HolidayLettings changes (and issues)

[hobbo]

Not sure if you have noticed but HL have changed the owners maintenance part of their site, apparently it's now easier to use ..

however I noticed a few issues. you don't seem to be able to load new photos (I tried to delete one and replace it with a new one and got an error msg saying I had loaded 23 out of 20 photos. Also it looks like the availability status of 'unknown' is no longer supported, still shows in adverts but can't be added (or seen) in the new maintenance dashboard.

I spoke to HL regarding these changes/issues:
 
Photos, they are currently having difficulties, it appears that they didn't test loading photos during testing... 'it only became a problem when we went live and people tried to use it'

Unknown status can't be edited Calender shows booked / available / reserved / unknown for people viewing availability. The reserved is part of their new booking manager and can't be edited by the owner, the unknown is still there but can't be edited (doesn't show in the new dashboard), 'Sorry but you will have to make your mind up and change those dates to available or unavailable' was the reply... like many I have a work flow for bookings that sets the status to unknown whilst I wait for the deposit etc. their reply to this was I should use their booking manager, I did point out that not all enquires come via HL..

I also suggested that as well as doing more comprehensive testing that they provided owners with documentation of proposed changes and even asked owners for opinions.

since speaking to them I have also found out (from another forum)  that there could also be a problem with renewal dates for adverts mine is correct but may be worth checking!

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10577.0

[Charlie]

They have also removed the section where you could write comments received from guests. The only reviews now showing are those posted directly from the guest via Tripadvisor.  Personally I preferred the site before the imposed changes.

[Reygirl]

Just a bit of feedback, as a regular renter.  I now find the Holiday Lettings website quite confusing to use so I tend to use Owners Direct as my preferred place to search for an apartment.

[Chris S]

It has crossed my mind that, since being taken over by TripAdvisor, Holiday Lettings are more interested in promoting TripAdvisor and their business interests (is there a tie-up with PayPal I wonder?) than listening to their customers  views. 
If they are not careful, their customers will vote with their feet if they continue to, as Charlie says, impose unwanted ‘improvements’ without offering options.
Perhaps there are too many bright people at Holiday Lettings with not enough to do, so they spend their time making said ‘improvements.
What happened to the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

[MartynE]

They have also removed the option of showing multiple apartments in the same block on the same page. You now have to list them all separately, which defeats the object (and costs more).Our renewal is due in December and we will be voting with our feet. They have always cost more than Ownersdirect but we have always got more bookings from OD than HL... the latest changes have just helped us decide to dump them.

[Kalkan Magic]

We changed to just having OD a year or two ago as it was becoming expensive and more complicated, that was even before the TA links. I can honestly say that it hasn't made any difference at all - except that we pay less to advertise now! 

[jayne]

We have been plagued lately with spam enquiries via our HL listing. Will probably ditch them when it expires.

[hobbo]

Following another issue, this time with booking manager not showing a booking I have confirmed as confirmed.. I decided to untick the auto renewal option so that I can choose to renew if things improve... unfortunately there is another bug that prevents you unticking (you can remove the tick but it reappears again later!)

One of HL new features is to route all emails (not just booking manager requests) via their system so, following the recent changes, if you 'reply' to an enquiry with your external email system the mail is routed via HL rather than going directly, you need to look at the bottom of the original enquiry for the enquirers direct email addy and use that. HL appear to be trying very hard to take control of the workflow and making it harder and harder for anyone to leave them.

[Cosetta]

We tried both OD and HL for a year, compared the number of enquiries and bookings on each -- roughly the same with only 1 overlap -- decided not to renew HL, BUT ... when I told them we would not renew, they offered a great deal:  a huge reduction in price + a 6-week premium listing.  All for less than the price of OD.  So we renewed under these conditions.  They also offer a 3-week spotlight if you send out a quote or receive a payment through the Booking Manager BEFORE Dec 31.  Did that and got an additional 3-week spotlight.

We have not had any spam requests through HL, or should I say, not more than from any other source: OD, own web site or HL. 

[hobbo]

Yesterday I had an enquiry email via HL according to the title it was for dates in June 2013 but in the body of the text it was for Aug 2013... today I sent myself an email enquiry from HL and apparently if you email an enquiry from the HL site it assumes the dates you are looking for are 163-170 days from today! seems to be a default setting along with requesting alternative suggestions.
I'm so glad they don't run air-traffic control or any 'important' systems !

I do hope they get these issues sorted, I used to get 40% of my bookings from them.

[Chris S]

Hi Hobbo,
I had exactly the same experience with dated

[MartynE]

We tried both OD and HL for a year, compared the number of enquiries and bookings on each -- roughly the same with only 1 overlap -- decided not to renew HL, BUT ... when I told them we would not renew, they offered a great deal:  a huge reduction in price + a 6-week premium listing.  All for less than the price of OD.  So we renewed under these conditions.  They also offer a 3-week spotlight if you send out a quote or receive a payment through the Booking Manager BEFORE Dec 31.  Did that and got an additional 3-week spotlight.

We have not had any spam requests through HL, or should I say, not more than from any other source: OD, own web site or HL. 

We had the same experience when we came to renew. The guy I spoke to was very apologetic about the changes but was more than happy to negotiate - basically, I think they are desperate to retain customers that are threatening to leave, so make sure you haggle!

In the end they agreed to match the total combined price we paid for last year, which saved us several hundred pounds compared to their published price  and gave us a total of four free, 3-week spotlights (one for each apartment). So we renewed after all, and we have since received several firm bookings via HL in two weeks which is a much higher volume than we got from them previously!

Their new booking system is a bit of a straightjacket and I had to make several adjustments to our normal booking procedures to accommodate both HL bookings and non-HL bookings in a seamless manner ... but it was probably worth the time and effort... and to be fair it forced me to make some changes that were probably overdue anyway. And the paypal discount is useful...

So the jury is still out, but so far so good.

[kalkanbelle]

MartynE   What is the Paypal discount?  Do you not have to pay a percentage charge for accepting payment through Paypal?  I am also finding that all my enquiries from HL are automatically going into my spam emails since the changes?  Has anyone else experienced this?

[Charlie]

What I really don't like is that any queries that come thru holidaylettings does now not enable you to email the owner directly to their personal email address ie hotmail etc. Holidaylettings generates a holidaylettings email account for all new enquiries.

I prefer to deal with guests directly than going through the holidaylettings site.  The site keeps a record of all emails between you and future guests.

[kalkanbelle]

Charlie you can get the direct email address to reply to any enquiries that come through HL if you go into your owner login and then the In box. Click on the message and then click on 'see guest details' in the right hand column and it will show their email address.   You can then contact them direct without replying through HL.

[Charlie]

Kalkanbelle thanks very much for the info, much appreciated. 

[MartynE]

MartynE   What is the Paypal discount?  Do you not have to pay a percentage charge for accepting payment through Paypal?  I am also finding that all my enquiries from HL are automatically going into my spam emails since the changes?  Has anyone else experienced this?

The normal Paypal fee is about 4%, I think. Through HL you only pay 1.2% plus VAT, so it's a significant saving if you take a lot of payments through Paypal

[Charlie]

Hi can anyone tell me is it still possible to look at the history of hits on your ad and if so how do I check this? There is a visits tab on the statistics which lists the number of hits but I can't see where they've come from.  many thanks

[Cosetta]

Just above the 'visits' tab there is now a tiny link called 'History'.  This gives you about a month of past history, as it used to show.  I did complain to HL about the prior removal of this info.  Maybe many people complained as they have made it available again.

Re the Paypal payment, I took a booking through the Booking Mgr/Paypal, I paid the normal 4%.  Under what conditions do you get 1.2%?

[Charlie]

Hi Cosetta and thank you.  I tried that last night and it definitely didn't work, I've just tried it again and it did - gremlins!  Thanks again.