Happy Saturday!
This week we announced our new status as a 2021 Vrbo Elite Connectivity Partner. Elite Connectivity Partners are an exclusive group of top-performing vacation rental connectivity providers who offer the highest-quality connection to Vrbo and optimized products and services. Vrbo has certified hundreds of integrated software partners, but only 16 are "preferred" and only 7 are "elite". OwnerRez is now one of those 7 elite partners!
As many of you may know, back in March OwnerRez became an official Corporate Sponsor of VRMA. Paul Waldschmidt, our CEO, wrote an article for VRMA that talks about OwnerRez and the Power of Happiness. The root cause of OwnerRez’s success is our commitment to “create happiness.” To find out how we do that, check out the full article.
Airbnb has lifted their regional restrictions in New York City and now allows any property type to be listed. OwnerRez users can easily distribute their existing property content, rates, rules and availability directly to Airbnb and receive back bookings and guest information inside OwnerRez automatically. If you are ready to list, check out our Airbnb Setup & Connecting guide.
HomeToGo, in partnership with AirDNA, has published a new white paper. They provide exclusive data and tips to capitalize on the new normal of travel. Sections addressed in the report include: Summer 2021 Outlook, Guest Travel Behavior, Where Guests are Booking, Tips to Capitalize on the Latest Trends, and How Property Managers are Securing Their Future.
As travel picks back up, look out for vacation rental scams. For nearly two weeks, a couple who lived in their Valley home for more than a decade started to receive unwanted visitors due to an Airbnb scam. Vacationers would show up at night to their home with luggage ready to check-in to their bookings. The couple did everything they could to detour these unwanted guests, even putting up a sign which read, "This is not an Airbnb. You've been scammed. Please report it to Airbnb." Airbnb eventually removed the listing and banned the host, but the question of how to combat this best in the future remains open.