Prepare your holiday spirit by dashing into the OwnerRez November Product Update! As we enter a busy season for 2025 bookings, discover some timely gifts such as the new Quote Triggers, additional Property Search Widget Amenity Filters (e.g., pet-friendly, smoking allowed), Map Pin channel display, and more.
New Features
Quote Triggers Added
We've all seen it: a potential guest begins your website's "Book Now" process but doesn't complete the reservation. They may have been evaluating their options for a larger group or exploring different choices. Still, following up to address any questions and remind them to finalize their booking was essential. However, following up with these potential guests was a frustrating, manual process for OwnerRez users.
Our November 6th release includes new immediate and scheduled Quote Triggers, allowing you to send follow-up templates to potential guests who started your website's "Book Now" process. These new Quote Triggers can be configured to send your follow-up template immediately after a quote is sent.
Or the Quote Trigger can be scheduled to be sent a few days after a quote is sent.
There should be no shame in your guest communication game. Be sure to check out all of the OwnerRez Messaging options.
Additional Amenity Suitability Filters for Availability/Property Search Widget and Hosted Websites
Presenting your property's amenities on your hosted website promotes transparency and empowers potential renters to make informed decisions. Detailed amenity filters that attract guests seeking pet-friendly or specific amenities enhance guest satisfaction and your property's overall marketability.
As part of our November 6th release, we added additional Amenity filters to the Availability/Property Search Widget for Hosted and Integrated Websites. These new Availability/Property Search Widget Amenity Suitability Filters include the following.
- Events Allowed
- Has Elevator
- Pets Allowed
- Smoking Allowed
- Wheelchair Accessible
You can add these new Suitability Amenity Filters to your Availability/Property Search Widget by navigating to your Hosted Website > Properties webpage > Availability/Property Search Widget > Change Settings > Filters > Amenity Filters > Suitability.
These new Suitability Amenity Filters will be displayed on your Hosted or Integrated Website Property page.
Are you considering a hosted website for your vacation rental property? Learn all about OwnerRez Hosted Websites.
OwnerRez API v2 Updates
OwnerRez's API for Apps is available to partners and users who want to communicate with our software. In November, our OwnerRez API v2 had several updates.
Reviews
Due to numerous partner and user requests, OwnerRez added the capability to fetch property reviews in our November 13th release.
Quote and Inquiry Webhooks
With our November 20th release, we added support for both inquiries and quotes.
We also improved the performance of outbound webhooks, fixed long custom fields from causing booking endpoint errors, and smoothened the auto-pausing and notification process for high-failure webhooks.
These API v2 updates include support for WordPress plugins and Integrated websites in the OwnerRez API v2. To access the reviews endpoint, the WordPress Plugin + Integrated Websites premium feature must be enabled.
Learn more by reading our OAuth Apps support article.
New Design Progress
Support Center Navigation Menu
The November 6th release improved the OwnerRez Support Center navigation menu design, giving it a cleaner, crisper look and feel on both desktop and mobile.
Gone are the large green categories, and much like the OwnerRez app, the navigation menu now includes simplified icons.
Stay abreast of all the OwnerRez design updates by reading the New Design 2024 support article.
Amenities Reorganization
Highlighting your property's amenities fosters transparency and helps potential renters make informed choices. Precise details build trust, set expectations, and attract guests looking for specific comforts, enhancing their satisfaction and your property's appeal.
With our November 6th release, OwnerRez has reorganized and moved some amenity features to other areas. Let's review these changes one by one.
The Amenities Type section was moved to the top of the Accommodations page, and the Wheelchair Accessible and Shared Spaces from Accommodations were collapsed into the Accommodation Type section (Properties > specific Property > Listing Content > Accommodations> Change > Type).
Events and Smoking was moved to a new Suitability Restrictions section within the Property Rules area (Properties > specific Property > General Info > Rules > Change > Suitability Restrictions), just above Occupancy Restrictions.
The Long-term Renters Welcome, Senior Adults Only Community, and Additional Info options have been removed from Amenities, as we feel that information is best suited for Property Descriptions.
Why all these changes to Amenities? These updates to the Amenities section are essential as they are part of our overall plan to revamp the entire Amenities page, which is expected to be released in early 2025.
Enhancements & Tweaks
Map Pin Property Display
Both Airbnb and Vrbo recently provided data showing that listings using Map Pin—a setting that displays your property's location on the map without revealing the exact address—perform better in search results and are more likely to convert to bookings.
Not only that, there are a number of other reasons why listings using Map Pin are more successful.
- Location and Accuracy are part of Airbnb Host Ratings.
- Over 20% of Vrbo travelers use the map search.
- Map Pin will make your listings in search results more appealing.
- Proximity to attractions and amenities is key for travelers.
- Vrbo listings without a map pin may be excluded from neighborhood searches or appear inaccurately (e.g., on highways or water).
Having Airbnb and Vrbo listings set to "Use Property Default" for location display could lead to inconsistencies and missed booking opportunities, so OwnerRez will be switching all properties using "Use Property Default" to Map Pin in early December. If you prefer the new setting, you need not take any additional action; we'll update it for you. And hey, you're making the right decision!
Check your current property location settings by navigating to Settings > Channels > your Airbnb and/or Vrbo channel > Change > Options > Map Display section > and selecting either Map pin or General Area. You can also opt-out of either by selecting Use Property Default for your location display.
OwnerRez emailed all users with affected properties whose Airbnb and Vrbo listings are set to "Use Property Default" for location display.
Airbnb and Vrbo Listing Status Displays
OwnerRez's Channel Management integrations effectively streamline your advertising on both Airbnb and Vrbo. With our November 13th release, OwnerRez has added more information from your Airbnb and Vrbo integrations to the "Check Status" display for each property under its respective API connection.
Want to view your Airbnb or Vrbo Listing Status displays? Navigate to Settings > API Integrations > either your Airbnb or Vrbo channel > and select Check Status from the Actions dropdown list on the right side.
When clicked on, the Check Status popup will appear. In addition to the Check Status and Quality Standards of your Airbnb listings, you can now view Host Roles and Regulation Requirements.
If sent to OwnerRez, any Regulation Requirements will be displayed, but if no regulation requirement items are provided to OwnerRez, no Regulation Requirements will be displayed.
When you click on Check Status for your Vrbo listing (Settings > API Integrations > your Vrbo channel > and from the right side Actions dropdown list, select Check Status), your Vrbo Legal Registration (if returned) will be displayed.
OwnerRez's incredibly powerful Channel Management feature can simplify all your channel advertising. Be sure to check out all of our Channel Integrations.
Booking.com Tax Withholding
As part of our November 20th release, OwnerRez now supports Booking.com's Payments Clarity Package. The Payments Clarity Package enables hosts to retrieve more granular information via Virtual Credit Cards (VCC), bank transfers, and even agency reservations, whereas Booking.com (BDC) doesn't have to facilitate financial transactions.
BDC's Payments Clarity Package also supports their new automated tax calculation and remittance capability for some U.S. states. How will these tax capabilities affect your BDC API-connected property? Learn more about that by reading Booking.com's Understanding tax remittance management in the US
Schlage v2 API
Not familiar with Smart Locks? A great place to start is by reviewing our Smart Lock Overview vacation rental guide and then checking out all of OwnerRez's door lock integration options.
TripAdvisor
Farewell, TripAdvisor! Effective October 2024, TripAdvisor officially closed its rental business, including Holiday Lettings, Flipkey, and Niumba, so OwnerRez sunsetted the TripAdvisor API integration on November 6th.
OwnerRez had a long-standing relationship with TripAdvisor and FlipKey. TripAdvisor was one of the first API integrations that OwnerRez undertook, so this sunset is particularly bittersweet for us.
TripAdvisor's August 2008 acquisition of Flipkey rocked the vacation rental industry, so it's no surprise that on June 19th, 2011 (13 years ago!), we announced our New calendar synchronization for FlipKey and TripAdvisor. Also, TripAdvisor was prominently featured in our October 10th, 2018, Introducing OwnerRez Channels Product Update blog post.
Bug Fixes
November 6th Release With 9 Bug Fixes
Don't Display URLs in Search Result Previews. OwnerRez search results incorrectly displayed URLs in the search result previews. We fixed this bug, and search result previews will no longer display URLs.
Fill in the Correct Number of Adults and Children in Quick Quote. While the inquiry was valid, clicking the Create Quote link from the guest conversation view did not auto-populate the correct number of Adults and Children in the Create Quote popup. OR corrected this glitch, and the correct number of Adults and Children will be auto-populated in the Create Quote popup when linked from the guest conversation.
Fix Cases Where Taxes For a Booking Could be Negative. In rare instances, tax amounts were calculated as negative if the rent was not taxable and included a taxable discount. We have resolved this issue, and now, rents that are classified as not taxable while containing a taxable discount will not result in negative tax amounts.
Guest Review Form Character Limit to 10,000. While the Guest Review form displayed an allowance of a maximum of 10,000 characters, it limited guest reviews to less than 1,000 characters. OR resolved this issue, and Guest Review forms will again allow up to a maximum of 10,000 characters.
Specify Bookable Gap Selections on Conditions Editor Dropdown. Some users found the language of our new "Gap" fields confusing since the logic only looks at "available" gaps, not all gaps. We have clarified the language by adding the suffix "(bookable)" after the title of all three fields: Arrival Gap, Departure Gap, and Arrival Or Departure Gap.
Update Error Messages to Accurately Show Minimum Nights Rule Violation. Even though the minimum night rule was configured, error messages did not accurately display the minimum night rule violation when expected. OR fixed this glitch to ensure that minimum night rule violations are accurately displayed on error messages.
Update Error Page Message With Support Ticket Option. We've updated the text on error messages to include a link to open a Support Ticket.
November 13th release With 14 Bug Fixes
Add LQA Check for Vrbo Charge Category Taxability Mismatch. Users with multiple surcharges in the same category, one taxable and the other non-taxable, discovered that all surcharges in that category were deemed taxable for Vrbo bookings, even though some surcharges were set as non-taxable. OR resolved this issue by adding an additional Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA) check for taxable and non-taxable surcharges applicable to the Vrbo and the same property and charge category and display the following LQA error: "Surcharges in the same charge category must either all be taxable or non-taxable."
Fix Airbnb Bulk Recalculate Charges Property Dropdown From Losing Selection After Preview. Properties selected from the Airbnb Bulk Recalculate Charges Property dropdown list during the preview failed to hold those property selections when users executed the Airbnb Bulk Recalculate Charges batch. We corrected this glitch to ensure that properties selected from the Airbnb Bulk Recalculate Charges Property dropdown list during the preview will be maintained when users execute the Airbnb Bulk Recalculate Charges batch.
Fix Blocked-off Time Trigger From Possibly Running Twice. Due to a code regression, some blocked-off time triggers inadvertently sent templates twice.OR fixed this bug, and blocked-off time triggers will send templates correctly.
Fix Channel Bridge Error on Airbnb Charge With "(generated)" in the Name Field. The Channel Bridge import logic did not properly handle some Airbnb charge descriptions, leading to the addition of the word "(generated)" at the end of each value in the Name column. We corrected this issue, and the Channel Bridge import logic will properly handle Airbnb charge descriptions.
Fix Guest Conversation Ability to Apply Template. Due to a code regression, some guest conversations did not allow users to apply templates. OR fixed this bug to ensure that templates can be applied correctly in guest conversations.
Fix Immediate Type Triggers From Firing as Scheduled Ones. Due to a code regression, some immediate type triggers inadvertently sent templates as a scheduled type trigger. We resolved this issue, and immediate type triggers will send templates correctly.
Fix Inquiry Email to Send Even if Inquiry Body is Empty or No Adults is Set. Some inquiry emails failed to be sent if the inquiry body was empty or no adults were set. OR corrected this glitch, and inquiry emails will be sent even if the inquiry body is empty or no adults are set.
Fix Merging of Similar Charges When Creating Line Item Pivot Report. Despite having the "Merge Similar Charges" checked when creating the Line Item Pivot Report, similar surcharges were not merged as expected. We resolved this issue to ensure that similar surcharges are merged as expected when the "Merge Similar Charges" checkbox is checked when creating the Line Item Pivot Report.
Fix Payment Detail Report Projected Deposit Date if Completed Deposit. The projected dates for completed deposits on Payment Detail Reports were incorrectly displayed if the deposit had already been completed. OR corrected this glitch, and projected dates for completed deposits on Payment Detail Reports will not be displayed for completed deposits.
Fix Quote Trigger "Open" Status Criteria. Due to a code regression, some "open" quote status conditions were not correctly applied, resulting in trigger failures. We fixed this bug, and "open" quote status conditions will be correctly applied to triggers to send templates properly.
Fix Sending the Correct Grace Time Before Arrival to Schlage Locks. Schlage API-connected locks configured with the Grace Time Arrival period to all day instead sent the door lock code with the incorrect grace period of the OwnerRez configured property check-in time. OR resolved this issue, and Schlage API-connected locks configured with the Grace Time Arrival period to all day will send door lock codes with the correct grace period.
Restore Featured Sort Order for Property Search Widget Default Option. Due to a code regression, the featured property sort order was inadvertently removed from the Availability/Property Search Widget. We corrected this glitch, and the featured property sort order has been restored to the Availability/Property Search Widget.
Restore PMv1 Owner Statement Full Amounts Export Behavior. Users encountered errors when attempting to Export Full Amounts from PM v1 Owner Statements. OR resolved this issue, and the Export Full Amounts from PM v1 Owner Statements process will work correctly.
Update Air Surcharge Category Mismatch LQA to Provide the Correct Fix. Following the October 2024 Airbnb and Vrbo Surcharge Categories release, the Airbnb surcharge category mismatches displayed on the Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA) did not provide adequate information for users to correct the issue. We fixed this bug to display the LQA Airbnb surcharge category mismatch information, providing users with adequate information to correct the issue themselves.
November 20th release With 15 Bug Fixes
Add LQA Check for Non-taxable Rent When Some Configured Taxes Apply to Vrbo. Vrbo does not support non-taxable rent, so the Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA) has been updated to include checks for and warnings about non-taxable rent applied to Vrbo when other taxes are configured.
Add LQA Check for Non-taxed Discount That Applies to Vrbo. Vrbo does not support non-taxable discounts, so the Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA) has been updated to include checks for and warnings about non-taxed discounts that apply to Vrbo.
Billing Info From Travel Insurance Should Not Cause iCal Bookings to be Updated. When travel insurance was purchased for iCal bookings, OwnerRez was sending Booking Update webhooks to OAuth-integrated applications. We have corrected this so that no Booking Update webhook is sent when travel insurance is purchased.
Fix Blocked-Off Immediate Triggers to Run. Some triggers configured to send templates for blocked-off times failed to run correctly. OR resolved this issue, and triggers configured to send templates for blocked-off times will run correctly.
Fix Crash When Submitting Vrbo Review Response. Some users experienced errors when attempting to submit a Vrbo review response. We fixed this bug to ensure users can submit a Vrbo review response correctly.
Fix Expenses With $0 Amount Being Filtered Out From Owner Statements. $0 expense amounts were incorrectly filtered out of v1 owner statements. OR corrected this glitch, and $0 expense amounts will be handled properly on v1 owner statements.
Fix 'minimum' Typo. An error message contained a typo of the word minimum. This typo has been corrected.
Fix Per-guest Fees to Not Convert to Per-stay Fees on HA-XML-based Channels. Due to a possible incorrect or incomplete multiplier fee, some per-guest fees were incorrectly passed to HA-XML-based channels as a flat per-stay fee. OR resolved this issue, and per-guest fees will be correctly passed to HA-XML-based channels.
Fix Public Link (Global Landing Page) From Allowing Selection of More Children Than Max Guests. The Public Booking Link (formerly the Global Landing Page) incorrectly allowed the selection of more children than the guest maximum limit. We fixed this bug so that the Public Booking Link will adhere to the property guest maximum limit.
Fix Quote Trigger With "Open" Status. Scheduled triggers configured with an "open" quote trigger status condition failed to send templates as expected. We corrected this glitch, and scheduled triggers configured with an "open" quote trigger status condition will send templates as expected.
Fix Theming Rendering on Certain Guest Forms. Some client theming was not rendered consistently or correctly on some guest forms. We fixed this bug to ensure that theming is consistent and correct on all guest forms.
Fix Vrbo Channel Bridge Bookings Download. Due to changes outside of OwnerRez, the Vrbo Channel Bridge bookings download process encountered errors. OR resolved this issue, so that the Vrbo Channel Bridge bookings download process should be working again.
Have Trigger Forecast and Booking Messages Tab Tooltip Verbiage to Account for Disabled Seasons. The trigger forecast and booking messages tab tooltip language did not accurately account for or reflect any disabled seasons. We corrected this glitch to ensure that the trigger forecast and booking messages tab tooltip language accurately accounts for or reflects any disabled seasons.
Improve Airbnb Message Filtering Option on API Channel Edit. The labels on the Airbnb API connection message filtering options were somewhat confusing. That language has been updated for clarification to "Ignore messages regarding listings not managed by OwnerRez."
Fix Search Widget Amenity Filter to Carry Search Selections to Properties Index Page. Some amenity filters configured in the Availability/Property Search widget failed to display the correct search results on the Properties index page.
