For quite some time, advertisers have been able to show their property or service on an interactive map. This month, we have taken the map system and completely redesigned it to make it much easier for you to add points of interest. Using this tool you can better explain to potential customers how close they would be to other attractions in the area and help them visualize the possibilities of their travel experience.

With the new interactive map, you can enter a title and an address where you want a pin to appear. Our system will then redisplay the map with a pin located at the selected address. If needed, you can click and drag the pin to move it to a more accurate position.

In addition, you can choose from dozens of icons to represent your property or service. If you want to indicate a golf course, a beach, a monument, or other points of interest that are close by, you can use custom icons as well.

A screen shot of a map is included below.

Editing The Map
To update your map, please login to your account by clicking the following link: My Account.

On the next screen, click on “Update Listing Details”. The first screen will enable you to update your listing title and summary text. On the left column, you will see Option #5 “Interactive Map”. Click on this link to update your map.

To add your first pin, just enter the title and address and then click “Add Pin To Map”.

If you want to customize the pin, click “Select Icon” to change it from a yellow pin to one of several dozen pin options.

You can drag a pin to a different location on the map just by clicking on it and dragging it to the appropriate spot.

Remember to zoom in and position the map so visitors viewing the map will have a better idea of where you are in relationship with major cities.

I would love to hear what you think of the new map, or any other comments or concerns you have regarding the site.

As always, your feedback is very important to me, and I look forward to reading your suggestions.

Have a wonderful day!

RealAdventures has just added an availability calendar to your listing page. Now you can show guests when you are booked and when you have availability. Check out the screen shot below.

The calendar will help reduce the number of inquiries that you get for dates that are already booked. But it will also get you more inquiries as guests see that you are popular and they need to book earlier.

The calendar is designed to be really easy to use and update on a regular basis. Simply login to your listing and select ‘Availability Calendar’ in the left menu. There you can click a date to show it is booked (red). Click the same date again and it will change to reserved (yellow). Click again and it will change to unavailable (gray). Click one more time and you are back to available (white).

You can also click the star (*) to change the entire week’s availability status.

There is no cost for the calendar and it is completely optional.

I’ve talked to a number of our advertisers to see how this feature might be helpful to them. Most advertisers think it will help get them more qualified inquiries that they can convert into bookings instead of having to turn down.

But there are some advertisers that are concerned about displaying their availability for competitive reasons and others are concerned about security (property owners). For these reasons the calendar is completely optional — depending on your needs and situation.

If you keep it up to date, we will display the dates that are available. If you choose not to use the calendar, we will display the dates are available.

Personally, I do encourage you to use the calendar if you can and to update it on a regular basis. It will give customers the sense that your place is popular as demonstrated by how booked you are. This instills a sense of confidence which will increase your booking rates.

Let me know how the calendar works out for you. Please be sure to share your thoughts, suggestions and feedback.

We aimed to give the site a new look- using bright colors and an updated design to make our visitor’s experience both visually appealing and enjoyable. Not only does the end result look great, but the new design will help users navigate through the site and find the content that they are looking for easily.

The redesign also helps prepare the site for upcoming features we have planned over the next few months. Soon we will be including a section for hot deals and travel communities, where users can upload photos from their trips. As we begin to unveil the new features to the site, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

To give you a better idea of the changes we have made, here is screenshot of the old RA site:

… And here is a screenshot of our new design:

Nice, isn’t it?

Pretty nice, isn’t it?

We also redesigned the account manager section of the site where you log-in to manage your listings. Now you can access all of your information- including your listings, inquiries and reviews- from one place and can easily jump back and forth between pages, without having to log back into the system. If you have a chance, try logging into the new site to familiarize yourself with the few changes. Once you are logged in- you should immediately notice a bright, yellow toolbar that is displayed across all of your listing pages. The toolbar will allow you to edit your personal information, upload new images or view inquiries.

As I mentioned, we have many more updates on the way and pretty soon the new account manager section will enable you to add an availability calendar, hot deals and blog entries to your profile.

We always welcome feedback from you, so feel free to let us know what you think of the new design and updates to the account manager.

That’s all for now!

The Online Reply System is designed to make it very quick and easy for you to respond to customer inquiries. Now, with just a few keystrokes and in less than 30 seconds you should be able to reply to most inquiries. Not only will this save you time, but the new system should also help you dramatically increase your conversion rates.

How does it work? Very simply, next time you get an inquiry from a customer, in the email you will see a link to the Online Reply System. Just click on that link and you will be taken to a page with the customer’s information, travel dates, message and a reply form (you may need to login first). Select one of three templates, customize the message and click send. That’s it.

The three templates provide typical responses for ‘Available’, ‘Not Available’ and ‘More Information’. Just select one of these templates and adjust the message with rates, dates and other pertinant details. We have provided just sample messages for the templates, but you can change the template to meet your needs.

The customer will get a beautiful email with your reply, phone number and email address along with your listing summary and a link to your listing page. The customer can reply back to you directly by email or phone number.

At any time, you can view the Online Reply System by logging in and clicking ‘Respond To Inquiries’ in the left menu. There you will see all your inquiries and can follow-up with them if you wish.

Trial listings will have to use the Online Reply System. But premium listings owners can reply directly to customers or use the Online Reply System – which ever they prefer.

I’d love to hear what you think of the Online Reply System. What else can we do to make responding to inquiries easier and with higher conversion?