FAQ / Help
Are you looking for holiday accommodation? Click here for advice on bookings and how to use the site.
Looking To Advertise With Sol Apartments
- Can changes be made to my advert once it has been published?
- How can I improve how my advert works?
- How safe is the payment system and are my card details stored?
We enable property owners to maximise rental income and rental potential through effective marketing online which is at a very reasonable price. Enquiries from potential holidaymakers are directed straight to the owner who has control over bookings. There are no ongoing fees or commissions - just a one off annual subscription.
A full twelve months advertising costs just £49.99. This includes up to 16 photos, an Availability Calendar and an Interactive Map. Note! - if registered before 1st April 2009, advertising is £1 only for 3 months. There are no other fees or commissions payable.
Fees can be paid immediately via our fully secure online payment system. You will be prompted to effect payment before the advert can be accepted.
This is extremely easy. Simply follow the steps below:
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Select the ''Add Your Property' page
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Complete the required fields in the Register dialogue and then press "register"
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An email will be automatically sent to your address. You need to make a note of the unique user name and password supplied in order to logon to your account in the future.
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Once logged on there are four available tasks for you to choose. If logging on for the first time, select "add a new advert" in order to complete the relevant (user-friendly) property details fields as required. A 'Long Description' box allows you to enter your own text using a 'What You See Is What You Get' (WYSYWYG) text editor. It should be noted that although you can paste text from a text editor such as MS Word into this box to save time it is not normally a good idea to paste code when the 'source code' button (top left) option is selected (for those familiar with HTML), because such code can can contain references to styles not available for these adverts. Also images are added in dialogue boxes later. Then press the update button at the bottom in order to save the information input. Then you need to logout and wait for the initial advert details to be approved (this will be within 24 hours and you may like to contact us if it is urgent).
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When approval has been given, you can then logon again to complete setting up the advert (this is self-explanatory)
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When uploading images on the Images page there is a generous limit to the size of each image to 2Mb (but you should consider the time a browser takes to load your page - a reasonable size is 20-50Kb for each image) and these are later reduced to a width of 170 pixels.
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Once all the information is input, the final process is to make payment via the online system by credit card. This is required before the advert will be (instantly) activated.
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When your advert is up and running, we will quickly add the Availability Calendar and Interactive Map, then email you your unique login details to keep the former up-to-date (this is very simply done and it is essential that you address this at least once a week).
Please contact us if you are having any problems, using the routes shown on the 'Contact Us' page. We are always willing to enter any of the advert details for you within reason (using your emailed input of content or images or bookings)
Can changes be made to my advert once it has been published?
Simply login to your account with your unique user name and password and you can make changes to your advert. You can add properties, change details, add/replace photos.
How can I improve how my advert works?
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It is important to include as much information as possible about your property as well as the area and facilities/activities available. This will improve your chances of your page being found by the search engines. Include words and phrases that visitors might use when searching on the web.
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Remember to include all the best features of your property.
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Make good use of the short description of the property. This is the first information that a visitor will see and first impressions are very important.
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Make sure that the property is competitively priced. Compare with other properties/areas in order to ensure that you are not over charging.
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Make sure that all property and address details are correct as well as spellings. This will impact on the traffic from the search engines
How safe is the payment system and are my card details stored?
We use the 'Protx' online payments system, combined with the merchant banking facilities provided by 'Streamline', for making secure payments. Protx handle a very high percentage of UK online payments and Streamline is a subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, accepting the widest range of cards and around half of all UK transactions being processed.
Payment details are not stored on our website.
What can I do if I don't have any photos on my computer?
Don't worry. You can post any photos to us and we will digitally scan these for you and add them to your page. Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you require the photos returning to you. We will not charge for this service.
Can I change my photos at a later date?
You can logon to your account at any time and add/replace photos.
If you are experiencing problems in logging on, ensure that you are using the correct username and password. If you are still having problems try clicking the "back" button and try again. If this fails, it could be that your browser has been set not to accept cookies. In this case, if your browser is Internet Explorer, you can click on Tools, Internet Options, then click on the Privacy tab. Now click on the "Edit" button and where it says "Address of website" type in "http://www.solapartments.co.uk" and click the "Allow" button. This will allow your computer to accept cookies from our site only. You will need to restart your computer for this change to take effect. If your browser is Firefox or any other, there will be a similar procedure.
If you ever need to speak to someone, please use the routes shown on the 'Contact Us' page.
Looking for Holiday Accommodation
Search for properties by accommodation type, location, dates or by type of accommodation by going to the 'Property Search' page - Complete the relevant boxes and find suitable properties immediately.
When you have found a suitable property, the owners contact details will be provided for you to make contact and discuss bookings.
- What can Sol Apartments do for you?
- How do I use the Sol Apartments website?
- How do I get more information about a property?
- Who do I book through?
- What about getting to the accommodation
- How can I be sure of the owner's integrity?
What can Sol Apartments do for you?
We advertise holiday accommodation worldwide, which means that holidaymakers have a great choice of holiday and obtain great deals by booking directly with the property owners.
How do I use the Sol Apartments website
You can find the perfect property by using the 'Property Search' page and selecting your personal requirements.
How do I get more information about a property?
If you require any more information about a property, you are advised to contact the owner directly.
When you find a property you are interested in, you make contact with the owner directly and all information is then between the two of you. This makes it a personal way of booking your holiday.
What about getting to the accommodation
Sol Apartments can give you travel advice, be it airfares, ferries, trains and even driving routes. The property owner will also be able to give you details about transfer and arrival times, etc.
How can I be sure of the owners integrity?
Adverts will have a date to indicate how long the property has been advertised with us. Obviously the longer an advert has been with us, the more information we will have on the integrity of the owner. If we receive any bad feedback about an owner, we will refuse to advertise their property again.
Be careful how you pay for the accommodation. Always use methods that can be traced. Make sure that you pay the owner directly or to a reputable agent. Always be wary if you are asked to pay to a third party.
If you are unsure, try to carry out checks on the person you are dealing with in order to verify their identity. Look for references online (such as Google name search, tourist organisations etc).
It may be sufficient comfort to speak to the owner directly. This is often the best way to feel comfortable with the individual.
Always insist on having a booking reservation. This should outline the terms and conditions of the letting, including payment terms, insurance and cancellation details. Again be wary if this is not provided/offered.
We will always investigate any complaint raised by our holidaymakers. We value your input and this will help us moving forward.
Created: September 25 2006
Last updated: December 09 2008
