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Kalkan Secrets and Kalkan Private Rentals.Changes for 2019 season About this time last year, Kalkan Secrets took over the Kalkan Private Rentals ("KPR") site from the previous management.Kalkan Private Rentals is based on the "Direct-to-Owner" model that was very successful for Owners Direct and Holiday Lettings (before they were taken over by Home Away and Trip Advisor respectively). With so much dissatisfaction surrounding the way those two multinationals were treating their customers, we felt that there was a need for a Kalkan-specialist direct-to-owner site that simply does what is says on the tin: put potential Kalkan holidaymakers in touch with the owners of holiday rental accommodation in and around Kalkan. So, when the KPR site became available, we felt that we could really make a difference.As at this time last years, the existing KPR site already functioned quite well and had a number of features that we found attractive, including:
the ability for owners to log in and set up their own property listings and maintain their calendars without our involvement
the ability for enquiries to be passed direct to owners, without our interference
a simple, straightforward, easy-to-use design
However, we felt it needed a number of vital improvements - all of which we have since introduced - including the following:
Site security via "https"
Location maps for each property
Guest review capability
These changes have been greatly welcomed (although not every owner is currently taking advantage of them!) and the site is now generating a healthy level of enquiries for engaged owners. Of course, we have needed to spend substantially on search engine optimisation, Google ads, Facebook promotions, etc., in order to improve visibility and drive more and more new visitors to the site. We introduced annual and monthly subscriptions to help pay for this ongoing work and KPR membership is now more than double what it was this time last year - and enquiries are up by 300% since we took over. We have further exciting plans to increase the success of this site over the coming months.During this time, we have been running the site alongside our well-established Kalkan Secrets site. As you may know, Kalkan Secrets is a commission based site with two levels of service for new members -
Premium (15% commission and we handle the bookings) and
Standard (5% commission and we pass all enquiries straight to the owner).
We have a few legacy members who are on different arrangements but new owners registering their properties can currently choose one of the above models. (For a while, we also offered a subscription service on Kalkan Secrets for those owners who preferred not to be charged commission. However, we felt that this created a conflict of interest and upon acquiring the Kalkan Private Rentals site, we decided to withdraw the subscription-only listing option on Kalkan Secrets as this was, in effect, a duplication of the facility offered by KPR).During the last year, we have constructed a new website for Kalkan Secrets with a number of new features and this has been generally well received. However, a number of owners have found the new site difficult to manage alongside the old site and have found it confusing when juggling passwords - especially those owners who are also listed on KPR!!We also think there remains something of a conflict of interest on Kalkan Secrets, in that the 5% (direct to owner) listings on KS share the same platform as the 15% listings, for which we handle all the bookings. Clearly, this creates some potential for confusion for visitors, as they do not always know what level of service to expect.when making an enquiry.For these reasons, we have decided that with immediate effect, Kalkan Secrets will only feature "Premium" listings for new subscribers.The existing 5% "Standard" listing options will no longer be offered and existing listings will be withdrawn by 31st May 2019. Owners will therefore be faced with a simple choice of listing options
Kalkan Secrets: a full-service proposition where we handle every aspect of the booking process, including guest liaison, receiving payments etc., in return for 15% commission on successful bookings
Kalkan Private Rentals: a genuine Direct-To-Owner listing service for annual subscription only. We take no commission, just charge an annual subscription depending on the size of property. The annual subscription will be £110 for smaller properties (up to 3 bedrooms) and £130 for larger properties (4 bedrooms and above). Owners with more than one property will get a 30% discount on all subsequent properties. There will be a £10 initial submission fee per property for new subscribers, which provides a 30-day trial period before the annual subscription is taken.
This will affect owners in the following ways:
Existing Kalkan Secrets Premium listings - no change
Existing Kalkan Secrets Standard listings - we will be happy to upgrade your listinmg to Premium. Alternatively, you may transfer your listing to the KPR site free of charge (ie. no submission fee) and we will provide a month's free trial before requesting the first annual subscription (if you decide to list at the end of the free trial period). You will receive a 10% discount off your first annual subscription. Please email [email protected]
Existing KPR listings (annual subscription); no change until the next renewal date, when the new annual fee will apply. However, to reward your loyalty, we have introduced a "Founder member" lifetime discount of 10% for all existing KPR members as at 1st May 2018. This applies from next renewal
Existing KPR listings (monthly subscription); we will not be offering the monthly subscription going forward. You may continue on the existing arrangement indefinitely, but if you agree to change from monthly to annual at the new rate within three months, we will apply a discount of 30% to your first annual subscription as an incentive
We believe that these changes will make things a lot simpler for owners and visitors alike. And us, for that matter! No more multiple passwords/log-in details, and no more conflicts of interest.For owners who want a genuine direct-to-owner site, the new and improved Kalkan Private Rentals can be used as your main calendar and booking portal, if you wish; it can send or receive iCal feeds, facilitating its use as either "master" or "slave" when blocking out dates, according to your requirements. (We strongly encourage, and can provide straightforward instructions on using iCal in conjunction with other booking sites such as HomeAway, TripAdvisor, AirBnB etc. Just ask for our iCal guide).We will be contacting owners shortly to explain how these changes will affect them individually, but please don't hesitate to contact us in the meantime if you have any immediate questions about these developments.Kind regardsMartyn and FionaKalkan Secrets / Kalkan Private Rentals
