General Help and Questions

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Just following up to see if you have any advice?

The credit card should have the new address already. I have been her since August.

@Claudia: That would be in the account/billing page. You'd want to change your credit card on file. That's the only place where we hold a mailing account for users.

Hi guys. How do I change my mailing address on your files? After receiving your receipt, I noticed my old address.

Thanks,
Claudia

Is it possible to set a 3 night minimum for holiday weekends only?

Can I limit 'book it now' to a certain distance in the future? I'd like to reserve a window for repeat customers to book before unknowns take all the prime weeks #niceproblems ...

thanks,
-JJ

Looks like that was te***@yahoo.com, yes? It looks like they pressed a "mark as spam" button on the "How can I help?" message from yesterday, which blocks us from sending to them. Sometimes people do that on accident, or don't realize that it will block further communication.

Can you contact them outside OwnerRez and make sure they're aware they will be receiving emails relevant to their booking from us? Let me know and I'll reach out to our email provider and get the block lifted.

Just received another bounce. Can u check it?

I was using the occupancy reports (awesome, by the way) and it looks like they ignore "blocked off time". While I understand the reasoning behind this, I would like the option of including blocked off time as the ical calendar import for VRBO shows "blocked off time" even though it's a reservation. The reasoning for this is I have a 3rd party (evolve) running my bookings and their backend system syncs with VRBO to call it "blocked" even if somebody booked through VRBO (they are integrated into VRBO).

Thanks!

I use Airbnb but I do not think I can set up auto responder for it? it may be technically doable but rather pointless.
1. AirBnB does not allow links (so the link to quote will be stripped)
2. due to AirbNb pricing settings ( I use 3rd party dynamic price product) quote would be different anyway (vs my OR prices)

So question is, can I set up >>distinct<< auto responder for channels that do not allow links, something of a more general nature (like list of general info bullet points and "we will get back to you soon")? Same will soon apply to VRBO.

I would keep my regular auto responder (with quote link) for TA, direct inquiries etc.
Thanks!

I believe the warning is in error. What's happening is that the pixel helper is monitoring the outside page (http://www.marinasedge.com/inquire) and not considering the widget.

The widget actually has multiple pages -- Inquire is the form view, and then Inquired is the message displayed after the inquiry has been made. So the widget is actually going to multiple pages, registering each as a page view which is correct -- but the pixel helper doesn't realize its a new page because the outside page hasn't changed, hence the warning.

If you see any spurious tracking once you have some data flowing in, let us know and we can look into it further.

BTW, while looking at your widget, I noticed you could make it blend into the site a lot more if you made a small tweak. There is a setting on the widget for text color. If you set that to white instead of black, and then remove the white background you have behind the widget, it would be seamless. Widgets are transparent by default to fit in with your site.

That'd look something like this: https://i.imgur.com/HYXDFjq.jpg

That fixed part of it...but still get this:

PageView
WARNINGS
The Facebook pixel activated 3 times on this web page, which can cause errors in your event tracking.Learn more
EVENT INFO
URL Called: Show
Load Time: 38.35 ms
Pixel Code: Show
Pixel Location: Show
Frame: Window

Thanks for the heads up! We're looking into this and have identified an intermittent issue that's causing this problem. It's a 1 in 1000 case, but occasionally pops up as you've seen. We're working on a fix which should be in place in the next day or two.

In the meantime, if you see the issue, send the email a second time and it should work.

While I was reviewing your account, I noticed that your triggers going to an email of village*****@aol.com (*'s for privacy since this is a public forum) are currently bouncing -- either the address is gone or its been reported as spam. Is that a correct address? If so I can look into getting it unblocked.

This should now be fixed.

Can you check again?

I've gotten a few of these recently even though I'm able to email to the recipient from my primary email account. Here's an email with an example failed to send message:

ORE7007008

Damon

Just testing this using the Chrome Facebook Pixel Helper (great tool, by the way). Got this error when inquiring from my website with the inquiry widget installed:

Please advise

PageView
WARNINGS
The Facebook pixel activated 2 times on this web page, which can cause errors in your event tracking.Learn more
EVENT INFO
URL Called: Show
Load Time: 16.99 ms
Pixel Code: Show
Pixel Location: Show
Frame: Window
Lead
ERRORS
The Facebook pixel code on this page didn't load, so no information was sent to Facebook.Learn more
EVENT INFO
Pixel Code: Hide
fbq('track', 'Lead', {
content_category: "OwnerRez Property",
content_name: 'ORP10981',
value: 798.95,
currency: &#39;USD&#39;
});
Pixel Location: Hide
https://app.ownerrez.com/widgets/inquirybookinquired?key=da34f820-1a62-4daf-af9d-ac21e5a8698e&propertyKey=3c420993-e792-41a7-b138-e9ae94a0172e&actionType=Inquire&quoteTotal=798.9500&hostUrl=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.marinasedge.com%252FInquire#http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marinasedge.com%2FInquire
Frame: Window

Chris, I'd be happy to. I'm working now to set up the Google Analytics and the Facebook Tracking Pixel integration. I use Rapidweaver for my website and I think they have a way of letting me put this info into the site code, but if I run into trouble I might be sending you a request for help ;-)

Next step will be to upgrade the site and the FB pages, and then to start running some test ads.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks so much for your support. With you guys having my back, I feel so confident that this is going to work out great going forward.

We don't have a separate spot pricing capability, although that is planned to be added later this year.

For the time being the best way to do this is to create a specific dates season for those dates with a higher priority and create a rate inside it. That will override the normal pricing for that period with the different rate.

Set that up and use the rate tester to verify it. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll take a look at what you get set up.

Awesome!

www.smoky-mountain-cabins.com

I have all those things: website(2 of them), Facebook pages with integrated booking tabs, I am listed all over the place including homeescape and tripz (latter 2 for free). While my own site provided fair number of bookings, it is still not a full replacement of big sites. Also facebook is quite a big disappointment - I got maybe 3 bookings total between my 2 cabins. one was a prior guest finding the cabin's facebook page. I have pinterest and instagram. All in all, it appears that social media as marketing tool has not lived up to its hype.
I am open to constructive criticism and suggestions www.facebook.com/BlueMountainLodge and www.facebook.com/AppalachianEscape
I know almost nothing about SEO, and I had a feeling that all the good SEO terms are all gobbled up by big listing sites anyway. I do not want to pay for something I do not know.

What I am trying to say is while my calendars look good, there is still more dependence on big listing sites than i would like.

Hi Glenn,

We don't have built-in SMS messaging yet, though that is on our radar.

Depending on the cleaner's cell carrier, you can probably send her text messages through an email address. Check this out:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-send-e-mail-to-sms-text/

If you scroll down, it gives you carrier-specific email addresses that you can email which forward through to a text message.

-Michelle

I apologize if this has been asked in the past or not. I can't seem to find a search function on the forums.

My Cleaner has asked if I can send her text messages as well as emails when I have a new booking and cleaning needs to be notified. Is there a facility to do that here in OR. If not, does anyone know of a good way to get the OR generated message through a bridge over to SMS?

Tx.
Glenn

This is exactly it! In a way, the death of VRBO/HA as viable marketing channels is actually a good thing because it drives people to take charge of their brand and diversify marketing rather than just putting up a listing on one or two big sites.

Would you be interested in doing a guest post on our blog about your experiences as you get into the detailed marketing venues? We love featuring folks like yourself that are taking charge of their brand and stories about what sorts of things work and what isn't as effective.

Also wanted to mention we just released Facebook Tracking Pixel integration: https://www.ownerrez.com/blog/facebook-tracking-pixel-added-google-analytics-ecommerce-tracki so that may help with your FB ads, enabling retargeting etc.

Facebook Tracking Pixel integration has been released: https://www.ownerrez.com/blog/facebook-tracking-pixel-added-google-analytics-ecommerce-tracki

We also added Google Analytics eCommerce tracking while we were at it.

There's a doc about setup and what is tracked over here: https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/analytics-tracking

Let me know if you've got any questions.

Glenn, old buddy old pal... We've got you covered! Our Damage Protection add-on!

Check this out:
https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/damage-protection-overview

Here's the turn-on page:
https://app.ownerrez.com/damageprotection/start

And unlike VRBO and Airbnb, our damage protection actually works and is backed by a good insurance carrier who delivers on their promises. VRBO and Airbnb have terrible coverages. Air's is free but they don't cover much unless there's rock solid proof (and typically guest agreement). Ours doesn't involve the guest at all.

I think I am with you on the VRBO/Homeaway expiration. As with most people I was pretty steamed that they now charge us a (relatively high) annual fee AND that they now charge the traveler a fee for booking as well - seems a bit like gouging. It really should be one or the other. At least AirBnB has only the traveler fee. Actually rather than moving off it completely, I think I am going to ask them if I can move to their pay-per-use model. I don't really want to lose the advantage I have there with a very high number of positive reviews. But I would be happy to focus more on AirBnB.

I too have considered trying to 'go-it-alone' with website/Facebook advertising. The only thing that really worries me is the loss of protection in case something goes terribly wrong. Lets say I get renters in that damage the place so much that the next renters cannot come or are delayed. From the rare stories that I have heard where this has happened, I believe AirBnB steps in and in some cases covers the damage and works with the inbound renters to get them alternate accommodations. I kinda like having that security blanket. If I rented fully independently, I would not have that and a significant damage situation could be a nightmare - not only for repairs but also downstream rentals. Does anyone have insight on this?

Glenn

I have let my VRBO and Homeaway subscriptions expire. I've also let my Flipkey/Tripadvisor Vacation Home Rentals expire. It is a good time for me to do this as my peak season is ending, most of my "high season" business is repeat business, and I can sit back and make better decisions.

TripAdvisor/VHR is deceptive. They send you fake leads right before your expiration so that you'll sign up with them. I got one valid lead from them this past year and that was it.

AirBnB is a conundrum. I have had great guests through them and also have had a few ringers. The ringers have cost me a lot of time communicating with their tech support. They only support half of Florida's tax situation, the state part, but do not support the county tax. So it is confusing for renters to have to pay additional tax they don't quote. Also, they don't know about things like no tax if there is a stay of 6 months or more, they still try to collect it. Interestingly enough, I've had best results with AirBnB during our summer off season, where I have more pricing flexibility and would be OK with having the occasional minor damage issue.

So, in summary, what I've decided to do is primarily focus on Facebook. I have pages for each of my cottages plus for the "umbrella" brand. I link this information to my own website which is set up for OwnerRez inquiries and bookings. I keep a mailing list of previous guests whom I mail. I offer these people a $50 bonus for referrals. I will spend a fraction of what I spent on VRBO and Homeaway on ads targeted to Facebook users.

My priorities going forward will be this:
1. Get my website totally current, including improving SEO.
2. Get Facebook pages current, meaning current photos, etc., and links to the website.
3. Target FaceBook ads to my most likely demographics.
4. Get AirBnB rates and photos up to date.
5. Investigate other listing services. Consider pay per booking services on the majors.
6. Look at unconventional marketing opportunities in conjunction with local merchants and media.

I'm just not seeing the Homeaway/VRBO/TripAdvisor model working well for me anymore. It's not cost-effective for owners or for renters. It also doesn't appeal to the demographic I'm most interested in and am most successful with. I used to work in advertising and haven't forgotten what I've learned. The key for cost-effectiveness is to target your best audience and market to them directly. Scattershot "shotgun" approaches may seem good but they are not as cost-effective.

Good luck everyone! Let's keep the discussion going.

I'll have to think about a way to do it. I may just consider the two week periods as separate "seasons" and go that way. Maybe there would be a setting such that, if they try to deviate from these dates, for instance, even adding a third week, that they get a popup window message that the property is only either available by the month or by those two set two-week periods, and that they should call the owner for more information. I'd of course also put this information on all the web pages where I list the details about the cottages.

I've had a lot of success selling out completely for the past two seasons by creating the equal two week periods in Feb. and March. Many people are happy to have the option of a shorter stay because so many owners down here in our area can only legally rent by the month.

Thanks again!

Right, yes, there's not currently a way to apply something for a not match, only an inclusive match. That's something we'll need to add.

Great to hear! Selling out early is one way to solve the issue ;-)

If you do have a definition for how you'd split the months on first half and second half, let me know -- we don't have anything that can do that right now but its good to have thoughts percolating around in my head about how to factor it in later. I'm seeing a lot of edge cases based on day of the week, so I'm not sure how to define it automatically without human intervention.