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I don't know if you have this in the works already, but do you have where the system alerts the owner that the email address or Full Name inquiried previously?
This always helps to go back in "history" and see what happened with that previous request. Did they book? Did we have a conversation and it didn't work out?
Thoughts?
Claudia
Great!
You guys are all doing such a great job! You are very fast, too. Well, from what I see since I began here.
Claudia
Small stuff, and it's going to be fast. Mostly small tweaks, grammar fixes, enhancements. Your request to have a fixed amount for the first payment was included.
-Michelle
Can I ask what is currently in the works for the next sprint?
Thanks,
Claudia
I will forward this to Tim in merchant services.
-Michelle
PS. If you have any questions or comments about your merchant account, please email merchant-services@ownerreservations.com. Or you can keep posting in the forum!
Hi Claudia,
You're right. We'll have that updated to be clearer.
-Michelle
Wording on this page needs to be modified. If they paid by check, it still states "Booking charges will be listed on your credit card statement as Claudia Vacation Home." Maybe it could say... "Booking charges will be listed on your credit card statement as Claudia Vacation Home, if paid via credit card.", instead.
Billing Details
The total charge for this booking is $1,362.50 of which $1,362.50 has been paid. A separate email is sent for each payment that is made, listing the details. Booking charges will be listed on your credit card statement as Claudia Vacation Home.
Thanks,
Claudia
Thank you, Sam.
Claudia
cp9293 said:
How do you shut off the Security Deposit for a booking, if I wanted to collect for the Damage Insurance instead of a HOLD on their card?
Hi Michelle,
Can you shut off my AMEX. I don't want the extra fees.
Thanks,
Claudia
How do you shut off the Security Deposit for a booking, if I wanted to collect for the Damage Insurance instead of a HOLD on their card?
Exactly. You can have as many open quotes as you want for the same dates. When the guest clicks through the acceptance/payment form and finalizes it, THEN it becomes a booking.
Remember, quotes and bookings are not the same thing. Quotes LEAD to bookings.
-Michelle
Since I created the booking, then it caused it to do that. If I created a QUOTE and then he said he wanted to book, then really, it is not booked until they click on book and move through the process, at that time. Thus, it would not show as booked until THEY book it and move through the process.
The only time it would be an issue is if they indicate that they will pay via check.
Claudia
If a booking is canceled, for lack of payment or any other reason, any quote for the same dates automatically re-opens and becomes available.
So if someone books, causing other quotes for the same date range to go into "preempted" status, and the first person cancels, those other quotes will return to "open" status.
-Michelle
This could be a problem....
The system cannot allow quotes to be open for dates that are already booked because you would risk getting double booked.
Consider the following scenario...
Person A accepts the quote and wants to pay by check. Their booking is pending while you're waiting on their payment to arrive.
Person B asks about the same dates so you create a quote and send it to them. They accept the quote. Now you have two bookings for the same dates.
You would either have to cancel one of their bookings and send their check back, or try to place them in a different property. Either way, it would be annoying to the guest and create confusion in your records.
The vast majority (over 95%) of the bookings that come through our system are paid for by credit cards up front. So there are very few times when someone has booked but hasn't paid yet. Most of the time, their booking is entered simultaneously when they submit their credit card payment.
-Michelle
Can you hold off on stating PREEMPTED, until the payment and rental agreement is signed? Sometimes, people change their minds and they don't tell you, until you don't receive something and then they eventually tell you.
Can you have it go into a PENDING state? I still send out quotes, even after booked, until I receive payment and the rental agreement.
Claudia
Yes, the system makes sure that bookings cannot be double-entered. This is a core tenet of the system. No two bookings can cover the same dates.
If you have open quotes for a set of dates and a booking is created for the same dates (either the exact same date range or several of the same days), the other quotes instantly change status to "Preempted". If the guest opens the payment form for a "Preempted" quote, they see this message:
https://app.ownerrez.com/forms/quotes/67fe14fc904a4086bd435c68e8e89915
When inquiries come in for dates that are already taken, the overview screen of the inquiry will show that it's not available. You'll see - right in the middle of the page - a calendar strip showing what they dates they requested and that it's partially taken. The text right above that says "Not Available". And if you click over to the Answer page, you'll notice that it pre-fills a message to the guest saying that.
-Michelle
Is there a way that system tells you that the dates are not available due to XXX booking it? Or awaiting payment?
I just Created a booking for Memorial Day. A few minutes later, an inquiry came in for the same time frame. I don't see where it says that it is not available.
Claudia
Ok, I see what you're referring to. The General Info tab is showing you the original expired date and mentioning that that date has passed. But that's not the status. Look at the Overview tab for that quote and you'll see it says "Booked". Or look at the quotes grid (click on the Quotes menu) and you'll see the status shows "Booked" there as well. I'll file a request with the dev team to change the wording slightly in the General Info.
-Michelle
It was as I suspected (what I mentioned above). You're having the listing site (HomeAway) send your inquiries to your account-level @inquiryspot email address but not the property-level one.
I'll email you offline more specific information so you can see what I mean.
-Michelle
General Info for that quote
Inquiry 8861
Property 2653
I'm sorry - I meant your property ID in OwnerRez. You can find it under the Properties menu (left-most column on the grid)
Or send me the ID for one of your inquiries (the ID in OwnerRez) that isn't coming in with the right property on it.
-Michelle
VRBO 189296
HomeAway, also.
OK. I think I will just do the old way (Paypal), for the outstanding 15 guests. I don't want to collect their card numbers.
Thanks,
Claudia
Which listing site is the inquiry coming from? And which property ID is it for? If you tell me those things, I can tell you specifically why. Or just give me the inquiry ID.
It's probably happening because you gave the listing site your account-level @inquiryspot.com email address instead of the property-level one.
Look at the inquiries instruction page:
https://app.ownerrez.com/inquiries/instructions
Notice the bottom paragraph. Some listing sites don't let you give a different contact email address for each property. FlipKey is a notable example. For listings sites like that, you have to use an account-level @inquiryspot.com email address which won't parse the property. You'll have to assign it manually each time using the Verify tab under the inquiry.
-Michelle
The bookings you just manually entered into the system will not get emails asking for their upcoming payment or security deposit. You have to actually schedule payments and security deposits for them in the system, which means you'll have to call them and ask for their credit card by phone (or ask for it by email).
You'll need to email each of your upcoming guests for their payment info outside of the system, using your own email program.
In the future, we be have a 'scheduled reminders' feature where you can email them using the system to ask for the second payment and/or security deposit. For the time being, you have to contact them yourself and then enter those payments in the system manually.
To enter the second payment, either ask for their credit card info and enter it as a scheduled payment. Or collect the second payment immediately if their due date is already here.
-Michelle
Why doesn't it pick up which property the inquiry is coming from? I am entering the property on all inquiries.
Claudia
Quote 14967 shows a status of "booked", not expired. On what page do you see the word "expired"?
-Michelle
