Name of your website?leventhotelblogspot
Your name?
Lynda Yilmaz
Your Location (city, etc)
Fethiye
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Introducing myself and my husband as the new owners of the hotel. Information about the location, the food and the hotel.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
The need to advertise. I am still working on a 'real' website because I can't afford to pay someone to do it. I am having to learn how to do it as I go. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't understand how search engines work. I dont know anything really and I'm trying to do it AND prepare a hotel for opening in March. I might be just wasting my time, but I have to try.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
I started this website in January. It is my first attempt at publicising my hotel on the internet. Hopefully the real website will be ready soon, but its difficult when you dont really know what the hell you are doing!
How did you decide on a name for your website?
There is another (old) website for my hotel. It is VERY VERY bad. This site has a dot com address and I cant get anything like it. I would have liked to have kept that site and just updated it, but the person responsible for its creation and upkeep lied to me about updating it and asked for a ridiculous sum of money. I have asked for this old website to be closed but he hasn't done it. I dont know how to make him close it, so I had to make something else quickly which is a true reflection of my hotel and how we intend to run it AND had the name of the hotel in its title, which is why I started with just a simple blogspot.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
My current website is different from similar offerings because it is very amateurish, but truthful and friendly. I am trying to show that we are a caring family run hotel. We have a lovely hotel, beautiful location and can offer a really nice service for the discerning guest. The hotel is simple, but comfortable ideal for people looking for a reasonably priced relaxing holiday in one of Turkey's most beautiful coastal resorts. There are no loud disco bars nearby, just peace, tranquility and beautiful views. Lovely food and caring staff.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
To have a beautiful, real, professional looking website which will pop up in search engines and encourage people to book their holiday directly with the hotel rather than going through a travel agent.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
I haven't invested any money in it yet because I use a free blogspot.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would get a professional person to develop my website. I would have music and videos and a live webcam showing the daily activities at the hotel.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I've no idea.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
The biggest headache is getting the web manager of the 'old' site to close it.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Getting the web manager of the old site to close the old site.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
personal emailing, brochures, cards, flyers anything I can think of that I'm capable of doing myself. I've no idea how successful any of it is. I just feel I need to do something to 'be out there'
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I have no expectations
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
I have only had the site a couple of months. I will keep it up even when I have a 'real' gorgeous professional looking site.
What is the most challenging thing about making your website.
I dont speak the language. Everyhing I read about making a website assumes you understand the jargon. I really don't know my URL from my elbow!
What is your website address?
leventhotelblogspot
