Frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How to edit description, rental prices and availability calendar?
1. Log in to your personal Advertisement Manager. Here you will see links for updating your personal contact details, changing your password, adding a new property and, below, links for updating your current advertisement "Edit Property Details".

2. The links available under Edit Property Details are:

• Update description
• Update rental prices
• Update photographs
• Update availability calendar
• Purchase additional photographs or golf listing for this property
• Renew this advertisement
• View enquiry emails
• View statistics

3. To update the text or prices of your advertisement, click on the relevant link. This will bring up either your advertisement text form or your price table. Once you have made any changes, click on "save" at the bottom of the form.

4. Your changes will then be saved to our database and will come through to us for approval and checking. We normally process changes within 24 hours.

5. To update your availability calendar we recommend that you turn the whole of your calendar blue (available) and then fill in your booked dates afterwards. To fill in your calendar, click on the start date and end date and then choose from "booked", "available" or "unknown" on the pop-up box. Remember to save your updates using the "save" button. Updates to your calendar are stored on our database and can be viewed immediately on the Internet.

Enquiries from holidaymakers are not arriving in my inbox
Some ISP's have tightened their anti-spam procedures to the extent that normal mail can often be treated as junk mail. Hotmail and AOL are prime examples of this but it can also affect other ISP's.

We give full information on this subject on our Email Help page - a link to this can be found at the top of your advertisement manager.

We also provide a free SMS Text facility which will send a message to your mobile phone every time an enquiry arrives for you. This will alert you to the fact that you should log in to your advertisement manager to view your enquiry should it not arrive in your email inbox. If you have a mobile phone, enter the number in the "update contact details" section (SMS text box) of your advertisement manager in order to receive these messages.

Recognising genuine e-mail enquiries and potential scams
Most e-mail enquiries that you receive will be genuine and from holidaymakers enquiring about the availability of your property. However, there are unscrupulous people who use Internet web sites to send scam messages. We do have a monitoring system in place which means that the majority of scam e-mails are caught and deleted. However, it is possible that you may receive the occasional message from someone that is not a genuine enquirer and we would like you to be aware of this.

Many of the scams are not well written and refer to bankers drafts and certified cheques. If you do respond to a scam e-mail, the most common follow up is for them to say they will send you a cheque for a large amount of money (more than the rental value of your property) - from which you are asked to extract your costs - and return the remainder to them or a colleague on your personal cheque or by electronic bank transfer. At this point, have nothing more to do with the person.

If you are in any doubt as to whether an enquiry is genuine, please do contact us for advice, as we can often recognise scams which are not obvious if seen in isolation.

How long will it take for a new advertisement to be live on the site?
Once you have completed entering your information, our production team will review and process your advert. Depending on how many new adverts they are processing, it may take 3-5 working days for your property to be live on the site. Your subscription period will run from the date your advert goes live.

Why are recent updates to my advertisment not visible on the Internet?
When you make changes to the text and rental prices of your advertisement, they come through to us in a queue for approving and processing. This is normally done within 12-24 hours (often quicker than this). Photographs can sometimes take a little longer. Updates to your availability calendar go live immediately.  
Can I add an extra property/accommodation unit to my advertisement?
If the extra accommodation is within the same building, or on the same plot of land, then it is possible for us to change your Advertisement Form to a "multiple property". There is a fee for each additional unit on your advertisment of £25 + VAT for 6 month subscriptions and £40 + VAT for 12 month subscriptions. Please e-mail us to let us know what you would like to add and we will change the form accordingly. You will then be asked to log into your advertisement in order to add the necessary text changes

 
Can I be listed under 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms?
Individual properties can only be listed under the bedroom number appropriate to the property, ie. a 4 bedroom villa can only be listed under 4 bedrooms, regardless of whether different rental rates are charged for the use of less bedrooms. We enforce this in order to keep our bedroom listings totally relevant for holidaymakers. We have a "search by town" button alongside each area - this takes visitors to our "region/town" pages which list properties by town or area, regardless of number of bedrooms.

Our Advanced Search facility allows for properties to be searched in alternative ways, eg. by town or minimum number of bedrooms. There is also a facility for searching on "grouped properties", eg. 3 apartments in one complex or 4 cottages on the same plot of land.

 
Can I exchange my current property for a new one ?
It is not possible to exchange one property for another using the same reference number. Please let us know if you wish to withdraw a property and we will arrange for this. It will then be necessary for you to submit a brand new advertisement for the new property.

 
How can I move position on the list pages?
Positions on the list pages are automatically generated and pages rotate every 24 hours. For example, if there are 4 pages of properties in your region, you will be on the first page once every 4 days. Within the page,the properties generate randomly, again every 24 hours. So, we can guarantee a first page position on a regular basis but cannot guarantee the position on the page on any one day. Our town list pages work in the same way as well.  
How can I improve the response rate on my advert?
We obviously hope to generate a good number of enquiries and bookings for our advertisers but this question does arise from time to time. There are a number of factors involved - the amount of competition in your area, rental prices and photos being the main items which will affect response.

If you are not receiving an adequate response, we would first recommend looking at the other properties on the list pages for your area - compare your location, facilities and rental prices and ensure that you are competitive. Look at your photos - are they bright, sunny, sharp and colourful? A swimming pool under a grey sky does not look inviting! Are internal photos uncluttered, showing as much space and light as possible? Think about putting table, chairs, sunloungers and parasols on your patio or balcony. Also take a look at the description of your property and its location - holidaymakers like to know exactly what they are getting, how far it is to shops and restaurants and places of interest to visit.

You may also like to consider placing a special offer on certain weeks.

 
How to place a special offer
You can run a special offer for two weeks, at a cost of £15. This enables you to promote particular weeks you may be having difficutly in filling. To run a Special Offer select "Purchase a special offer" in the "edit property details" section of your Admin Manager.

A special offer will appear both on your main advertisement and on the list page description, and will include your property if a visitor searches for special offers in your area.

 
Do you have an example of Booking Procedures/Contracts?
Booking procedures and contracts vary from owner to owner. The following guidelines are designed to give an idea of the booking process and what should be included in any e-mails or booking forms that you send out. It will vary from owner to owner – this is to give a brief guide:

Responding to an enquiry:
As soon as you receive an enquiry, answer immediately to let the enquirer know whether you have availability for their preferred dates and, if so, verify the cost. Answer any questions that they may have and let them know that you look forward to hearing from them.

Booking Conditions:
When a request for a booking is made, reply immediately to confirm that the dates will be held pending receipt of their booking deposit (5 – 7 days). Include with this e-mail, details of your booking conditions and say that payment of the deposit constitutes acceptance of the booking conditions.

The following information should be included:
Amount of deposit required if making a booking (and whether this is non refundable).
When balance of payment is due (usually 8 weeks before the start of the holiday)
Security deposits to be paid on arrival (if you wish to take a breakage deposit).
Cancellation refunds (these are just an example):
Up to 8 weeks – no cancellation charge
4-8 weeks – 50% of rate refunded
2-4 weeks – 25% of rate refunded
Less than 2 weeks – no refund

(The cancellation refunds and deposit refunds could also depend on whether or not you are able to re-let the holiday period. We provide for “special offers” to be placed and this can be helpful in the case of cancellations).

What is supplied in the rental price:
Confirm what is and is not included in the rental price, eg. Electricity, gas, linen, towels.

Arrival and departure times:
Confirm the arrival and departure times.

Payment:
Confirm whether payment should be made by cheque or bank transfer. If by bank transfer:
The name of your Bank
Swift Code
Sort Code
Account Number
Account Name
Your address

Booking Confirmation:
Once a booking has been confirmed and you have received the booking deposit, send a letter or e-mail of confirmation/receipt of payment to the guest. Thank them for their deposit and confirm the dates of their booking. Give them a brief reminder of the booking conditions (balance due, cancellation charges). Tell them that directions to the property and key arrangements will be sent when the balance of payment has been received.

Request for Balance:
About 9 weeks before the start of the holiday send a reminder e-mail that the balance of the rental is due. Provide bank details again. Remind them that directions to the property and key arrangements will be sent when the balance of payment has been received.

Receipt of Balance:
- Confirm receipt of the full rental balance.
- Ask the guests for their approximate arrival time. Remind them of what the earliest arrival time is and explain that arrival before this time may not be possible as the property needs to be cleaned and prepared for them.
- Give the full address of the property and directions from the airport, channel port or nearest major town.
- Let them know how they gain access to the property, where the key is held or who will greet them and show them around.
- Provide a telephone number that the guests can call should they be delayed in their arrival time (make sure that provision is in place for this – flights can sometimes be delayed by hours).
- Let them know if a Welcome Pack of basic food/water/milk is provided.

Guest Notes:
Compile a useful guide for your guests to include property details/instructions, places to visit, local restaurants, etc. A file with plastic wallets is ideal for this. Include:

- Welcome!
- The full address and telephone number of the property itself.
- Telephone numbers for doctor, hospital, police.
- A local contact number for reporting any problems to do with the property, breakdown of any equipment, etc.
- How to use the kitchen appliances, washing machine, dishwasher, hot water, heating, air conditioning, TV/video, etc.
- Garbage disposal, where this should be taken and when.
- Directions to local shops, cafes, bars, restaurants. If you can recommend any of these it would be very helpful to your guests.
- Opening times of supermarkets.
- Best beaches
- Places to visit
- Activities – watersports, tennis, golf, etc.

After the Holiday:
Send a letter/e-mail saying that you hope they enjoyed their holiday. You could also ask them if they have any comments or suggestions on anything that could be improved. You will hopefully receive complimentary replies from which you can compile a “guest comments” list. Some owners leave a “guest book” in the property so that visitors can fill in their comments at the end of the holiday. Finish by saying that you hope to welcome them back again in the future.

Include a couple of short quotes from happy holidaymakers in the "Further Details" section of your advertisement!