| I started web advertising with Villarama
in 1999(property 1516) when they were based in
London, and there were humans at the other end of the
phone line! I had 3 or 4 years of well increased rentals
on Villarama compared to the local newspaper,
the draw card being that it was a lot less expensive
than two lines in the paper, even though their
fees were perhaps double that of now. I suggest that for
people now searching for rental properties on the web it
must be like the needle in the haystack story: the
internet is now saturated with a quagmire of rental
properties and dozens of sites all offering a similar
sort of advertising product. Also I sense a lot of us
are suffering from a type of internet fatigue and can't
be bothered sifting through loads of pages unless you
are on a specific mission to find something. I
have noticed around a 50% annual revenue decline perhaps
since 2002 ( post 9/11 ?)and this summer is particularly
poor for bookings on both my properties. I have noticed
a steep decline in the enquiry numbers from Villarama.
This could also be a result of my lack of enthusiasm to
spend more money by subscribing to those bonus add on
advertising features they sprook, and now my location on
their server is probably in a dusty corner.
I also advertise through VRBO, which has
also slowed down on the number of enquiries , but is
better than Villarama. When the next Villarama
renewal demand for payment arrives (which I must say
annoys me with it's abruptness, no please or thank you,
just pay up now or you'll be removed without further
notice ! ) I'll consider exiting Villarama
for another provider, or phase in another and cut
Villarama in the next couple of years. But it's
the old
question of which horse to back, I'll be watching
your site and comments with interest. (Owner in France)
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