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Ah, yes, most of my bookings are imported. (For now) I was hoping to have it automatically send when the booking imports. It's not a big deal as I just go click a button to send it after a reservation comes in but trying to automate as much as possible. :-) Thanks!
You need to set up trigger 1st. Trigger should be "as soon as booking is created". But generally, lease gets signed in the process of booking (part of check out process). so unless it is for imported booking., or you need to get it resigned again, why do you need a trigger to send it?
Now that I'm comfortable that my lease agreement is working well and I can collect online signatures, I'd like to trigger it anytime a booking comes in. When I go to email triggers, the form field doesn't allow me to choose anything. (It's blank but has arrows like it should be populated. Is that a feature that's in a different plan than I might have or is there something else to set to allow those to pull in?
Monica R said:
I've looked through the forums to see if anyone else has asked these questions, and I don't see it, so I'll ask.Question 2: In answering a manually created inquiry, a quote gets created and appears at the bottom of the email. However, after I hit "send email now" I'm confused as to why the system urges me to send the quote again in a separate email, after I've just sent the quote in a reply. Am I making sense?
Thank you!
Hi {CFIRST},
Thank you for your inquiry about {PDISPNAME} ({PIMGCAPTION}). Our cabin is a private vacation home, rented out by owners Victoria and Todd (we do not use a management company or an agent).
The quote is shown below for the dates you requested.
First, please review Booking and Rental information for our cabin:
NO smoking ~ NO pets ~ NO house parties.
Must be at least 25 years of age to rent, and be present during the entire stay (No third party rentals). Minors under 18 can only stay with parent, legal guardian or responsible adult.
No occupancy above total {PXOLIMIT} persons (which includes all children ages 0 and up), with maximum {PXMAXADULTS} persons over 14 years of age. Our quoted rates are the same for one guest or {PXOLIMIT}, but we do not permit over limit occupancy.
{QFPAMT} is due to reserve the property; Balance will be due {QSPDAY} days prior to check-in date. If reserving within {QSPDAY} days from check-in date, the full amount is due immediately.
Availability is real time and may change after this email is sent. Property is not reserved until deposit (or full balance) is paid and booking is accepted.
Rental Deposit of {PXDEPOSIT} will be refunded/released within 14 days after check-out if there are no damages or excessive cleaning required (See the Rental Agreement for more details).
Rental Agreement must be signed by primary Guest if you decide to book.
Guest signing the Agreement must provide valid photo ID which matches the name on the credit card used for payment. If not returned within 72 hours from booking acceptance, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and issue a refund.
60 day cancellation policy (full refund if cancelled by renter 60 or more days before the scheduled check-in).
We strongly recommend to protect your trip by obtaining Travel Insurance, especially if your stay is during winter months.
Payments accepted: Venmo, PopMoney, Zelle, major credit cards, personal or cashiers check, money order (at least 35 days prior to check in date), PayPal. Credit card convenience fee may apply.
Address, driving directions and check in instructions will be provided after balance is paid and few days prior to check in. See distance from the cabin to popular area destinations.
Owners reserve the right to install and operate security/image capture devices on the property outside for the express purpose of securing the property, driveway, entryway, parking, dwelling and its contents and ensuring occupancy/pet rules compliance.
Check in is {PCHECKIN} ET and check out is {PCHECKOUT} ET unless pre-arranged otherwise in advance. Late check outs may be subject to docking of the deposit.
WI-FI is available via satellite service (typical speed up to 12 Mbps; Connection speed/availability is not guaranteed).
Property has yard, fire pit and ample parking.
Questions? Check our Vacation Guide, FAQ and What is provided
See the Reviews of our cabins.
'Like' {PDISPNAME} on Facebook - we post updates, specials, or availability due to last minute cancellations.
{QPROPAVAILOTHER}
Please use the buttons at the bottom to view more information about the quote or to accept it and checkout. Our checkout form is simple to use and very secure.
{QHCTAB}
JTVR - I'd prefer answers, not suggestions about my lack of understanding. Perhaps you can revisit my questions and give specific (and useful) comments?
Reading through this makes me think you should talk to a CPA to set yourself up. Several items look like a possible lack of understanding of VR accounting. Taxes etc are not automatically like other industries.
Don't depend on a forum to guide your accounting, including state or local issues...
OR any updates on text notifications. We really need this. Thanks.
I've looked through the forums to see if anyone else has asked these questions, and I don't see it, so I'll ask.
Question 1: When I manually create an inquiry, it has a space for "comments" however these comments show up in the email when I answer it. I thought those comments were just for me to see. Thank goodness I scrolled all the say down and saw them, so I could manually delete them. If the guests can see that field in their email message, what is that comment section for?
Question 2: In answering a manually created inquiry, a quote gets created and appears at the bottom of the email. However, after I hit "send email now" I'm confused as to why the system urges me to send the quote again in a separate email, after I've just sent the quote in a reply. Am I making sense?
Thank you!
I made an owner statement with the wrong date on it and now cant seem to delete that statement and start over. Any ideas?
Hi,
(See QUESTIONS at bottom)
Anyone have a good handle on the accounting/correct way to be handling taxes relative to Quickbooks?
Here's my understanding:
A) There is a Financial Report available in VRBO that lists "Gross booking amount", "Deductions" and "Payout"
B) For each booking, VRBO deposits the "Payout" amount into my bank account (Gross booking - Deductions)
example: Gross booking amount = $243.81
Deductions = $7.31
Payout = $236.50
C) At tax time I run a report on the total funds received as 'Gross bookings'
NOTES
I'm pretty sure I am required to pay Sales Taxes on the Gross booking amount. In other words, I can't just import the payments I receive in my bank account, but instead I need to record each booking transaction in Quickbooks with two accounts. A positive account for the gross booking amount, and a negative amount for the deductions. I'm not mentioning cleaning fees because they are included already in the Gross booking amount. Mentally I'd like to think about paying taxes only on the cash I end up with in my pocket ***BUT*** I don't think that's how sales taxes work. I have to pay tax on the full amount paid by the guest, which includes the deductions that VRBO keeps and the (pass thru) amt I collect and pay to my cleaning service. And all this gets more complicated when I start using AirBNB and bookings in OR itself.
QUESTIONS
1) Is my understanding correct?
2) Suggestions for how to automate this (without using OwnerRez)? EG: I imagine I can import the Financial Report from VRBO in some way to cause the Gross bookings and deductions to be associated with each transaction, resulting in the correct Payout amount
PS - I'm not currently interested in using Quickbooks Online. I have other businesses that are tracked in Quickbooks Pro and don't want to have to reinvent my accounting practices... Just need advice about how to practically handle tax time each quarter.
Sounds good. Does the "smoothening" include:
Multiple (N) payments and/or "Simplified quotes" (merging amounts and removing details - like the option in the quote widget)
After manually inputting all my lock codes for this year I look forward to multi-lock support!
SMS and Housekeeping are also on my wishlist.
Can't wait for the updates.
Thanks
-Tim
That's a great read, JTVRs! Thanks! Lot of great advice there.
We do share our roadmap but only with the context and understanding that the roadmap is not fixed and changes frequently. The current (closest) items are:
- HomeAway API (nearly done, watching last pilot users, etc)
- Auto-release for security deposits
- PM updates
- QB updates
- QoL ("quality of life" smoothening for a bunch of small things)
- Door lock updates (adding Kaba, supporting RemoteLock's newer API)
After that:
- SMS (templates and trigers)
- Housekeeping module
I was thinking IPO 😊
I know lots of companies don't like to share what they are working on....but you guys seem pretty open about those things. I know that channels have been taking up most of your development time over the past few months, and I just thought I'd see if you wanted to comment on what's next in the pipeline, what's coming later this year, etc. Is there a priority list of upgrades/features? And, understanding that dates are extremely variable, especially when it comes to software rollouts, can you share any timelines?
Thanks,
Tim
Read this today, pretty useful
http://blog.uplisting.io/the-ultimate-guide-to-hosting-on-booking-com/
Once you have PriceLabs set up, they'll update Airbnb and OwnerRez rates automatically: https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/pricelabs
Our VRBO rate push is manual, so you'd have to do that manually from time to time.
We're going to release HomeAway API integration in April which will let you hook up the channel in OwnerRez and have all of the rates push automatically at that point.
I just pushed rates for two properties to VRBO. Do they automatically re-push nightly? Do I have to manually initiate a re-push periodically?
I manage all of my rates through PriceLabs, so I'm hoping changes there will auto-magically find their way to PriceLabs and VRBO/HomeAway.
The default templates will go out automatically when the related event happens, like a payment receipt will be sent for payment or a booking confirmation will be sent when a direct booking is made.
Is there a specific one you have questions about the description on when it is sent?
Yes and No. As pointed out, SOME VR's listed on Booking, VRBO, etc will appear with links to book through those sites. Also, some VRs will appear with no pricing or booking links. This has nothing to do with categories we can choose on our Google Business pages, rather it appears to me to be some kind of mis-labeling by Google. These VR's all seem to be categorized as "hotels" based on the business information listed. Either way, Google hasn't truly started to roll out VR search. They are just sprinkling VRs into their hotel search results.
How do you make the default (non custom) templates work? As in going out when something happens?
Ebay has a minor presence in vacation rentals. Just spent a few minutes last week looking. There seems to be B&B, hotel, and VR variations
For example:
https://www.ebay.com/b/Vacation-Rental-Travel-Lodging/16123/bn_18947656
Not get as far as how everything hooks to booking, paying, website, etc...
Could be something else but I can't find it by googling. If anyone knows, drop a link. We'd be happy to look into it. That'd be great to get another major player in the mix.
You have to create a custom template for the trigger to send. Just create a new custom template and copy/paste the same content from the "Send Review Request to Guest" system template. You can see what the content is for that by clicking Create Template next to the system template (but not saving it).
well , once this is in, I will try to ask some favours re my priority and less than 5 properties ;-)
I thought this was different maybe,, Yes my VRs shows up with some slider with dates and number of people ( maybe because I am on Booking) but clicking on those does nothing.. Just says 'see website"
Sorta kinda yes maybe but not yet. 😉
The last of our pilot users was onboarded this week and we're past all the paperwork steps. We expect to make the public announcement next week or the week after, but we haven't given out hard ETAs because we don't want to dash expectations if it's still a few more weeks.
Couple things...
First, there is a large line of waiting users to jump on the API. So even if you're ready and willing, there will be some delay in queuing everyone and getting an assigned HomeAway integration specialist and all of that. HomeAway has been very quick and thorough so far in this process, so it's been an easy experience on that side. But there are things that have to validated and verified so that the APi works.
Second, getting the 5 property requirement waived is going to be a secondary priority for HomeAway to getting the larger PMs onboarded. While they have shown willingness to allow smaller accounts to use the API, their focus is probably going to be on getting PMs hooked up first. So if you have 4 or less properties, expect to wait longer as well. And we don't have any guarantee that you'll get API anyway, so please keep low expectations for now!
Google Hotel Search is maybe what you're talking about? That's been out for awhile. They now have a new landing page for it here:
https://www.google.com/travel/hotels
They show vacation rentals there but only if your VR is already listed in an OTA that Google Hotel Search integrates with. We (OwnerRez) have looked into integrating with Google Hotels directly but they only worked with known OTAs that have access to certain travel agency software/specs. Booking.com and Expedia both integrate, so if you're on those, your VR's will show up in Google Hotel Search.
Rumour also ha sit that so far it only shows VRs listed on OTAs which kind of defies the purpose. Is there any way to integrate direct?
So I contacted VRBO, to ask to waive 5 property requirement. here is their reply:
"The gist of the response is that we cannot grant an exception nor integrate with ownerez at this time because we're currently working with them on developing the integration, so it's not currently possible. Here's what the team had to say:
Since Owner Reservations is still in development, let’s hold off on creating a project. They can try again when the PMSC API development is done but unfortunately I don’t have an ETA. Since they are an unsegmented owner account, I’d recommend that they stay in touch with Owner Reservations on when their development and piloting with us is completed. Once done, they can come back and try again."
So basically they say that YOU will know when integration is ready... is it? TIA
