Introduce Yourself!

Sort by

• Newest Reply
• Newest Topic

my name is Tim and I am new to this software. my main reason to get it was to be able to process my own credit cards. I couldn't bare having Vrbo holding my money.
I hired some one to put my get my listings to put it up for me. I simply could't figure it out. Did any one else hire some one? i would love to hear your process on the sort ware.
so far , the only thing i can figure change my rates.

There have been some light bulb moments tonight, thanks. I'll check out the FB group. I have my own website(s), FB pages, two regional book direct sites, and of course the regular OTAs, TA/FK, abnb and for one listing HA. I just managed to get the most lucrative one 90% set up today, two more properties to go...LOL

Hi, Debi! Welcome. If you're on Facebook be sure to join the Unofficial Owner Rez Support Group. Lots of help here and there.

As for OR, you're right! Not as intuitive as we might like, but really wonderful once you get it going. Start with one thing at a time. You'll get there. I also still have so much to learn! Which listing sites are you using?

For your legal agreement, go to "Settings", then "Branding & Legal" then "Legal Agreements." When you're ready, check out the FB page I mentioned and see how to add custom fields which require renters to provide information and initial different parts of your contract.

Hi,
I have 3 properties, a bnb, and two stand alone homes. I am hoping this will make life a bit easier in the coming months when most of my inquiries come in. I have a lot of questions, as unfortunately set up isn't as intuitive as I thought it would be. Still trying to find where to upload my rental agreement, my cancellation policies, etc. And how to set up the email templates. I'll get there I'm sure, but sure is taking longer than expected.
Wish me luck ;)
Debi

Welcome, and great to e-meet you! I hope your setup is going smoothly.

There are a bunch of help articles in the Support section on this site, and if you have questions just ask away here on the forums or via support ticket.

We are excited to join a community of other property managers. We currently have about 40 vacation rentals and we would love to talk to other users of OR that love it. Our other software program got bought out by a huge cooperation and we are not okay with the 100% price increase. We look forward to the new change!

I've been using OwnerRez software for a little while now but just now came across the forums. I look forward to digging in deeper and learning to use OwnerRez for more than I currently am. Its a great pleasure to have found these forums so I can see what other members are doing and sharing. I hope to communicate with everyone on the forums and hope to get to a point where I can begin posting my experiences to help others.

My current property is a 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom townhouse in Kissimmee, FL by Disney World. I'm enjoying my first year as a vacation rental owner and I'm looking forward to many more. I'm also eager to continue adding more properties to my portfolio which is why using software like OwnerRez to automate some of the processes is key.

If anyone has any recommendations, tips, or anything that could be helpful I'm all hears or probably eyes in this case.

Thank you,

Erik Kuhi
Happy Place Properties, LLC

You're gonna love it! We recommend it/them to everyone that will listen! We were a little lost in the beginning but once you get going with it, it makes more sense. We still have our moments but that's more us than OR. :) Good luck to you!

We are excited to join the world of Owner Rez. So far it feels a little crazy, but we got this! We are a woman owned and operated property mgmt & design company. We look forward to chatting with y'all and working through this new journey of software together!

Happy Friday,

Faith, Mary & Kristin

Hello,
I just signed up on this site and am hopeful it will help me simplify the booking process. I'm weening myself off paid sites and think this will be a great tool for booking. I haven't integrated anything yet on my website but have two condos in Palm Desert if you want to check them out.
https://adriennemarkes.com/villa-marbella-palm-desert-ca-92260/
https://adriennemarkes.com/marbella-cottage-palm-desert-ca-92260-2/
Look forward to learning from all you pros out there.
Adrienne

I think @JTVR has it right for typical cases...

"website and social media angle is primarily about establishing an ongoing relationship with guests so they keep coming back."

That is my assessment. I remember a large hotel's manager talking about success with their Facebook page. He said it was very difficult trying to find more than a few bookings for the year that came through their FB page.

I also have seen quite a few VR owners say they see very little return traffic. It obviously varies with the location.

I think the average newbie seeking traffic should focus on the big 4 listing sites, price and/or add fees if they must to cover the commission and collect the 7% approx direct bookings that might come their way. I am adding 16% to BDC to cover the commission - any bookings therefore didnt really cost me anything.

Again, how much energy should you expend with pamphlets/blogging/marketing.etc when they can bring you all the bookings you could handle with minimal energy expended if located/priced right?

The website and social media angle is primarily about establishing an ongoing relationship with guests so they keep coming back. It's also great to have a location that you can send folks you're already talking to via whatever source and say, "go here and check out my property".

SEO is relatively ineffective for vacation rentals. You need to be the first page, and that is generally dominated by the listing sites in most markets. And being on social media is nice, but I doubt that will bring you much traffic that books.

I have been on VRBO for a few years. Just launched my own website www.lifeisgoodinthemountains.com and added OR. Site is a Wix design that I customized. Still working on SEO and getting Facebook and Pinterest going.

I feel like I need to get Paul a gift...he has been so helpful and patient throughout this entire process. But, I think we are almost there...not that I won't still have questions but at least now all of this doesn't totally look like Greek to me!
We are Stay Better Vacations...a boutique property management company on Amelia Island in Florida. Three years ago, I bought a condo as an investment and to supplement my teaching income. Fast forward...instead of today being my first day back to school...I resigned from teaching and am managing 15 properties!

Good luck Marie! :)

Just building our site now, but you can view the property on instagram @birchbayperch for now. Wish me luck putting all of this together!

Hi Belladonna,

We have some open tickets with you, so the conversation isn't over yet! We'll work through it.

On the renter agreements, the guest cannot fill in or write inside the body of the agreement. You need to change the renter agreement to embed field codes for what the body should say relative to the booking/guest in question.

What happens with our signature is that a unique PDF is stamped for the guest and an electronically signature with the guest name, IP address and date is stamped on top and bottom of the agreement. That PDF is stored on their booking for all of time. You can request/get new ones signed on the booking as well.

If you need to embed a certain piece of information in the renter agreement that the guest provides - like size or weight of pets or license plate of their car - you can do that by using custom field codes. The guest is presented with the custom field codes first to fill in and then that is shown in the agreement as a second step. They sign at the bottom, below the agreement, the stamped PDF is created.

Thank you,
That's helpful,

Might as well put it all out there... as the answers usually come when I ask aloud...
Feel free to send me to the right place to figure this out...Paul tried, and I'm still confused
I can't figure out how to make the templates work where I, and also my guests can write into the body of the rental agreement. So theres that.That's one of the first things. I cant even send a digital rental agreement because I want to customize each one from a template and I want my guests to be able to fill in different fields with the rental agreement.

Yes, to hosted website and a rate/minimums push with Channel Bridge.

Looking for the calendar where the "spot rates" show up. Having a list by day doesn't show a good picture.

Thank you, anyone for chiming in and saving me from myself. :)
Belladonna

I am starting May-ish, but yea there is a lot to do. I have been picking away at it.

I would suggest:

to really pound the heck out of this link ---> https://www.ownerrez.com/support
consider the hosted website (for several reasons)
keep it simple - use the templates as much as possible and make changes later
don't be afraid to ask questions here - there is good support
if you are not living in or next to the unit, get both a smartlock and video doorbell
get yourself on all the OTAs (Airbnb, HA/VRBO family, Booking.com)
consider the PriceLabs dynamic pricing utility to help maximize revenue.
etc.

Hello,
I have a 5 bedroom 4 bathroom rental in Portland, OR, and am scurrying to get this system set up.
Its moving along like a tortoise...
belladonna
I have had 6 rentals back in the pre- fall of 2015 days where I was so busy I only used VRBO and it was crazy!. I've scaled back and am starting from ground 50.
Need some automization...
Thank you!
Looking forward to sorting this part of my business out.

Hi All, I have a beach house in Santa Rosa Beach, FL but live in Atlanta, GA. Fun seeing where everyone is from!

I almost got my first job after college at Savannah River Plant (Aiken), but wound up in NY instead. I am several months away from launching 7-ish vacation rentals in PA. Including what I call the "Most Important Vacation Rental in America." The first owner was off the charts historically speaking. But no one knows who he is!

Yea it can look overwhelming, but what they do is really what the owner needs to do, and they appear to automate a lot of it as well as anyone.

My best advice is to go over the Support link with a fine tooth comb, and ask questions on the Forum --> https://www.ownerrez.com/support

Welcome, Allison! My husband and I are from Greenville, SC (not natives, though). We love Charleston and visit as often as we get the chance. We have 3 rental cabins in Pigeon Forge, so we end up heading to Tennessee a lot now to take care of our properties. You will love OR once you get used to it. :)

-Janice Tabor
HighviewCabins.com

Good morning, It's a beautiful day in Charleston, SC. We own 3 STR's in the area. We have lived here our whole life and love helping our guests enjoy our charming city.
I am totally clueless of how to set up my properties, but I know I'm in good hands with Chris, Paul and the community of OwnerRez.
I am looking forward to chatting with everyone.
Thank you,
Allison Driggers
Charleston Rental Vacations

Small world. https://caszattcondos.com 3 Galveston vacation rental condos. I also live on the west end. I'm struggling with ranking. I'm in the process of creating a new website, GalvestonCaszattCondos.com and integrating OwnerRez. I'm using Alan Egan's free VR template under his new course. I like a lot of the features with his new template. CaszattCondos is under his old course.

Howdy neighbor. (East End Historical District here). Gorgeous place, and serious kudos on the website ranking!

My VR is located in Galveston, TX. We have a website that is actually ranking on the page 1-3 on google...so now its time to FIRE the PM and take it over. Can't wait to get to their other side with everything automated. I apologize in advance for all the question coming your way this weekend!

Check out my beachfront home here: https://galvestonbeachfrontvacationrental.com/

Looks like I'm the first Aussie in here :)
I'm Dianne Denton from Diamond Beach NSW - my husband Chris and I have 2 beach holiday homes here - www.seahorsediamondbeach.com.au (multi award winning, dog and horse friendly) and our newest, www.seafarersdiamondbeach.com.au (wheelchair and dog friendly).
I've spent the last few months trawling through booking software options and after much consideration have finally chosen Owner Rez. I'm sure looking forward to getting out of the paper based systems I'm currently using and getting back hours of my life per week, being more organised and in better control of my business!
Wow - sounds like a magic wand you'll be waving over me Chris Hynes!
Cheers :)