Dedicated help sections
Improving your listing
▶ How to increase the number of booking enquiries you receive.
We hope to be able to generate lots of enquiries for you that will in turn convert into bookings for you and generate the rental revenue you desire.
The presentation of your advert is critical and those advertisers that embrace their advert and engage with it on regular basis tend to get most success.
Our top tips for success are:
1. Rental rates; if you do not have rates set your advert will never appear when a holidaymaker searches with specific dates. Ensure you have your rates set to cover all the periods you wish to get bookings for, at least 12 months in advance.
2. Calendar management and general advert updates; there is nothing more frustrating for a holidaymaker than inaccurate availability, so with this is mind we reward owners who update their advert on a regular basis by propelling them nearer to the top of the search results. The order is changed almost instantaneously following an update.
3. Add a featured property listing; you can have 1 week or 3 week featured listings that will guarantee your advert returns towards the top of the search results and always above those adverts that are not featured.
4. Images; over 50% of all holidaymakers decide whether to look at a property based on the pictures. Please take time to upload the best quality original pictures and to change them with the seasons. You are entitled to 20 images at no extra cost.
5. Guest reviews; statistics show that properties that have multiple guest reviews generate more enquiries than those without. If you have genuine reviews from previous guests on other sites, please feel free to upload these.
6. Video; we were the first mainstream website in our sector to introduce video content for owners. Video content of your home or the area can dramatically enhance the appreciation of your proposition. To add a video, the video in the first instance needs to be hosted on YouTubeTM. The video can be a generic tourism video maybe of something quirky of local interest, or can of course be of the property.
7. Owners ID verification scheme; this will increase the likelihood of attracting enquiries as holidaymakers will more readily engage with you as you have voluntarily gone through an independent ID verification to prove you are who you say you are.
8. Bidango; As a member of pureholidayhomes, you can also quickly and easily submit auction lots for your property to our sister site, Bidango, the world's only dedicated self-catered auction site. Please email our Auction Manager, Nick Comber at ncomber@pureholidayhomes.com for more information with regards to listing your advert on Bidango.
The presentation of your advert is critical and those advertisers that embrace their advert and engage with it on regular basis tend to get most success.
Our top tips for success are:
1. Rental rates; if you do not have rates set your advert will never appear when a holidaymaker searches with specific dates. Ensure you have your rates set to cover all the periods you wish to get bookings for, at least 12 months in advance.
2. Calendar management and general advert updates; there is nothing more frustrating for a holidaymaker than inaccurate availability, so with this is mind we reward owners who update their advert on a regular basis by propelling them nearer to the top of the search results. The order is changed almost instantaneously following an update.
3. Add a featured property listing; you can have 1 week or 3 week featured listings that will guarantee your advert returns towards the top of the search results and always above those adverts that are not featured.
4. Images; over 50% of all holidaymakers decide whether to look at a property based on the pictures. Please take time to upload the best quality original pictures and to change them with the seasons. You are entitled to 20 images at no extra cost.
5. Guest reviews; statistics show that properties that have multiple guest reviews generate more enquiries than those without. If you have genuine reviews from previous guests on other sites, please feel free to upload these.
6. Video; we were the first mainstream website in our sector to introduce video content for owners. Video content of your home or the area can dramatically enhance the appreciation of your proposition. To add a video, the video in the first instance needs to be hosted on YouTubeTM. The video can be a generic tourism video maybe of something quirky of local interest, or can of course be of the property.
7. Owners ID verification scheme; this will increase the likelihood of attracting enquiries as holidaymakers will more readily engage with you as you have voluntarily gone through an independent ID verification to prove you are who you say you are.
8. Bidango; As a member of pureholidayhomes, you can also quickly and easily submit auction lots for your property to our sister site, Bidango, the world's only dedicated self-catered auction site. Please email our Auction Manager, Nick Comber at ncomber@pureholidayhomes.com for more information with regards to listing your advert on Bidango.
Accounts and Security
▶ I have forgotten my password, how do I get another one?
Please visit our home page and enter your email address, then click on ‘Password reminder’ button and a new password will be sent to your email address within the hour.
▶ How do I change my password?
To change your password you need use the log-in on the top right of the home page, entering your email address and your current password.
- Then click on the tab "My account" (accessed by hovering over "My Holiday Homes" in the top right of the screen).
- Once in your account you will see the ‘change password’ button
- Follow the steps and ‘save changes’.
- Your new password is now allocated.
▶ What are booking enquiry scams?
Unfortunately there are dishonest people who target holiday home owners with scam booking enquiries.
Typically the fraudster sends a bogus booking enquiry purporting to be a genuine holidaymaker but when they agree to a booking with you they will send a payment, it is normally by cheque and it is normally for an amount that is higher than the agreed rental. This is immediately followed by an apology and a request that you refund the excess payment by a bank wire transfer. You then discover that the cheque they sent you is no good and it is returned by your bank unpaid and you are left out of pocket.
Typically the fraudster sends a bogus booking enquiry purporting to be a genuine holidaymaker but when they agree to a booking with you they will send a payment, it is normally by cheque and it is normally for an amount that is higher than the agreed rental. This is immediately followed by an apology and a request that you refund the excess payment by a bank wire transfer. You then discover that the cheque they sent you is no good and it is returned by your bank unpaid and you are left out of pocket.
▶ What can you do to protect yourself from booking enquiry scams?
The best and most effective defence against booking enquiry scams is you; always be vigilant and alert to the possibility that someone may want to defraud you.
You should consider using payment vehicles like PayPal™ as this introduces another layer of security between you and the holidaymaker.
Some fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated but generally scam emails are easy to detect and here are some general pointers:-
Please be assured, the vast majority of enquiries are genuine but you must always be on your guard against these fraudsters and you should certainly never accept payment for an amount in excess of the agreed rental amount. Should you have any concerns please email us on contact@pureholidayhomes.com
You should consider using payment vehicles like PayPal™ as this introduces another layer of security between you and the holidaymaker.
Some fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated but generally scam emails are easy to detect and here are some general pointers:-
- Often there is poor use of English
- No telephone number is provided and if it is, it is often not a legitimate number or it is a random number.
- A tendency to provide far too much information for the reasons they are looking at the booking in the first instance.
- The booking enquiry looks too good to be true; requests for abnormally long rental periods that involve abnormally high rental amounts.
- Normally a booking is between the holiday home owner and the holiday maker. It is most unusual if someone tries to introduce a third party into the transaction.
Please be assured, the vast majority of enquiries are genuine but you must always be on your guard against these fraudsters and you should certainly never accept payment for an amount in excess of the agreed rental amount. Should you have any concerns please email us on contact@pureholidayhomes.com
▶ What is a phishing scam?
“Phishing” is the term given to the practice when fraudsters send enquiries in bulk, often using scripted “bots”.
Their objectives vary; sometimes it is data harvesting, the practice of gathering as many genuine email addresses as possible so that a newly assembled database of holiday home owners can be sold. The more sinister phishing scam involves the fraudster sending you what appear to be authentic emails from legitimate companies or service providers you know such as a bank, PayPal™, Facebook™ or an email provider.
These emails will usually ask you to update or confirm your personal details by clicking on a link provided.
The link connects to a bogus website that appears to be genuine but is used by the fraudster to capture your personal information that they will use to perpetrate fraudulent acts in your real accounts.
Their objectives vary; sometimes it is data harvesting, the practice of gathering as many genuine email addresses as possible so that a newly assembled database of holiday home owners can be sold. The more sinister phishing scam involves the fraudster sending you what appear to be authentic emails from legitimate companies or service providers you know such as a bank, PayPal™, Facebook™ or an email provider.
These emails will usually ask you to update or confirm your personal details by clicking on a link provided.
The link connects to a bogus website that appears to be genuine but is used by the fraudster to capture your personal information that they will use to perpetrate fraudulent acts in your real accounts.
▶ How to avoid becoming a victim of a phishing scam.
At pureholidayhomes.com we have complex security measures in place that ensures the vast majority of phishing scam enquiries do not get through the system to the holiday home owner. It is however virtually impossible to eliminate them entirely particularly as the fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
The best and most effective defence against phishing scams is you; always be vigilant and alert to the possibility that someone may want to defraud you. Some golden rules to follow are:-
The best and most effective defence against phishing scams is you; always be vigilant and alert to the possibility that someone may want to defraud you. Some golden rules to follow are:-
- Always be wary about requests for personal account information.
- Never ever reveal your passwords to anyone under any circumstances.
- Ensure the passwords you do use, are varied and contain a combination of letters and characters
- Never divulge personal account information by clicking on links within any email.
▶ How could phishing scams affect holiday home owners and holidaymakers?
If a fraudster gained access to your PayPal™ account or on-line bank account then the ramifications would be horrendous as you could imagine.
If they managed to get access to your email or advertising accounts, they can also get access to the genuine enquiries you receive. The fraudster then pass themselves off as you, they can then use your account; they will intercept genuine enquiry details and agree bookings with holidaymakers who are unsuspecting at this stage. Payments will be requested from holidaymakers with the fraudster providing their own bank details (often overseas in less regulated jurisdictions). As the holiday home owner you lose the opportunity for the genuine revenue and the poor holidaymaker has been defrauded out of funds.
As stated though, we do have complex security measures in place that ensures the vast majority of phishing scam enquiries never get through; however, your vigilance is essential at all times.
If they managed to get access to your email or advertising accounts, they can also get access to the genuine enquiries you receive. The fraudster then pass themselves off as you, they can then use your account; they will intercept genuine enquiry details and agree bookings with holidaymakers who are unsuspecting at this stage. Payments will be requested from holidaymakers with the fraudster providing their own bank details (often overseas in less regulated jurisdictions). As the holiday home owner you lose the opportunity for the genuine revenue and the poor holidaymaker has been defrauded out of funds.
As stated though, we do have complex security measures in place that ensures the vast majority of phishing scam enquiries never get through; however, your vigilance is essential at all times.
