General Help and Questions

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Great. Thanks guys, all set up now. ;)

Yes, just last week. You can watch the webinar announcement here:

https://www.ownerrez.com/webinar-april-13-2021-ownerrez-airbnb-offline-security-deposits-and-request-to-book?autoplay

That's great news... when did this change? in the last few weeks?

It doesn't - you have to set that directly in your Vrbo control panel. The API connection between OwnerRez and Vrbo doesn't support transmitting that data at present.

Hi Tim, anything sent to the @inquiryspot.com email address will either turn into an inquiry record or, if OwnerRez doesn't recognize the content, will give you the "What is this?" header and link.

@BlueMtnCabins, even when the @inquiryspot.com email address is used as the FROM header on outbound messages, the REPLY-TO is set to the user's actual email, so most replies should go back to the user directly and not come into @inquiryspot.com. Just fyi. But you're right that if someone does reply to that email specifically, then it will come back to OwnerRez.

We have a long-planned update coming (no ETA) to unify the messaging around the guest conversation and provide 2 way email there along with your other SMS and channel stuff. The inquiry records will come into there as well.

Hi,
I'm new to OR and using the API connection for VRBO. I had a virtual tour for each of my homes that I'd like to include in the listing. I can't figure out where that goes in OR. Anyone know?

Thanks
Sally

Maybe all your emails are directed at inquiryspot email (as in reply-to). in that case they are treated as inquiry

I understand that in some cases the banner and the "Create Inquiry" button could be useful, but not for me.
What I don't like is when I reply to the guest, every email has that embedded and I'd rather it wasn't there.
Thanks,
Tim

Actually, Airbnb API now does support Request-to-Book:

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/instant-book-vs-request-to-book#airbnb

Good point - we added instructions to that support doc.

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/proxy-email-addresses

Thanks Ken,

We may go IP connected to AirBnB in the future but for now we are trying not to as AirBnB force you to have instant booking on when API connected. I understand there are rules you can set such as "ID verified and positive feedback etc etc" but for logistical reasons we prefer not to accept instant booking at the moment.

Which brings up 2 questions...

If we delete the original booking in OwnerRez and then run bring Channel Bridge again, would it bring the booking back in with the new dates?

Or is it better to edit the booking in OwnerRez with new dates? But if I do that, will channel bridge still sync other data relating to that booking in the future... such as payments etc?

Many thanks

I think I figured out the problem. It's because Airbnb stopped using the email alias feature a year ago. I had to manually go into Airbnb to turn it on. OwnerRez should add this information into their help guide for Airbnb API and the email template/trigger information.

I'm brand new to all this. Got my first booking for this Friday. Went today to see why I haven't received a signed rental agreement and discovered my email was never sent even though it is set up as a trigger. Went reading through the help stuff and saw this

"If you are using an API connection to Airbnb, TripAdvisor, CanadaStays, or Booking.com - the API connection will not give you the guest's real email address. They only give you a fake temporary proxy email address that goes through their server. But it is able to handle real email, so the method discussed on this page will work: the trigger can automatically send out an email template inviting the guest into an OwnerRez process that will obtain their real email address and get an e-signature on your rental agreement."

Well, I do have an API connection to Airbnb but it's still not sending my emails. When I look at the email it just shows as needs to be sent. When I manually try to send them it can't because I don't know the guests email address. How do I fix this?

Channel Bridge does not move the dates of bookings.

We recommend connecting to Airbnb using our API connection, which will automatically update dates:

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/channel-management-api-integrations-airbnb-setup-connecting

If you are using iCals, they can update the dates, but not reliably, as Airbnb doesn't always send the changed information on the iCal feed.

Having a slight issue with Channel Bridge and a modified booking in AirBnB.

Not sure if it's something we're doing wrong, or if it's just not pulling the new data.

Essentially we had a booking which has moved dates. It's a confirmed booking taken some time ago through AirBnB and was for the beginning of May, but now the booking has been moved to the middle of June. All is correct on AIrBnB's side but when running channel bridge it doesn't appear to pull these new dates and move the booking in OwnerRez.

If I look at the booking in Ownerrez it does show that it was last Channel Bridged today, so it has pulled in recent payments against that booking, but it hasn't changed the booking dates.

Am I doing something wrong, or are modified dates not something pulled by Channel Bridge?

Many thanks

CatP, I just noticed that you don't have our WordPress Plugin enabled, so it sounds like you're talking about some other general WordPress issue. For that, you should contact your hosting/website provider and ask them about it.

Hi CatP, no that most likely isn't it, but it's possible. What is your website? Use our help desk (help@ownerreservations.com) to send in more details including screenshots showing what you're seeing inside your Wordpress control panel.

403 ERROR CODE ON WORDPRESS: Hiya, Chris, my site uses WordPress, and I'm also getting a 403 error code when I make changes to Gallery pictures. I'm asking you for help because I saw your response about a fix, and you're obviously a smart guy!
Could the problem be caused by the activation of the SSL plugin? It's free, called Really Simple SSL, i think.

Just wanted to let you know the update to allow .co.uk has been released.

Not "necessary" but it makes things a lot easier once you get it set up. Change settings once in OwnerRez, they sync out to the channels automatically, bookings come into OwnerRez automatically with guest info, calendars update instantly, etc.

In terms of drawbacks, it's more complex because you have now 3 systems working together (OwnerRez, Vrbo, Airbnb) instead of separate systems.

For Vrbo, OwnerRez will process the guest credit cards on your card processor (so you must have one), and taxes will come to you so you have to remit them -- so that may be either a drawback or an advantage, depending on your case.

I am new to OwnerRez, and want to sync my VRBO and Airbnb calendars with OwnerRez, but don't know that I want to fully integrate. What are the advantages / disadvantages of not integrating?

Hi WaterfrontGem,

The Channel Rate Tester tool shows you what Airbnb is showing versus OwnerRez for that channel. The OwnerRez charges are shown for what OwnerRez thinks Airbnb should be charging, not for OwnerRez direct bookings. And the Airbnb charges that it shows are what we actually find by hitting up Airbnb's website directly.

Read more about that tool here:

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/rate-testing

If this doesn't help and your numbers still don't make sense, send an email to help@ so that we can take a look at your account specifically.

The numbers may not match exactly for Airbnb. They typically don't because of how Airbnb hides fees in the nightly rate. But the totals should work to a similar amount.

When I use the "Channel Rate Tester" to check my price on Airbnb vs. OwnerRez:
-- It shows Airbnb is significantly cheaper (Accommodation)
-- I check directly on Airbnb.com and it shows as more expensive
-- My OwnerRez price appears to be correct/consistent

Is this tool just broken? Or do I need to correct/fix a setting?

Here's how to do that:

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/channel-management-api-integrations-vrbo-common-issues-questions#newproperty

We imported a property from Airbnb to OR and spent a fair amount of time making sure that everything is right. Now we want to list it on VRBO. How do we go about pushing the property from OR to VRBO?

Thanks,
-K

I use a system called Inthrma (https://www.inthrma.com/). It is great and the developer is great to work with.

I don't think OR is going to be able to help you much here - the system is designed to keep track of overnight reservations, not shorter time segments like an hour here or there.

DOH!!! Of course it would be causing a conflict, thanks for the help.