As we enter the final stretch of winter in the northern hemisphere, take a look at our February Product Update. It highlights updates to the Unified Inbox, Internationalization preferences for users and guests alike, Vrbo RTB defaults, Airbnb pet surcharge handling improvements, and well,... see for yourself below!

• Unified Inbox Updates
  • Booking Access
  • Booking/Inquiry Received Placeholders
  • Template Selection
  • Guest Information on Mobile
• New Features
  • Internationalization: Localization Preferences
  • Internationalization: Guest Culture
• Enhancements & Tweaks
  • Vrbo Request to Book (RTB) Pending Default Hours
  • Amenities and Health & Safety Updates
  • Airbnb Pet Surcharge Handling
  • Date Conditions
  • Group By Active/Disabled Property Status Reports
  • Feature Requests Forum Filter
  • Schlage Door Lock Integration
  • PMv2 Statements
    • Owner Statement View Booking & Expense Subtotals
    • Include Relevant Bookings on PM's Preview When Booking Expenses are on Statement
  • Airbnb Listing Import Updates
  • Channel Booking Mode
  • System Messages Additions
  • Optional Surcharges for Channels
  • Travel Insurance Expansion
  • Trigger and Surcharge Grid Columns
  • Merge Guests
• Bug Fixes
  • February 5th Release With 17 Bug Fixes
  • February 12th Release With 17 Bug Fixes
  • February 19th Release With 14 Bug Fixes
  • February 26th Release With 11 Bug Fixes

Unified Inbox Updates

OwnerRez's new Unified Inbox centralizes your communication across platforms and continues to be refined to enhance its functionality. February saw OwnerRez make some updates to help users settle in with the new functionality.

Booking Access

Since the booking charges were already available by expanding the charges section displayed on the Unified Inbox Guest Information context panel, we changed the Charges button to be a link to more easily access the Booking in our February 12th release.

Booking/Inquiry Received Placeholders

Previously, when users received a new booking or inquiry, the Unified Inbox message pane would remain blank until a guest message was initiated. With our February 12th release, message placeholders of "Booking or Inquiry received" now appear immediately going forward with this release in the message pane upon receiving a Vrbo booking or inquiry. We'll be updating this further next month!

Template Selection

The ability to select different templates in the Unified Inbox ensures consistent messaging and streamlines your workflow, thereby improving your guests' experience.

But what if you have multiple bookings, inquiries, or quotes for a single guest at different properties? The ability to appropriately apply the correct template has been possible on the Guest Conversation View. With our February 19th release, we brought the same ability to the new Unified Inbox.

Guest Information on Mobile

The mobile-responsive Unified Inbox got a small but valuable update in our February 19th release. The previous symbol displayed was not super intuitive and too small to use effectively. OwnerRez updated the button to be clear you can expand for more info. The symbol is now a double-down arrow.

Explore all the dynamic Messaging options available in OwnerRez.

New Features

Internationalization: Localization Preferences

OwnerRez understands that not all users are based in the United States or speak English. With the release on February 19th, we have introduced localization options in the Preferences section of the app. Users can now select their preferred culture and date formats for display inside OwnerRez.

To configure your user preferences, navigate to your Account > Preferences > Localization.

Once configured, your booking calendars, charges, transactions, property management commissions, and quotes will reflect your preferences. 

Individual booking will also reflect your preferences in localization settings.

Wondering about currencies? Your account settling currency is configured in your payment processor integration (Settings > Financial > Payment Methods > your Payment Method >  Change > Currency), and guest-facing currencies are configured in Settings > Branding & Legal > Guest Culture.

Internationalization: Guest Culture

Because localization was expanded and moved to user Preferences, the account settings area for culture needed a few updates to align.

If you've been following along, OwnerRez has made great strides over the last year with guest internationalization. As part of our February 19th release, we've updated the Guest Culture section to align what settings are "guest-facing." Let's review the updates.

First, we renamed Culture to Guest Culture (Settings > Branding & Legal > Guest Culture) to clarify that changes made in this section are guest-facing only.

The in-app informational text displayed to guide users at the top has been updated, and the Currency Example has been added to the Guest Culture Settings page.

When you click on Change, you'll note that we've added additional information text and default currency and language options.

Guest-facing forms now have improved guest language display and inputs.

Please note: Currency is tied to the account and reflected at the quote and booking levels, so user preferences cannot dictate currency display.

Enhancements & Tweaks

Vrbo Request to Book (RTB) Pending Default Hours

Vrbo's Partner-initiated Cancellation Policy allows hosts to maintain control over their properties while fostering guest trust through standardized cancellation procedures. However, Vrbo Request to Book (RTB) pending bookings run the risk of potential host cancellation fees and possible temporary suspensions, which could affect your profits and flexibility if your Vrbo RTB settings were configured over 24 hours.

With our February 12th release, OwnerRez has updated the Vrbo API connection, setting the Vrbo RTB to a default of 24 pending hours. This change ensures compliance with Vrbo's penalty-free owner cancellation window and includes improved in-app help language display.Discover all of OwnerRez's channel integrations.

Amenities and Health & Safety Updates

Vrbo deprecated some amenities and COVID-related health and safety details, prompting OwnerRez to update our Vrbo channel integration. As part of our February 5th release, we will no longer pass those deprecated amenities and health and safety details to Vrbo. Deprecated Vrbo amenities and health and safety details include the following.

• Amenities
  • Outdoor Features
    • Outdoor Fenced Pool
  • Themes
    • Adventure
    • Tourist Attractions
• Health & Safety Details
  • Cleaning & Disinfection
  • Cleaning Industry Associations
  • Cleaning Regional Standards
  • Common Surface Disinfectant Cleaned
  • Enhanced Cleaning Practices
  • Linens High Temp Wash

Although we are no longer passing these amenities and health and safety details to Vrbo, they are still available for users to include in their property listings. If selected, these property details will be displayed on their hosted or integrated websites and other listing channels that continue to include those amenities or health and safety details.

You can review your property's Amenities or Health and Safety Details in-app by navigating to Properties > your Property > Listing Content > and selecting either Amenities or Health & Safety.

Thinking about expanding your marketing? Check out all of OwnerRez's channel integrations.

Airbnb Pet Surcharge Handling

Charging a pet fee or surcharge on Airbnb helps cover additional cleaning costs and attracts responsible pet owners, making your pet-friendly rental more profitable. Configuring your Airbnb pet surcharges used to be somewhat challenging due to the Category and Multiplier options. To help users, OwnerRez has restricted the Multiplier choices to either None or Pet when the Airbnb surcharge Pet Fee Category is selected, as implemented in our release on February 12th.

Date Conditions

Configuring your conditions to respond to specific events or scheduled times can streamline processes in your vacation rental business. This reduces errors and improves efficiency, minimizing the need for manual intervention and allowing you to focus on more important business activities. Date conditions or criteria offer maximum flexibility by enabling the addition of numerous extra conditions.

OwnerRez has updated the in-app terminology for bookings, blocked-off time, quotes, and inquiry date conditions. The term "Originated" has been replaced with more intuitive labels: "Booked On," "Quoted On," and "Received On," respectively. This change applies to Triggers, Discounts, Surcharges, and Tag Automations, and will take effect with our release on February 12th.

Users should be aware that this in-app change may make many Support Center screenshots outdated, and we will work to update them as soon as possible.

Property Managers can now choose to display or hide booking and expense subtotals on Owner Statement Views, a feature introduced in our February 12th release.

The option to Show booking and expense subtotals is not selected and will be hidden on Owner Statement Views by default, but you can easily change that setting by navigating to PM > Settings > Statement Views > and either editing a Statement View or clicking on + Create View > Layout > Total > and selecting "Show booking and expense subtotals" to display those booking and expense subtotals on your Owner Statement View.

Some PMv2 users may choose to use this new setting to help with numbers that do not match in the top section of the Owner Statement with the Statement Totals. This can happen if the PM is hiding certain expenses.

With subtotals disabled/hidden:

With subtotals enabled/visible:

Include Relevant Bookings on PM's Preview When Booking Expenses are on Statement

In our February 26th release, OwnerRez added relevant booking information to the Expenses sections on PMv2 Owner Statements. If you, as the PM, are including expenses from a booking but that booking has no realized revenue, on Preview you will now see those bookings included. Once the Statement is generated, the $0 bookings (peach color rows) will not be visible.

Are you starting to manage or cohost bookings on behalf of other owners? Discover how OwnerRez's Property Management premium feature can help you with that.

Airbnb Listing Import Updates

Importing your property listing content from Airbnb directly into OwnerRez is convenient and efficient. Following our December 2024 Airbnb Listing Import rebuild, even more Airbnb property listing details are imported into OwnerRez. The details of the additions are:

• Airbnb's property location features and scenic views are imported into OwnerRez's property location setting and views.
• Airbnb's property title and headline are imported into OwnerRez's property description and headline.

Explore all of OwnerRez's channel integrations.

Channel Booking Mode

Whether an instant booking, request to book, reservation request, or an Airbnb special offer, knowing the channel booking mode is valuable information for short-term vacation rental owners and property managers. OwnerRez has added the Booking Mode display for channel bookings as part of the February 26th release.

This new Booking Mode display is shown on channel bookings in the General Info section on the Overview tab of the booking.

Looking to amp up your marketing? Discover all of OwnerRez's channel integrations.

System Messages Additions

OwnerRez has a robust built-in system of system messages sent automatically for routine situations, such as payment receipts, payment requests, quotes, date changes, and more. In our release on February 19th, we converted the last two system alerts that were previously sent automatically under the hood to be fully visible to users as System Messages. These two new system messages are the Send First Payment Failed to Guest, notifying the guest that their first payment has failed, and the Send Travel Insurance Failed to Guest, which notifies guests that their travel insurance purchase has failed.

By exposing these system messages, users can customize them to their liking by navigating to Settings > Messaging > System Messages >, clicking on the Action dropdown button next to the message they want to change, and selecting Change Message.

Explore all of OwnerRez's dynamic messaging options.

Optional Surcharges for Channels

Some listing channels offer optional surcharges or additional services that guests can choose to add to their booking for an extra fee. These are typically presented during the checkout process as upsell opportunities that provide extra value or peace of mind for travelers and are collected directly by the listing channel.

As part of our February 26th release, OwnerRez has added the ability for listing channel integrations to access optional channel surcharges in the feeds sent from OwnerRez. Those listing channel integrations include Glamping Hub, Houfy, Whimstay, Hopper Homes, Got2Go, LocalOTA, and Avanti Florida Villas. The display of those depends on the channel partner.

Travel Insurance Expansion

Offering travel insurance to guests benefits hosts by reducing cancellation disputes, protecting against guest financial losses, and minimizing refund demands when legitimate cancellations occur. With our February 12th release, OwnerRez has revised the logic and messaging regarding when guests can purchase travel insurance, both in-app for users and on the guest Booking Travel Insurance form, for better clarity.

Guests can now buy Standard Travel Insurance for five days after booking if their arrival date is within 30 days. This revised travel insurance deadline language is displayed on the individual bookings > Insurance > Travel Insurance tab.

The guest Booking Travel Insurance form also displays the revised language.

Trigger and Surcharge Grid Columns

Understanding the conditions that apply to surcharges and triggers at a glance is essential. OwnerRez previously displayed the Listing Site and Property columns on the surcharge and trigger grids, but both were removed in a prior release as the info was consolidated. With our February 19th release, the Listing Site and Property columns on the surcharge and trigger grids were made standalone once again.What if the field is blank in those columns? A blank field means the surcharge or trigger applies to all properties or listing sites.

Merge Guests

OwnerRez's Guest system allows you to link the same guest to multiple inquiries, quotes, and bookings, making it easier to identify repeat guests. You also have the option to separate or merge guest records. However, it's essential to be cautious when merging guests, as some users may do so a little too hastily. For this reason, as a part of our February 19th release, we've added an extra step asking you to validate your choice to merge guest records by checking the "Yes. Proceed with merging..." checkbox during the Merge Guest process.

Bug Fixes

February 5th Release With 17 Bug Fixes

Fix Booking.com Availability Push. The Booking.com (BDC) availability push encountered failures, so OR resolved the issue so that it is running smoothly again.

Fix Disappearing QuickBooks Sync Button After Importing Deposit from Airbnb. After importing a deposit from Airbnb, the "Sync Now" option in the Action dropdown list was incorrectly no longer available. We fixed this glitch, and the "Sync Now" option in the Action dropdown list has been restored.

Fix Error When Attempting to Import Bookings Without Address Information. Users encountered errors when attempting to import bookings with the Import Booking tool without guest address information. We corrected this issue so bookings can be imported with the Import Booking tool without guest address information.

Fix Error When Importing Airbnb Property That Has an Undocumented Locale. Airbnb properties with undocumented locales encountered errors during the Airbnb Listing Import process. OR resolved this glitch so that Airbnb properties with undocumented locales can be correctly imported into OwnerRez using the Airbnb Listing Import process.

Fix Error When Publishing Tax and Fee Information to Google Vacation Rentals. Some errors occurred when publishing tax and fee information to Google Vacation Rentals (GVR). We fixed this bug to ensure that tax and fee information is pushed correctly to GVR.

Fix Javascript Error in Conversation View. Some users encountered Javascript errors while viewing the guest conversation view. OR corrected this glitch, and the guest conversation view is working properly.

Fix Non-U.S. Phone Numbers Being Added as U.S. Phone Numbers. Some non-U.S. phone numbers were incorrectly added and stored as U.S. formatted phone numbers. We fixed this bug to accurately add and store non-U.S. phone numbers in the correct format.

Fix Not Showing Emails When Paging in Conversation View. Some emails failed to display in the guest conversation view when paging. OR corrected this glitch, and emails are now displayed correctly in the guest conversation view.

Fix to Show Discount Broken Out From Total in Charges Grid for Airbnb Bookings. Airbnb discounts were not consistently displayed in the Booking > Charges line items. We resolved this issue by calculating the approximate discount amount from the Airbnb charges information and displaying that in the Booking > Charges line items.

Fix Showing Gap Error on Booking or Quote When it Should be a Minimum or Maximum Error. OwnerRez user-initiated bookings or quotes incorrectly displayed property rule gap error messages rather than the correct minimum or maximum night rule error message. OR corrected this glitch to display the correct gap night error message.

Include Tax in Availability Search Widget Totals. Expected taxes were not included in the Availability Search Widget totals, resulting in incorrect booking totals. We fixed this bug, and the Availability Search Widget totals. will include taxes as expected

New Unified Inbox Updates:

• Fix Archive-ability of Message Threads. Some users encountered errors when attempting to archive message threads in the Unified Inbox. OR corrected this glitch to ensure that message threads are appropriately archived
• Fix Error When Composing a New Thread. Some users encountered errors when composing new message threads in the Unified Inbox. We fixed this bug so that the process of composing new message threads in the Unified Inbox operates smoothly.
• Fix Opening a Thread With Failed Sent Message. Some users encountered errors when opening a message thread containing a send failure notification in the Unified Inbox. OR resolved this issue to allow users to access message threads containing send failure notifications.
• Fix Scroll Position When Scrolling Conversation View. The scroll position was not ideal in the guest conversation view. We fixed this bug to allow optimized scroll positions in the guest conversation view. 
• Restore Messaging Template Selection. Before the January 2025 release, the message template icon was removed from the Unified Inbox because we were concerned it was incomplete. OR implemented a solution, and the message template icon was restored to the Unified Inbox.

Send Google Analytics Correct Data When Multiple Widgets are Hosted on the Same Site Page. When multiple widgets were hosted on the same page, a missing portion of data sent to Google Analytics prevented users from fully tracking reservation sources. We corrected this issue to ensure that the data sent to Google Analytics will correctly track reservation sources.

February 12th Release With 17 Bug Fixes

Add Booking Availability Picker Assumes Wrong Century. Although the booking was created for the correct year, the + Create Booking availability calendar picker incorrectly displayed the wrong century (e.g., 1925 instead of 2025), resulting in dates showing the wrong day and causing confusion. We fixed this bug to ensure the + Create Booking availability calendar picker displays the correct century.

Attempt to Void Lynnbrook Payment if Non-voidable/Non-refundable. On rare occasions, Lynnbrook payments are reported to OwnerRez as "non-refundable or non-voidable," which we interpreted to mean we should not try to refund or void the payment. This resulted in an error occurring on such payments. However, Lynnbrook indicated that we can still attempt to void or refund the payment if we need to, so OR resolved this issue by attempting to void Lynnbrook payments reported to OwnerRez as "non-refundable or non-voidable."

Exclude Child Rates During New Booking.com Connections. Users were mistakenly able to select Booking.com (BDC) Child Rate plans during the BDC API connection process, resulting in errors. We addressed this obstacle by removing Child Rate plans from the BDC API connection process.

Fix Incorrect Amounts for "Already Remitted" & "Can Remit" on Booking PM Tab Profit Section. Despite PM v2 remitted expenses being included on PM statements, the "Already Remitted" & "Can Remit" on the booking PM tab profit section rendered and displayed incorrect amounts. OR corrected this issue so that the  "Already Remitted" & "Can Remit" on the booking PM tab profit section will render and display the correct amounts. 

Fix Merging of Guests Resulting in Broken Email Links. If a guest was merged, guest ID links displayed in system notification emails already sent no longer worked correctly. We resolved this bug, and merged guest links will work correctly in system notification emails.

Fix Owner Excel Import Crash. The Import Owners default Excel template caused errors when used for the Import Owners process. OR fixed the template so that the process would run correctly.

Fix Vrbo Channel Bridge Booking Downloads. Due to changes on the Vrbo side, the OwnerRez Channel Bridge tool could not download Vrbo bookings correctly. We fixed the Channel Bridge tool to ensure users can download Vrbo bookings correctly.

Fix Vrbo Listing Import Failures and Not Pulling in Beds/Baths. The Vrbo Listing Import tool could not import beds and baths and also experienced general import failures. OR resolved this issue, and the Vrbo Listing Import tool is working again.

Gap Rule is Applied When There is No Booking. This edge case occurred when changeover gap rules were incorrectly applied to a canceled booking. We corrected this glitch so that changeover gap rules are not applied to canceled bookings.

Handle Missing Guest Name in Airbnb Response. Occasionally, Airbnb booking responses don't include the guest's name. OR fixed this bug to better handle Airbnb Booking Added responses to ensure guest names are correctly imported.

Property Excel Import Does Not Overwrite Listing Number. Previously imported Property Import Excel files that included the listing number received import errors when users attempted to reimport with the "Overwrite" option selected. We corrected this glitch to ensure that Property Import Excel files that include the listing number will be imported correctly.

SMS Template "To" With Whitespace Delimited Numbers Causes Errors in Trigger Sender. SMS templates that use blank spaces to separate the phone numbers or field codes in the "To" field cause errors in the trigger sender. OR resolved this issue by merging the field codes and phone numbers and appending a semi-colon (;) after the merge codes to separate them.

Support Spot Rate Gap Required Rule on Mutual Blocks. Spot rate changeover gap rules were not properly applied to mutually blocked properties. We fixed this bug to ensure that spot rate changeover gap rules are correctly applied to mutually blocked properties. 

Unified Inbox:

• Adjust Communication History Item Print View. The Communication History print view incorrectly displayed the title, "Communication History," and the scrollbar. OR corrected this glitch by removing the title "Communication History" and the scrollbar from the Communication History print view.
• Don't Include Archived Messages in Unread Messages Main Menu Count. Archived unread messages were incorrectly counted in the total number of unread messages. We fixed this bug so that the total number count of unread messages is rendered and displayed correctly.
• Fix Header From Disappearing With On-screen Keyboard With Android Devices. In-app headers were not displayed correctly with the on-screen keyboard on Android devices. OR resolved this issue to ensure that in-app headers are correctly displayed with the on-screen keyboard on Android devices.
• Make Scrollbar for Inbox Match Scrollbar From Secondary Menu Sidebar. The Unified Inbox message pane scrollbar was smaller than the secondary menu sidebar. We corrected this glitch so that the Unified Inbox message pane scrollbar matches the secondary menu sidebar.

February 19th Release With 14 Bug Fixes

Add Forum Name to Watch this Topic Notifications. Forum names were not included in Watch This Topic email notifications, leading to some confusion. We fixed this issue, and the forum name will be included in Watch This Topic email notifications.

Display Correct "Element" on LQA for Discount Items Instead of Surcharge. Some discounts were incorrectly displayed as Surcharges in the Element column of the Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA). OR resolved this glitch to display "Discounts" in the Element column of the LQA correctly.

Don't Display Derived Description Field in Airbnb Listing Status Check Locked Attributes. Derived description fields were displayed in the OwnerRez Airbnb listing status Locked Attributes. These fields are derived, and therefore, any Lock status on the field is immaterial. We adjusted the behavior to display only the non-derived description fields in the OwnerRez Airbnb listing status Locked Attributes list.

Fix Auto PM Lock for PMv2 Statement Generation. Some fully paid bookings inadvertently were not automatically PM locked as expected when a PMv2 statement was generated. OR resolved this issue to ensure that fully paid bookings are automatically PM locked as expected when a PMv2 statement is generated.

Fix Rentalz Listing Links. The listing links displayed on the in-app Rentalz integration pages were incorrect, so we have corrected them.

Fix Vrbo Listing Import to Pull in Beds/Baths. The Vrbo Listing Import tool failed to import beds and baths correctly. We fixed this bug, and the Vrbo Listing Import tool will import beds and baths correctly.

Improve Hosted Website Browser Accessibility (e.g., screenreader). Some browser accessibility attributes or labels were missing from hosted websites, rendering them less accessible than expected, so we have optimized browser accessibility attributes or labels for improved accessibility.

Improve Hosted Website Photo Gallery Defaults. We have improved the hosted website's photo gallery. The "Rooms" tab has been renamed "Photo Gallery," and exterior photos will now be included in this list. Additionally, if more than 80% of the photos are associated with specific rooms, the individual tabs will not be displayed, and the view will default to the photo gallery.

Increase Protection Limit for Damage Protection Platinum Enhanced to $25k. Since the Damage Protection Platinum Enhanced protection limit has been raised to $25,000, we have updated that amount in-app on the Damage Protection page.

Match Vrbo Channel Bridge Linen Fee to Surcharge. Some Vrbo Linen fee surcharges were not correctly matched to bookings during the Channel Bridge process. OR resolved this glitch, and Vrbo Linen fee surcharges will be correctly matched to bookings during the Channel Bridge process.

Show Other Surcharges in Booking Update Service for HA-XML Channel Integrations. Optional surcharges were inadvertently hidden from the Booking Update Service for Channel Integration. We fixed this bug to include optional surcharges in the Booking Update Service for Channel Integration.

Order Email Communication History Activity Groups by Last Occurrence Date Instead of First. In-app Communication History Activity displayed email action history in incorrect order. OR corrected this issue, and the in-app Communication History Activity will display the history in the correct descending order.

Skip Disabled Properties on Excel Custom Fields Import. Importing Custom Fields Excel files that contained disabled properties that had duplicate internal codes with active properties resulted in import errors. We resolved this glitch by skipping disabled properties in the Custom Fields Import process.

Unified Inbox:

• Unarchive Channel Message Thread When Host Sends Message. Archived messages failed to be unarchived and moved to the regular Inbox after they were replied to. OR fixed this bug to ensure that archived messages are unarchived and moved to the regular Inbox after they are replied to.

February 26th Release With 11 Bug Fixes

Fix Displaying of Error if a Deposit is Blank. If a QuickBooks Online integration was configured, blank deposits incorrectly displayed errors. We resolved this glitch by allowing blank deposits for QuickBooks Online integrations.

Fix Hosted Site Amenity Filter Dropdown Scrollbar From Appearing Unnecessarily. The Amenity filter dropdown list scrollbar was displayed incorrectly when no properties were in the search results. OR fixed this bug, and the Amenity filter dropdown list scrollbar will not be displayed when no properties are in the search results.

Fix Hosted Site Blog Category Page to Include the Category Name in the Page Title. On the hosted website blog category pages, blog post categories failed to be displayed in the post title. We resolved this glitch so that blog post categories are displayed in the post title.

Fix Hosted Site Property Page Photo Link. Hosted website property page photo links didn't open correctly. OR corrected this bug and hosted website property page photo links open correctly.

Fix Outdated Listing URLs on Channel Integration. Some HA-XML listing channel property listing links were incorrect. We resolved this issue to ensure all HA-XML listing channel property listing links are correct.

Various Internationalization Fixes: Widgets, Validation, Display Currency With Account vs. Team Access. Following the Guest Culture release earlier in February, OwnerRez has fixed various internationalization bugs affecting widgets, validation, and currency display settings for primary accounts vs. Team Access accounts.