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The message was wrong -- there is an address. But there was a different issue blocking TI -- usually this is because arrival has got to be at least a day in the future.

Some answers on this:

1) Yes, you can pull the VRBO descriptions into OR using the import listing tool. If you already have photos you might want to skip that part of the import so it doesn't duplicate them, but the listing descriptions will overwrite.

However, also keep in mind Airbnb uses slightly different fields as well. The biggest difference is that they don't have one big Description field like VRBO. Instead they have a short description field and then other fields for things like the space, neighborhood overview, etc. Here's how those all match up: https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/channel-management-api-integrations-property-field-differences

2) Yep, Airbnb API can be used with one property -- no minimum limitations there. That does everything except for payment info -- detailed payment info isn't currently available to us via API so you still have to run channel bridge for that.

3) Correct, Airbnb bookings are entered into OwnerRez immediately. And as soon as we see a booking from iCal we will also update that unavailability on to the Airbnb calendar. You do have the iCal lag because that's not immediate, but on the OwnerRez side once we do have the info its updated to channels within a minute or two.

Really the only way to get round that is to go API on VRBO as well -- I've heard some folks creating combination properties to get to the 5 property minimum for integration.

4) There is a {BSOURCE} field for the listing site name. Depending on how detailed your agreement is, you can either have paragraphs referring to "if booked on VRBO" etc. Or you could create different renter agreement versions for different listing sites.

Yep, that's basically it!

The content question depends on if you're API integrated or not. If you go API integrated, then the content will come from OR and overwrite what you have in the listing site. Airbnb lets you do a partial integration where rates and availability come from OwnerRez and your content comes from Airbnb -- that's called Limited mode.

Ahh, LOL, not LOL!

Yep, we've been planning a rules overhaul for awhile. Rules have grown and grown and there's still a lot set at the property level that's duplicated. Problem is, some things you want to set at a property level and some globally, but each user has a different set of things that want to be per property. That's why we've leaned toward setting things on the property level. We want to do some overrides, but when we've tried to do that in the past it ends up making things way too complex. *cough* seasons and rates *cough*. So we want to get it right this time.

We'll add a warning for the check in/out times on the Listing Quality Analyzer -- that'll give folks a heads up as they're setting up.

I did some testing and I wasn't able to reproduce the issue with the wrong rates sticking in the box. Can you email over a screenshot of the first step where you set the rates and then the second where you're seeing the wrong rates?

You actually can update min nights without updating the rate. If you leave one of the boxes on set rates blank (or it has the prefilled greyed out range because there were multiple values in the range), then it will only update the one you enter. For example, see the screenshot below. That's showing that you've selected a range that's got multiple values for rate and min nights. If you just put a 4 in min nights and hit Update, it'll leave the rate as it is and only update min nights.

Updating rates by x% is a good idea! That could be another option we add to the modal. It's got Overwrite and Clear right now, we could add Adjust and let you enter x% to add or subtract.

I've only used OwnerRez and VRBO for the past year (for 3 units, about 140 bookings total)

I now want to put one of the units on Airbnb, mostly because I have a friend with the same kind of unit at the same location (studio) who says he rents a ton more on Airbnb.

Wondering what steps I should be taking .... specifically:

1) I've likely made changes to my descriptions at VRBO which have not been updated back into OwnerRez. Is it feasible (safe?) to pull the vrbo listing details back into OR, and then just push them to Airbnb? Or should I just work within Airbnb. Would be nice to have all the details kept in one place so they are identical.

2) With only one unit on Airbnb, can I still use the new fancy API the OR team created? And avoid the need to use channel bridge?

3) Assuming I *can* use the new API, I figure a booking on Airbnb will instantly (seconds) be reflected in OR, but will it then instantly (via iCal) be pushed back to VRBO or will that take up to 30 mins? I imagine bookings on VRBO will take up to 30 minutes to sync (via iCal) with OR and then would instantly be pushed to Airbnb. I doubt I'd have many issues with (nearly) simultaneous bookings on the different sites, but just wanting to understand the mechanisms involved to be safe.

4) I imagine there are lots of other details to watch out for, such as ensuring my rental agreement is clearly reflecting the correct source (Vrbo vs Airbnb) using custom fields, instead of some hard coded text that would be incorrect.

Anything else I might not be thinking of?

Some desirable updates

- would be nice to be able to update min nites across a range without touching the rates. Maybe a checkbox could be added next to rates and min nights (default checked) which could be unchecked when someone only wants to update one and not the other

- would be awesome if there was a way to select a range and reduce rates by X percent. Especially for farther out dates, like the month of spring break, I have the relative rates set already, but I'd like to knock 10% off of them. That's hard to do when you have different rates set each week and sometimes (such as valentines day) uniquely per day.

Chris - I'm using the Rate Calendar today, the fixes are really nice! But I have found that when I update one particular set of dates, the prefilled nightly rates seem to be set from my last change instead of the current selected date.

In other words, if I load the rate calendar and then change rates for the range 12/10-12/12, and then select 12/17-12/19 and click on set rates, the prefill is from my entry for 12/10-12 and not the current value of 12/17-19.

If I reload the page everything resets, but looks like a bug to me.

I was just creating a quote and when I went to "rules" i see on the bottom "Travel insurance cannot be purchased because this property has no address on file" .. property certainly has an address, and I see it under "location" for the property. Can't figure out what's wrong?
Thank you for your assistance.
Ella

As a follow up question to this, if my listing sites differ in content from OR, which one will my info default to?

Okay so I’ve read the info and tried my best to understand it without getting overwhelmed. So here’s my take away...........

1. Channel management is a concept or service/category used by me to work with my channel listings.
2. Under the category of Channel Management, API Integration and Channel Bridge are two of the tools used to make sure information is shared and/or synced between OR and the channels.
3. API Integration shares my listing info both ways, ie rates, photos, etc.
4. Channel Bridge shares additional listing info both ways such as renter info, reviews, etc

Have I got the gist of it?

It's a complicated issue. Take a look at this support doc and see if it helps:

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/channel-management-overview

This one is more specific:

https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/channel-management-technical-terms-api-ota-syncing-mapping

I’m struggling to understand what each of the above are and how they differ from one another in definition and function........in the simplest way possible :)

Would it be possible to set check-in/check-out times in a global setting somewhere?

I listed a new property and forgot to go into the Rules and specifically set the check-in and check-out times for the property (I saw that it said "Standard" and just assumed it would inherit a global setting from somewhere).

That's probably fine for direct bookings in OR, since my rental agreement specifies the check-in and check-out times.

Problem is, Airbnb (I'm on the API integration) didn't know what to set for the times, so it just defaulted them to "Flexible," and now I've taken a couple of bookings where the guest is expecting to check in at like noon and check out at like midnight. LOL. (Well, maybe not a LOL...)

A one-time set-and-forget setting would be awesome (and prevent issues like this in the future). Specific property overrides are useful but a global setting is easier for most of us. :)

I am really interested in this ! is anyone managed to make i ifttt that is trigger via Ical yet? Mysa thermostat work really well with ifttt so just wonder if it as been done?
Thank you
Olivier

Okay :)
I use a colour coding system in other parts of my rental business so that why I was hoping to be able to match them up. Small potatoes though.

Alas no, you'll have to make do with our taste in decor. :-)

Thanks, all done! Is there a way to customize the colour used for each booking site?

Yes, that's a temporary selector, you have to choose it every time you go to that page.

However, the other part of your problem can be fixed. Go to one of the bookings you entered manually, then to its Info tab. Click the "Change Booking Details" button. That edit screen will include a dropdown of listing sites, and you can select the correct one and Save. Thereafter, the booking will be correctly categorized and colored. You'll have to do this individually for each booking, but only once each.

Is there a way to show the different listing sites colours on the yearly calendar permanently? The option to do this below the calendar seems to be temporary. Also, because I had bookings manually entered on each calendar prior, it is inaccurate as to where the bookings originated.

There should be... If the booking is displaying in OR's calendar, you can click on it, and on the Overview tab, there should be a message like this:

This booking was created automatically by a calendar import (VRBO iCal).

I am in the process of syncing my external calendars to OwnerRez, but because of having all of my calendars manually synced prior, I am getting a lot of “fully obstructed”. I would really like to know where each booking originated, ie from which website. Is there a way to do this?

First, I see you are NOT using the HA/VRBO API (and you can't, unfortunately, since you don't have 5 properties). So for anyone else reading this, this answer is applicable ONLY to non-API VRBO bookings.

If you have made a payment request in VRBO and it's been approved, then it should appear visible to Channel Bridge and show up in OR as an additional charge. If the guest has not paid it, then the booking should show as balance-due. You could set up a trigger to fire for bookings that came in from VRBO and still have a balance due at, say, 1 day before arrival.

For taxes, if you are using Channel Bridge to push rates to VRBO, you can put in an appropriate rate escalator % to make sure the tax is included in your rates as listed there. That way you don't have to make a special request of the guest, it's already built into what they are paying. You can also configure OR to keep track of Taxes to help know what you need to remit to the different authorities.

Here is how I solve it. Manual but works. I created a "booking" custom field {BXSVCFEE} for the fee. When a booking gets imported into OR, the service fee is shown there. I manually populate the custom field with that amount. The way I use the field is post departure they get review request email and it says " did you know that if you booked direct , you could have saved $X" where $x is the amount of the fee.

Dear {CFIRST},

If you can take a couple of minutes out of your busy day, we'd appreciate it if you would fill an online review of your choice so that other guests can see what to expect. 

Review on our website <link>

Review on Google <link>

Did you know that 3rd party site such as {BSOURCE} that you used to  book our cabin mark up our rate? If you have booked direct from us, you could have saved  {BXSVCFEE} on your stay - that is the amount {BSOURCE} charged YOU for using their site. Sites like Homeaway/VRBO, AirBNB and TripAdvisor mark up owner's rates by anywhere from 7 to 17%! Find individual property websites (like ours) and social media pages and bypass paying excessive fees to a 3rd party middlemen. 

Please know that there are real people behind owning, caring for and maintaining vacation properties like ours, so you are not "renting an AirBnB" - you are renting someone's vacation home, 2nd home or future retirement dream home. These mega booking sites do not own vacation homes - folks like us do.

Returning guests do not need to overpay - get the best total price by booking direct with us (any of our cabins!) and we offer friends/family referral discount.

We are "social" - 'Like'{PDISPNAME} on  and follow on  - we post updates, photos, area info, specials, or availability due to last minute cancellations. We welcome you sharing photos of your vacation!

Thanks again, and if you have any questions or concerns, or need information, please let us know.

NVM, may be how they filed it out on the other end

It's a fair question - I recently had a guest ask me why the amount listed in the rental agreement was different from what VRBO says is their total, and it took me time to draft a response. I think the guest was wondering if I was doing something sneaky.

I know that if I was the guest signing the RA I would double check that the amount I see in the agreement against what I paid. And since those amounts differ I'd have to wonder whether a mistake was made.... So I'm just thinking by listing the full payment made to VRBO and the lesser amount paid to me is a safe thing that can avoid anyone having the same thought process.

Not my business but WHY would you include the fees that renters pay to VRBO, not you. that would imply that you are somehow responsible for those. IMO you should ONLY show what renters pay YOU. What they pay to vrbo is between them and VRBO.
There are 2 contracts going on:
One between renter and VRBO ( they pay service fee to vrbo for privilege of using vrbo's site)
One between renter and you (they pay you for privilege to stay in your house).

you are not a party to the 1st one. I'd leave it out. taxes ma be a different story depending on who remits them.

My rental agreement is currently not showing the full amount guests pay to VRBO, it is missing the channel fees and taxes collected by VRBO.

I use these fields in my agreement

TOTAL UNIT FEE:  {BTAMT}       
SECURITY DEPOSIT:   {BSDAMT}

I suspect that {BTAMT} used to include channel fees but it seems like it no longer does...

(example from VRBO - I want the total traveler payment amount, not just Booking amount)

4 nights $2,816.00
Administrative Fee $80.00
Cleaning Fee $110.00
==> Booking amount $3,006.00

Refundable damage deposit$100.00
Lodging taxes we remit $138.26
Traveler service fee $286.00
==> Total traveler payment $3,524.26

It seems smbyo inquiry passing last name in place of 1st maybe? Not a big deal. Just something to check.

Q1) Is there any way to create a trigger that fires when a guest is past due in making a payment to VRBO. OR would need to know the due date for the unpaid payment along with the total due and total paid amounts.

Q2) Since VRBO started collecting some but not all taxes in CO, I have to submit an additional payment request on all bookings. It's calculated at 8.5% for town and village taxes, based on my nightly rate plus any special fees (admin + cleaning) that I've set up. This could be tricky because once the payment request is submitted in VRBO it then appears to be part their subtotal that includes nightly + special fees. I don't currently have a way to receive payments in OR, so I have to submit the request from VRBO, but would be nice to have OR alert me if this hasn't happened as it should.

Currently I just have an informative email that gets sent to guests telling them to expect the payment request.