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  1. #26
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    BoganInParasite's Avatar
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    Been rather busy and neglecting this and my Build and Greenscaping threads. Anyway have been pestering the wife to contact the landowner below us to see if we could get some trees trimmed. Yesterday late afternoon the landowner's cousin came and we showed him what we would like done. He said he would talk to the landowner. So I'm sitting in bed this morning about 6:20am when I see one of the trees swaying violently. First thought is a squall was coming through but quickly noticed no other trees were moving. Went to the window and all but this last tree were gone. He finished the job by trimming an avocado tree. We find out this afternoon 'how much?'. I had previously told the wife I'd go to 5,000 baht because it would open up the view. Hoping it will be in the vicinity of 2-3,000 baht. Not a bad earn for an hour's work. No doubt whatever the amount there will be a toast had to 'the farang on the hill' in the village tonight about how much money they got.

    But certainly opened the view up again.
    Starting a Business in Nan Province-img_5224-jpg

    EDIT! Not sure why the photo is not displaying larger but click on it and it opens up for me...hopefully others as well.

  2. #27
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    BoganInParasite's Avatar
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    A couple of non-pano mode photos.
    Starting a Business in Nan Province-img_5221-jpg

    Starting a Business in Nan Province-img_5222-jpg

  3. #28
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    BIP,
    in the worst case - to keep the view open - you can add one storey more, for to save the 3,000 Baht every year...

  4. #29
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    I could add 'Towers' to the homestay title then.
    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    BIP,
    in the worst case - to keep the view open - you can add one storey more, for to save the 3,000 Baht every year...

  5. #30
    . Neverna's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BoganInParasite View Post
    But certainly opened the view up again.

    That's a wonderful image. Time to get your paint brush and easel out. A side-line could be selling your paintings (or photo prints in frames).

  6. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neverna View Post
    That's a wonderful image. Time to get your paint brush and easel out. A side-line could be selling your paintings (or photo prints in frames).
    Actuall Nev you may have hit on something, Art, lots of Artists travels the world and paint vistas. Perhaps BiP could offer trips to view points, think lunch & drinks and you'll provide umbrellas & chairs etc. Sunsets & Rises.

  7. #32
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    I'll focus on that stuff after I've perfected the baht extraction device. We did actually have a friend couple stay a night recently. The wife paints and I think told my wife she intended to paint the view. Imagine she took some photos to do so. I'm hoping she does and would love to see and maybe even acquire the painting. Regards, -BiP
    Quote Originally Posted by NamPikToot View Post
    Actuall Nev you may have hit on something, Art, lots of Artists travels the world and paint vistas. Perhaps BiP could offer trips to view points, think lunch & drinks and you'll provide umbrellas & chairs etc. Sunsets & Rises.

  8. #33
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    Not wonderful, too many snakes

  9. #34
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    Referring back to post #26...cost for the tree trimming and lost future tree/fruit revenue was 3,000 baht. So much less than my 5,000 top figure but I could see the look on his face as the wife gave him the money, he was more pleased than showing. So as I said in the earlier post, the 'farang/fool on the hill' will be toasted somewhere in the village tonight. Mind you, the wife got them to agree to ongoing trimming so the view doesn't get impeded again. Win, win all round.

  10. #35
    I'm in Jail

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  11. #36
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    ^^ As I understand it BiP...it aint cheap, farang or thai.

    I could just be under that impression because farang, of course.

    When I suggested we bargain down the fee my wife replied 'They are country people. They have machetes'.


  12. #37
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    Double rainbow from a passing light shower this afternoon.

    Starting a Business in Nan Province-img_5360-jpg
    Starting a Business in Nan Province-img_5361-jpg

  13. #38
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    Loving the new view now that the trees below have been trimmed. Money well spent. A light shower of rain passing through the Yom River valley.

    Starting a Business in Nan Province-img_5364-jpg

  14. #39
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    Have you got a "before" shot, BiP, so we can compare before and after?

    I've had a look though some of your threads but can't find a "before" shot.

  15. #40
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    This is the most recent Nev, taken one evening last week.

    Starting a Business in Nan Province-balcony-view-12-jpg

  16. #41
    . Neverna's Avatar
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    Thanks. Yes, it has opened up nicely. Money well spent.

  17. #42
    กงเกวียนกำเกวียน HuangLao's Avatar
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    Spectacular locale, BIP.

    Lovely shots.

    Continued success.

  18. #43
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    Thanks HL. We are learning a lot, a bit painfully at times.

    Our goals for the first six month season are 60 revenue nights and 60,000 baht revenue. We are one third there in terms of completed and future bookings with the next three months being the busiest up here. Likely we'll make it but would prefer to be a little better placed than we are.

    Key learning points:
    - Guests will be 85% Thai with the remaining 15% being non-Thais living in Thailand or overseas visitors.
    - Thais book late.
    - Agoda is more fruitful than Booking, Expedia and Airbnb, in that order. Direct bookings is second best for us after Agoda.
    - Based on my tracking of 60 local competitors using the same four distribution channels as us, the Thais are booking on reputation/reviews (likely reinforced by their own previous stays) AND NOT PRICE. This has staggered me.
    - Based on above and watching more expensive places get sold out we've stopped discounting (where we can, can't cancel some deals) and have gone back to standard prices. The idea is the preferred places with reputations will eventual sell out and hopefully our turn in the sun will happen. Got a booking yesterday on a room night we doubled in price on Sunday, might just work.
    - Google MyBusiness, Apple Maps and TripAdvisor are c..ts to deal with.

    Quote Originally Posted by HuangLao View Post
    Spectacular locale, BIP.

    Lovely shots.

    Continued success.

  19. #44
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    A little rant...in the last week we've had Thai folks (via Third Party Distribution channels):

    1. Booked two nights in December for seven guests then contacted us direct to say there are actually ten guests. Offered options, none suited so told them to cancel which they did.
    2. Booked for five guests then contacted us and say there is a sixth, a child. We agreed to cater (and for free) and put them all in the larger rooms on level 2.
    3. Booked our smallest room for two guests then contacted us via LINE to say there were four guests including two children. We're booked out that night and are about to tell them to cancel.

    Until we relaxed the booking rules earlier this week and changed the various systems parameters, they couldn't even attempt to book children. Still went ahead though. I fear for this country, for multiple reasons.

    Rant over.

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by BoganInParasite View Post
    A little rant...in the last week we've had Thai folks (via Third Party Distribution channels):

    1. Booked two nights in December for seven guests then contacted us direct to say there are actually ten guests. Offered options, none suited so told them to cancel which they did.
    2. Booked for five guests then contacted us and say there is a sixth, a child. We agreed to cater (and for free) and put them all in the larger rooms on level 2.
    3. Booked our smallest room for two guests then contacted us via LINE to say there were four guests including two children. We're booked out that night and are about to tell them to cancel.

    Until we relaxed the booking rules earlier this week and changed the various systems parameters, they couldn't even attempt to book children. Still went ahead though. I fear for this country, for multiple reasons.



    Rant over.





    You seem great to send customers away ! I guess that you do not need money.

  21. #46
    กงเกวียนกำเกวียน HuangLao's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BoganInParasite View Post
    A little rant...in the last week we've had Thai folks (via Third Party Distribution channels):

    1. Booked two nights in December for seven guests then contacted us direct to say there are actually ten guests. Offered options, none suited so told them to cancel which they did.
    2. Booked for five guests then contacted us and say there is a sixth, a child. We agreed to cater (and for free) and put them all in the larger rooms on level 2.
    3. Booked our smallest room for two guests then contacted us via LINE to say there were four guests including two children. We're booked out that night and are about to tell them to cancel.

    Until we relaxed the booking rules earlier this week and changed the various systems parameters, they couldn't even attempt to book children. Still went ahead though. I fear for this country, for multiple reasons.

    Rant over.

    Hospitality business tends to be much more headache and despair than it's truly worth - generally speaking.
    I might find other means and options to utilize the expanded property.

  22. #47
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    In the last ten days we've had quite a few bookings and mercifully none that we are currently aware trying to get more people staying then they booked, or than we can cater.

    Starting to get some overseas bookings, multiple night bookings and last night our first 2020 booking. Also quite interesting to see the performance of the third party distribution channels. Booking.com is working way better for us than the other three. Our competitor tracking shows Expedia listed folks are selling out way more than the other channels, although the picture is somewhat clouded by most businesses being listed on two or more channels. And of course, cannot monitor any direct sales they may be getting.

    We are now close to 50% of our revenue nights goal for the first season but running maybe 25% behind on gross and average revenue night revenue, reflecting our holding our opening discounts through into the peak period, next month for us up here.

    We also got our first guest review on a distribution channel and scored a perfect 10.

    Quote Originally Posted by HuangLao View Post
    Hospitality business tends to be much more headache and despair than it's truly worth - generally speaking.
    I might find other means and options to utilize the expanded property.

  23. #48
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    Chico, had overlooked your post previously. Thank you. Seems an active and okay site.

    Quote Originally Posted by Chico View Post

  24. #49
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    Installing these today on each guestroom door at the suggestion of a guest. Also putting one on the bedroom 2 bathroom door to the hallway since it will be locked when the small bedroom 2 is in use.

    Bookings have picked up markedly in the last few days...good quality bookings, prepaid and multiple days or rooms. Booking.com is powering on for us but Agoda is starting to make inroads for larger groups. We've set Agoda up to price by guest and up to ten guests, minimum price is for two. And since it will be Thais mainly only offering the Asian style breakfast through Agoda. The strategy seems to be working but one downside is the way it is set up as soon as there is a booking through Agoda, even if for two guests only, we cannot sell anymore through them for those day/s. So we decide what room/s the Agoda booking will use and block those in the other distribution channels we use. Can still offer the remaining room/s for those day/s through those channels.

    Starting a Business in Nan Province-img_5650-jpg

  25. #50
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    We did an Instagram and Facebook page update yesterday (trying to do one every second day to keep up the visibility in our follower community). Then started adding those photos to the distribution channel sites. Somehow made the photo of our fully stocked showcase refrigerator the main photo on Booking.com and only realized this morning when we saw it advertised in a social media thread. Was hoping for another booking last night to make it five nights in a row but nothing. Current hypothesis is Thais are not attracted to homestays that promote a refrigerator image.

    Separately we are quite unhappy with the performance and attitude of one of the distribution channels. We received a curt phone call and two emails in the last several days from them complaining that on some days another distribution channel has better prices from us. Unfortunately for the caller the wife and I had just spent an hour discussing the relative performance of the four distribution channels and our direct sales. The wife switched to English so I could enjoy the subsequent a@se-tearing she then administered. She pointed out the other channel was achieving more than four times the bookings and at a nightly revenue rate 30% more than the channel calling us. When pressed, they could only identify twenty instances of preferential pricing across three rooms and the next six months, most were due to the calling channel early booker discount being 10% while the other channel is at 15%. The calling channel has only yielded 8% of our bookings and 6% of our revenue. Anyway, without telling the caller we discussed and the wife decided we would give them slightly preference pricing through to the end of November. If they don't perform, we'll end the relationship.

    Got our alcohol sales license yesterday. Took the wife five minutes and 330 baht for the annual fee. Only red-tape was having to know how close we were to a school or childcare facility. Turns out 1.2 kilometers is more than enough. Going to sell soft drink cans at 20 baht which is a bit of a rip-off and large bottle of the three common beers drunk in Thailand for 60 or 65 baht (one brand is more expensive) which is a standard price in restaurants up here. May end up being a handy source of supplementary revenue.

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