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Owner News
We are adding a new billing model
Only-apartments is constantly growing and forming more collaborations with external partners. For this, from this week forward we are introducing a new model of billing, in addition to the existing model applied to all bookings made through Only-apartments. Check out all the changes.
Novelties to score more clients
We are now using Free Cancellation on our web to attract more clients.
TripAdvisor Reviews Now Also at OA
At Only-apartments we believe in transparency, and so from now on, we’ll be including TripAdvisor reviews on our own website.
Collaborations with Bloggers to Promote Apartments
There are many ways to advertise your property. One of the options that is proving to yield some of the best results is arranging stays for bloggers and journalists in our apartments.
The Payment Conditions
The goal of these changes is no other than to ensure that payments affecting both clients and owners are fully secure. To that end, we are relying on the expert management of the GlobalCollect platform, the world’s largest payment services provider.
High-quality Images and the Handover of Keys: Two Key Factors Highly Valued by Travelers When Renting an Apartment
Today, we are going to answer all those questions here at Only-apartments. A survey conducted across the 5 main European markets (Spain, France, Italy, England, and Germany) has given us some insight into travelers’ trends. And although there are slight differences between countries, something stands out that seems to be common to all: What drives them to choose a certain apartment is the gallery of images. This is very logical, and comes as no surprise, as images are the best reference they can have short of visiting the apartment in person. The meeting with the owner is what ratifies whether they made the right choice- with travelers looking for a simple, pleasant and cordial exchange, and the handover of keys taking place at the appointed time. People don’t want any stressful situations or having to chase someone down when they are on holidays, and they are grateful when the whole process unfolds with ease and friendliness. These are just some of the conclusions we can draw from the results of our study. Have a look at the infographic below and analyze the answers, they’ll surely be worth your time. See infographic ...
Welcome to the Special Space for Home Owners at Only the World
It’s a true pleasure to open this section of the blog, dedicated exclusively to the Home Owners that make Only-apartments. We want to welcome you to the one place where we bring together all your concerns and experiences, with the common goal that travelers choose and enjoy their stay with us. But this will also be the place to share tips, ideas, or discover the latest trends in the sector. And for the sake of organization, we have structured all this information into the following categories: News This is where we’ll publish the latest news with regard to the world of tourism and holiday accommodation, which will surely be of interest to you. Tips We often need some guidance to make the most out of our property, and thus increase the number of bookings. This is where we’ll find the key to making our apartments figure among those listed as travelers’ favorites. Interviews And who better than yourselves to disclose the secret to success, or to share genuine anecdotes from the world of tourist accommodation? Your stories and advice can help other home owners. Would you like to answer some simple questions and share your experiences? Get in touch with us at communication@only-apartments.com and we’ll publish your interview. FAQs We all have questions, and these are oftentimes the same. This is where we bring together some of your most frequent questions. A brief user guide to properly manage your property in the home owner’s Extranet....Apartment of the month: City Comfort Ap
A small, simple apartment in Central London has reached our top sellers spot this month of July. Its major assets: an exceptional location with easy access to public transport, a well equipped property (washer, dryer, microwave, iron, heating, WI-FI, etc.) and, of course, a very attractive selection of photographs. Once again we have proven how a good photo gallery can make the difference. City Comfort Ap is presented to the guest with elegance, simplicity and allows them to have a clear idea of the size of the apartment, as well as its layout. Furthermore, guests can get a feel for the kindness of the property’s owners through the descriptions. A flexible owner focused on satisfying travelers’ needs, may they be solo travelers, couples or families, is valued and is one of the advantages this apartment has to offer. We could also add that the name of the apartment fits perfectly, and the customer appreciates this. All of this at a very competitive price, especially considering its features: 70m2 of comfort for five in Central London for 136€ per night (109 GBP). Here is the link to the apartment if someone wishes to check it out. Congratulations,...City breaks, a booming trend
Surely you have heard “city break” before, an expression that has increased in popularity over these last few years. A city break is a 2 to 3 night getaway in a different town or country, usually on weekends. In Only-apartments we offer some figures to picture this trend, so you may see how this could affect you. We have analysed two different markets: the Spanish market as well as the British one. Although bookings are generally for 4 to 5 nights in most locations, we have noted that 3 night bookings have experienced an increase in Spain: these types of bookings represented 11.25% of total reservations in 2013, an important increase in comparison to the 7.88% witnessed in 2012. These figures are even more pronounced in the British market: if in 2012 the 3 night bookings represented only 2.78%, this number went up to 10.19% in 2013. What to do with this? In Only-apartments, 14.07% of our owners have established a minimum stay of 4 nights or more. This means that their apartments do not come in the searches when a client is searching for a 3 night stay. Consequently, following the analysis of the two markets, we can say that owners are missing out on more than 10% of bookings we receive. Only-apartments thus recommends that you establish a minimum stay only if you really need to, as you are indeed missing out on...Trustpilot, our new ally
We’d like to share the news that we’ve started working with Trustpilot, a completely independent online platform where reviews from our verified customers about Only-apartments can be collected. Your guests will still be able to leave their comments about your apartment on our website, just as before (as you know, we send them an email after their stay so that they can give their feedback), and in both cases all comments – positive and negative – will be visible. There are several objectives behind our partnership with Trustpilot: to give confidence to users of our website, to receive useful feedback to help improve our service, and to make our online marketing more effective, as we will be able to use the ratings we receive to improve our SEM (this is called Google Seller Ratings). And this all means being able to give you more...FAQ’s
I want to publish my property in Only-apartments. What are the conditions?
Working with Only-apartments has no cost for the property owner. Our commission is always added to the price that you indicate for your property. Besides, you do not have to be exclusively working with our company: you will have a calendar where you will manage the availability of your property.
You must know that we do not work “on request” (by demand) and for this reason it is vital to always maintain the calendar updated, as reservations are direct reservations and you should accept them all: at the moment you start to advertise your property in Only-apartments you should maintain your calendar and prices updated and block any dates that are not available (if you use other calendars or Channel Manager, we provide the tools to synchronize the calendar you use to our calendar).
We normally receive reservations for short-term stays (days or weeks), rarely for a month, therefore it takes one person to take care of the check-ins and cleanings. We do not offer these services, but depending on the town perhaps we can refer you to another company or person to do so.
If you are interested in publishing your property in Only-apartments, please access the page for property owners and create a new account to be able to enlist your property. If you have any doubts about the conditions for cooperation, you can write us at property@only-apartments.com.
Do I have to accept all reservations of Only-apartments?
Yes. In Only-apartments we work with a system of direct bookings, with no requests. We do it like this because with the years of experience we have found it beneficial for the customer (who does not have to make a request to obtain a property) and the property owner (who avoids exchanging emails and knows that when he or she receives a reservation, it is confirmed). This way, we avoid frustrations on both sides.
This system is very beneficial for everyone. But we have noticed that the most important complaint from our customers comes precisely when they make a reservation that has been subsequently canceled by the property owner. A cancellation has a huge management and reputational cost.
In case you do not accept a reservation, you should take a look at our Overbookings Policy.
What happens if I do not accept a reservation?
As property owner in Only-apartments, you can’t cancel any reservations. In case you decided not to accept a reservation from Only-apartments, you should immediately get in contact with us sending an email at info@only-apartments.com or calling by telephone. In any case, you must not get in contact with the customer. These are the consequences of not accepting a reservation (also specified in ourOverbookings policy):
- Once an owner advises us that they are not accepting the booking, Only-apartments will temporarily remove their apartment/s and will look for alternative accommodation for the client. The owner must pay 100 Euros to cover the cost of administration, by providing us with his or her card details.
- If the owner helps Only-apartments to find alternative accommodation for the client and they accept it, the amount to pay will be 50 Euros only. However, if the client does not accept any of the alternatives suggested, the full 100 Euros will be payable by the owner, and Only-apartments will refund the reservation fee to the client
- If the owner gets in touch with the client and not with Only-apartments, he or she will be in breach of this policy and will face a penalty of 100 Euros.
- In any case, not accepting a reservation will result in the owners’ apartments being penalized in terms of their position in Only-apartments’ search results, whereas regularly updating the calendar will result in them being rewarded
- When the owner has paid the corresponding fee, Only-apartments will publish their apartment once more
In the event of not accepting a reservation or cancelling a booking a second time, Only-apartmentsreserves the right to remove an apartment indefinitely and all those associated with the owner. If the reason for not accepting a reservation is due to major incident, and evidence is provided of this (building works, fire, etc.), Only-apartments will review the case carefully and the owner may be exempt from any penalty. Only-apartments reserves the right to terminate its association with an owner at any time, requiring in any case that any pending bookings are fulfilled.
I have a question on a reservation I have received. What do I do?
If you have any doubts on any reservations received, write us at info@only-apartments.com.
I need to modify the information of my property
You can modify the information, the conditions, or the status of your property directly from your extranet. If you need our help, you can write us at property@only-apartments.com.
What does the rent amount include?
The rent amount, in other words the total amount that the client needs to pay directly to the owner, needs to include the VAT, if applicable. This means that this tax cannot be charged separately should the client ask for an invoice.
In the event that there are other taxes or expenses that apply (e.g. the tourist tax or supplies), these must be specified in the conditions of the apartment. Otherwise, they cannot be charged to the client.