Update your availability calendar regularly, whether you need to or not: When holidaymakers carry out date specific searches, the adverts whose calendars have been updated most recently will appear higher in the results than those whose haven't. This is because holidaymakers prefer up to date information and so do we! It’s also really important to add bookings to your calendar as soon as they are confirmed.
We recommend updating your calendar every week even if you haven't got any changes to make. Simply click the link where it asks you if your calendar is already up to date in Stage Six on your Home Management page. This will then update without making any changes.
Holidaymakers are also likely to consider a regularly updated calendar to be more reliable than one that hasn't been touched for weeks.
Check your rental rates: Make sure your rental rates cover an extensive period otherwise not only do you run the risk of not being picked up in our budget searches, but your advert could also look out of date and uncared for (which no holiday home owner would want to reflect on their holiday home).
Our system allows holidaymakers to refine their availability searches according to their budget, which relies upon the dates and corresponding prices entered in the rental rates tables.
For example, if someone searches using a certain budget for September this year, but your rates only run up to the end of August, your advert won't appear in the results. You can edit your rental rates via Stage Four on your Home Management page.
As with the availability calendar, an up to date set of rental rates gives holidaymakers confidence in your property. If you don't list rates, then they may assume it's not available.
Activities tick boxes: Don’t forget to mark off the activities tick boxes in Stage Three. Let holidaymakers know what type of holiday they could enjoy at your property, whether your location is a bustling city with great nightlife or close to the sea for a brilliant beach holiday, mark it on your advert to attract guests who prefer that type of holiday. Remember to enter the distance to beach and the nearest amenities in Stage Three so that holidaymakers can see how convenient it is for them to get around the local area.
Holidaymakers often narrow down the selection of properties they look at by refining the search options so your advert will appear in more corresponding searches according to the activities in the area that you have ticked.
Facilities tick boxes: The tick boxes in Stage Two let you specify what facilities are available in your holiday home, including unique selling points such as ‘gym’ ‘Wi-fi available’ and ‘log fire’. Holidaymakers can specify exactly what they are looking for in their search. Holidaymakers looking for a cosy winter break may love the thought of curling up by the fire, whereas internet access might be important for others.
Rental conditions: In Stage Two, you can specify rental conditions such as whether the property is suitable for children, wheelchair users and elderly people. You can also specify your smoking policy, length of stay and types of group. We recommend selecting ‘flexible’ wherever possible for your changeover day in Stage Six.
We advise trying to be as flexible as possible with all your rental conditions. This will help your advert appear in more searches so your holiday home will be seen by more holidaymakers!
Remember: Nearly every holidaymaker carries out a different search. They won't necessarily do a blanket search of all properties - instead they may choose to refine by different criteria to find the holiday home that best suits their needs. This means that the results you see on your screen might not be what others are seeing and your property could be higher up the results than you think.
You can see exactly how holidaymakers clicked into your advert page using the Hits History on your Home Management page. Select the View Enquiries option, then Hits History and follow the links listed. This will take you to the specific page that the holidaymaker clicked in from.
