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Yes, I'm down in the French dumps! We have a more than lovely house, are offering painting holidays (run by hubby) and I'm now offering cookery experiences as well as B&B but have no bookings![:'(] 

Our website which has been running for the past two years is attracting visitors as google is doing its bit. I have lots of great links, am competitive in price BUT no one appears to want to come to south Burgundy. Why? I don't know! It's lovely here and not too difficult to get to. Yes, it's not the most well known of regions but surely that must appeal?

Someone please advise without the armchair lectures about "doing ones homework before moving to France!"

Catherine (A very very worried person!)

www.pictureburgundy.com

 

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oh dear poor you.  Just from a punter's point of view, having had a look at your website, it is not very clear what you actually do.  Do you do basic chambres d'hote, do you do the evening meal?  None of this information is leaping off the page at me.  When I look through websites for places to stay, I want the information quickly about the prices, what is available and so on.  If I can't get it fast enough then I am not going to read the rest.  I have scrolled down and read through, so I can see what you do, but it is not a clear enough website.  Frankly, I don't care to hear about your panoramic view whilst I'm trying to find out how many you cater for. 

And to be honest, if I were French, I wouldn't touch you with a barge pole.  On your first French page, the part you initially read has no accents.  I wondered if I'd hit the wrong button when I saw bienvenue a rather than à.  I certainly wouldn't feel confident booking.  Somebody has translated your long text on the first page quite nicely, but of course there are the same problems with the text as in English.  Your French links go on to pages in English, the French is bad for these links, it would be better to put tarifs than coût, and "voyage", what's that supposed to mean?  Do you mean accès?  Actually, obviously you do now I've clicked on the link, but it is all in English again. 

So, basically, I can see why people don't get past your website, it's extremly off putting.  Sorry about that.

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I'm taking all this on board and thank you for your encouraging words.

I'll obviously have to redesign our web site. I attempted to make us sound not too commercial and as friendy and welcoming as possible. I have obviously failed! However, I have had French people to stay and have had only very, very satisfied clients to date. The problem is I need more.

Catherine

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If you link mine and Pierre's replies you will see that someone e g me, looking just for accomodation will quickly leave your site.

In Pierre's case, however, where he's discovered your site from a painting/cooking related link, then he'll continue reading as he knows his specific need will be addressed.

Pierre excuse me from using your name in vain. [:D]

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Have you searched for 'Painting Holidays France' on Google and compared their offerings with yours ?  Have you checked availability on thoses sites who offer a booking calander to see if there is demand  that is unfulfiled or if there is surplus capacity ?  Ask a couple of friends to search the net using their favourite search engines and see how long it takes to find you.

Can you find a friend who has also worked in advertising to read the copy through and put a more positive spin on some of the wording.  . I found the wording of some parts very harsh. Compare 'We advise guests to dine out on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to experience the excellant local restaurants. Should guests prefer to dine in a full menu can be provided for a suplement of Euros XX per person per night. With your offering which left me with the incomfortable feeling that if I decided eat in every evening it would be on sufference yet it was included in the price.

Good news the site loads quickly and is easy to navigate.  

 

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[quote user="Benjamin"]
Pierre excuse me from using your name in vain. [:D]

[/quote]

My pleasure [:D] It was an interesting simultaneous posting as we came at it from different angles.

I suppose that I was looking from the OP posting citing the 'extra' dimensions on offer. It must be difficult to strike the right balance between the 'normal' guest and the ones wanting something different.  Maybe need more than one website?  they are very cheap and could address the different types of holiday on offer and get more appropriate hits from say google (do you pay for Google advertising?).  I still think you have to advertise pro-activly rather than passively via the web even though it will cost.  If people don't know about you then they can't come.

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You are advertising yourself mainly (essentially ?) as a painting holiday so it is a niche market - also your rates are high IMO , I appreciate that your clients are getting art tuition but the price also narrows down your potential customer base further.

It looks a nice spot, I have seen better and a lot worse websites. To be frank, I would drop the painting holidays and just advertise holidays and cut the price a bit , if you can afford to do that, unfortunately to keep going, I think you will have to aim to do this.

 

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I've more or less done what you have suggested Anton. It is really just a case of writing 'words' or 'expressions' that are acceptable to all. The problem is everyone interprets things in a different way.

I'll just have to keep at it ie the website, until I think I find a happy medium and please all on-lookers which I think will be an impossibility! But thanks. I'm all for constructive critisism. It all helps.

Catherine. 

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You don't necessarily need to pay for advertsing in the magazines, though a small ad at the back can work wonders. Think about free publicity, and not just adding yourselves to obscure web sites.

How about offering a few days free accommodation to a couple of magazines operating in your market, so they can send a writer - show them what you do, give them lots of information about yourselves. You won't be losing out by much - it sounds as if you have plenty of spare capacity, and it could (probably will) pay back many times over.

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[quote user="Tourangelle"]Just from a punter's point of view, having had a look at your website, it is not very clear what you actually do.  Do you do basic chambres d'hote, do you do the evening meal?  None of this information is leaping off the page at me.  ...... So, basically, I can see why people don't get past your website, it's extremly off putting.

[/quote]

Catherine

Just also looked - I gave up as soon as I got to the text - too wordy, too long lines, paragraphs etc.  Web attention is measured in seconds not minutes - no-one will read beyond the first line - so re-design, bullet what you are selling, space the information out so it is more readable, price appropriately, then cross fingers.

I'm sure what you are offering is good - but not much use if you don't sell your message in the first few seconds.  (Tip:  think job interviews - 7 secs to sell yourself,  etc).

Information first, uncluttered pages, quick to find and then make it look nice.  Information should be available in the first half of a screen, people do not scroll down to look further, but want to click on a link to find the next piece of info.  Think screen sized bites of info - the flowery descriptions come later.  The info people want on - size, price, location etc all need to be easy to find.

Look at other B&B sites, and see how they do it.

This has been written by someone who spends much time searching for info in many different places, web sites etc - and the quicker the site gets you the info you want the better!

Judith

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From my own personal point of view your web site is very confusing. I travel a lot and if I were seeking to spend a holiday break in that region I would not be tempted by what you offer on the site. It’s much too vague and amateurish; you need to completely revamp it. Concentrate on the positive accommodation aspects; drop all references to the negative stuff. (No need to mention you don't have a pool). No children and pets is a problem. It sounds unfriendly. It also narrows your market. You are either in the accommodation business offering comfort and hospitality or not. People seek hospitality, comfort and cordiality when they travel. Forgive me but your site is like offering a week’s retreat at a monastic school for aspiring accountants with a painting hobby. You did ask. Good luck for the future.

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Hi

I've had a look at your web-site.

In the light of the comments you have received on here have you updated your site? I ask because it seems to be not-too-bad to me. Though I would reduce the size of the flags giving a language choice as they are, IMHO, too big. And you have three banner headlines about the painting/picture aspect in the top 4 lines of your main page, which seems a bit like overkill. Especially as I am not a painter, so that would discourage me.

Looks like a lovely spot, which is encouraging but I couldn't immediately see any reference to prices anywhere. Aahh wait is it that small print 'cost' link scrunched up with all the other info. Yes, it is but,, when it opens in a new page it seems very complicated to understand. How about putting thje links to 'cost' etc down the side of the page, seems to take up a lot less room that way.

Hope this doesn't appear too harsh. I genuinely would like you to succeed with this.

Good Luck.

Sue

 

 

 

 

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Have to agree the website is too wordy and the web address does rather pigeon hole you..... I'd prefer to see bigger pictures, fewer words 1 an easy way of seeing what things cost.

Make it simpler and clearer and I'm sure things will pick up. All the best

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Hi Cat, 

As a punter, I have always fancied a painting holiday.  I also like lots of info on a website but there is simply too much on yours.

Another poster on this thread suggested dropping the painting holiday and simply concentrate on B&B.  I can understand why this has been suggested.  For example,  I would think twice about booking an art holiday as a solo traveller in case all your other guests were not participating.  I would prefer to paint with a group to share ideas.

Why not offer the painting holidays on certain dates?  Perhaps set week aside for women travelling solo. (I would love that).

What about advertising on art forums too?

I think your rates are great and I could not think of a nicer holiday than getting away from the kids and a husband who does not know a Hockney from a Van Gogh, painting in peaceful fields with a lovely packed lunch and a glass of wine then to heading off to a welcoming home cooked evening meal at yours.

Did I see on the site that you cook?  Try utilising a couple of weeks during the year for a cookery course too.  I could send the old man[:-))]

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Thank you everyone for your comments. They have certainly got me thinking. Unfortunately, just concenttating on B&B will not pay the bills as we only have two rooms. Therefore the painting and cookery holidays have to remain our main focal point. Niche markets I know but that is why we moved here - to run painting/cookery holidays for a small group of 2 to 4 people.

I'll get to work on our site.

Regards,

Catherine

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I can only reiterate what everyone else has said.   I only scanned one page of your website (costs - hey sorry but I always go to this page first!), and already I could see huge swathes of words which were totally unnecessary - as a smoker (shame on me !) to be told I can't smoke in the house is totally acceptable.   To be informed that I can smoke in the garden is unnecessary and really off-putting - of course I can smoke outside (as long as I don't strew the place with fag butts!!).    Lost the will to live when I looked at how your pricing is structured as well.

Other than that, expensive or not if I were running a specific activity holiday, then I would simply have to find the money to advertise in appropriate places.   My guess is that anyone who is really keen on a hobby generally gets information from a few sources of which they are already aware, rather than just trolling the net.    For example every keen fishermen that I know buys a magazine of some kind once in a while (not THAT kind of magazine !!) or looks on specific fishing web-sites.    Thus it must make sense to advertise where you know your market will look.

All the best, I have to see people fail at something they have worked hard at, so will be keeping all fingers crossed for you.  

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[quote user="Cat71"]

Thank you everyone for your comments. They have certainly got me thinking. Unfortunately, just concenttating on B&B will not pay the bills as we only have two rooms. Therefore the painting and cookery holidays have to remain our main focal point. Niche markets I know but that is why we moved here - to run painting/cookery holidays for a small group of 2 to 4 people.

I'll get to work on our site.

Regards,

Catherine

[/quote]

I think this will really narrow your market, how about dropping the themes in high summer (when people will be having family/main hols) and use the other  months for your normal business.

Just a thought........Good Luck......

 

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Are you the same person who was wanting to rent out her artist husband a while back?  If so, you are clearly prepared to have weeks when you are not offering art courses so why not do standard B&B?

To be honest Catherine I think you are very over-priced.  OK, so you say you have to make a living, but at the same time, you're not are you, you have no bookings.  I've got lots and lots of bookings.  I've got enough to get by and have done for the last three years.  I would love to charge a lot more and often our guests tell us we SHOULD charge more but you have to go with the local rates.  You don't even have photos of all of your bedrooms on your website.  You MUST have photos so people can see what they're paying for.  I may be wrong but from reading your description only one room is en-suite, the other two rooms have shower rooms next door to them, am I right?  You say that non-artisits travelling with an artist pay 700 euros per week.  That's an aweful lot of money for B&B and evening meal in a room that isn't even ensuite.  Two artists sharing pay 1800 euros and I presume an artist and non-artist pay 1600.  So the non-artist is paying 100 euros a night!  That's quite a lot over the odds.

I'm sorry, I know this sounds rather rude but it's no good saying you can't afford to do ordinary B&B if you're not getting the bookings doing the art courses.  As Gay says, it may be worth trying to do the art courses out of season and just go with ordinary B&B during the busy months.

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It is very obvious that we all have different projects and we like varying  properties and that we go/come to France with different dreams.Having spent a great number of years working 80 hours each week in the catering industry in London a 40 hour week seems like a semi-retirement project.I still love cooking and providing a great inviroment for like-minded people and that is why my searching will end....this year ..I hope!

I will be providing good old fashioned comfort:little extra touches, rooms which are welcoming, a touch of coulour and when old meets modern and becomes good friends...a place where the visitors feel free to wonder around, read, play music.....have a facial/massage/reflexology.I will arrange visits to the markets......meals in authentic family restaurants...they can sail along the Arachon Bay and then enjoy its oystersand champagne....

Dinner 5 /6 courses....pre dinner drinks and amouse bouche in the garden.....wines which match each course.Coffee and sweet-meats in the lounge...chatter...board games.Does somebody play guitar?We have a travelling MINSTRAL from La Test...Our style of cooking is modern French cuisine but we are not afraid of tradition.

Hopefully when we come to France in 9 days time we can find the property which will  be just right for our project.Many estate agents find it difficult to believe how hard it is get their propertiies rejected and some will got cross with me because they are unable to grasp exactly what I want.I have seen many a propeprty which was close enough to a train-line that it could have been a waiting room.Then there have been the proppertiies which are 15 kilometers from the nearest Boulangerie and just by a pig farm.We do make bread....however there will be many occassion when we will buy it.We have turned down many houses ......at interenet viewing looked interesting......we have been in touch with hundreds of Estate Agents and stayed in many hotel, chateaux and B and Bs whilst searching.This is part of the story of our search.

What I would like to say about room fees extra is.......It depends on what you offer.....and go with the flow.  

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