Advertising Your Holiday Home – Holiday Home Booking agents
So you own a holiday cottage – and you would like it to earn income from it ?
Are your level of annual bookings falling below expectation ?
Do you dislike paperwork and booking administration ?
Providing your holiday Cottage, Lodge or Cabin is fairly unique. Therefore not next door or round the corner from a holiday home we already promote on this website, you are invited to work and succeed with us.
We are very well represented in Argyll and the Western Highlands, we only have capacity for New Listings in the following regions, Northern Highlands, Perthshire and the inner & outer Hebrides Isles
To good to be true ?
Unlike most other agencies, it will cost you nothing to join self-catering-scotland.com there are no fees to build your holiday home personal website, there are no annual fees to maintain and continually update your website on a weekly basis. There are no charges for your own bookings – yes, some agencies actually charge if you book your own property!
Most important there are no contracts or obligations, except that you must maintain your holiday home at least to the level we are marketing it at.
We can also guarantee we will not be selling your email address and details to other companies because we are an “advertise for free website” fronting as an “opt in mailing list”
Search Engine Ranking
In terms of search engine ranking…well results speak for themselves. That’s probably how you found us and hence your interest, the most popular search term for self catering in Scotland is “self catering scotland” and if you have not already checked us out…then please do so on www.yahoo.com ask.co.uk, aol.com and believe it or not www.google.com and without expensive sponsored linking. You can also find us top ranking with many other popular terms including “pet friendly holidays” “winter breaks scotland” “log cabins scotland” and “cottages direct” on these same search engines.
Because we also own and maintain www.winterbreaksscotland.co.uk www.logcabinsscotland.net and www.cottagesdirect.net along with a host of other popular key Domains, so traffic and exposure to your holiday home is not an issue with self-catering-scotland.com
The Critical Issue
The critical Issue is not search engine ranking despite what people believe or will tell you…although it does help.
As in all business it is the ability to process an enquiry and convert it to a sale. The only trouble is the majority of people search for their dream holiday at the weekends, bank holidays or the evening when they have got back from work.
They browse an average of at least 15 holiday homes and they require a prompt, personal efficient answer to their enquiry within 2 hours…and 75% of the time they will reserve this cottage…or with this company.
So there are a number of issues, but the main ingredient of the critical issue is to be open all hours not just Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm. self-catering-scotland is open 7 days a week from 9.00am to 10.30 pm to respond to all these precious enquiries.
Why ?
We are happy to be judged on results, along with top search engine ranking and unrivalled internet knowledge due to years of marketing experience and continual renewal. We employ simple but very effective technology that few other agencies use or even understand to this day. Our information delivery is comprehensive and we are complimented daily by our ever growing data base of satisfied customers on how good our websites are.
If you have browsed our individual holiday home sites, you may have noticed that we do not sell holiday homes…and we are very serious about this.
People want to book your cottage because they want to explore and enjoy the area of Scotland where the holiday home is, not because they want to stay in your holiday home!
Your holiday home is the vehicle to their holiday, so although it is lovely, it is merely “incidental”.
As a result of this our holiday home occupation rates are very high and cost’s low.
How Much ?
We simply obtain bookings for your holiday home, working alongside your availability requirements. We always take a minimum securing deposit of 25%, as in our experience smaller deposits than this are more likely to lead to cancelation.
Some agencies charge up to 44% for this service we charge a flat commission rate of just 15% for the total value of each booking we obtain for you which means you keep much more of your earnings from your holiday home.
Once we have secured the NEW BOOKING we immediately inform you by email with full details of the new customers booking. We then forward the balance of booking (or 25% deposit) less our 15% commission fee, once you have accepted the booking.
All you then need to do is contact the new customer sending them all relevant details you feel they need to get the best value and enjoyment from your property. We recommend you do not divulge specific details about key codes or where the key may be left (if applicable) until the customer has settled the final balance with you.
Merchanting Facility / Card services
Due to the fact so many people need / wish to pay by card nowadays as they do not have a cheque book or their isn’t sufficient time to collect their balance before the due letting date. If required we can also collect your balances for you. For members this service is available at cost just 2.5% per transaction.
All we require is for you to inform the customer this is so and then a reminder from you 6 weeks before the due holiday date. For non members this service is available at just 5% per transaction.
No Contracts, Written Agreements or Minimum Requirements
We are responsible for marketing and supplying the booking details listed on our marketing website.
You the Holiday Home owner are responsible for the following
1. The you maintain your holiday home / homes to at least the standard described / listed on our website and to immediately inform us of any changes, however minor to avoid unnecessary disputes with booking customers.
2. You make every effort to repair / replace / correct any unexpected fault / defect discovered by a booking customer during their occupancy as soon as reasonably possible. This is to comply with our standard booking terms and conditions and your obligations as the holiday home owner to the booking customer.
3. It is your responsibility to look after the customer throughout their stay. If there are any issues raised you must address these directly with the customer as soon as humanly possible, including if necessary relocation, or if appropriate reimbursement
We are not responsible to the customer for any defect, fault or official complaint (as detailed in 2 and 3) experienced during the customers stay which we were not aware of during marketing. However we are happy to advise you, but do remember this comes from time and resources normally dedicated toward new bookings.
We do not require you to sign a contract or enter a written agreement of any kind. Nor do we require that you only advertise with us or demand a minimum number of weeks per season to let for you. Some cottage owners simply use us a bolt on option to boost their bookings, others ask us to take care of all their bookings.