If you're not already listed on
Sleeping-OUT - read on
What is Sleeping-OUT
If you got this far then you probably are familiar with the Internet and how it is changing every facet of our lives. Internet banking led the way and today we use the Internet for everything from choosing restaurants, booking movie tickets to helping the kids with their school projects. And, whilst not everyone has the Internet yet, if you look at the profile of South Africa's Internet users and the profile of the average person seeking accommodation, they are almost the same.
Many people looking for accommodation use printed guides or brochures provided by travel agents but these can quickly become out of date and are often too bulky to be really useful. Most of the existing web sites have no real search functionality and force users to open dozens of accommodation pages searching for the facilities they need. This is where Sleeping-Out is changing the way that people find the accommodation they want.
SLEEPING-OUT is South Africa's premier on-line accommodation guide with a unique database of establishments and search engine containing details of the country's top accommodation in all the major cities, towns and tourist areas.
The website provides full information on all listed establishments, including room rates, address and contact details, colour photographs, details of all facilities available under three main categories: in-room facilities, on-site facilities and local facilities, and detailed directions with a map that can be printed out. The powerful search engine allows you to look for establishments by your specific criteria such as: location, price, and available facilities such as: close to beach, pets allowed, baby-sitting service, internet access, in-room mini-bar, aircon, smoking or non-smoking and a host of other categories. All establishments display photos of their rooms and details of their other features. Certain establishments on the website also feature "visual tours" which allow you to view them through a full 360°, to really get a feel for the accommodation.
The Sleeping-OUT multi-currency and multi-language feature means that tourists in Europe, America and elsewhere can search for your establishment in their home language and see rates in their own currency. Sleeping-OUT’s dynamic currency conversion feature supplies correct currency conversions automatically based on that day’s ruling rate. Sleeping-OUT provides the ultimate worldwide showcase for your establishment.
Important reasons to list with Sleeping-OUT are:
- No listing fee. There is no setup fee and no annual listing fee. Only a 13.5% commission (one of the lowest available) on confirmed bookings only. No bookings – no costs for you!
- No credit card charges. We pay the credit card charges on all credit card payments made via Sleeping-OUT. A further saving for you on every booking
- No minimum booking fee. A fixed minimum booking fee means that the percentage you pay on a booking could be as high as 30% or more. With Sleeping-OUT there is no minimum amount. You always pay 13.5% even on low value bookings.
- Visitors. Sleeping-OUT currently receives 17,280 visitors to its website per day. Most other web sites won’t give you visitor stats. You wouldn’t advertise in a magazine without knowing the circulation figures so don’t be fooled by an online accommodation guide that doesn’t show its visitor statistics.
- Hits. These are not the same as visitors. One visitor session can clock up hundreds of hits and imply popularity which may not exist.
- Establishments. Sleeping-OUT has over 9,000 listed establishments in its database. This database includes the country’s top establishments including B&Bs, Guest Houses, Apartments and Hotels. Many websites populate their restaurant guides with establishments who have never consented to being listed so they can create the impression that the website is popular with accommodation owners. On Sleeping-OUT owners list themselves, sometimes with Sleeping-OUT’s help but always at their own request.
- Partners. Sleeping-OUT works in conjunction with partners, For example clicking the “find accommodation” link on www.dinersclub.co.za will take you to the Diners Club version of Sleeping-OUT. Establishments who list with Sleeping-OUT are listed on partner websites for free.
- Search Engine Positioning. Sleeping-OUT appears near the top of most search engines such as Google or Yahoo for popular search phrases. However, a large percentage of visitors are returning guests who have bookmarked Sleeping-OUT as their preferred accommodation search engine.
- Accommodation Search Criteria. Sleeping-OUT is designed around a true database structure and allows guests to search on in-room facilities, on-site facilities and local facilities. Seeing the facilities of an establishment only after you have opened the page is not the same as being able to search based on specific requirements. Sleeping-OUT allows you to only see the establishments that meet your specific criteria, saving time and increasing the site’s popularity with the public.
- Guest Book. Sleeping-OUT has a guest book of over 262,000 people who have registered for news and information on accommodation in South Africa. Guests have voluntarily opted in to the guest book as they know Sleeping-OUT offers the most intelligent accommodation search engine in South Africa.
- Referrals. From the day Sleeping-OUT was launched in 2003 we have received numerous accolades and letters of appreciation and encouragement from the public. Click to see some of the many Comments and Referrals we receive from guests.
So what does it cost? See below!
Pricing (All prices quoted exclude
vat.)
Set up and on-going
hosting of your establishment pages is free of charge
. Our total charge for confirmed bookings is only 13.5% of the booking value. This figure is exclusive of VAT but includes all bank and other charges.
Optional Products and
Services
You've made a significant investment in your establishment, furnishing, decorating and fitting-out. You also have high on-going costs of staff and maintenance not forgetting your time and creativity. The only way to recoup that investment is with paying guests and these can be supplied by Sleeping-OUT.
What's
next?
We have designed Sleeping-OUT so that you can load your own information onto the website and also maintain it thereafter. There is therefore no setup charge and your listing is absolutely free. You will be allocated a login and password so that only you or your appointed staff member can change or amend your web pages.
CLICK HERE to list your
establishment now.
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