As an accommodation provider displaying your property and contact details on the internet, you may be the target of internet scams in which people attempt to defraud you by posing as legitimate travellers or travel agents.
These scams typically originate as emails from overseas sources. Some tell-tale signs that you may be dealing with a scammer include:
They will not refer to your accommodation title in their correspondence – that is because it’s a generic email sent out to masses of people
The email originates from a free email service like gmail.com or hotmail.com
They request stays that are quite lengthy – often one or two weeks
They are completely flexible with the booking dates
There is no request for pricing details or discounts – they are happy to pay whatever price you want to charge
They have no questions about the actual accommodation, facilities available, how to get there or attractions to see in the area
They claim to be from the U.K. and supply a phone number that begins with the U.K. country code of 44 followed by a string of numbers starting with 70. This is actually a personal forwarding number that can redirect the call to any phone anywhere in the world (known as a “UK global redirect”)
The scammer may then employ a number of methods to defraud you of money.
Money transfer scam
You receive a booking and are asked to deduct from the supplied credit card the cost of accommodation, plus an extra amount (typically several thousand dollars) to cover other services they are booking as part of their trip. You will be given some excuse as to why they can’t pay for those additional services themselves, and you will be asked to send those extra funds to a third party via Western Union or a bank transfer.
What may be happening is that you have been given stolen credit card details and you’re being tricked into transferring funds from it to the scammer directly (i.e. the cost of their supposed additional travel arrangements). When the real credit card owner eventually disputes the transaction and the payment is reversed, you will be required to make a full refund. This full refund includes the extra amount you charged for those additional travel arrangements, which is now in the hands of the scammer and which you have to fund out of your own pocket.
To avoid these scams, only charge credit cards for just the services you are supplying, and never act as an intermediary by billing credit cards and transferring the funds to someone else.
Booking cancellation scam
You receive a booking and it is paid for using a credit card. The booking is cancelled shortly afterwards, and you are asked to refund some or all of the payment by sending the funds via a bank transfer or some other method.
What may be happening is that you have been given stolen credit card details. However, the scammer is hoping that before you realise that, you have transferred your money into their own account.
In cases like this, you should refund the credit card transaction back to the actual credit card that was initially used. Otherwise you will lose not only the money you billed to the credit card, but also the money you sent to the scammer.
When accepting credit card payments, you may wish to enter the first 6 digits of the card into the Bank Identification Number database (see https://www.bincodes.com/bin-checker/) to check which bank issued the card and in which country. If someone portrays themselves as coming from one country and supplies credit card details issued by a bank in another country, then you should be very suspicious of their intentions.
Over the last few years, there has been a push in the Australian travel and tourism industry to encourage travellers to book their accommodation directly with the property owner or manager, rather than through an online booking agent. The advantages in doing so include:
Cheaper rates
Dealing directly with the provider makes it easier to reserve a particular room, satisfy any special requirements you may have, and handle cancellations or rescheduling directly
Instead of booking commissions (typically between 15 to 30 percent) being paid to overseas online travel agents, those commissions are retained by property owner, thus helping the local economy
Those booking direct may receive bonuses to reward them for this, such as free breakfast or free vehicle parking.
While booking accommodation directly has many benefits, let us consider just the cost of the room and conduct a small experiment with online booking rates. Note that booking over the phone directly with a property may offer better rates, but for the purposes of this experiment, we shall limit ourselves to online booking only, either directly with the property’s own reservation system or an online travel agent like Booking.com.
We shall try booking three very different holiday properties in Victoria on a weekend for two nights, from Friday 17th May to Sunday 19th May. We have chosen:
A 5-star Melbourne city hotel with luxury rooms
A family beach resort that offers holiday apartments
A romantic mountain cottage retreat for couples
Luxury hotel – The Langham Melbourne
The Langham Hotel in Melbourne is one of the city’s most exclusive hotels and is consistently ranked by Tripadvisor as one of the top places to stay in the city, where opulence meets unparalleled service. It is situated in Southbank, across the Yarra River from Melbourne’s CBD.
Choosing a superior king room for two adults, we were quoted a total of $740 ($370 per night) when using the hotel’s own reservation system on their official website. Choosing to book the same room via booking.com gave the exact same quote – $740.
The verdict:same cost whether booking online direct or through an online travel agent.
Online booking at The Langham Melbourne using booking.comOnline booking at The Langham Melbourne using their own reservation service
Family beach resort – Silverwater Resort
One of Victoria’s most loved beach holiday destinations is Phillip Island. It is close enough to Melbourne to be within an easy drive, and far enough out of the city to feel like you are really on holiday.
The gateway to Phillip Island is the tourist town of San Remo, which is located at the start of the bridge which goes across the water to Phillip Island. There are several cafes, restaurants and hotels in the town, and some lovely beaches in the area. However, the town is most famous for the daily pelican feeding on the main beach, near the jetty.
One of the most family friendly places to stay at San Remo is Silverwater Resort. Spread out across this large property are 170 resort rooms and self-contained apartments. The resort’s many on-site facilities include an indoor and outdoor pool, tennis courts, jumping pillows, games room, gymnasium, extensive grounds to explore and a bar and restaurant.
We have chosen a two bedroom apartment for a family of four – 2 adults and 2 children. Going through the reservation system on the resort’s official website, the total cost for two nights was quoted at $526. Using booking.com, this was reduced down to $518.
Why is there an $8 difference? If you use an online booking website, they generally absorb credit card fees. However, if you book direct with Silverwater Resort, they charge you the credit card fees on top of the cost of the accommodation which is priced at the same rate at booking.com. It is quite surprising that Silverwater Resort is happy to give 15 to 30% of their revenue (between $77 and $155 for this specific booking) to booking.com, yet if you bypass the booking agent and book directly with them, thus meaning the resort gets to keep the $77 to $155 booking fee, they actually penalise you for this act of generosity and make you pay an $8 credit card fee.
The small print on the booking page explains the credit card fee if you book online directly with the property. “Payments made with with Visa or Mastercard will incur a 1.5% surcharge, and Amex will incur a 3% surcharge. This surcharge is not displayed on your reservation it is added automatically when your credit card is processed.”
The verdict:go through booking.com for a better rate than booking directly, due to the credit card fee.
Online booking at Sliverwater Resort using booking.comOnline booking at Silverwater Resort using their own booking system
Mountain retreat – Forest Edge Cottage
For those looking for seclusion and privacy in the mountains, but not too far from Melbourne, then Mount Dandenong is a great choice. Less than an hour’s drive from the city centre, the lush Dandenong Ranges are home to a number of romantic holiday cottages and we have chosen Forest Edge Cottage which is part of the Merrow Cottages group. This private holiday rental is suitable for couples and is an excellent weekend getaway.
The managing booking agent for this property quotes a weekend stay at $620 ($310 per night). However, the rate on booking.com is significantly more, coming in at $700 for the weekend, or $350 per night.
The verdict: book direct with the property for a much better rate than with online booking agents.
Onlike booking at Forest Edge Cottage using booking.comOnline booking at Forest Edge Cottage using their direct booking manager.
The verdict
Whether you book online directly with the property, or whether you use a third party online travel agent booking service like booking.com, the cost may sometimes vary. This depends specifically on the accommodation property chosen. Booking directly with the property may be cheaper in some cases, but in other cases it actually may be slightly dearer.
To encourage direct bookings, we urge all property owners to ensure those booking through their official website and booking system are offered the same or cheaper rates than they advertise through third party online travel agents.
Melbourne Airport is Australia’s second busiest airport, transporting over 33 million passengers per year. It is currently Victoria’s only international airport and is located at Tullamarine – 21 kilometres by road from Melbourne’s CBD.
A very convenient advantage of Melbourne Airport is that the international terminal (T2) and all of the domestic terminals (T1, T3 and T4) are located next to each other, so you can easily walk between them.
Do you depart on an early morning flight from Melbourne? Do you fly into Melbourne late at night? Or are you travelling a long distance to Melbourne Airport from regional Victoria or southern NSW and are after a good night sleep before your flight the next day? Then staying overnight at Melbourne Airport may be just what you need.
Within the grounds of Melbourne Airport are 3 hotels which are within easy walking distance of the airport terminal buildings. They are Parkroyal, Holiday Inn and Ibis Budget. Staying at one of these hotels will ensure you are relaxed and make it to your flight on time, or provide a relaxing night’s sleep after disembarking from your flight.
Parkroyal Melbourne Airport – from $235
Parkroyal is the perfect hotel to stay at if you want to be just a few steps from the airport terminal. It sits above the large multi-level short term car park and is directly linked to the terminal buildings via two pedestrian sky bridges.
100 metres from the international terminal building
276 guest rooms
Standard, superior, deluxe and family rooms
Restaurant – open daily for breakfast and dinner, weekdays for lunch
Cafe – open daily for coffee and light meals
Bar – open daily for drinks, bar meals and snacks
Room service food and refreshments
Fully equipped gymnasium
12 metre indoor lap pool, heated spa, sauna and steam room
This hotel was Melbourne Airport’s first on-site accommodation option, originally known as Travelodge Tullamarine when it first opened back in 1970. Now called Holiday Inn, it is located just opposite the multi-level long term car park, and is between 300 to 500 metres walk from the airport buildings, depending on the specific terminal.
4 star rated property
207 guest rooms
Superior rooms, executive rooms and spacious luxury suites
Day use rooms (up to 6 hours) from $99 (book by phone only)
All rooms are soundproofed from airport noise
Restaurant – open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner
Bar – open daily for drinks and coffee
Room service food and refreshments
Kids stay and eat free (conditions apply)
Fitness centre with gymnasium
Outdoor pool
Business centre
Complimentary 24 hour shuttle service to the terminals
Park, Stay and Go packages available, providing free airport parking
Complimentary 24 hour shuttle service to the terminals
Ibis Budget offers excellent value accommodation for those who simply want somewhere cosy to sleep at an affordable price. It is located just across the road from a BP service station and McDonalds. The airport buildings are between 300 and 700 metres walk away, depending on the specific terminal.
73 guest rooms
Rooms have either a queen bed, or 2 single beds and an overhead bunk
Private ensuite (small)
All rooms are soundproofed
Complimentary all you can eat buffet breakfast served daily
24 hour check-in either via front desk (limited hours) or self-serve kiosk
Some travellers seek holidays where they can truly charter their own destiny and who want to take their accommodation with them as they travel around Victoria. Caravans, campervans and motorhomes are an ideal option for this purpose.
Caravans
A caravan is a mobile home on a trailer, towed behind a vehicle. It is equipped with bedding and cooking facilities and many also feature a shower and toilet.
When travelling in Victoria with a caravan, you can stay overnight at designated camping areas with basic facilities, or pull into one of the state’s hundreds of caravan or tourist parks. These parks vary widely in their facilities, but all provide, as a bare minimum, electric power connections, communal cooking and bathroom facilities. Some provide ensuite sites where your van is parked beside a private bathroom reserved for your use only.
Many caravan parks have developed into fully-appointed resorts set within landscaped grounds that also offer luxury cabin accommodation, a huge range of family-friendly recreational facilities and onsite activities for guests.
Locate caravan parks in Victoria by going to accommodation search and selecting caravan park in the preferred accommodation style box.
Campervans and motorhomes
Campervans and motorhomes are vehicles which provide transport and accommodation all in one.
A motorhome is typically built on a truck or bus chassis and provides fully self-contained and reasonably spacious accommodation including kitchen and bathroom facilities. A campervan is generally a smaller vehicle in the style of a van, a bit tighter on space, which is fitted out with basic living facilities.
Motorhome and campervan rentals range from budget to luxury and can sleep between 2 and 6 people. Motorhomes usually do not require anchor to a caravan park-type facility because they are fully self-contained, whereas some of the smaller campervans are more suited to the traveller who expects to end each day in a caravan or camping ground spot where they will find toilet and shower amenities that are not contained within their campervan sleeper.
Some campervan and motorhome hire companies which have depots in Victoria are:
If you or your family have mobility impairments, there are a number of accommodation options throughout Victoria that may suit your needs.
Hotels and motels are often able to cater for disabled and wheelchair-bound visitors thanks to their modern layout, lifts and the use of ramps instead of stairs. A growing number of larger hotels, motels and apartments will have certain rooms designed to accommodate those who may need extra space or aids.
One of the biggest issues for those seeking suitable accommodation is the huge variability in what is classified as “disabled access”, “wheelchair accessible”, or other similar terms. As such, it is always advisable to contact these establishments prior to making a booking to ensure that the facilities are suitable for your level of mobility and requirements.
When enquiring about room suitability, you may want to ask about:
Doorway widths – both internal and external
How easy doors are to open
The height of door handles and light switches
The height of the bed – some may be too high
Whether there is enough space on the side of the bed to permit you to easily get into it
Easy to reach hanging space in closets
Hand rails in the bathroom
Shower chairs and raised toilet seats
As well as enquiring about the suitability of the room you plan to stay in, you may also need to ask further questions about the property as a whole. For example:
Is there suitable parking close by or designated disabled parking spots in a convenient location?
Can you access the reception area easily?
Are there automatic opening doors at the entrance and throughout the property? This may be an issue for those who are travelling alone and don’t have someone on hand to help them with heavy or large doors.
Is there elevator access to all public areas in multi-storey properties? You may be able to easily get to your room, but you may not be able to easily get to some of the facilities if access is poor.
To find accommodation in Victoria which offers facilities for those with disabilities, go to accommodation search page on the Travel Victoria website and in the facilities section select disabled access along with other requirements you may have. This will list all establishments which can cater, to some extent, for guests with mobility impairments. Don’t forget that when enquiring or booking your accommodation, it is important to make mention of your specific access requirements to ensure the establishment is able to meet your needs.
When searching on the internet for accommodation, it can be quite a daunting task with many options available, particularly in large towns and cities. So a quick way to get an overview of these many options is to use an online travel website. They can display availability and pricing for many hotels at once, so at a glance you may be able to find something suitable without individually going to each hotel’s website.
There are many online travel websites which feature listings for accommodation in Australia and throughout the world, but most belong to either one of two large groups.
The Priceline Group runs a number of websites including:
booking.com (consistently ranked in the past as the No.1 hotel booking site on the internet)
It is important to realise that searching for accommodation within a specific accommodation group will yield the same results. So, for example, search for somewhere to stay on wotif.com, and you will get exactly the same results as if you had searched on expedia.com. What may be different is the layout of the website, the search mechanism, loyalty reward schemes, and the ways guests can get customer support.
Between the two major groups listed above, there may be price differences between individual accommodation properties. However, in general, they are limited to special offers or campaign sales. For example, we did a search for a one night stay at a specific hotel in the popular Melbourne inner northern suburb of Brunswick on several websites within these two major groups. For most room types, the tariffs were identical. But within the Expedia group, they were promoting a sale at the hotel of our choice on deluxe queen rooms, which resulted in the nightly pricing dropping from the standard $145 down to $108 on all the websites within that group.
Based on that, one could conclude that best way to get the lowest pricing when using online travel websites is to pick one from each of the two major groups and search those.
Another option is to use what is known as a meta search engine website. These gather pricing for accommodation through a large number of booking websites and present the combined results.
Some major meta search engines for hotel bookings are:
A few years ago, using meta search engines was really the way to go. That was because many of today’s popular online travel booking sites were actually independantly owned and managed, with their own arrangements between suppliers of accommodation. This meant there were many instances of wide variability in pricing and the presence of some hotels across those sites. But in the last few years, many popular online travel booking sites have been bought out by big groups, including Australia’s Wotif which was acquired by Expedia in late 2014. What exists now is basically a duopoly between the websites that are part of Priceline Group and those that Expedia Inc runs.
Is this the end for hotel meta search engines? Yes and no.
While Priceline and Expedia control many of the world’s most popular accommodation booking sites, there are a few smaller ones out there which are still independant and do offer unique deals, so using a hotel meta search engines can easily sniff these out for you.
Australian-based HotelsCombined is an interesting meta search engine. Like Trivago and Kayak, it searches websites belonging to the major online travel groups and combines the results. However, it also has arrangements in place with some hotel chains, like Best Western for example, such that it can get pricing directly from the hotel, rather than through the major online travel websites that the hotel has listed itself on. While this sounds good in practice, it may not actually mean you get a room cheaper when booking direct. There is usually a rate parity arrangement in place which prohibits a hotel from advertising a cheaper rate on its own website than through the major online travel groups that it distributes room availability through.
A number of accommodation managers in Victoria have been receiving unsolicited emails requesting that they renew their listing on the Victoria Tourism website at www.victoriatourism.com.au.
Before going any further, it is very important to note that Victoria Tourism is in no way related to the official government tourism organisation of Tourism Victoria. In fact, the company behind the confusingly named Victoria Tourism website is Accommodation Find Pty Ltd – one of several companies based in Queensland who have a history of false billing scams.
Instead of past practices of sending out what resembled bills in the mail for advertising on their websites, their tactic for the Victoria Tourism website is to send out emails requesting authorisation for continuing an apparently existing listing.
A copy of a typical email sent out by Victoria Tourism (Accommodation Find Pty Ltd) is shown below, with the personal details of the recipient removed.
The email is rather strange, being a screenshot of a letter which isn’t very clear and is not easy to read.
Notable features of the email are:
It is issued by Victoria Tourism (not Tourism Victoria), with a green and blue “V” logo
The company behind the website is listed as Accommodation Find Pty Ltd
The ABN on the email is 18 086 159 195
The contact phone number is 1800 199 863 which also relates to the companies Special Days Pty Ltd and Internet Find Pty Ltd – all based in Queensland
The cost to advertise is specified as $95 for a 12 month listing
Many accommodation providers who receive this email never signed up for a listing on the Victoria Tourism website and may be unaware that they even had a listing on there.
The email implies an existing business relationship by stating:
“It has come to my attention that your listing on our Victoria Tourism website is due to expire…”
Also:
“Please forward through your authorisation for its continuation for the next 12 months.”
This implies that the recipient of the email has already authorised and paid for at least one 12 month advertising period and is being asked to pay $95 to renew it for another 12 months.
However, these implications are false. The Victoria Tourism website has only been running in its current form since the end of 2015. How can all these accommodation providers who are receiving this renewal email be at the end of their 12 month advertising period in March 2016?
The organisation behind the Victoria Tourism website also previously created the Vic Tourism website at www.victourism.com.au. Read about the history of the Vic Tourism website for further information.
While the Victoria Tourism email does not resemble a bill like other letters that Accommodation Find Pty Ltd has sent out in the past, all accommodation owners that receive it should not submit their authorisation to renew without careful consideration. Keep in mind that:
The email is an unsolicited offer to continue a service that was most likely not ordered in the first place
The email implies a past business relationship and existing advertising authorisation
The website title of Victoria Tourism is an exact reversal of the two words which constitute Victoria’s official government tourism body of Tourism Victoria. Such word tactics are a common method used to try and confuse people into thinking they are dealing with an official organisation or popular brand.
If you have inadvertently provided authorisation to Victoria Tourism to bill you for an accommodation listing that you thought was with Tourism Victoria, you can lodge a report with the ACCC by visiting their report a scam page. Specify “false billing” as the scam type in your report.
Update for 2017
A number of accommodation providers have received unsolicited emails from the Victoria Tourism website requesting that they check their listing and review the details. An example of such an email is below.
It is unclear if there is a cost involved in updating such a listing when invited to do so via email, however when examining the advertising page, an annual cost of $99 is mentioned.
Curiously, the contact details for the Victoria Tourism website have changed since the original email that accommodation providers received last year. In particular:
The phone number has changed from 1800 199 863 to 1300 656 789
The postal address is now listed as “Inter Find”, located at P.O. Box 309, Oxenford, QLD, 4210
The ABN on the original email (18 086 159 195) is not the ABN the website’s domain was registered with (37 086 159 211)
For those who may at first glance assume that Victoria Tourism is in fact Victoria’s official tourism body, then the Queensland postal address they provide should make it clear that is not the case.
Another update for 2017
The organisation behind the Victoria Tourism website has recently began sending out more emails, requesting businesses check their details on a new website titled HotelFind – www.hotelfind.com.au.
An example of one of the Hotel Find emails is below:
Again, it is unclear if there is a cost involved in claiming or updating a listing.
On its website, HotelFind claims that it is:
“a trusted brand that helps promote accommodation and tourism Australia wide”
This is quite a bold statement given that the website has only been online for a few months, and that the website owner, Amanda Stichbury, was fined and convicted by a court of law in 2014 and also in 2017 for breaching Australian Consumer Law over a series of false billing charges.
Anyone who receives an invitation from HotelFind to check their business details should confirm if there are any costs associated in updating or maintaining their listing. If costs are involved, the benefit of having a listing on the HotelFind website should be carefully considered.
Update for 2018
We have received reports that some accommodation providers and tourism businesses in Victoria have received unsolicited emails from Victoria Tourism in regards to listings they apparently have on the www.victoriatourism.com.au website.
“You are receiving this email because you have listed with us” is the justification for receiving this in the email, although the businesses that have contacted us say they never signed up for a listing.
The Victoria Tourism website claims to have tens of thousands of businesses that have listed with them, yet the vast majority of listings have a “claim business” button displayed, implying that these businesses have not actually applied for a listing.
A example copy of an unsolicited email is included below. Note there are no contact details displayed in the email, other than the email address of data@victoriatourism.com.au and links to click on in order to confirm the business details. The email states that Victoria Tourism is “supported by ClickFind.com”.
An example of an unsolicited email from the Queensland based organisation of “Victoria Tourism”.
Anyone who receives this email from Victoria Tourism to check their business details and receive the enquiries that are claimed to have occurred should confirm if there are any costs associated in updating or maintaining their listing. If costs are involved, the benefit of having a listing on the Victoria Tourism website should be carefully considered.
Update for 2019
Visit Victoria (Victoria’ official government tourism organisation) and the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) have been recently inundated with reports of its members being hit with requests by Queensland based “Victoria Tourism” to claim their business listing on their website (www.victoriatourism.com.au), then hitting them with a bill for it.
Visit Victoria has described the organisation behind this as a “scam company”, given its long history of false billing scams which resulted in the company being convicted and fined in a court of law during both 2014 and 2017.
Visit Victoria and ATDW have stated that they are “providing evidence of these invoices to the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland, who are building a case to take enforcement action against the scam organisation“.
Wotif was established during 2000 in Australia as an online hotel booking service. It was bought by United States travel giant Expedia during late 2014.
Up until recently, what set Wotif apart from other online booking and comparison service was its grid or matrix of hotel prices and availability. Many other competing services required a traveller to provide their exact check-in date and duration of stay before they were presented with a matching list of hotel availability options. In striking contrast, Wotif simply presented an availability and pricing grid across all hotels so travellers could see at a glance their options. This particularly suited people who were flexible with their travel arrangements or who were hunting for the best deal. See the example below.
At the time, Wotif’s executive general manager underlined the difference between Wotif and other online booking services by these quotes in regards to its availability and pricing grid / matrix:
“It’s one of those things we know has a big fan base…and continues to provide an easy way to compare rates for price sensitive travellers who have flexibility about when they want to travel.”
“The grid layout is now also somewhat unique. On most sites, customers would have a hard time knowing if the next or previous day or week offered a better deal.”
In early 2015, Wotif changed their availability display style to match the theme of Expedia which meant travellers needed to specify specific dates and stay durations before they could search for availability. This caused the following issues:
If someone was wanting to find availability or the best rates for a weekend stay, but had flexibility about which weekend, it would require them to conduct a separate search for each weekend and write each one down to compare. With the Wotif availability grid, a traveller could see instantly the availability across a range of hotels, and simply flick the calendar forward to get to the next weekend
Someone with flexibility in regards to the duration of their stay would now need to conduct separate searches with different durations to see the availability and tariffs. Whereas with Wotif’s former matrix, travellers could see, at a glance, whether they could change the length of their stay and which hotels could accommodate them.
Many people have some degree of flexibility when it comes to their travel plans, particularly if it is for leisure purposes, so having to go through a time consuming process of trying various combinations of check-in dates and stay durations can seem very cumbersome with Wotif’s new Expedia interface than simply casting one’s eye over a availability grid which covers a range of accommodation properties, dates and prices.
Like many others, we here at Travel Victoria missed the Wotif availability grid. So we did something about it!
As an official Wotif affiliate partner, we had the opportunity to request access to the Wotif API through Expedia, which would allow us to extract availability and pricing from their live database without having to go through the web interface. This meant we could build a customised table of availability across a range of hotels. Thus we were able to recreate a simplified version of the much loved Wotif matrix, as shown below for our St Kilda accommodation list:
We do have a few limitations:
It is not a real-time availability matrix as it actually takes a few hours to build up the matrix of availability for the several hundred hotels in Victoria we have chosen to feature in the grid. At the moment, it is automatically updated once a day, with this process concluding in the late afternoon.
It only covers 3 months. People looking for accommodation more than 3 months into the future will still need to do a traditional (and cumbersome) search by date.
It only shows availability for stays which have a minimum duration of 3 nights or less, as testing for longer minimum stays would slow down the database update significantly.
It only shows the base or minimum rate for the cheapest room. To get the rates for all room types and numbers of guests, people will still need to go through the regular Expedia style interface. Wotif actually had a second level grid which would open up if you restricted your search to a specific hotel, thus showing all room types and rates.
So the Wotif grid is back, alive and well, although in a much simpler form, now on the Travel Victoria website!
We received an interesting phone call a few weeks ago from a motel in Lakes Entrance, in Victoria’s beautiful Gippsland Lakes area.
This motel had been advertising on our website for the last 5 years. In fact, when their annual renewal was due last year, they paid their subscription and sent us an email thanking us, including this comment:
“Travel Victoria is excellent value”
It’s always nice to receive positive feedback from clients, particularly when they feel the return on their small investment with us is good. After all, how many times do you hear people instead complaining that fees are too high!
Anyway, the caller from that motel announced that he had recently taken over ownership of the property. He said that he was unhappy with how the former owners were paying for all this advertising with multiple websites on the internet, and that he was going to change all that. While he said our $70 annual fee was not large, he said all these small internet advertising expenses do add up. Therefore we were told that our services, along with a number of others, were no longer required.
Today we did a search for that motel on Google, and found that the new owner had pulled it off virtually every single website that the motel used to have paid advertising on. Some of the search results Google currently shows are to websites the motel has been removed from, but those those pages are now non-existent, so Google will eventually stop showing those listings. So all that is really left is the motel’s own dedicated website, a range of free listings on low quality directory websites, and of course it can be found on TripAdvisor.
If potential guests wanted to do further investigation on the internet about that motel, they could be easily forgiven for thinking it had closed down. The last review on TripAdvisor was 6 months ago, and so the only thing of any significance left for that motel on the internet is its own website, which people may assume hasn’t been updated for a long time.
One possible theory we have is that the new owner is someone that has little faith in the usefulness of the internet. Perhaps one of those old school of motel owners who always placed advertising within magazines or in brochures that you see at a local visitor information centre, and still believes that’s the only useful way to promote accommodation. The world has changed, and these days people of all ages, from all over the world, use the internet as their preferred method of planning travel and browsing accommodation to stay in. Sure, there is a place for advertising in print media, but accommodation owners are living in the past if they think the internet can simply be ignored as a fad or purely an entertainment medium.
Another theory we have is that the new owner may have knowledge and appreciation of the internet, but not about internet marketing. So they may simply assume is all they need for their motel is a website to cater for those people using the internet. The problem with this way of thinking is that unless someone does a specific search for this motel by its exact name, its website will not be found. People will tend to do more general Google searches, like Lakes Entrance accommodation or motels in Lakes Entrance, and thus it is extremely unlikely the motel’s small website is going to feature anywhere near the top of the search results returned. In fact, the Google results for those search terms will be dominated by some of websites which this motel has specifically withdrawn from advertising on!
Another point to consider is that more and more accommodation providers are offering potential guests the convenience of instant, real-time online booking facilities, either via their own website or through a third party agent. A motel owner, such as our former client from Lakes Entrance, who is actively reducing their internet presence, is bucking the trend of consumer demand for online information and booking facilities.
When it comes to promoting an accommodation business, the internet should be embraced, not dismissed. We live in a changing world, and businesses need to keep up with the times.
Did you know that in Australia, there are more pets than people?
Pets are very important to people in today’s society. Among other things, they provide companionship and positively influence the lives of their owners and families.
When it comes to dogs, Australians love their canine friends. In fact, 39% of households across the nation own a dog.
About 20% of dog owners take their pets with them on holidays, and this percentage is on the rise. If people take their dogs to parks, the beach, or on day trips, why not for overnight stays away from home? It also means there is no need to use pet-minding services or expensive boarding facilities when pet owners want to go away.
One of the issues when going on holidays with a pet is finding suitable dog-friendly accommodation. Properties that advertise themselves as being dog-friendly can actually be quite varied in the facilities provided and the rules that apply to pets staying with their owners.
It is important to keep in mind that accommodation that is specified as being dog-friendly doesn’t automatically permit dog to come inside and snuggle up in bed with their owners. Not everyone sleeps with their pets, and some don’t even let their pets inside the family home, so accommodation that has strict conditions may actually be perfectly suitable for some holidaymakers.
OUTSIDE ONLY DOGS
Around 24% of pet dogs are exclusively kept outside the family home. Therefore accommodation which permits dogs, but only if they are kept outside, can offer a very suitable place to stay for a significant number of dog owners. These properties may provide pets with a kennel in a sheltered outdoor area and a securely fenced area for dogs to run around within.
INSIDE & OUTSIDE DOGS
65% of pet dogs spend time both inside and outside the family home. Some of those dogs may be permitted inside the home only under supervision and may actually still sleep outside. There are a significant number of holiday properties that welcome pets inside, but only in designated areas, such as within rooms that have hard floors. They may also have restrictions with regards to dogs sleeping on soft furnishings or on beds. For a dog that spends time both inside and outside, these restrictions may be quite suitable.
INSIDE ONLY DOGS
About 11% of pet dogs are always kept indoors. In such cases, it is important to find dog-friendly accommodation that not only allows pets to come inside, but also to sleep inside. Such accommodation may either provide a designated area inside where the dog can sleep, a dog bed, or even allow dogs to sleep on human beds with their owners.
CARAVAN PARKS
A number of caravan parks or holiday parks are dog-friendly. However, restrictions can vary significantly. Managers need to balance the needs and comfort of those guests with pets and those without, particularly due to the size of some of those parks and the large number of guests. Some parks may only permit dogs with site bookings, so guests would need to keep their pet on a leash within the area around their caravan or tent. A few parks have dedicated dog-friendly cabins which not only permit pets inside, but also provide a private fenced area around the cabin for dogs to run around in.
HOTELS & MOTELS
It can be challenging to find a hotel or motel that allows you to bring your dog inside with you, however some managers have set aside rooms which are dedicated for those with pets. If you are happy for your canine companion to stay outside, a number of motels can cater for pets, with sheltered and secure outdoor areas, although owners may need to bring their own pet bedding.
BED & BREAKFASTS
Bed & breakfasts can be quite welcoming of people travelling with dogs as often their managers have pets of their own living on the property with them. As most dogs are fairly social, it might be quite a treat for your pet to have a new companion to interact with during their stay. While you may develop a friendship with your B&B host, your pet may end up bonding closely with the resident canines.
HOLIDAY HOUSES, UNITS & COTTAGES
Self-contained accommodation, such as holiday homes and cottages, usually have plenty of room inside and outside, making them an ideal choice for those travelling with dogs. Many holiday homes are welcoming of those with pets, and usually they have a securely fenced yard so your pet can wander around the garden safely. Some properties also allow pets inside, however you should always confirm if there are any out of bounds areas or rules that need to be adhered to.
WHAT DOG-FRIENDLY MEANS
Keep in mind that dog-friendly doesn’t always mean dogs can come inside, sleep on furniture, or be provided with complimentary bedding and treats. There may be a number of conditions that a property owner puts in place for the comfort and benefit of current and future guests, as well as other people in the vicinity.
Different dogs and their owners have different needs, so not every property listed as being dog-friendly is suitable for you and your pet. That’s why it is important to contact accommodation managers prior to booking to discuss you and your pet’s specific requirements.
Statistics related to pets in this posting are relevant to Australia only, and have been taken from the Animal Health Alliance (Australia) report which uses a number of resources, including Galaxy Research and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
