We’ve still got a few free subscriptions to give away. Advertise your holiday rental accommodation on onelocation.com now and get a full years subscription completely FREE. We’ll also throw in a featured property listing which puts you on ALL key pages on the site AND at the  moment ALL Late Deal listings are completely free too. Adding a Late Deal listing to the site gives you the following:

1. Site homepage Your Late deal will be listed in prime position on the site homepage
2. Search results Your Late Deal appears as a special banner above your listing in the search results making it stand out from the crowd.
3. Twitter We tweet your Late Deal instantly to all our followers
4. Holidaycrunch.com Late deal instantly added to holidaycrunch.com which has a permanent link to the Times Online Travel section in the UK (this is a big deal!)
5. Facebook. We’ll automatically add your Late Deal to our Facebook page.

You will also get al this when the site goes live to the public in a few days time:

1. RSS feed. Your late deals will be instantly pinged to holidaymakers who have opted to receive our RSS Late Deal feeds.
2. Newsletter mention. We will be adding some of the HOTTEST late deals to our regular newsletters. Depending on your Late Deal offer we’ll include you on this too.
3. Gumtree. To give you extra exposure we’ll add your late deal to Gumtree.

It only takes a couple of minutes to add your late deal and already we’re seeing some pretty good results. Give it a bash, register your property and take advantage now.

Often the last thing you want to do when you get a booking is update your availability calendar on the plethora of sites your accommodation is listed on. However a few minutes spent doing this could be the difference between a booking and not being seen. Here’s why it’s so important:

1. It increases your search result ranking. Most Holiday Accommodation sites list their most recently updated properties near the top of the search results. The reason for this is obvious. If you regularly look after and maintain your availability calendar and listing then the more chance is that the holidaymaker will get an accurate insight into what you’re offering. Sites like onelocation.com also tell holidaymakers when your calendar was last updated so they know that the information is accurate.
2. You will appear in date specific searches. Some date searches ONLY display accommodation where the calendar is marked as available. If you leave your calendar blank or only partially filled it means you could be missing out on all the date specific searches by holidaymakers. And believe it or not this is possibly the most popular filter used by holidaymakers because it saves them time looking at suitable holiday accommodation only to find they are fully booked.

Keeping your availability up-to-date shouldn’t be a chore and is a vital part of any successful holiday accommodation marketing strategy. If you find it difficult to keep track of all your sites then get a white board, or a spread sheet. List them all (with login details if necessary) and whether they have an online availability calendar or not. Whenever you take a booking go through the list and amend your listings. 10 minutes spent doing this will keep you ahead of the game and more importantly the competition.

Tags: increase bookings, Marketing tips, Online availability
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How do you fill those annoying gaps in your calendar or those last minute cancellations? Here’s 3 simple ways that literally take minutes and won’t cost you a penny.

1. Add a late deal listing to onelocation.com
   As an owner you get these for FREE. Just enter the dates, the price reduction and click submit and your late deal will be live on the homepage within minutes. You’ll also appear higher in the search results and on the Late Deals page. We also mention your late deal on Twitter and Facebook.
2. Place an ad on Gumtree
   This is a super-quick way to get your availability out there. It’s free and only takes a couple of minutes.
3. Send an email to old customers
   You should have details (email addresses) of old clients. Why not drop them a quick email informing them of late availability. Not only does it keep your accommodation in their minds but it also spreads the word to other people who may be looking.

Tags: increase bookings, Late deals
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You need to have broad shoulders to run any kind of business. No matter how fantastic you or the vast majority of people think your product or service is there will always be the ‘complainers’. The people who are looking for things to go wrong, not work or things to have a good old gripe about . The good news is that these people are great and we love them. Why? Because they will complain about anything. A comma in the wrong place, a pillow not puffed up satisfactorily or a shrub obscuring their otherwise perfect view of the ocean. The non-complainers let things go. Don’t point out where things aren’t working for them, they just accept and get on with it. That’s no good. What you really want to hear is what isn’t working so you can fix it, make it better and improve your holiday accommodation and service to the rest of your clients. So rather than seeing complaints as something to avoid, rejoice in them and use it as positive feedback about your holiday rental accommodation.

Here’s a few facts and figures from Fifa.com regarding the first phase of ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

• 1,862,319 tickets requested from 205 countries
• 555,871 tickets allocated to lucky winners in first ballot phase
• 245,948 tickets allocated to South African citizens (44%)
• Other top countries allocated were: USA 69,208, UK 39,421, Germany 29,330
• Most popular team was England with 228,822 team-follow requests (ie tickets for all England games) with only 8,895 tickets available.
• Most popular match category was 4.
• Most over-subscribed match was the final by a factor of 3,000%
• Number of oversubscribed matches was 52

For those lucky enough to receive tickets in the first phase they will be notified by the end of this month (April). They originally said 3 days but I guess even their mailing system is struggling with demand. Would be good to hear from anybody who has received tickets already, I’m still waiting for mine!

Yesterday we gave important safety tips and numbers for holidaymakers to Cape Town. A couple of friends have said they’ll forget all that before they arrive and is there a place they can get this information when they arrive at Cape Town International Airport. And the answer is yes. There is a Cape Town Tourism kiosk in the arrivals hall where you can get a handy credit-card sized safety information leaflet. As you walk out into the airport from the luggage carousels look straight ahead, it’s just to the right of the cafe. Failing that visit any Cape Town Tourism office and pick one up. The kiosk also has a great little ‘Cape Town official visitors guide’ which contains stacks of info on safety, things to do and see as well as places to eat and stay. If you’re staying in self-catering accommodation in Cape Town then ask your host for safety information. They should all carry details in their accommodation welcome packs. (Owners: If you don’t have this info then add it .. quickly!).

Following a news report on the BBC last night about crime in Cape Town, particularly focussing on gangsters and the underworld of drugs in Grassy Park I thought we’d share some safety advice for overseas travelers to our lovely City of Cape Town. Read more

Tickets from the first phase ballot will be drawn from the FIFA hat today. All successful applicants will recieve notification within 3 working days by email. If you’re not one of the lucky people this time you can always apply in the second phase of ticketing starting on May 4th, 2009. However, unlike the first phase, the second phase will be on a first come first served basis so you’d better have quick fingers and your credit card at the ready on the stroke of midnight to stand a chance of getting the tickets you’re after. There’s also a 3rd, 4th and 5th phase of ticket sales with the latter being conducted at the point of sale. This will only happen with any remaining seat still unsold after the first 4 phases so more than likely it’ll be the expensive tickets for the ‘not so great’ games!. You can read more on the Fifa.com website. AND remember to add your property to onelocation if you haven’t already. There’s a few more free places left and in about 3 days thousands of lucky ticket winners will start scouring South Africa for World Cup Accommodation.

As I was driving back yesterday from the Coke Zero Fest I started thinking about the difference between the two headline acts and why one outshone the other. Oasis vs Snow Patrol. I’m a big fan of Oasis, have been for years where-as Snow Patrol I’ve never really listened to. Not my cup of tea, a bit MOR (Middle of the Road) for my liking. So the odds were stacked heavily in Oasis’s favour even before we began. Read more

Nobody likes to think they will get sick whilst on their holidays. But preparing holidaymakers with emergency phones numbers and advice is essential. And make sure this information is clearly marked and easily accessible in the event of something going wrong. Include emergency phone numbers that are available 24/7 and also emergency phone numbers and directions to local emergency hospitals. Hopefully your first aid kit and emergency information will never be used but it’s good practice to be prepared for any eventuality.