Thanks so much for your detailed input. Good to know about Agoda - is it a way to avoid it at all?
Thanks also for the tips on the standard set up fee. Am I right that I can opt out for 10% member/"fenced" discount?
In terms of the booking.com commission, I was shocked when I realised it this year. My property is in Greece and it was standard 15% as of last year. So the 20% is a real surprise as I found it out by myself!
so you are saying it makes sense to be listed on Expedia. - I've got few inquiries from booking, so am ready to try something new.
As for Agoda, is it part of Expedia network?
I don't quite understand "a sudden 20% discount slashed off your rates in high season just because they feel like it". Do they throw a promo without the owner's consent? How much commission do they charge? Right now Booking.com is charging 20% for my area!!
My name is Sophia. We have two properties on Lefkada island, Greece. We rent them out majorly in summer time. We are listed on booking.com and haven't got any bookings this year yet. We also have a website: https://housvillas4rent.com
.
If any of you could give me any advice, I would highly appreciate it.
I contacted Booking.com regarding that my property is not shown up in searches, here is the answer:
"I have checked the Booking.com website and noticed that the reason you are not showing up in the search results is because you have an internal setting applied in the extranet called Guest Requirements. In this box, it states that guests can only book if they have had a previous stay with us and its tracked only if the guest books while logged in to their personal Booking.com account, otherwise we have no way to track if they made a booking before."
Hope this is helpful for those who ran into the same problem.
1. I tried a couple of times with different browsers again, still no luck.
2. That is worrying. The Greek law requires the private rental to have the restriction of 7 nights. So what you said led to the question I had before - "As booking.com have so many private rentals in Greece, I don't know how it is dealing with the regulation requirement. If booking.com forces owners to remove the min night requirement, it is basically forcing them to risk violating the regulations " or be penalized in ranking.
Plus, we simply don't have the bandwidth to handle frequent changeover for the 1000 qm whole property (villa itself, swimming pool, garden, garage etc.) just for one-night stay.
Looks like we are getting into a dead end... unless booking.com is willing to make some changes.
I hope this message can reach booking.com. If you have any influence, please pass my frustration to them!
When you search, you have to clear the cache because otherwise the results on booking are not objective.
OK, I understand why the night requirement prevents the listing be shown on searches now. I guess I need to remove this restriction.
However, Nikiana is a town on the island of Lefkada, Greece. Actually the property address is "Lefkada".
When you search for "Lefkada", many properties located in "Nikiana" also show up. So I am puzzled why mine does not show up.
What concerns me is that if I get bookings via booking.com and it is shorter than 7 nights, do I obliged to accept it or I can reject it? If I reject, will it affect my standing?
As you said, "Now, people who search for Lefkada will NOT see your property as your property is registered to Nikiana." is a big problem because Nikiana is a town on the island of Lefkada. Visitors will search for "Lefkada" rather than "Nikiana". I have requested booking.com to change the location which they did, but it does not reflect in searches.
How can I address this issue again to booking?
As for the reviews, I haven't got even inquiries, how can I have enough reviews?
In terms of the price, it is not higher than properties of the same level. If you search for villas with private swimming pool, private garage, wifi, garden, sea view etc. the price is actually at the lower end.
It looks like availability is the only thing I can work on. If I remove the min night requirement, I have to remove instant booking function because I will need to communicate with the potential guests that the min stay is 7 nights. I personally don't know how come there are many properties available which allow for even 1-night stay. Maybe they realized if they set the min nights, they will be penalized just like us?
Can booking.com do anything to improve the setting?
Thanks so much for your detailed input. Good to know about Agoda - is it a way to avoid it at all?
Thanks also for the tips on the standard set up fee. Am I right that I can opt out for 10% member/"fenced" discount?
In terms of the booking.com commission, I was shocked when I realised it this year. My property is in Greece and it was standard 15% as of last year. So the 20% is a real surprise as I found it out by myself!
thanks @fluff, for your input.
so you are saying it makes sense to be listed on Expedia. - I've got few inquiries from booking, so am ready to try something new.
As for Agoda, is it part of Expedia network?
I don't quite understand "a sudden 20% discount slashed off your rates in high season just because they feel like it". Do they throw a promo without the owner's consent? How much commission do they charge? Right now Booking.com is charging 20% for my area!!
That's not very nice to hear. ...I am thinking of joining it too.
How much do they charge for reservation?
Hello,
My name is Sophia. We have two properties on Lefkada island, Greece. We rent them out majorly in summer time. We are listed on booking.com and haven't got any bookings this year yet. We also have a website: https://housvillas4rent.com
.
If any of you could give me any advice, I would highly appreciate it.
Sophia
UPDATE:
I contacted Booking.com regarding that my property is not shown up in searches, here is the answer:
"I have checked the Booking.com website and noticed that the reason you are not showing up in the search results is because you have an internal setting applied in the extranet called Guest Requirements. In this box, it states that guests can only book if they have had a previous stay with us and its tracked only if the guest books while logged in to their personal Booking.com account, otherwise we have no way to track if they made a booking before."
Hope this is helpful for those who ran into the same problem.
Dear Zsolt,
1. I tried a couple of times with different browsers again, still no luck.
2. That is worrying. The Greek law requires the private rental to have the restriction of 7 nights. So what you said led to the question I had before - "As booking.com have so many private rentals in Greece, I don't know how it is dealing with the regulation requirement. If booking.com forces owners to remove the min night requirement, it is basically forcing them to risk violating the regulations " or be penalized in ranking.
Plus, we simply don't have the bandwidth to handle frequent changeover for the 1000 qm whole property (villa itself, swimming pool, garden, garage etc.) just for one-night stay.
Looks like we are getting into a dead end... unless booking.com is willing to make some changes.
I hope this message can reach booking.com. If you have any influence, please pass my frustration to them!
Sophia
Thanks a lot Zsolt,
for giving me such a detailed message.
When you search, you have to clear the cache because otherwise the results on booking are not objective.
OK, I understand why the night requirement prevents the listing be shown on searches now. I guess I need to remove this restriction.
However, Nikiana is a town on the island of Lefkada, Greece. Actually the property address is "Lefkada".
When you search for "Lefkada", many properties located in "Nikiana" also show up. So I am puzzled why mine does not show up.
What concerns me is that if I get bookings via booking.com and it is shorter than 7 nights, do I obliged to accept it or I can reject it? If I reject, will it affect my standing?
Thanks again for your help.
Sophia
Thank you Zsolt, for your response.
As you said, "Now, people who search for Lefkada will NOT see your property as your property is registered to Nikiana." is a big problem because Nikiana is a town on the island of Lefkada. Visitors will search for "Lefkada" rather than "Nikiana". I have requested booking.com to change the location which they did, but it does not reflect in searches.
How can I address this issue again to booking?
As for the reviews, I haven't got even inquiries, how can I have enough reviews?
In terms of the price, it is not higher than properties of the same level. If you search for villas with private swimming pool, private garage, wifi, garden, sea view etc. the price is actually at the lower end.
It looks like availability is the only thing I can work on. If I remove the min night requirement, I have to remove instant booking function because I will need to communicate with the potential guests that the min stay is 7 nights. I personally don't know how come there are many properties available which allow for even 1-night stay. Maybe they realized if they set the min nights, they will be penalized just like us?
Can booking.com do anything to improve the setting?
Many thanks for your effort to help out.
Sophia