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Was looking for whether you like one platform over the other and why.
Still evaluating. I used to use WH before for TA. But it has changed a lot since then.
Was looking for whether you like one platform over the other and why.
I do. when switching to WH from PL, ensure to read docs carefully. Unlike PL, you need to define min stays in WH. WH min stays can override the min stays in OR. I made that mistake :-)
I’ve been using PriceLabs. Does anyone have experience with both Procelabs and Wheelhouse that could give a comparison?
I am not aware that Turno has this capability. However, our API does support it, so, it should be possible for them to add it. You should suggest this to them as a useful additional feature!
Is there a field in OR that can be entered per booking to transmit notes into Turno into the field "Note to Teammate". I'd like to send notes to my cleaner but would like them maintained in OR. Thanks!
Has this feature been released. Also, how can I track SMS OPT IN from StayFi in OwnerRez?
The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.
OwnerRez empowers our users to efficiently manage their vacation rental properties and has its fair share of superfans. We don't expect you to start screaming "I love this company!" while reading this product update about our July 12th release with 25 updates, but we're totally ok if you do...💞
OwnerRez has a dedicated following; many of our users have spread the word and recruited friends to join up. Because of that, we created the Affiliate Program a number or years ago to reward our users as they recruit others.
We have added a couple of improvements to clarify when payouts have been processed but are still really "pending" due to processing/delivery timeframes via PayPal. We changed the column header from "Sent" to "Processed." We also added a Pending label.
And when users hover over the label in the Processed column, an informational tooltip appears - "May take up to two weeks to be deposited"
Want in? Learn more by reading the OwnerRez Affiliate Program support article.
OwnerRez can assist with generating codes (based on the lock integration you use) for your many different types of door locks, including numeric sequence locks and Wi-Fi locks. Each time a booking is created, OwnerRez can set the door lock code without you lifting a finger.
While algorithmic lock codes can't be regenerated (e.g., eRentalLock), they can now be resynced if there's an existing code by simply clicking on the Resync link!
Then a pop-up modal will appear explaining the door lock codes will be resynced but the door code won't change.
And gone are the days when double-clicking on the regenerate link resulted in duplicate codes. We have removed the ability to double-click or click Resync more than once.
Also, Kaba/Oracode integrated door lock users will also appreciate that OwnerRez now allows for the setting of more flexible additional 1 or 2-day "grace period days" in the event of early check-ins, late check-outs, or additional nights added.
Learn more by reading our Smart Lock Overview vacation rental guide and the Door Locks Overview support article.
OwnerRez users work extremely hard to get reviews. If you're like most users, you ask your guests to post reviews after every booking but only a small fraction do. It can take years to build a good list of reviews, and the more you have them the stronger your reputation (and easier your marketing) gets.
Some guests like to write more than the previous 3,000 character limit, so we have increased the guest public review form character limit to 10,000! Yep, there are some reviews in the system that are close to that length!
Learn more by reading the Reviews Overview support article.
Credit card security involves protecting sensitive cardholder information from unauthorized access. Card failures refer to instances where credit cards are declined or encounter technical issues during transactions.
If a guest's credit card is declined, that can cause confusion even if the guest provides a different credit card. If the booking remained pending or the property is in request-to-book mode, it was possible that an OwnerRez user would miss these events causing the booking to time out and be canceled.
OwnerRez has added a new email system alert to be sent to users informing them when any of the following events has occurred.
Learn more by reading the Payment Processing Overview support article.
Add an Option on Cancellation Form to "Send refund receipt to guest." When OR users canceled a booking and selected "Open in editor before sending" on the notification choices, the editor opened with the cancel email loaded. However, if they selected "send immediately" it sent both the cancel notice and a refund receipt (if applicable), which caused confusion, especially since the refund receipt was not always applicable. This bug has been fixed by adding a separate checkbox on the cancellation titled "Send refund receipt to guest" and the checkbox is disabled if there is no refund with a tooltip that states "No refund is being issued at this time." Users can continue to opt to handle the refund manually.
Change Secdep Hold to Refundable When Moving Properties if New Property Requires Refundable Type. If a booking at a property that has security deposit holds configured, and that booking is subsequently moved to a property with a refundable damage deposit (RDD), an error could occur if the payment processor doesn't support security deposit holds (e.g., Lynnbrook). This bug has been fixed to now change the booking's security deposit type to match the destination property's secdep type.
Clarify Integrated Websites Premium Feature on Public Pricing Page. We have added clarifications on the Integrated Sites + WP Plugin Premium Feature tile and "What are 'Premium Features'?" sections on the OwnerRez Pricing page.
Detect Excess Stacking of Automatic Discounts in LQA and Rate Checker. Many OwnerRez users create multiple discounts but sometimes those multiple discounts can result in a negative nightly rate. This bug has been fixed by adding multiple validation and verification processes to ensure that users don't configure multiple discounts that would result in a negative rate (i.e., 50% seasonal discount, 55% "last minute booking"), and users will see those errors are now displayed on both the Listing Quality Analyzer ("Can't discount by more than 99%...) and Rate Checker ("Rate discounted more than 99% about "missing" rates").
Display an Alert to Sole Proprietor Brand Users Who Have Not Completed the SMS Brand Phone Number Verification After 24 Hours. In order to clean up the SMS Brand application process, Sole Proprietor Brand users who have not yet completed their SMS Brand phone number verification after 24 hours will have an in-app global alert displayed to the user prompting them to complete their SMS Brand phone number verification.
Fix Export Owner to Excel Missing Email Address. The export to Excel tool on the PM Owners grid was not exporting owner email addresses after the previous release. This bug has been fixed and the PM Owner Excel export will properly populate owners' email addresses and correctly matches the Owner Excel import/export templates again.
Fix Hero Unit Caption Sizing on Hosted Websites. Following a release this spring, Hero Unit caption font sizes on Hosted Websites were inadvertently decreased. This bug has been fixed and Hero Unit caption font sizes on Hosted Websites will now display correctly as intended.
Fix Hosted Site Blog Categories Displaying "Object" Instead of Category Name. Users that had Hosted Website blog posts that had categories experienced the text "[OwnerRez.Objects.HostedSiteBlogCategory]" displayed on the blog image rather than the expected blog category name. This bug has been fixed and blog categories will now be displayed correctly.
Fix Issue With Looking Up Cancellation Policy Description for FloridaRentals. FloridaRentals API-connected users were experiencing cancellation policy description lookup errors rather than returning the correct cancellation policy description. This bug has been fixed.
Fix Issues With Unrecognized Time Zones. Some new OwnerRez account users experienced errors upon joining due to unrecognized time zones. This bug has been fixed to support these time zones.
Fix Scheduled Emails Being Sent at UTC Time Instead of Property Time. One user had emails sent at the scheduled UTC time (far earlier than expected and scheduled) due to significant differences in UTC time and the property time zones. This bug has been fixed and scheduled emails/templates will be correctly scheduled and sent according to the property time zone.
Fix Team Invite Acceptance Page Has Text Overlapping Logo. Team invite acceptance pages with branded portal logo also had the text, "Welcome to Property Name!" overlapping the logo. This should only show if no logo is configured. This bug has been fixed and the Team invitation welcome text will no longer show such text if the branded portal logo is set.
Fix Vrbo Listing Import Fails With "Could not find listing data marker" Error. Users that attempted to import their Vrbo listings into OwnerRez recently experienced a "Could not find listing data marker" error. Vrbo has been changing things on their side, so we've adjusted the import tool to be successful again when importing Vrbo listings into OwnerRez.
Gracefully Handle Deleting the Only Property Mapping on a Manual Lock. Users with a manual door lock configured and then attempted to delete the only property mapped to that lock experienced errors. This bug has been fixed to handle it more gracefully.
Hide Account Security Alerts from Email History. OwnerRez realized that some team staff users were able to view password reset and 2-factor emails in the email communication history, which is a security issue for the account user. This bug has been fixed and team staff users no longer have the ability to view OR account security alert emails in the email communication history.
Improve Owner Payout to save Reference Number from Bank Transfer. When OwnerRez PM users created owner payout bank transfers, the check or reference number field was not saved. This bug has been fixed and the check or reference number fields entered on owner payout bank transfers are now saved correctly.
Increase Automatic 5-Star Review Templates Maximum Length to 1,000 Characters. We determined that the 250 characters was too small a limit for automatic 5-star review templates and have increased the character limit to 1,000.
Prevent Attempts to Use Stripe "tokenized" Cards With Non-Stripe Processor. Users that attempted to use "tokenized" credit cards that do not have raw card numbers with payment processors other than Stripe were receiving errors but the error message wasn't always displayed correctly. This bug has been fixed and attempts to use "tokenized" credit cards with payment processors that don't support "tokenized" credit cards will now properly display correct and helpful errors.
Tweak SMS Message Alerts to Provide More Details. A few OwnerRez users have more than one SMS phone number and the SMS System Alerts details were not very clear about which phone number it was from or to. OwnerRez has added more details to SMS System Alerts if multiple phone numbers are included. If the user has multiple phones, we've added a "From Number" and/or "To Number" (depending on applicability) item to the alert.
Validate Field Codes Used in 'To' are Correct Type for Email Templates. When OwnerRez users added a non-email field code in the To field of booking email templates, the system did not correctly detect the error or display an error. This bug has been fixed to now correctly detect non-email field codes added in the To field of booking email templates and properly display an error message prompting users to correct the chosen field code.
We have partnered with P.A.Media Marketing to offer another certified WordPress design service for those looking for a custom website.
We understand that everyone's needs and wants differ, so we offer our WordPress plugin alongside our Widgets and Hosted Website options. For those looking to create a very detailed and custom website, this can be very time-consuming and takes web design skills. This is where P.A.Media Marketing can help! Their team will utilize our WordPress plugin to create a beautiful custom-built website for you.
At P.A.Media Marketing, we know that you want to be in control of your rental business. In order to do that you need your own direct booking website that makes you more money. The problem is you don’t have a way to book people privately, which makes you feel frustrated in relying on 3rd party platforms and paying crazy host fees. We believe you deserve to own every aspect of your property and make money on your own terms.
We understand how infuriating it is to be handcuffed to other OTA’s - only to have your listings fall off a cliff, which is why we have helped countless others like you build their own direct booking website and finally take control of their process and profits.
Here’s how we do it:
On Friday, 7/14, please join us for a live focus session on the benefits of using Field Codes!
Stephanie Sherrick from our Help Desk team will dive into the topic of Field Codes, what they are, and how to use them to help streamline your communications workflow. We just released a new Field Codes Walk-through video here, which you may want to look at before viewing the webinar.
The session is free to join, but you need to use the sign-up for OwnerRez Focus Session - Benefits of Using Field Codes link to register.
You can find all of our past and future webinars on our Webinars page.
Looks like WH spot rates min stays are overriding OT seasonal and property mins. I ended up with 1-night min stay across the whole available calendar. had to adjust that in WH for the time being but I prefer that OR controls min stays similar to PL, and not WH. Is there a setting to make WH provide spot rates only?
My understanding is that this is the way it should happen.
Let wheelhouse control all pricing. I you try and manage prices from multiple locations, you will end up with problems.
I use PL and controlled min stays, seasons, gaps etc., from OR, not PL. But here it seems the opposite. I used WH long ago for Tripadvisor - was not an issue with that as TA is not integrated with OR for me. Just did not think that WH overrides everything in OR....
Looks like WH spot rates min stays are overriding OT seasonal and property mins. I ended up with 1-night min stay across the whole available calendar. had to adjust that in WH for the time being but I prefer that OR controls min stays similar to PL, and not WH. Is there a setting to make WH provide spot rates only?
My understanding is that this is the way it should happen.
Let wheelhouse control all pricing. I you try and manage prices from multiple locations, you will end up with problems.
Looks like WH spot rates min stays are overriding OT seasonal and property mins. I ended up with 1-night min stay across the whole available calendar. had to adjust that in WH for the time being but I prefer that OR controls min stays similar to PL, and not WH. Is there a setting to make WH provide spot rates only?
Yes, we're aware of this issue for bookings that pre-existed the implementation of the Vrbo messaging API. We're working with Vrbo to get those backfilled, and, they will go away eventually.
We're having issues with one vrbo booking. Messages not being being sent by triggers because "booking doesn't have vrbo message thread". I don't know what happened exactly, but maybe related to the fact that the payment didn't go through the first time and guest used a different card to complete the payment later.
Donaven B, Gus and Lindsay, Nofie is funded by an Engineering tech firm and is also building affiliate partnerships with other tech companies in the vacation rental space. We are excited for the OwnerRez integration, they have been strong advocates for Nofie and we just love OwnerRez. Would love to have your upload your listings on Nofie and we'll be driving marketing dollars to guests in the upcoming weeks.
Rob P- please reach out to me directly so I can look into this. Kimberly@nofie.com
Alexander, I sent you an email on July 3. Need a little more info from you to look into why they didn't upload. Will resend the email this morning.
Mike Chen literally grew up in the restaurant business and has worn hats as an accountant, real estate investor, property manager, real estate agent, and of course, short-term rental property owner and manager. His desire to have a place near one of his family’s favorite vacation destinations, Disney World, that he could return to year-after-year, led him to start FunStay Homes.
How it all began!
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle…. Oops! Wait a minute—that’s a different story…
Let’s try this again.
Our journey into investing in short-term rentals dates back to the spring of 2017, when my family and I visited Disney World, Florida, for the first time. Let’s just say, I won Father of the Year in 2017. It all started when my kids visited the Magic Kingdom and told me, “Daddy, this is the best place ever.” It dawned on me that I could purchase property and have an amazing time with my family here year after year, creating memories that would last a lifetime. The expenses would be offset by renting out the property when we were not using it. This is when we decided to take the plunge and invest in a short-term rental. We never expected this purchase to change our lives…. forever!! We now own 10+ STRs, and we’ve started our own booking company called FunStay Homes. In addition, I’m also a licensed realtor in Orlando, FL, specializing in helping people buy and sell vacation homes, specializing in the Orlando area, specifically, the Sunbridge and Windsor Cay Resort communities.
You can read my full story HERE on how we got started
I had been working in the finance industry for over 20+ years but never enjoyed working behind a desk and crunching numbers. My wife, Joyce, worked in the IT field for over 20 years; she also wanted to start her own career in real estate. We purchased our first home in 2005, and we realized investing in real estate was the best way to build wealth. I started my side hustle, investing in rental properties while working full-time as an accountant in 2011. My wife and I saved everything we could to come up with the down payment to purchase a rental property. We had an aggressive plan to buy 2 properties per year so we could quickly build a big enough passive income to one day quit our day jobs and do what we love: become full-time real estate investors and real estate agents. In 2016, our portfolio grew to 10+ long-term rental properties, and that’s when we realized we needed something a little more profitable, fun, and exciting. We decided to purchase our first vacation home in Orlando in 2017.
Every day is challenging, and hospitality is fun! My interest in serving people started at an early age, when my dad would take me to his restaurant on the weekends and after school because I was too young to stay home by myself. I watched my dad cook in the kitchen and my mom serve customers in the dining room. I started helping my parents at the restaurant at an early age and grew a passion for helping people and making customers smile. I wanted to make sure our guests had a great time and raved about our restaurant when they left. I don’t own restaurants now, but providing accommodations is the same concept with a lot more responsibilities, because you are part of creating lasting memories for your guests from all over the world.
The STR business is not passive income! You have to keep learning, adapting and pivoting. The industry is always changing, and you have to learn to deal with the ever changing expectations from your guests. There’s never a dull moment in STR.
At FunStay Homes, we use OwnerRez primary for integration across platforms and for increasing our private bookings so we can rely less on Airbnb and VRBO.
The most useful feature is the hosted website. We love this feature because we can integrate the backend and frontend all in one place. We get so many compliments from guests and clients saying how great our website looks. We stand out from the crowd with a dedicated beautiful website to showcase our homes for guests to book.
>>>>>>>>>
Thanks for sharing your story, Mike, and for making your dream vacations and the dream vacations of other families become a reality. You forgot to end your fairy tale-like story with… “and they lived happily ever after.”
So happy to hear this!
Fantastic news!
I am so looking forward to this .
I loved wheelhouse and was so disappointed when I made the move to OwnerRez that I had to say goodbye to wheelhouse for 6 months.
We are happy to announce our partnership with Wheelhouse, a powerful revenue management platform now available to OwnerRez users!
Wheelhouse is an advanced revenue management platform providing short-term, mid-term, and corporate rentals (as well as resorts & boutique hotels) a robust solution to maximize revenue & performance. With the mission "To help hospitality teams build enduring businesses,” Wheelhouse aims to serve as customers’ most trusted & valued financial partner throughout the entirety of their business journey.
You can find the pricing plans available here.
Get started with Wheelhouse by visiting the Wheelhouse website and check out the OwnerRez support doc for how to integrate OwnerRez with Wheelhouse.
Vrbo's still working on it... they say, hopefully later this year.
OwnerRez has been recognized as the #1 software company in the Vacation Rental category by GetApp, an impartial, independent software ranking organization. This ranking was based on end-user ratings in five key areas: ease of use, value for money, functionality, customer support, and likelihood to recommend.
GetApp’s recognition of our software in the software category is a significant achievement for us. It is a testament to our commitment to providing a high-quality, one-stop solution that meets the needs of property owners and managers.
We have always strived to achieve higher customer satisfaction, which is why OwnerRez has been a top-rated product on GetApp, with an overall rating of 4.9. We appreciate our users’ support and willingness to take the time to share their experience using OwnerRez with others.
See what some of our users have to say about OwnerRez on GetApp:
“I love the many functions it offers, the ease of use, the customer support and help section, along with the forum, the price is outstanding and after trying out ALL the other options first, I can strongly say I wouldn’t change a thing!” - Lacey C.
“Very supportive with gentle, tactful reminders on the implementation progress and the remaining time left to fulfill the Client’s portion of the implementation obligation. Always felt like we had a lifeline; we could call while migrating our data from another existing Owner Rez client.” - Ken M.
“I find OwnerRez to be very intuitive for me to use. After a couple weeks, I really felt like I could navigate and accomplish everything necessary to run my business.” - John K.
GetApp® serves as an ecosystem of user-generated and editorial reviews of software and apps for businesses. GetApp lists all vendors in their comprehensive directory so users can compare, sort and filter results to make the most informed decision possible. See GetApp’s Methodology here.
My property does not appear un nofie but OR says is syncing.
Hi Rob, did you follow the rest of the steps after turning it on in OwnerRez? If you don't know what I mean, go back to the Nofie integration in OwnerRez, drill in, and look at the Instructions tab. It will tell you where to go next and what to do on the Nofie side.
If you have already done these steps, contact Nofie by going to their website and clicking on the Need help? floating bubble bottom right.
Hi.
Where Do I find the help desk?
My property does not appear un nofie but OR says is syncing.
Please help!
Good question... when something is free, you are the product... so it would be nice to understand the model before investing time in the tool.
Does anyone know what the benefit to Nofie is? How are they making money?
It shows very high average nightly rate, I do not even have such a rate for any nights in my listing. Definitely not an average
If you are having issues with the Nofie integration, please write in to the Helpdesk with a clear description of the problem, so we can investigate and assist.
