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I looked at your account, and there should be an inquiry in the conversation stream. Vrbo channels automatically sync messages from Vrbo now, and the email side is unnecessary. In fact, the email should be getting removed when we sync in the message from the platform. I'll see if there was an issue or special case with this one.
Here's a technical confusion.
I just received an inquiry via Vrbo. When I went to answer it, there is no way to do so via Conversation.
So on the inquiry's Overview page, I click on "Answer" at the top. That takes me to where I can select to answer with or without a quote, and regardless of which of these two options I select, I am taken to an email formatting page, which will send an email message to a Vrbo proxy email address.
So how can setting up a triggered inquiry channel autoresponse work to do this, if I get such an inquiry during times for which I have the trigger set, and the only way to communicate with the guest is through the channel's proxy email address?
We are delighted to share that we have achieved 2024 Elite Connectivity Partner status with Vrbo for the fourth consecutive year, from 2021 to 2024! It's an honor to be among the few companies that qualify for Elite status out of over a hundred integrated partners.
Our focus and commitment to maintaining the highest possible connectivity with Vrbo has been recognized with Elite status in 2021, 2022, and 2023. We work hard all year round to advance and sustain this connection, enabling you to serve guests better and grow your business on Vrbo's global travel platform. Our Elite Partner status is a testament to our commitment to the following:
To clarify, Elite status is not something that can be bought. Vrbo assesses partner performance based on several metrics, such as server uptime, response speed, booking quality, listing quality, error rates, and more. Vrbo regularly reviews this data with their team, and only those who consistently meet the highest standards across all metrics for an extended period are awarded Elite status.
We would like to express our gratitude to Vrbo for their dedication to the vacation rental industry and their continued collaboration with OwnerRez. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Shelby, Stacey, Gavin, and the entire team for their efforts.
We're excited to announce our partnership with VRPlatform to offer our users a solution for automating trust accounting, owner statements, and more.
Designed to break through property managers’ manual accounting processes and provide a clear picture of financial performance, VRPlatform saves time by automating trust accounting, owner statements, and more. The reservation automations will put your revenue, payments, and deposits on auto-pilot so you can focus on the non-accounting tasks of your business. Owner expenses and charges can also be automated based on reservation data or how you account for expenses in Quickbooks. Using VRPlatform will give you the ability to create owner-friendly statements and view financial performance metrics. VRPlatform allows property managers to build owner trust and gain efficiency to scale with ease. Need professional, ongoing support from industry-trained accountants? Ask them about outsourcing with a VRPlatform accounting partner like Ximplifi Accounting Simplified.
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Get started with VRPlatform by visiting here and checking out the OwnerRez support article for integrating OwnerRez with VRPlatform.
I would also like to get an email that a booking started on my website has been abandoned.
So to be clear, this still does not allow for the instance of a booking that has been started on my website by a guest. I would like to send them a quote via email when this happens as it is very easy to close out of the quote window by accident and have no way to get back. However, as that inquiry is now considered "quoted" I can't additionally send a quote automatically? As of right now I just send the quote when I see the email that a booking has been initiated, but I would love to automate this. Thanks
Also, Paul, what about triggers for abandoned bookings?
Good one!
I believe you can create a trigger for "scheduled time" and make it [x] days after inquiry is created and then target the "quoted" status, but we may not be exposing that status. Looks likes we don't actually, so never mind! I'll check into why we don't. If we allowed you to target the "quoted" status, you should be able to see where an inquiry is still handing around as quoted and was never booked, and use that to nudge the guest after [x] days.
As it happens, we are also working on "quote" inquiries which will let you do the same thing - see quotes in pending/quoted status and nudge the guest after [x] days - as well as send triggers when the quote changes to preempted or another status.
Hi Yavuz,
If you click the link in the API instructions tab, you will be taken to a page where you select your property management system, and then enter your account ID. See screenshots below:
Let us know where the link you found is so we can investigate.
Also, Paul, what about triggers for abandoned bookings?
Thank you very much for all that clarification, Paul!
Could you also explain why an inquiry is triggered when someone is initiating a booking via my website, which uses the booking widget, and how I can prevent a message to them from being triggered in that case?
A "channel" template is used to send plain-text messages via a channel messaging platform. At the moment, we support 3 channel messaging platforms:
As an example, if you have the Airbnb host app installed on your phone, when an Airbnb guest sends you an AIrbnb message, that's the "channel messaging platform" we're talking about. The same is true for Vrbo and Booking.com
If you create a channel template in OwnerRez, and use a trigger to send it, we will send that message to the guest via the channel. Email will not be used.
In the case of Vrbo, which provides the guest's real email address and also has a channel messaging platform, you could send both types of messages at the same time - ie. an email and channel message to the Vrbo guest at the same moment.
So to answer your question - no, your direct booking website is not considered a channel for messaging purposes because there is no messaging platform on your website.
There's a complication in this, in that when someone is starting to book on my website, I get notification of it being an inquiry.
When you get that alert saying that "Book Now started by Joe Blow", the inquiry has a status of "Quoted" at that point. Because of that, your inquiry triggers should not apply because you will be targeting other types of statuses.
When creating an "inquiry received" trigger, make sure to add the condition of "inquiry status" and select the specific status you want to respond to. We are writing some trigger examples about this right now (not done yet) but hopefully, it will help explain.
An example is sending a rule-violation response where someone asks for 15 people but your property only fits 10. To do this, add an inquiry-received trigger with condition status=Rule Violation and select a message template to tell the guest "We're sorry but your request does not meet the rules of this property" and add the field code saying what the rule violation is.
I see that now, thanks, Paul.
There was some kind of glitch with my browser, I suppose, where even though I had selected Inquiry is Received, Booking is Created results were showing, so those time of day options weren't showing.
Could you also explain why an inquiry is triggered when someone is initiating a booking via my website, which uses the booking widget, and how I can prevent a message to them from being triggered in that case?
Also, is my website considered a channel, so that a channel trigger for an inquiry will work for that?
Also, I'm not seeing a condition for time of day for the trigger to go off. This is important, as if I receive an inquiry during the daytime when I'm awake or not away, then I don't want a triggered response but to personally respond, oftentimes it's with a phone call.
Hey Scott, that's a "Condition" on the trigger. After selecting "inquiry received" as the event, add the condition "received after" time and set that to "8 pm", and then add the condition "received before" and put "6 am". That will make it so that the trigger will only apply to inquiries received between 8 pm and 6 am.
Like this:
They forgot to update the link to Ownerrez so when you click Ownerrez registration, it takes you to Hostaway registration page.
Also, I'm not seeing a condition for time of day for the trigger to go off. This is important, as if I receive an inquiry during the daytime when I'm awake or not away, then I don't want a triggered response but to personally respond, oftentimes it's with a phone call.
There's a complication in this, in that when someone is starting to book on my website, I get notification of it being an inquiry.
I am not understanding why that is. But in this case, I don't want to have them sent a triggered response, not unless they abandon the booking.
Triggered responses to "abandoned cart" is standard for product sales. So I find it would be equally valuable to have "abandoned booking" trigger, which I don't see existing.
We're pleased to announce our partnership with CraftedStays, offering custom website services using our integrated site API.
CraftedStays is a seamless direct booking website builder that helps you build your brand and maximize your bookings - all without hefty setup costs or needing to learn the intricacies of building a website. Direct Bookings Simplified.
This website utilizes the OwnerRez integration with CraftedStays:
$59.99/month for up to 2 properties, $8 for each additional property. Learn more here.
You can learn more and speak with their team by visiting the CraftedStays website here. Also, check out our support doc on how to integrate OwnerRez with CraftedStays here.
The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
When it comes to achieving goals, the secret sauce is all in the planning and preparation. Plan to check out this product update February 21st release with 8 updates to set yourself up for success in all things OwnerRez, including updates to the Airbnb API Connection!
OwnerRez's powerful Airbnb API integration enables users to automatically sync bookings, rates, rules, amenities, and more while benefiting from Airbnb's marketing reach.
We regularly plan and prepare to update API connections when needed, and the time came to move to a new Airbnb API version - where OwnerRez and our users can benefit from new features and fixes. Here are the key changes from the new version:
Fix Bug When Applying Inquiry Triggers Based on Status. Following last week's Inquiry Triggers Added release, Inquiry Triggers with "Rule Violation" criteria were being sent to some quotable inquiries. OR quickly fixed this bug, and Inquiry Triggers with "Rule Violation" criteria will fire correctly and as expected.
Fix Crash on Listing Quality Analyzer When Using "Professional Host" Property Type Without a Channel Integration. Users with special property types considered "professional hospitality businesses" (e.g., Bed and Breakfast, Hotel) before completing their Airbnb API connection encountered Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA) crashes. We resolved this issue to ensure that users with special property types considered "professional hospitality businesses" before completing their Airbnb API connection will receive LQA warnings but not crash.
Fix Default Legal Agreement Template to Have Correct Field Code for Check-in Time. The default OwnerRez Legal Agreement contained the incorrect field code {CHECKINTIME} rather than the correct {BCHECKINTIME} in the Check-in Time field. We corrected the default OR Legal Agreement Check-in Time field to contain the correct {BCHECKINTIME} field code.
Fix Missing "Book Now" Button on Bay Grande Hosted Website Template. The Bay Grande Hosted Website template encountered header text display overlaps, resulting in a missing Book Now button. This issue has been resolved, and the Book Now button will be displayed correctly on the Bay Grande Hosted Website template.
Fix Preview for Team User Invite When Using MYPORTTITLE Field Code. A user who edited their Send Invite to Portal User System Message to add the {MYPORTTITLE} field code discovered that the {MYPORTTITLE} field code was not being replaced in some scenarios. OR resolved this glitch, allowing users to properly preview the Send Invite to Portal User System Message after adding the {MYPORTTITLE} field code.
OR Contact Us Form Submission Sometimes Gets Stuck After reCAPTCHA Failure. In rare cases, our Contact Us form may become stuck in the "submitting" status. OR has improved the form to prevent this from happening in the future.
Google Vacation Rentals Private Beta:
Join us live with the ChargeAutomation team on February 27th at 1 PM Eastern and 10 AM Pacific time!
Learn how to maximize short-term rental revenue through strategic upselling, presented by ChargeAutomation. This webinar serves as your key to unlocking new heights in guest satisfaction and financial success. Discover how you can reshape the digital guest journey and gain insights into how to simplify processes, ranging from pre-arrival information collection to seamless check-out experiences.
In this session, we will explore best practices for identifying upsell opportunities that resonate with your guests and how to increase conversion. Drawing from real-life examples within the short-term rental industry, we'll provide valuable insights into the art of successful upselling.
The session is free to join, but you must use the ChargeAutomation webinar link to register.
You can find all our upcoming and past webinars on our Webinars page.
Join us live with the Breezeway team on February 22nd at 1 PM Eastern and 10 AM Pacific time!
Unlock the potential of your business by putting guests at the forefront. Breezeway will guide you through the process of using guest experience as a strategic differentiator. Gain insights, strategies, and practical tips to ensure your guests not only stay but become advocates for your brand.
The session is free to join, but you must use the Breezeway webinar link to register.
You can find all our upcoming and past webinars on our Webinars page.
We are happy to announce our partnership with Got2Go as a new first-class channel partner!
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Start hosting on Got2Go today, and you, your team, family, and friends will receive a free year of Go+ membership. Go+ gives you access to huge discounts on hotels, vacation rentals, and tickets across the US!
Get started with Got2Go by visiting here and checking out the OwnerRez support article for integrating OwnerRez with Got2Go.
Should we give a "trigger warning" on this one? Brace yourself... you read it correctly. This product update unleashes all the details of the new Inquiry Triggers (and Trigger UI redesign), and so much more from our February 14th release with 24 updates.
Historically, responding to inquiries was only possible by using Autoresponders. However, Autoresponders could only respond via email when the system had an email address to reply to. This left out Airbnb and Booking.com. And many users didn't even have any Autorepsonders configured. So, there was a pretty large messaging hole. Well... we've ushered in a new era of inquiry response options that now include channel (platform) and SMS message capabilities.
That's right, OwnerRez triggers can now send custom messaging templates automatically based on incoming inquiries - both by email and channel platform - which can help boost your response times, especially after hours when you might be getting your beauty rest.
We recommend every user set up at least one Inquiry trigger for responding on your behalf via Channel messaging.
Users can create an Inquiry Trigger by navigating to Settings > Messaging > Triggers > + Create Trigger > Event > Inquiry > and select Inquiry is received.
Inquiry Triggers can be configured with various Condition statuses, including Inquiry Statuses:
Other Inquiry status options include:
Users should note that the trigger will match all inquiries if no criteria are specified.
Many users will want to use this new functionality to answer on their behalf "after hours." You can do just that by setting up "Received after" and "Received before" conditions:
Inquiry Trigger Action options include the following (like Autoresponders had):
Users will need to create their own Inquiry email, channel, or SMS template types by selecting Inquiry from the + Create Email, SMS, or Channel Template dropdown menu.
Read the Trigger Overview support article to learn more.
Now, you might be telling yourself, "That inquiry trigger setup screen looked different than what I'm used to!" You are correct in having that thought. The configuration screen (or interface) you see for Inquiry Triggers is the same one for any Trigger type you set up going forward.
The more we worked on Inquiry Triggers, the more it became clear that the entire triggers interface was due for a redesign. The goal was to simplify how things were laid out and make it easier to see what's included in each configuration section without everything being available simultaneously. No functionality has changed here, except for adding Inquiry Triggers under Immediate type. The main difference I'd like to point out is how it's laid out below.
Now, when you click on Create, all trigger configuration sections fit "above the fold" on the desktop view, making it easier to understand how a trigger is configured. This is what the Immediate (i.e. as soon as an event occurs) trigger-type setup looks like. See how much more concise it is?
Similarly, this is what the Scheduled Time (i.e., when a period of time elapses relative to an event) trigger type looks like (just a little longer - due to the Retry options). Retry options moved up to be closer to the Action (literally!):
So, again, based on what "Type" you select, the interface adjusts with the available options.
Based on the chosen type, you'll then pick which "Event" (i.e. time period and event that causes the trigger to take action) you want to use. If it's an Immediate trigger, you can pick from Booking, Blocked-Off Time, or now Inquiry events. If it's a Scheduled Time trigger you can select how many days before or after a Booking (is created, arrived, or departed) or a Blocked-Off Time (is created, has started, or has ended) and the time of day.
One of the other noticeable changes is that Trigger Conditions combined several areas of the old interface together. You now add each condition you need individually, which helps keep a cleaner interface. Did you add a condition that you need to remove? You can click/tap the trashcan icon next to that condition.
Once you have your Conditions set how you need them, you must select the Action for that trigger to act on. Choices include sending an email, channel, or SMS message (based on the applicable custom templates for the trigger type and event selected).
The Action requires a matching template type to the type of Trigger you want to send. The help text will alert you to what Action type works. Plus, only the applicable and available templates will show when you select the dropdown.
Lastly, I wanted to mention that the Status (Is Enabled) checkbox has been removed. We determined it was not well placed, and it's a design element we plan to remove elsewhere. You can still enable/disable triggers from the Triggers grid. When a new trigger is saved, it is enabled by default. You can disable it by selecting the trigger and clicking Disable above the grid.
Check out how Triggers can help you get rave reviews on communication by reading the Triggers support article.
When mapping properties to an API connection, OwnerRez has displayed key warnings or errors that prevent you from connecting those properties for a long time. Now, that display has changed a bit. Before there would be labels next to each other, making it hard to read if there were more than one or two. Instead of a wall of difficult-to-read individual yellow warning labels, the improved Property Mapping Warnings and Layout now includes clear hyperlinked text for each warning or error.
Users can check to see if they have any Property Mapping Warnings by navigating to Settings > Channels > API Integrations > their specific Listing Channel > Change Property Mappings. If all your properties are included for a specific API connection, you probably won't see any.
Platform email addresses will no longer be imported for API-connected Airbnb, Booking.com (BDC), and Vrbo bookings. Why? Platform email addresses have always been problematic. While some listing channel platform email addresses worked fairly well, many did not. They created a lot of duplicate messages, stripped out links and formatting, truncated lines, and generally caused messaging mayhem.
Airbnb turned off the functionality last Fall. So this change mainly affected Vrbo and BDC, but some overall tidying was done for all three.
How do I contact my guests if I no longer have the platform email address? OwnerRez recommends that all Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo API-connected users configure a channel template with an associated trigger to request a guest's full contact info (e.g., email address and phone number). This is already done for new accounts that connect via API. But it's good for all users to check their messaging.
OwnerRez recommends that users review their channel messaging templates (Settings > Messaging > Templates > Channel Templates) and triggers (Settings > Messaging > Triggers) to ensure they are sending the correct template to their guests across Vrbo, Airbnb, and Booking.com. This can be done in place of or to augment other custom messages (e.g., email, SMS) sent on your behalf to the guest.
As a fast follow-up to January's Booking.com Messaging Added to the Inbox release and since Booking.com (BDC) guest platform emails are no longer brought into OwnerRez for new BDC bookings, we added onto the channel messaging and trigger ("Request Renter Agreement for Channel Bookings via Channel Message") for new BDC bookings so that guests are asked for contact information as soon as bookings occur. OwnerRez already does this for new Airbnb and Vrbo API connections made, but now it also includes Booking.com API connections. Users will see the new trigger showing alongside the others in your Settings > Triggers list. If you already had this kind of channel trigger, that trigger listing site inclusion will say all. The screenshot below lists all three individually just to make the point clear.
NOTE: OwnerRez emailed those account users who didn't already have any message triggers configured to inform them that we skipped adding a channel trigger for their BDC bookings with further instructions.
Once enabled, Airbnb Transaction Sync replaces the need for Channel Bridge for Airbnb transactions (e.g., payments, refunds) for future Airbnb bookings. All new Airbnb API connections will automatically have the Airbnb Transaction Sync enabled by default and have their Transaction Sync date set to the first day of January of the previous year (e.g. January 1, 2023). In a future release, we will be turning this on for all remaining existing users who haven't enabled it themselves.
Learn more by reading the Airbnb Transaction Sync support article.
Lynnbrook Group has added support to send Net Billing transaction fee amounts for some customers by detecting the difference between settlementAmount and grossAmount from the createVisitorPayment to determine the Net Billing transaction fee.
Do Not Allow Booking to be Deleted With Canceled Damage Protection. Deleted bookings that had paid for but canceled damage protection policies required manual refunds from OwnerRez. Deleted bookings is now disallowed if an invoiced or filed damage protection policy is in place; that way, a credit can be returned to the user automatically.
Fix Bug When Sending an SMS Message From a Template to a Guest That Also Has a Channel Booking. Some users who attempted to send a guest an SMS templated message in the conversation view encountered failures if the same guest also had a channel message thread. OR resolved this bug to ensure that users can send SMS-templated messages to guests with a channel message thread.
Fix the Broken "Configure" Link on Property Info After Enabling or Disabling a Property. The "configure" link next to First Payment section on the Property General Info page did not include the property ID, and clicking on the link resulted in an error. The "configure" link next to First Payment section on the Property General Info page now includes the property ID, and the link will work properly after re-enabling a property.
Fix Channel Tiles Misalignment When There are Coming Soon Channels. The in-app tiles of API integration listing channels were not displayed in proper alignment if Coming Soon listing channels were also displayed. OR fixed this issue so that all in-app tiles of API integration listing channels are displayed in proper alignment, no matter their coming soon status.
Fix Kaba Late Checkout Time. A user with a property API integrated with Kaba Door Lock with a multiple-mode user-level configuration encountered an incorrect checkout time during a booking with a late checkout time. We resolved this glitch, and API-integrated Kaba Door Lock properties with a multiple-mode user-level configuration will correctly generate door lock codes for bookings with late checkout times.
Fix Nightly Fees Rolled Into Rent for Listing/Property Search and Some Channels. Some users encountered nightly fee surcharges rolled into nightly rent displays for their property search widget with the rate range enabled and some affected listing channels. OR corrected this issue, and nightly fee surcharges will not be rolled into nightly rent displays for their property search widget with the rate range enabled, including affected listing channels.
Fix State/Province Display on Guest Autocomplete Form. The guest-facing forms' State/Province display was not properly toggling as expected when loading the guest form State/Province field. We fixed this glitch to ensure the appropriate State/Province field is the default display based on the guest country.
Handle Case When Importing From XLSX Where Google Sheets Munged the Date Value vs. Format Fields. Some users experienced import errors with Excel files due to changes in the Date Value vs. Format Fields when saved from Google Sheets. This fix ensures imports with Excel files saved from Google Sheets will import correctly.
Handle Duplicate Data in Airbnb Spot Rate Imports. A non-API-connected iCal user encountered Airbnb Spot Rate Import failures due to the insertion of duplicate dates when importing spot rates from Airbnb. We fixed this glitch, and Airbnb Spot Rate Import processes will be completed as expected.
Improve Template Enable/disable/delete. Deleted messaging templates were inadvertently disabled rather than deleted, but users could not edit or recover those "disabled" email templates. We fixed this so templates can be disabled, enabled, or deleted, or tell the user why they can't do the action they are attempting.
Only Show Hidden Payment Methods on Quotes to the User Who Created the Quote. Hidden payment methods were incorrectly displayed to Team Access Staff members who did not generate the quote for the hidden payment method. OR resolved this glitch by ensuring that hidden payment methods are shown only to the OR user who generated the quote.
Only Show "This is a preview of what the guest will see" on Guest Form to the User Who Created the Booking. Guest form previews were incorrectly displayed to some users, causing some confusion. We fixed this so guest form previews will only display "This is a preview of what the guest will see" to the user who created the booking and is previewing the forms.
Update Vrbo New Property Documentation to New Link. The link to "Add a New Vrbo Property" support article in-app was broken. It has now been replaced with the correct link.
Hubitat Lock Integration Private Beta:
Google Vacation Rentals Private Beta:
The guy who invented auto-correct passed away.
Restaurant in peace.🌹Unlike unpredictable auto-correct quirks, OwnerRez's Listing Quality Analyzer is always dependable! Read more about it in this product update explaining our February 7th release with 17 updates!
The OwnerRez Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA) checks your listings for errors and recommends improvement. We've added the following checks for Vrbo and Airbnb channels.
Watch the Listing Quality Analyzer video to learn more.
Fix Failure on Airbnb Channel Bridge Import if There are No Identifier Mappings. Airbnb Channel Bridge imports with no property identifier mappings configured were generating errors.OR resolved this bug to ensure that Airbnb Channel Bridge imports with no property identifier mappings configured will be completed without errors.
Fix Issue on Reports Where Total Change Percentage was Calculated Incorrectly. Some Report tooltips displayed incorrect total change percentage calculations. We fixed this glitch, and Report tooltips will now display correct total change percentage calculations.
Fix Issue When Attaching a Second Airbnb Account Was Not Updating a Message Thread's Contact Identity. Some users had trouble updating their linked account identity contact when attaching a second Airbnb account. OR resolved this issue to ensure users can correctly update their linked account identity contact when connecting a second Airbnb account.
Fix Issue Where Airbnb Resolution Payouts Triggering Creation of Duplicate VAT Fee. Airbnb resolution payouts were incorrectly generating duplicate VAT fees. We corrected this glitch, and Airbnb resolution payouts will now generate the correct VAT fees.
Fix Issue Where Beachfront Amenity Was Pushed to Airbnb Incorrectly. Airbnb API-connected properties with the Beach Access amenity selected were incorrectly pushing the Beachfront amenity to Airbnb. OR fixed this bug to ensure that Airbnb API-connected properties with the Beach Access amenity are correctly pushed to Airbnb.
Fix Issue Where Booking Through Booking.com Does Not Invoke Channel Triggers. Some Booking.com (BDC) new booking channel message triggers were not firing correctly as expected. We have resolved this glitch to ensure that BDC new booking channel message triggers will fire correctly.
Fix Issue Where Booking.com Message Threads Were Created Without Both Participants Causing Crash on Message History. After the January 24th release of Booking.com messaging an issue was encountered which caused Communication History to not load for some users due to a crash-bang under the covers. This was fixed by ensuring all participants were properly tied to all bookings' thread creations.
Fix Issue Where Surcharges That Apply to "My Website" are Missing From Charges on Inquiry of Direct Booking. Some surcharges configured to apply to "My Website" were not correctly applied to direct booking charges due to improper widget Listing Site ID filtering. OR has corrected this issue to ensure that surcharges configured to apply to "My Website" will be correctly applied to direct booking charges.
Fix Issue Where Threads Were Not Created Immediately Upon Booking for Airbnb. Some Airbnb API-connected properties encountered failures of new booking message threads being generated immediately. We fixed this bug, and new booking message threads will be generated properly for Airbnb API-connected properties.
Handle Airbnb Photo Delete Rate Limit Gracefully and Do Not Keep Retrying. Due to OR retry attempts, Airbnb photo deletions were hindered by Airbnb "rate limiting." The Airbnb photo deletion process has been optimized to work around rate-limiting issues.
Handle Stripe "Reserved Funds" as Deposit Adjustment. Stripe "Reserved Funds" were incorrectly handled as deposits rather than the correct deposit adjustment. OR resolved this issue, and Stripe "Reserved Funds" will be correctly treated as deposit adjustments.
Improve VAT Handling in Airbnb Deposit Import. VAT taxes were not optimally handled in the Airbnb Deposit Import process. We have improved the VAT tax handling in the Airbnb Deposit Import process.
Properly Handle Errors When Sending Third-party Alerts on Quote Accept to Avoid Failed Bookings. Some third-party alerts sent on quote acceptances generated errors, leading to failed bookings. OR corrected this glitch to ensure third-party alerts sent on quote acceptance errors will not affect the associated bookings.
Set OwnerRez Metadata on Airbnb Photos to Improve Syncing. OwnerRez has improved the pre-populated photo metadata synced with Airbnb.
Hubitat Lock Integration Private Beta:
Google Vacation Rentals Private Beta:
We're excited to announce our partnership with Boostly, offering custom website services using our integrated site API.
Boostly Custom-designed WordPress websites tailored for scaling your business are now seamlessly integrated with OwnerRez's booking system. With Boostly's bespoke WordPress solution, harmonised with your OwnerRez booking engine, you'll possess a 'mini OTA' website. This platform invites prospective guests to explore and book their stay directly with you.
These websites utilizes the OwnerRez integration with Boostly:
$97 USD per month
+ one time implementation fee
£49 GBP per month
+ one time implementation fee
You can learn more and speak with their team by visiting the Boostly website here.
Punxsutawney Phil is predicting an early spring here in 2024 and we're back with more bug fixes!
Before you queue up Groundhog Day on your streaming service of choice, check out our product update detailing our January 31st release with 15 bug fixes.
Add Airbnb Professional Hospitality Property Type Check to LQA. Some Airbnb-connected properties received errors because their Bed and Breakfast properties were not set to a "Professional Hospitality Service." OR corrected this issue by adding a property type check to help with this in the Listing Quality Analyzer (LQA).
Check That Nofie Linked Property Has a URL Setup. Nofie-connected properties without URLs configured are not displayed on the Nofie listing website. However, OR users without URLs configured in their Nofie API connection were not receiving any error messages regarding this. We resolved this bug, and Nofie API connections will now check to ensure that the required URLs are included in the API setup process.
Fix Case Where Airbnb Pass Thru Tax Long-term Stay Exemption is Off by 1. Airbnb-connected properties configured in OR to 29 nights or longer as not taxable noted that their Airbnb listing was incorrectly set to 28 nights or longer as not taxable. OR corrected this glitch, and long-term stay taxes will be correctly passed to Airbnb.
Fix Sync Door Codes Error When Block Codes Disabled and Generate Immediately. Door lock creation occurred for blocks despite users disabling door code generation for blocks when used in conjunction with the generated number of days before arrival configuration. We have fixed this bug, ensuring that the door lock code will not be generated for blocks if the user has disabled door lock code generation for blocks.
Fix Issue Hosted Site Submenu Items Marked to Open in a New Page Do Not. Hosted Website submenu links configured to open in a new tab did not unless the top menu item was also set to open in a new tab. OR corrected this issue, and Hosted Website submenu links configured to open in a new tab will act as expected, no matter what the parent item in the top menu is set to do.
Fix Issue Where Airbnb Threads Have Incomplete User Sets. Some users with Airbnb-connected properties encountered in-app Airbnb threads that did not contain complete users in the thread collection. We have resolved this glitch, and in-app message threads will now include all users in the thread collection.
Fix Issue Where Saving Account Theme Override Without Changing Logo Removes the Logo. Due to a bug in the in-app Change Theme form, users encountered issues where their logo was incorrectly removed when they made account changes on the in-app Change Theme form. OR has fixed this bug, and users can safely change their account in-app Change Theme form again without losing their logo.
Fix Portal User Login Issue When Logging Into www. Some Portal Team Access users encountered login issues due to login links directing them to log into ownerrez.com rather than the correct app.ownerrez.com link. We have corrected this glitch to display the correct app.ownerrez.com link now.
Fix a QuickBooks Online Parsing Error for Description-only Lines. Users with a QuickBooks integration connection encountered parsing errors in their description-only lines. OR has fixed this bug, and description-only lines will act as expected and correctly in QuickBooks integration connections.
Fix Regression in Ribbon Calendar Tag Filters and Property Thumbnail Display. OR encountered a regression that caused the Ribbon Calendar property filter not to work correctly and property thumbnail images were not displayed upon hover. We corrected this issue so the Ribbon Calendar property filters work correctly, and property thumbnail images are displayed upon hover.
Fix Security Deposit Grace Period Message Spelling and Grammar. The guest security deposit form had some spelling and grammar errors in the Grace Period section. These spelling and grammar errors in the Grace Period section have been corrected on the guest security deposit forms.
Handle Booking.com Room Rates API v1.1 Changes. The system has been updated to handle the changes invoked by the Booking.com Room Rates API v1.1.
Handle Case Where Booking.com Modifies Cleaning Fees After a Booking When Set to Option Cleaning Fees Included. This edge case occurred when a user with a Booking.com-connected property encountered missing cleaning fees in the booking add event so Booking.com (BDC) sent a booking modification that added the fee but failed to include the credit card information. However, OR incorrectly switched the BDC connection to manual mode because BDC did not include the credit card information in the booking modification even though OR already had the credit card information. OR has fixed this bug to handle BDC payments that already have credit card information before booking modifications.
Skip Co-host Payments in Airbnb Transaction Import. Co-host payouts were unexpectedly included in the predicted payout from the Airbnb transaction import, sometimes leading to incorrect financial information for some Airbnb bookings. We have resolved this glitch by skipping the import of co-host payments in the Airbnb transaction.
Google Vacation Rentals Private Beta:
Thanks Paul, We can see why you did this, but it does fill up our inbox!
Hi Richard and Dallas, any email message that you send to the booking (which goes to the platform email address) will land in the message system and, thus, echo back a "new message". This includes things like system messages and payment receipts.
The platform email address (xxxxxx@guest.booking.com) is no longer necessary, and we are going to release an update to stop using that completely for Booking.com bookings. At this point - now that direct messaging has been integrated - it's confusing and unnecessary to use that email address. Sorry for the extra spam in the meantime.
Thanks Paul,
It seems that all emails are being echoed! We have an autoresponder telling guests we are away from our computers, we see two copies of that. Along with two copies of confirmation, two copies of bill payment. We got a bit excited as we thought we had a large number of new bookings! Turn out to just be 3 new guests, but about 30 emails!
Kind regards
Richard and Dallas
Hi everyone,
If you are seeing an "echo" message coming back from Booking.com, that is probably happening because you have a trigger in OwnerRez sending an email template to your Booking.com guests.
Go in and switch that trigger (or create a new one) to send a channel template to Booking.com guests instead. This will be a cleaner experience for the guest, and it will stop the echo message from happening.
If you use the same email trigger for different types of bookings, put "everything but Booking.com" on the trigger criteria like you do for Airbnb. Then make sure that a channel trigger is sending.
This is the same set up for Airbnb. Send channel triggers, not email triggers.
Make sense?
PS. The reason the email one creates an echo is because when you email the Booking.com guest, it sends a message to their platform email address (eg. xxxxx@guest.booking.com) which lands in the messaging system. The messaging system strips out the text and adds it to the existing messaging thread. OwnerRez is then alerted by Booking.com that a new message was added to the thread, not realizing that it was the email you sent. When you switch to a channel trigger, this will stop because the message will be created on the thread directly by OwnerRez. No emails will be created on either side.