Bored!

[Fi]

2nd season.  No big traumas, but slightly fed up with this gite malarky.  Had some really nice guests, who have fed me wine, and I've fed them wine (and veggies from the garden), but feeling deeply underwhelmed.  A few daft 1 night enquiries for Christmas/NY, but no whole weeks (fully booked last year).   

Can't be bovvered! Will I get over it?  (I have to or Credit Agricole will have my knickers!)

Flippin 'eck, someone give me an e-kick up the wotsit!

Thanks  [:)]

[Théière]

Where do your guests mainly come from, the UK?

[Fi]

No, 70% French, 20% Belgian, 5% Dutch, 5% others - only had 2 groups from the UK since we started in January 2009!

[Théière]

Crikey, that was a surprise, I wonder why then, as relatives are still enjoying a good year with the French still booking

[Kitty]

I am trying to make sense of your email.  Are you saying that you had no whole weeks this July and August or none booked for next year? Or no bookings for Christmas?

Or is it just me not reading things properly?

[Dave&Olive]

hi ok

and we are hoping that the guests we have now will be our last of the year ..we have had 3 un booked days since March 12th all british..just turned one away for first week in november...sorry we are closed untill spring

Dave

[osie]

For the OP, If you feel under worked, while the rest of us are cream crackered,  then something is wrong..

either you place is no good....  or your marketing is no good...

Assuming the later... now is a great time to set up a proper website, market it, multi language,  let  people know what they are missing.

Get reviews... write to you guests and tell them to review you...

join GDF if necessary,

google adwords... best marketing (if your website is any good)

all this.. how can you be bored

osie

[Catalpa]

Your prices are very good, Osie* - which may also have something to do with your occupancy rates.

On your website, when in the Gallery tab, I can't find a way to navigate to another section - I can't find a tab that's clickable. I'm using Firefox.

* Edited to say: sorry, not Osie - I should have said: Dave&Olive.

[Théière]

Tabs work in I.E.

[Rob Roy]

[quote user="osie"]For the OP, If you feel under worked, while the rest of us are cream crackered,  then something is wrong..

either you place is no good....  or your marketing is no good...

Assuming the later... now is a great time to set up a proper website, market it, multi language,  let  people know what they are missing.
Get reviews... write to you guests and tell them to review you...
join GDF if necessary,
google adwords... best marketing (if your website is any good)

all this.. how can you be bored

osie
[/quote]

I don't mean to be rude but I think your website could do with improving. As an impartial observer I would not be particularly tempted to book your accommodation having looked at your web pages - it is all rather bland and boring and I would not want to go on to Photobucket to see extra pictures; these should be on the website, with explanations of what I am looking at. The layout of the site could be improved - there is no difinitive front page, when I click on your weblink on your posting I go straight through to a French page rather than a welcome front page and the choice of whether I want French or English. (Incidentally Bienvenu has an 'e' on the end.)

I hope you are not offended by my comments - I am only posting to try and help you get better bookings.

[Fi]

Not wounded and I am working on a new website.  And currently being constantly interrupted by my mother who is staying with me at the moment! 

[zarathustra]

Hope things pick up, but I would definitely work hard on the website. Personally I would buy your own domain rather than use a freebie google one, to make it more professional. I appreciate you probably have a very small budget for marketing, but if you invest a few euros for a domain (godaddy.com for example), and can find some cheap hosting, then you can use your free time to market it, and the latter needn't cost you a penny. I tried googling your domain in quotes, and it appears only 9 times. Learn everything you can about SEO (search engine optimisation) - there's plenty of articles on the net, and try to find as many people as possible to exchange links with. I believe there are free websites dedicated to French B&B's etc. which you can list on, and having spoken to one or two people who run such places, they've made a reasonable living without having to spend any more on marketing. Definitely try and target the UK market - even with the recession, I'm surprised you don't have more Brits coming to stay. Bonne chance!

[Claude]

I think it always useful to have people unconnected to a site to have a look. What struck me was how gloomy the place looked. Go and take some nice photos when the sun is out. And why show pictures of snowmen when you do not let in the winter? And for that matter get rid of the gallery of pictures that mean nothing to a potential guest. Do I want to look at a cooker knob?

[Fi]

[quote user="Claude"]I think it always useful to have people unconnected to a site to have a look. What struck me was how gloomy the place looked. Go and take some nice photos when the sun is out. And why show pictures of snowmen when you do not let in the winter? And for that matter get rid of the gallery of pictures that mean nothing to a potential guest. Do I want to look at a cooker knob?[/quote]

We do let in the winter - we are only 10km from the slopes - Christmas/New Year and February are my other high season.  Not sure about toe cooker knob thingy - will investigate!

Edit:  Have just got rid of the photobucket link - seems me and OH haven't been communicating about where to save our pics, probably my fault.  And corrected the spelling error!

Many thanks for all the advice about revamping the website, I am trying to work on it, brats and mother permitting!

[YCCMB]

I agree with some of the previous comments, FWIW, if it helps you focus on remodelling your website. Another thing I noticed was that the English version was a slightly more "friendly" read that the French version of your welcome page. Whilst the English version mentions facilities for bikers and people in wheelchairs, this isn't even mentioned on the French version, which reads a bit more like an estate agent's description than a marketing tool.

Also, (And I see your "maps" page is under construction) I used to live in the Vosges (Epinal) and I've never heard of your particular village.A bit more general blurb about where you are, and proximity to larger towns might be helpful on your welcome page. I found the very comprehensive link to "things to see and do", but  again, that's not available in French. I know you're probably working on this, but if 90% (probably wrongly including ALL the Belgians[:)] ) of your guests are French-speakers, I'd work hard at developing the francophone parts of your site.

Hope this comes over as it's meant, i.e. constructive criticism.

[Théière]

[quote user="Fi"][quote user="Claude"]I think it always useful to have people unconnected to a site to have a look. What struck me was how gloomy the place looked. Go and take some nice photos when the sun is out. And why show pictures of snowmen when you do not let in the winter? And for that matter get rid of the gallery of pictures that mean nothing to a potential guest. Do I want to look at a cooker knob?[/quote]

We do let in the winter - we are only 10km from the slopes - Christmas/New Year and February are my other high season.  Not sure about toe cooker knob thingy - will investigate!

Edit:  Have just got rid of the photobucket link - seems me and OH haven't been communicating about where to save our pics, probably my fault.  And corrected the spelling error!

Many thanks for all the advice about revamping the website, I am trying to work on it, brats and mother permitting!
[/quote]

Not so bored now.........[:D]

Good luck with the revamp

[Loiseau]

Hi Fiona

Here's another independent viewer of your site popping up!

You have obviously made great strides, as I see you have already addressed some of the issues raised above.

Would it be possible to have pictures on the English Welcome page as well as on the French Bienvenue one?  You want to make it easy for the first-time viewer, and it's a bit disconcerting to have all that text in English but to have to switch back to look at the images in the French version.

As others have said, it would really be more desirable to have a less cluttered opening page, with fewer (but larger) images, and maybe a panel in each language from which you could click to your current Welcome/Bienvenue pages.

Maybe as well as a picture of the farmhouse here, you could have summer/winter views?  You seem to have two lovely pix of the distant church and village, in summer and winter, which would give a good flavour of the difference, and beauty in both seasons.

On this introductory page, you really only need to say where the apartments are, how many they sleep, and the fact that the destination is ideal for both winter and summer.  And have just a few well-chosen, seductive pictures that will make people swoon with desire to come and stay.

Then send them to pages with the more detailed info.

Actually, I am rather confused about the exteriors of the house/s.  The two images on the Bienvenue page look like different houses, but I infer from the description that the Apartment and the Duplex are in the same house.  Does each have its own private garden space?  With BBQ?  Eating-out area?  Have you got any pix of your attractive garden table with sun-umbrella up (but preferably with no people sitting round it)?  Don't forget, you are selling a sort of dream.  People want to be able to imagine themselves in this idyllic spot, having a lovely time.

It's important to say what your winter attractions are, as well as the summer ones.  In fact I have only just seen the tiny line at the bottom of some of the pages with a link to a few lines about night skiing.  (I had been about to ask how far you were from slopes, ski lifts etc.)  What sort of skiing?  Downhill, cross-country?  Snowshoeing?  Maybe also skating nearby?  Bars, to drink vin chaud?  Ski-hire, ski-school?

This could all be on a separate page.  i.e. you could have:

Gerbepal in Summer

Gerbepal - in Winter

For summer you might want to indicate whether there are lovely walks;  lakeside beaches for swimming, etc.

For winter you need to stress that there is good heating.  I see there are open fireplaces;  do you offer wood so people can have open fires?

On your Things to Do page, there are almost no images showing.  I am not sure if this is a glitch in my browser (Firefox), or whether the files have not been uploaded yet.

Keep up the good work!

Angela

[Dave&Olive]

Hi Ok

                Just like to add, if I get just 10% of the bookings  from the enquiries I have had from the result of  this posting , we will be full again next year .  The stat counter on my web site is going nuts , I might not even renew the letting agent next year....

             Dave   [Www]

[LEO]

To Dave and Olive;

At 250 pounds per week high season,

150 pounds a week for 6 months of the year

Dave we would all be full !

The

proportional capital cost of the property plus, renovation costs,

advertising costs,proportion of utilities,cleaning/changeover labour

costs ,you must be earning at least  twenty quid a week

[Théière]

[quote user="DaveOlive"]

Hi Ok

                Just like to add, if I get just 10% of the bookings  from the enquiries I have had from the result of  this posting , we will be full again next year .  The stat counter on my web site is going nuts , I might not even renew the letting agent next year....

             Dave   [Www]

[/quote]

Viewings aren't bookings but at your prices good luck.

Although from your photo gallery it looks like you have a bad case of subsidence [;-)]

[Dave&Olive]

mmmmm

                looks like a bit of green eye creeping in here ...

                                do not think you would know what subsidence was if it bit you in the foot

                                   Dave [:P]

[Pickles]

I think he's referring to the piccies which come up (deliberately) at an angle on your site.

Regards

Pickles

[Just Katie]

Hi Fi,  I have just looked at your site too and I agree with other posters that it does look gloomy.  You need to set yourself more strongly against the competition (but you already know that).  I also think that your rates are a little low.  What about launching yourself on Holiday Rentals, this is a great site, very easy to use and it seems you just need to fill in a template.  I think you may have some ceiling height to increase your rates which would pay for your entry to Holiday Rentals.

Take some new photos as previously suggested and get someone around to give you an honest appraisal whilst these are being taken.  Set the scene, a candle and glass of wine on the patio table at dusk.  Flora at the forefront of a picture with the house in the background, a nice picture of your nearest villiage of people having lunch and wearing sunglasses and smiling.  Show your potential clients what they could enjoy.

[Chris Head]

Great reading, good reasearch and good advice.