Keep a list of all the places where your accommodation is advertised

Surprisingly, many accommodation providers keep no proper records of where and with whom they are currently advertising their accommodation with, which makes it very difficult to keep track of it all.

Here are some incidents we’ve personally experienced during the last couple of years that illustrate lack of proper record keeping.

1. We received a message from the owner of a fleet of holiday houseboats who wanted to list with us based on a personal recommendation they received. The funny thing was, they were already advertising with us! Their houseboats has been listed with us for the last 4 years and they always promptly paid for their renewal each year without fail.
2. An email arrived from the owner of a caravan/holiday park and requested that we update their advertisement with the latest tariff schedule which they enclosed. The strange thing was, they had let their listing with us expire about 6 months prior, and has been sent several notices by us advising them of the cancellation of their advertisement.
3. We were contacted by a property owner who said that they could no longer find their accommodation listed on the Travel Victoria website and enquired as to where it went. Oddly enough, their advertisement expired over a year ago and was removed. However, despite receiving several notifications about that, they somehow thought their property was still listed with us.

It is important to keep a list of all the organisations and places your accommodation is advertised with. For each organisation you advertise with, note down:

1. The name of the organisation that publishes it, along with a phone number and email address
2. The title of the publication or website the advertisement is published in
3. The amount of the last renewal fee you paid (if applicable) and the date of the advertisement’s next renewal
4. A note specifying how to make updates to your advertisement. If you’re able to make changes directly yourself, list your login name and password. Otherwise record the contact details of someone who can make changes to your advertisement for you.

Keeping such a list will ensure that:

1. When you alter your tariffs or change any features of your property, you will know exactly which organisations need to be notified
2. When reviewing advertising options in the future, you will have a complete list of your existing advertising exposure
3. You will be able to avoid scams whereby organisations try to bill you for advertising you never ordered. By having an up to date list of all your advertising commitments, you’ll be able to identify and reject any bogus invoices or renewal requests.