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I love the CRM/inbox. Emails and SMSs end up there as expected. However when I left a test VM on my OR SMS number, while I did get an email to my personal address, it did not show up in the CRM inbox. That seems like an oversight, will it be fixed in a future release? It would be nice to see VMs as part of the conversation with a contact. (On a related note I don't think OR emphasizes enough how versatile these SMS numbers are. We use it as our main number for our property for texting and inbound voicemails, and it allowed us to get rid of Sideline for our business communication.)
I have a triggered email for my housekeeper 1 day before a guest checks out reminding her to schedule cleaning for after they leave. What would be better though, is if in the template I could also tell her when the NEXT guest is checking in. That way she will know how much time she has. A simple solution for this would be to support some {BNEXT...} field codes which operate in the context of a booking, but give information about the NEXT booking.
It would also be nice if we could specify "Every" or "1st", "2nd", "3rd", "4th" occurrence of that day of the week in a month. For example I'd use that to remind guests on the first Thursday of the month to please let the Orkin guy in to do his pest control treatment.
I agree with you, in fact personally I think all external links should open in a new window, not just social media.
But slightly confused as captainmorsehouse.com is a wordpress site and not an Ownerrez hosted site and even on the wordpress site, the social links are set to open in the same tab.
<li class="et-social-icon et-social-facebook">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/captainmorsehouse/" class="icon">
<span>Facebook</span>
</a>
</li>
<li class="et-social-icon et-social-twitter">
<a href="https://twitter.com/captainmorse/" class="icon">
<span>Twitter</span>
</a>
</li>
<li class="et-social-icon et-social-instagram">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/captainmorsehouse" class="icon">
<span>Instagram</span>
</a>
</li>
When OR creates a new customer in QB, I'd LOVE to have the ability for that customer to come in as a "sub-customer" of a particular property.
What I do now is manually edit the customer to be a sub-customer of a particular property. The problem is, whenever there is an additional update from OR, that sub-customer designation gets removed, so I end up re-assigning it several times, until the customer no longer gets updated / ie all transactions are in the past.
Is it possible to either a) allow the customers to be sub-customers as they come into QB, or b) prevent the customer's sub-customer designation from changing / reverting on updates?
TIA
When I have a cancellation, the OR integration with QB seems to zero out the original invoice. It would be preferable if it created a refund instead.
The way it appears to be working now is that the QB invoice is updated to a $0 sale, which leaves me with orphaned deposits and refunds in my QuickBooks.
I noticed this in the websites created by Owner Reservations
The Social Header Icons open in the same tab. They need to open in their own tab so that the website does not disappear from the list of tabs. This IMHO should be default behaviour.
Otherwise, the prospective guest will end up in Facebook or Twitter and never get back to booking their vacation.
In HTML coding you do this by adding: target="_blank"
and then for security: rel="noopener noreferrer"
Example:
<p>Check out <a href="https://captainmorsehouse.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> the Captain Morse House</a>.</p>
Source Reading:
https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-use-html-to-open-link-in-new-tab/
If this is added we need a way to set up a trigger to detect whether an ID has been uploaded. I collect them for bookings from all channels. Right now I am manually requesting them with an email template set up in OR and then uploading to the files section when they send it.
If there could be a way to set a trigger to send an email and an upload link asking the traveler to upload the ID that would be great. For example, guest books through Vrbo and booking is imported. We need to be able to have a setup to then send an email to the traveler requesting ID. Then if they do not do it within X amount of days it send reminders from triggers. I do this all manually right now, but it sure would save some time if this could be added in sometime soon.
Thanks Paul. Really looking forward to this integration. I currently have to ask for the ID in each platform directly and hope for the best since there is no way to automatically verify that an image has been sent. And it would only serve to be a stronger backbone legally if guests did upload a picture of their ID at the time of signing the contract, showing that it is far more likely to have been them than someone else scamming with their credit card info. Since Covid people are getting sneakier and sneakier, so this would be a huge help for operators.
Again, thank you for being a fantastic CEO with a fantastic product and a fantastic team. I am consistently prideful of my decision to go with OR after reviewing nearly 25 OPM’s.
Ben Bledsoe
Arrive and Thrive
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I get it! And 100+ votes on this feature request makes it pretty clear where we have a hole. :-)
Add me as one more person who's been patiently awaiting the ability to have an image uploaded as part of the e-signing workflow. Right now my process is to have the guest manually email me a photo then I upload it into the 'File' section of the reservation in OwnerRez, but that just doesn't scale well and is prone to missing the ID.
I also have door codes schedule to automatically be emailed to the guest the day of check-in...I don't want those to be sent if the ID hasn't been received yet, so requiring it as part of contract signing would eliminate this potential oversight.
We are not aware that Uber (the car sharing ride service) has expanded into vacation rentals. But thanks for letting us know. We'll keep our eye on it!
Hi All,
With the recent announcement of uBER getting into vacation rentals, wondering what is the time frame we are looking at to integrate UberBNB with ownerRez?
It would be really helpful to have a history of actions taken on a reservation. Similar to transaction history. For example, a timestamp of when dates change, or addtional charges like pet or late check-out fees are added. I know we can go back through the sent messages to recreate a timeline. But, it would be much easier if we could just click on "History" to see any changes that may have been made to the reservation.
Hi Cat,
With iCal alone (ie. what we calendar import/export) there's no way to force calendar systems to immediately sync unless the channel or other third party has a "Sync Now" button. Some, like Airbnb, do have that but they might still cache the iCal data for a few hours regardless.
I highly recommend looking at our API connections for Airbnb and Vrbo as they will guarantee immediate syncs and eliminate double bookings. Check out our support docs for more on that!
We absolutely need to be able to create fields within contracts that guests will fill out with the requested information as well as upload requested documents.
I can no longer just ask for such information from my guests either directly or through fields and then create a contract that will display the fields within the contract for the guest to sign.
It really needs to be a one step process to be effective.
Until it is, I am forced to use a PDF creator and collect documents separately.It is a really hassle and not conducive for property owners who are planning to use ownerrez for multiple properties. Thank you for considering.
Valerie I am curious how you address the email issue with the Integrated Partners (ABB/Booking/VRBO, etc). We are finding that even though the guest has this "email" on the partner system that is NOT their real email they never get those emails. It amazes me how many people tell us they never received arrival instructions yet in OR I can see that they were sent. We then started doing as you do... we send a text message on the day of arrival that includes the door lock code. We also ask them to complete our POC/Rental Agreement so we get their real email. That has cut down on the calls quite a bit but the ABB guest and ABB messaging still seem to be the ones that are the biggest complainers that they don't get their messages. I'm not sure how large your operation is... we are talking potentially 200-400 ABB bookings per month. So any ideas you have on cutting down on the calls is appreciated...
We have also started a program of proactively reaching out to guests if they have not arrived on property by 8pm. (Our door lock system tells us the first time that the code for the guest is used in the door lock - Would love to get this integrated into OR so the proactive reach out could also be automated) It has saved us quite a few times from the 1am calls about needing to get their door lock code.
I would love to be able to send my regular guests just one Coupon code or have the ability to add manually one discount setup and let the system adjust as applicable. The discount setups currently allow a LOS setup, but only for one flat or one percent amount.
For my needs, I'm looking at the ability to add LOS discount tiers within one discount setup that would offer the ability to specify either a % or flat amount for each LOS specification.
For example:
LOS = 3 & 4 night, flat $ or %
LOS = 5-11 nights, flat $ or %
LOS = 12-19 nights, flat $ or %
etc.
This is what I offer now, having to use multiple discount setups:
Returning guests discounts based on LOS. 3 & 4 night is $75/3 nights, $100/4 nights, 10% starting at 5 nights to 11 nights, 15% 12+ nights
When I get a direct booking, I want to make sure that the dates are blocked on Airbnb, VRBO, etc.
I'd like quick access to the calendar synch option so no one can book instantly on other platforms. Yes, I've experienced a double booking on Airbnb.
It would be really useful if the PM statement could be broken down per property rather than just altogether, this would make it so much easier for our team when reconciling our Client Account in Xero, as we need to allocate each payment to a property and as it currently stands we would need to use a calculator to do this.
I really want to like this idea, but the VR industry is one where delayed charges are common. I'd want to make sure that it doesn't interfere with our ability to collect future payments, security deposits, and run cards for charges after departure. Does anyone have any experience with how that's handled with Apple/Google Pay and other digital payment methods?
Another factor that might work in their benefit: are fraud disputes lower with these types of payments? It would seem quite a bit easier to defend against a "my card was used by a scammer in Pakistan" if the charge originated from the user's own phone...
I'd like a widget I could embed in a wordpress page that would facilitate the check-in process. For my check-in, i need to collect a copy of the person's ID (which they could upload from a selfie) and place an $X hold on their credit card that I could charge against in case of damages. This needs to work even if the booking comes from a third-party not-integrated booking site. Would include an email template (with # of days before arrival) to send to the guest telling them "it's time to check in" with a link to the page (that's where the widget comes in) in a way that the widget could identify the correct booking that's being checked in.
On check-in completion, I could review the info to make sure it's not a bogus ID and then send another template with their door code (we can do this now, this is just part of the process I envision and how this would tie in). I don't like to give out door lock codes without a photo ID and credit card on file.
WIBNI: a way to identify extras I could provide, like a BBQ or high chair and charge a fee for those as part of the check-in process.
It would be helpful if there could be an automatic refund of the RDD set up for 14 days after departure. Then if an owner needs to withhold some of the damage deposit they would go in and manually change that refund before the 14 day mark, but since the majority are refunded, that would happen automatically. Is it possible to do this?
FYI, here are the reasons I prefer the RDD:
1. I typically charge the RDD when the balance is due to ensure that the funds are available. This is often way in advance of arrival. I would hate for the guest to show up and to find out that they have maxed out their credit line, so it can’t be collected.
2. I want the guest to feel like they have “skin in the game”. There are many things that are not covered by the damage insurance like excessive clean-up, intentional damage, fines for behavior that does not comply with HOA rules, etc.
3. I often have longer term stays of 10-31 days or longer in my various properties and a hold would fall off during that time, even if collected upon arrival.
Thanks for considering.
Would love to give guests the option to pay more seamlessly on mobile devices, which in some way shape or form omits the need to enter cc and other info on a standard web form. Digital payment options have become a new standard in e-commerce and it'll catch up to VRs very soon. These options highly reduce buying friction and would lean into the mobile-first booking experience.
I'd love to be able merge the functionalities of the Holiday Lists/Settings and the Season Rules. I prefer to restrict arrival/departure on major holidays. (Who wants to turn over a property on Christmas Day?! Not me!) To accomplish this now, I have to create a Season that is simply the day of each of these holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, etc.) and then utilize the changeover restrictions option to block arrivals/departures on those dates. And then I need to remember to repeat this for each new calendar year. It would be more ideal if on the holiday list(s) we're subscribed to, we can select specific holidays and add arrival/departure restrictions directly there. #Gamechanger
Great to have “Book Now” or “Reserve” button next to the details button.
Seeing property availability and rates is great but if customers can book from there it would be awesome.
[Another topic was closed as a duplicate of this topic (https://www.ownerrez.com/forums/requests/insurance-acknowledgment-and-other-initialed-items-in-the-rental-agreement)]
In Settings/Pricing/Rates the rates of the current month are presented for inspection respectively modification by the user. If I select for example a week, the dialog shows me "7 rates selected" next to the "Clear Rates" button.
It would be very practical, if I could see next to the "7 rates selected" the sum of the selected rates (thus giving me the weekly rate) and the average rate of the selected one (important when comparing daily variable prices generated by PriceLabs to other portals where daily prices are constant over the week).
So the information displayed could look like "7 rates selected, sum = 3500, avg. rate = 500"
By the way: Pricelabs has such a feature and I find it very helpful.
The sum for the selected period could be also shown in the "Set Rates" dialog.
How about adding "resend" option to emails listed in Communication History?
I propose a feature to the Owner Statements. The feature would allow the aggregate totals of columns, revenues, expenses to be displayed first on the owner statement.
The idea is that if I have an established relationship with the owner, they may not want to sift through or care about dozens of itemized revenues and expenses. So, in the beginning of the each statement would just be the totals.
As and example:
Owner Revenue: $$$$ PM Commission: $ Owner Net: $$$ Remitting Now: $$$
This would provide a quick snapshot of all amounts. Then, if the owner still wants to look at the itemized lines, they can read further into the statement where the traditional statement information would be displayed.
Thank you.