 Can I send you my text and photos so that you can upload them for me?
Yes, we can do this at no extra charge.
Is it possible to e-mail my text and photos to you?
Yes, and we prefer it to post as we can paste your text and images directly.
How long does it take for my entry to appear if I upload the details myself?
Your entry appears immediately your payment has been processed by the credit card company, and that’s usually a matter of a few seconds! It’s then a live internet listing.
I don’t have a credit or debit card so can I pay by cheque?
Of course you can, and you can also upload you cottage details straight away. You then send us a cheque within 5 days. Please note that your entry will not become 'active' until your payment has been received.
Is it possible to revise the text or change the photographs from time to time?
You can manage your entry at any time and change whatever you want to. Unlike some directories, we do not charge for alterations you make yourself. If you would like us to do it for you, you can e-mail or post the new information.
If I need support can I speak to somebody on the telephone?
Certainly, we have real people here usually during normal office hours! We will do our best to help you. The telephone number is on the home page. You can also send us a fax or e-mail if you prefer.
What is your refund policy?
Our client’s satisfaction is very important to us and we believe our customers deserve the best service we can offer. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your entry or if the system fails to meet your reasonable requirement we will refund the full payment made to us, provided the complaint is received by Cottage Holidays within 14 days of the entry becoming live on-line.
How do I create & manage my cottage entry?
REGISTER ON THE SITE
Please go to www.cottageholidays.co.uk and select the link on the left hand menu that says 'Register with us'
Complete the on-line form in full [you must agree to the terms to register] and click the 'Register Me!' button
Once registration is complete you will then need to login. Please use the Login Area on the left hand menu to login to the site, inputting your email address and username as you entered it during the registration process [this is case sensitive].
Once logged in, you will need to pay via credit card online or by cheque. Please click on the continue link.
Please input your Cottage Name [and any promo code if applicable]. Click next.
Select your method of payment and continue, following on-screen instructions.
Once the payment process is complete you will see a new link on the side menu that says 'Cottage Control Panel' - click this.
Then select your cottage from the drop-down menu
You will then be presented with a page with various options:
You will see a pale green menu bar starting with ‘Details’ in the first line and ending with ‘View’ in the bottom line.
The procedure is simply to work along the lines taking one item at a time.
Start with 'Update details'
In this section you can edit the main cottage description, the local info, number of guests that your cottage sleeps & any conditions [e.g.: 2 on sofa bed], Pets allowed [tick for yes], Owners name, telephone, mobile & fax numbers, email address [please make sure this is correct], website address [if you have one - you don’t need to enter http://] and the postcode of the property for the external map link.
Make sure that you click the update or edit button at the foot of each page before moving on to the next in order to save your work – if you do not, all your work will be lost and you will have to start again!
Make sure that you have filled in the town and, more particularly, the county or region because your listing cannot show without this information and your work will not be saved – this is critical!
Next the 'Features'
You can tick up to 15 boxes that are relevant to your cottage and they will be displayed on your cottage page. Again remember to click the update button.
Next the 'Regional Pages'
If the database contains any relevant regional info pages for your area they will be displayed here. You can select them and they will appear as links on your local info section. Again remember to click the update button.
Next the 'Rent Periods'
Please enter a start date, end date & weekly cost for a period, then click 'add'.
You can have as many periods as you wish. You can use this section to display your complete annual tariff, or to show just the weeks that you have available but if you use it, it will need to be kept up to date! These will appear on your cottage page. You may choose to omit this feature.
Next the 'Availability Calendar'
These free calendars are offered by another company and if you would like to add one (or more) to your entry with Cottage Holidays, please send us an e-mail requesting a 'help sheet' with instructions on how to do it.
Next the 'Pictures'
This is a very important section as the images will help to sell your cottage and its facilities to clients. When uploading your images please follow these instruction to make sure that your images look their best on the site – remember, if the images look great you could get more visitors and more potentially bookings!
DIMENSIONS - The pictures should be 334 x 241 pixels in size - that's 9.3cm x 6.7cm [if you know how to get this exact pixel size, please do so]. You will need a photo editor to edit your images. If you do not have one, upload your images anyway and we will optimise them for you, in which case please let me know by e-mail.
SIZE in BYTES - If images are too big they will take too long to download. Please make sure that your images are 20,000 bytes or less but with good image quality. You can use image editing software such as PaintShop Pro to adjust your photos easily.
Place a two or three word caption in the 'Description' field for each image. Please restrict your captions to fit 2 lines maximum.
Click browse to browse your hard drive on your PC to select the correct image for upload.
Click ADD . . . .
You will then see a summary of each uploaded image above, where you can edit or delete it.
Finally 'View' . . . .
Once you have uploaded all the information and images you can click the 'View' link to preview your cottage entry...easy!
You can, in fact, choose the ‘View’ button to see how your site is progressing any time after saving your work.
If you have paid on line you can make your site live but if you have chosen to pay by cheque, we will activate your entry upon receipt of your cheque.
Please do not tick the ‘Active’ box until your listing is completely finished and has all text and images in place. If at any stage you want to switch your cottage listing off, you can un-tick this option. The cottage will remain in the database but will not be displayed to anyone who searches the site.
You will also see that there is the ability to view how many visits your cottage page has had, the number of availability request forms that have been submitted to you and the number of times that a visitor has used the link to view your own web site. These figures can be reset on request to Cottage Holidays but will be zeroed when next your subscription is renewed.
When you are happy with your entry just click the logout link on the left hand menu bar under your name to exit the owners cottage control area and go back to the main home page.
When you are happy with your entry just click the logout link on the left hand menu bar under your name to exit the owners cottage control area and go back to the main home page. |
