Listing Guidelines

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There are obvious benefits of being able to update your listing yourself, particularly when it comes to managing prices, pictures etc. However, it does come with a few negatives as well so we would like to bring to your attention a few guidelines that, from our experience, will result in the best experience for visitors to your page, which in turn will translate into more enquiries.

Guidelines

• Stick to describing your venue rather than the benefits of a holiday on the South Coast. It is generally not necessary to list activities that are relevant to the south coast in general. By all means mention the stunning bathing beach on your doorstep, or the nearby proximity of a shopping center as these are relevant to your property. Visitors who are looking at your listing are looking for accommodation in your town, they don’t still need to be convinced to visit the South Coast.
• Don’t overdo the text description: Keep it to less than 3 short paragraphs. Visitors to the website will be looking at a few different venues and in general people are lazy to read too much text. Be concise and to the point with your descriptions
• Your first paragraph is the most important: Remember that in the search results the first 2 or 3 lines of text are displayed alongside your logo picture, so make sure you take advantage of that by highlighting your important points in the first two sentences.
• Have a bulleted list: Display the highlights of your venue in a bulleted list. Start with the number of bedrooms and how many it sleeps. A bulleted list allows a guest to easily scan and determine if your venue is relevant to them. Put yourself in the guest’s shoes when creating your list to see what points need to be included.
• Rates: It is debatable as to whether to include your rates or not as there are pros and cons either way. That being said, from the guest’s perspective, a basic rates table is certainly appreciated. At the very least we suggest you include your minimum rate such as “Rates start from Rxxx for the unit. Please contact us for a specific quote”.Keep your rates table simple. It is not necessary to list every long weekend or holiday (or even the year). Have rates for Low Season, Mid Season and Peak Season (Possibly have a High Season as well).
• Pictures: Pictures are a vital aspect of your listing. Make sure they show off your venue. It is actually a good idea to get photos taken professionally. Professional photos do stand out amongst the rest and they can be used wherever you advertise. It is worth the once off expense.When taking photos of your sea view try and ensure that guests can see that the photo is from your venue, for example, include the balcony railing in the bottom of the photo, or allow the patio to be seen in the picture etc.

You can view an example of a page that largely sticks to the advice on this page by clickng here

Important Tip: Be accurate with your description of your venue. Don’t show a picture that looks like you have a sea view when in fact you do not. Inaccuracies in your advert will lead to disgruntled customers and you will miss out on those repeat bookings that make all the difference to your bottom line.