Bookings for 2016. Discuss

[MartynE]

Well, it's December already and bookings are really, really quiet this year. Our apartments are doing ok, with the usual repeat bookings that were in the diary before the end of the summer... but so far, new enquiries for 2016 are very slow. Nothing since October, in fact.

It's elephant-in-the-room time, folks. Obviously, the Syria situation will be putting off a few newbies, but we would have thought that Kalkan regulars would just shrug it off, knowing how safe the town is... after all, the UK is on a "severe" terrorist alert whilst Turkey is only "high" along with Spain and France.

Are Kalkan regulars no more intelligent than the rest of them, after all?

Puzzled.

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=13144.0

[Wendy]

We have 6 weeks booked for next year. This year we were full, they trickled in through the season and the apartment rented better than the villa, which is fine as it means  I don't need to share my bed! I put up comparison mileages in an effort to show people the distances. Some of the crap people spout is annoying.

[BeyazGül Apt.]

We are happy how bookings are going and have 10 weeks booked for 2016.
Location! Location! (Mediterranean complex) best position for old town.

Stuart
(owners direct property ref 8161882)

[Blue Lizard]

This year we noticed Kalkan was quieter... Not only Syria etc but I think this years outbreak of the thruppenny bits could have a negative impact on next years numbers( we are going.)

[pw]

2 trips booked for 2016, so doing our bit!!
Agree, it seemed quieter this year, especially in late sept and can only put it down to the Syrian elephant.

pw

[felicity]

Just 1 week booked out for 2016 so far - no enquiries let alone bookings for months now - hoping it will pick up in January - my worst year ever....

[MartynE]

That's really bad news, Felicity - if you are having problems, with your experience and quality, it must be a general lack of interest in Kalkan. We should all be worried... 

[Little Missy]

We too have had a very bad year for bookings in 2015.  Our repeat guests that used to re-book as soon as they returned to the UK have not been in touch for 2016.  Not sure of the reason why, apart from one who have bought their own apartment not in Kalkan but in Tenerife.  On the plus side, it has meant that because our property was empty we made two extra trips and enjoyed Kalkan at different times of the season.  Only 2 1/2 weeks booked so far for next year with a repeat guest in September. 

[Lizilu20]

We are doing our bit too. Unless travel to Turkey is prohibited (fingers crossed this will not happen  ) we will be in Kalkan as usual in April and August.

Flights and accommodation sorted for April but we have yet to book for August as our 2 eldest haven't made their minds up to come with us or not yet. Time to spread their wings without us I fear 

[pattaya]

We too had a really bad year this year, I thank for a number of reasons. As already mentioned the sickness bug didn't help I know of a few people that changed their plans. Also the harbour development or should I say lack off it, it did look grim for the start of the season. And the obvious troubles going on in the world.
I don't expect 2016 will be much different I'm afraid especially if the Daily Mail will insist on the constant negative reports about Turkey.
However I will be going out for New Year and then as much as I can next year. Still feel safer there than traveling into London each day ..

[hobbo]

It's been quiet since Sept but having said that we already have 16 weeks booked for 2016 so have limited availability left. 2015 was our best season yet.

[Mayday1]

We also only have limited availability left for 2016 season.We have also had the best season in 2015.......fully booked.We have booked most of our available 2016 weeks by October 31st...........none since then,but hopefully January will bring more bookings.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
 holiday lettings http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/kalkan/9407

o direct    http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8154298

[BeyazGül Apt.]

I have been analysing bookings for 2016 not only do we have 10 weeks booked for next year 2 of those bookings have come from 2 couples who have never been to Turkey before but chose to try Kalkan on recommendation from their friends, so good for Kalkan and good for Turkey.

[felicity]

Anecdotally from talking to people (with Hobbo as an exception!) it seems that apartments are holding up well and have bookings but villas (especially the bigger ones) like mine are suffering...

[Babs]

We've booked for October already and booked our flights yesterday when easyjet released them. Never had them so che, even on a first day of release.....I was late in the day booking and got two returns for £250! Personally I think it's the Syria effect.....sad but true?

[Chris S]

2015 was the best year since started in 2010 - fully booked.  2016 very slow - only 2 weeks booked so far and no interest since September.  I don't suppose shooting down the odd Russian jet helps very much!

[Mayday1]

Hi Chris,

Yes I agree.........not great to shoot down Russian jets.We have had a good start to 2016 bookings with around 13 / 14 weeks booked so far................but all done before end of October.......nothing since then.

PS chris............does the polar bear in your avatar ever reach its destination ??
 
 
holiday lettings http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/kalkan/9407

o direct    http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8154298

[Lucy Lou]

Bloody Hell Babs where you flying from ?  I was on every hour thru' the night as didn't know when they'd be released & was that hacked off with the price (especially the day I needed to be back for a family wedding was so expensive) I wouldn't buy.  I'm going to wait & see what happens.

When I went October Monarch was half empty but they were still selling at the price I'd paid 6 months before.  Surely filling the plane with people paying something is better than nothing.  And I think there's always a set of people who are free to take last minute holidays prompted by a bargain flight 

LL

[Babs]

Lucy Lou we are flying out on 8 October and back on 18th from gatwick

[MartynE]

Ok, so it's a mixed bag really. However, apart from one or two exceptions, there does seem to be some common ground emerging:

1. Despite the problems, 2015 was still a good year for many owners, but of course most of those bookings would have been before the perceived "trouble"
2. Regular/repeat bookings are generally holding up ok... but there have been few new enquiries since September/October
3. Anecdotally (and this is borne out by our own experience) apartment bookings have held up better than villas.

Conclusions?

The recent geopolitical nonsense has clearly had an impact, although the logic behind it is truly baffling... after all, when the IRA were bombing major cities in the UK in the seventies/eighties, and we were under constant threat of nuclear war, did that stop people holidaying in Cornwall? That's the closest analogy I can think of.

The press certainly doesn't help. Running ridiculous scare stories such as the one in the Daily Express during July is plain lazy reporting - but, of course, their job is to sell papers, not tell the truth. And they do forget to point out that the terrorist threat in the UK and throughout Europe is actually higher than Turkey... but most people could work that out for themselves if they bothered.

I am concerned that many businesses in Kalkan (and in Turkey generally) will suffer as a result of this. A friend, who owns a lovely rental and catering business in Islamlar, recently had a particularly vicious response to a bit of Facebook marketing... she posted some beautiful photos of her establishment and received some generally lovely comments, but amongst them was this:

"Does decapitation come as extra?"

Words fail me. But if that's the mindset we are dealing with, there is no hope.