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I'm out of here. This is ridiculous!!! Smoobu, Hospitable... all better "bang for the buck" now. OwnerRez will slowly lose a lot of people and a lot of money.
I would like to have Quickbooks integration included in the normal subscription, as opposed to an additional fee.
Paul, you write:"We actually do have a fulltime Engagement Team that does in-person phone and video calls every day of the week. Send in an email and we'll get you on the call-back schedule for sometime this week or early next. Our Engagement Team is expanding and we look forward to doing a lot more phone/video support in the future."
I think that you are missing the point. What is frustrating is that I/users cannot just pick up the phone and talk to someone then and there. Sometimes I require an immediate response, and a call back days later, when I might be out, doesn't cut it. Therefore I always use email and the response time is pretty good; but knowing that someone will pick up the phone if I feel that the matter is urgent enough to warrent a call, would be refreshing.
Ken,
1. With regard to the rent, yes you can combine the rental lines but you can't combine any other fees INTO the rental line. You can only group surcharges together, discounts together and rents together (and taxes)....but you can't combine different categories. I think a lot of people have a number of "per stay" fees that they would like to wrap up into the rent total but that cannot be easily added to a nightly rate. Cleaning fees being the primary one. My cleaning fee is $150 whether 1 night or 14 nights so I need it to be added as a per stay surcharge but I don't want to display it.
2. Multiple payments only exist as a manual workaround.....and one that requires the guest to agree to terms that you are then going to change. I don't want to tell my guests, "yeah the agreement says you have to pay the entire balance in one lump some but after you agree I will change it to two payments." No, that's not reasonable. Owners should be able to have multiple payment options....whether they choose to split it into 4 payments, or a $500 deposit and then 2 payments of 50% each. That's what OR should offer and what many people have been asking for since about 2017. Also, OR offers no ability to set dates that payments are due, only dates based on the stay. Many seasonal rentals will have a payment due by say January 1st, then the balance 60 days prior, or even on a second set date. Right now that's not an option so I have to manually send out payment reminders in November.
@Nona - you can control your Premium Features here:
https://app.ownerrez.com/account/billing/premium
@Tim it is possible to set up multiple payments for an individual booking, has been for a long while:
https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/multiple-payments
And, you can indeed combine the various Rent entries onto one line - that's controlled in your Pricing Preferences under "How Guests See Charges":
https://app.ownerrez.com/settings/pricing
Paul,
As others have mentioned, I just have one duplex that equates to 3 listings (A,B A&B) so I'm looking at a significant increase in cost. I started at $22.99, then last year it jumped to $42, now next spring it will be $88!
Perhaps most egregious is the pricing for the Wordpress plugin. I can't begin to understand how that pricing is reasonable....everyone might as well have the full hosted website feature for $5 more. $18 a month for a calendar widget and booking form? I'd love to hear the justification for that.
Primarily my complaint about missing features is the multiple payments (n payments as you guys called them) and the ability to create payment schedules and set due dates. It has been on the roadmap for probably 4+ years now and it seems like a pretty common practice in the industry.
Another missing feature is the ability to "bundle" all the surcharges/fees into one "price". With all the media attention on cleaning fees and other fees being charged it would be nice if on quotes and bookings there was the option to just display everything as "rent" rather than breaking it down. I know you can manually do this on quotes but it would be a useful and time saving feature. At a minimum I don't want my quotes to default to this giant mess that I have to edit each time. I can't imagine people wanting to send out a quote that looks like this....
| Item | Description | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 2 nights (5/10, 5/11) during Spring 2023 at $750.00 per night | 1,500.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Rent | 2 nights (5/12, 5/13) during Spring 2023 at $850.00 per weekend night | 1,700.00 | $1,700.00 |
| Surcharge | Cleaning Fee | 300.00 | $300.00 |
| Surcharge | Refundable Damage Deposit | 500.00 | $500.00 |
How about the option to combine select charges into a simple "Rent" line...
| Item | Description | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 4 nights: 5/10/2023 - 5/14/2023 | 3,500.00 | $3,500.00 |
| Surcharge | Refundable Damage Deposit | 500.00 | $500.00 |
I barely book with VRBO so that integration isn't worth my time and it seems from owner reports that the AirBnB API integrations are still not perfect. AirBnB via iCal is working fine so I'm not sure I want to deal with switching to API if it potentially brings me headaches. I'm not convinced that any of the newer features are of use/interest to me and it seems like a lot development work is spent on integrating partners that I have no use for. I read through the blog and it is new integration after new integration....mostly of services I've never heard of. Meanwhile I'm stuck here waiting for improvements to basic functionality.
How do I remove PM?
Reading through these comments above, I would like to 2nd the opinion that yo should offer yearly pricing discounts. Rentals are my side gig, but software consulting is part of my main consulting business. Owner Rez seems to have very different growth objectives than most software companies, but traditionally, ANY TIME my clients call me and tell me that they need a bunch of cash for development, I recommend offering yearly pricing as the fastest way to get all your money upfront so it is available to be used for growth. Ultimately, a webinar that pitched owner rez to the rental owner audience and had a special one-time offer for a discount on your first yearly subscription could very well lead to the sort of revenue growth needed to support your development goals. This is how I have grown software companies in the past that did not have access to VC funding or did not want to take on more debt. Ultimately, getting owner Rez more exposure could help since I was lucky to stumble on this platform since I had never heard of it spoken about on any podcast or social media.
I have been on this platform for a month and spent a TON of time setting this platform up. If I had any idea that my bill would almost double I would have NEVER signed up to begin with. The decision to switch to a different platform that is far more intuitive will not be nearly as difficult after finding out that Ill be spending $600 more next year...
Kudos, I absolutely love seeing all the new updates. The price increases seem fair especially compared to competitors and the amount of features you all provide and always updating/changing/growing. I love that you have rolled out portal access into all accounts and don’t have to have PM.
However, I am looking forward to all the pm features updates, especially YTD reports.
Absolutely love seeing OwnerRez blossom! Thank you! ☺️
Hi Paul,
I took a look at their website and I have asked for someone to call me tomorrow to discuss.
Thanks very much for suggesting. Lets see where this goes.
Suzy
I didn't hear of them, Paul, but could look into them. We certainly need a solution.
I'll get back to you.
Suzy
Suzy, I'm curious if you've looked into Pagadito for credit card processing? If so, any thoughts about them? If you haven't seen them, please take and let us know. The do CC processing for Central America and some Carribean countries and would allow our users to processing in their native currencies for Vrbo and direct bookings (same as Stripe and all the others). We are planning to integrate with them soon. Would this get you where you need to be?
Whew, it's time to take a break from your NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project ✍️ and read today's product update describing our November 11th release with 4 updates!
And unlike your novel's plot, this product update is not fiction, it's all for real. Read below the fold for more information about our enhanced Progressive Web App and sleek new (not just a pop-up) modal designs.
OwnerRez's Progressive Web App is a great option for users that are on the go yet still need to be responsive to their guests. And unlike standalone apps that you install and have to keep updated, you don't have to download a new version of the OwnerRez app whenever we improve the software, which is just about every day! You instantly get the most recent version as soon as we deploy it.
OwnerRez mobile booking displays have had some enhanced details for quite some time. And we have expanded those enhanced details to now display on both inquiries and quotes. Newly expanded mobile displays include:
Learn more about it by reading our Progressive Web App support article.
Modals, much like pop-ups, are components that pop up on a user's screen. The key difference is that modals are user-initiated to complete an action or specific workflow. Over the past year, all OwnerRez app modals have changed to a sleeker looking design with the user being directed to initiate an action with a set of buttons on the bottom of the modal to complete or cancel that action as shown below. Even though the 'X' to close is gone from the top right corner, you can still click off the modal or hit the Esc key to close them!
Fix Bedroom Issues on Listing Import. We've improved the Vrbo listing imports and Airbnb syncing to more accurately import and sync extra rooms with beds.
Fix Report Field Data Joining to Files When Field Definition Isn't File Type. We noticed that when a user created a custom booking text type field storing numbers that duplicated the ID of the file, that the report fields column displayed the name of the file instead of the number entered in the field. This bug has been corrected.
I don't have any issue with the increase to my pricing for one property.
But I do have a quirk like some others have posted which is I was going to do a few different configurations of the one property - whole property, half the property, a room only etc so I'd have multiple listings but they are all for the one property just in different configurations.
The pricing isn't really workable for me for those multiple configurations when it's still the one income stream. Not the end of the world, but maybe something to think about. If I actually had five properties the updated pricing would be fine as my income would also be 5x what it is now.
Thank you.
Thank you Ken. Looking forward to 2023 and the changes ahead.
Keep up the great work.
Warm wishes,
Suzy
We are investigating additional payment processors that would support Panama and several other countries where we don't currently have a payment processor; hopefully that would be available in the coming year.
As you noted, OwnerRez is not currently fully multilingual - but it gets better all the time, and more functionality will continue to be added on an ongoing basis. I don't have an ETA specifically for rental agreements, but it will occur.
Hi Paul, thanks so much for the update and for being so transparent in your explanation. The projected changes and updates are exciting, especially for Property Managers. I only have one property, but as you explained about costs and inflation etc, everything is going up. (And no doubt, so are vacation property rental prices).
I would still be happy to see a couple of things:
1. I have no real integration with VRBO except the ical. I know it's difficult because we are in Panama and there is no Stripe or similar payment gateway here to integrate with, but it's frustrating that the Channel Manager doesn't work terribly well.
2. My website is in 2 languages right now and will be expanded to two more shortly. When are you planning to get a translated version of something as simple as the Renter Agreement form available in more than just English?
The breadth of features you support, the stability of the service, and the caliber of OR support are all top notch. Even with this pricing update the value you are providing well exceeds its cost.
Thank you!
....especially when there are other features you want/need that have been "on the list" for years that still don't exist. This is frustrating.
Tim, I'm curious - if you could boil it down to a couple of things, what are the main issues you want/need that aren't being worked on?
I only have one property and I have been paying $55.00 per month. Is this correct?
Hi Nona, it looks like you have both the PM and Hosted Websites modules turned on in your account. If you look at your account billing page, each invoice shows the details of what you are charged for. Your base fee is $35. The PM and Websites modules are adding $10/month (each) to your bill which is why it's $55. It doesn't appear like you are using PM for anything, so you could turn that module off and save yourself some money each month.
Will this new pricing be online in OR somewhere so I don’t have to refer back to this blog?
Hi Sea Charmer! You can see the new pricing immediately by using the main Pricing Calculator or reading our Costs & Fees support article. Both are already updated with the new pricing and apply to new customers.
OwnerRez's support system that is purely email based without any form of phone support by an applications/support engineer is inefficient and often results in delays for issues to be resolved. Sometimes, it is just easy to explain the issue over a phone call as opposed to numerous email exchanges.
Hi Mukta! Thanks for your feedback. We actually do have a fulltime Engagement Team that does in-person phone and video calls every day of the week. Send in an email and we'll get you on the call-back schedule for sometime this week or early next. Our Engagement Team is expanding and we look forward to doing a lot more phone/video support in the future.
I only have one property and I have been paying $55.00 per month. Is this correct?
Will this new pricing be online in OR somewhere so I don’t have to refer back to this blog?
The new pricing increases should definitely provide a better support model. Unfortunately, the blog does not touch upon this. OwnerRez's support system that is purely email based without any form of phone support by an applications/support engineer is inefficient and often results in delays for issues to be resolved. Sometimes, it is just easy to explain the issue over a phone call as opposed to numerous email exchanges. There are also instances where issues just slip through the cracks without a resolution. If phone based support is not in the plans, then there should at least be some form of a helpdesk system manned by support personnel with a guaranteed service level agreement. Also, future roadmaps should consider providing a better, modern and more refined user interface!
I have 2 properties and I was paying for the PM module just to get the Portals features.
These things considered, my monthly bill would go up 10%, which is reasonable considering inflation.
Not sure if you've considered this, but I would happily pay for a full year instead of paying monthly as long as there is some discount involved.
Chris, sorry, my mistake, you are correct.
Well worth it for the features and support that your team includes. Thanks for being a great company and continuing to give us great software!
Folks with 3 properties are getting a 90% increase, from $42 to $80/month...
Correction: from $42 to $93/mo, a $51/mo increase 121%!
The price for three properties went from $42/mo to $70/mo. You must have additional features selected in the pricing calculator if you're seeing $80 or $93/mo.
