a paranoia in some of these responses. I suppose if your business is going predominantly through one or two of the big players then you have too many eggs in one basket. My concern with that situation would not be avoiding insulting them but rather when they make their T's and C's onerous and hike charges.

This appears to be the business model. Grab market share, become dominant and then turn the screws on the hosts. I love ABB right now but I suspect that love affair will last no more than another two years.
User avatar
Cymraes
Posts: 519
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

I did say the better FB groups. The big ones who allow everyone in are dreadful.

Paranoia? Well maybe but there are posts on this forum of members being removed from some of the big OTAs based on what they posted here.

I have no axe to grind. The OTAs have no power at all over me. I've never been on AirBnB, HA (or any of that group) and my TA/HL listing brings me maybe one or two bookings a year so being banned from there wouldn't hurt me at all.
-Chris-
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon May 13, 2019 12:27 pm

Post by -Chris- »

What is TA / HL ? Just trying to catch up on acronym city here. :-)

The ironic thing is, is that when any of us place a listing for our property on those sites, you are in effect helping them even further.
User avatar
Cymraes
Posts: 519
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

-Chris- wrote:What is TA / HL ? Just trying to catch up on acronym city here. :-)

The ironic thing is, is that when any of us place a listing for our property on those sites, you are in effect helping them even further.
TripAdvisor/Holiday Lettings. HA is HomeAway ( formerly Owners Direct in the UK)


Yes we are - so I don't! I hate the way they treat our properties as theirs, hang on to our money until the last possible moment and ride roughshod over our cancellation policies.

No thank you.
KathyG
Posts: 3274
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Le Faou, Brittany
Contact:

Re: Cummon You Lot, Get your Fingers Out

Post by KathyG »

Stewart wrote:This is the best forum for Holiday Letters I have found. As a newbie I found the archive really useful. BUT (400 bookings on) the contributions are declining in quality and quantity IMHO. Pass the Ralgex round, rub it in and re-start contributing
You're right Stewart, this is the best holiday letting forum around, or was. Sadly most people have moved to Facebook which isn't a patch on this, but as someone said is easier to access on mobiles etc. I couldn't have managed without the excellent advice from all the old hands that were here over the last 12 years. Very few of them here now unfortunately. :cry:
Kathy
Waterfront location in Le Faou
"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am."
farley
Posts: 169
Joined: Thu May 29, 2014 11:14 am
Location: Poitou Charentes

Post by farley »

Totally agree with you Kathy and Stewart. I’ve used this Forum for over 10years and cannot praise it highly enough. I’ve probably logged in every day during that time as the issues raised really help me run my business wisely and efficiently.
It’s sad we’ve lost so many ‘old hands’.
rosebud
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:24 pm
Location: Steyning, West Sussex

Post by rosebud »

Agree .. Facebook groups far less satisfactory.
Lay My Hat Forum far more helpful.
Joanna
Posts: 1091
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:12 pm
Location: Chester, North West England & Sidmouth, East Devon
Contact:

Post by Joanna »

I agree - this site has been vital for us. Without it I think being an independent holiday let owner would have been quite a lonely job.

I belong to some of the Facebook groups but I find them much more difficult to follow. LMH is well structured and the quality of the information over the years has been invaluable.

If LMH could be made more responsive maybe it would attract more users. But, I suspect that would not be an easy job.
Jo

Joint owner of Baker's Cottage in Chester & Chandler's Cottage in Sidmouth
SPJ
Posts: 468
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2015 9:01 am
Location: Aquitaine
Contact:

Post by SPJ »

Another one here who agrees that this site has been invaluable and that FB pages are just a mess - ok maybe for gossip, hopeless for asking for and receiving useful information.

Those of you missing the "old hands", bear in mind that if you have been on here more than five years, these days that's YOU. :)
Post Reply