Upvoting this feature request. In addition to the examples above, we have baby sitters and guides that have fixed hourly rates, but no way to specify how many hours they were used for.
In case it's helpful, here's how I see it working. In the screen shot below, add "Per Quantity" to the Per Stay and Per Night radio button options. Then, wherever there is UI to add the surcharge, offer a number picker or number entry field to capture how many to add. The existing Multiplier picker still has value as, for example, I may want to charge by the quantity of pets or I may want to charge for the quantity of extra meals for adults vs. kids.
I agree! I've enjoyed testing out the ChatGPT integration in Hospitable (as well as the standalone version). Would love to see it integrated into OwnerRez!
Just discovered that there is a "Booked As Of" option on the report!!! I was looking for a radial button (like the homeowners see) and my brain didn't even pick up on the fact the option was there -- just in a different format! Thank you for making that possible!!
ChatGPt integration to reply to questions such as how many beds, etc., us the descriptions as knowledge data for responding automatically, is the house available, follow up etc.
Generative AI is the future of search and responsiveness.
This is going to be the future in all industries for interactions.
I have manual locks enabled for 1 of my properties. I need to create a report that will show me which ones I haven't set a code for. Some days I get 5+ bookings come through and I might miss entering the codes for some. If there is a way to do this already, I'm all ears! As it is right now I have to go and open each upcoming booking and see if i have entered one or not. It's time consuming.
On our widgets, we show the rates & only they only show the max nightly rate. Can this be changed or have the option to show the average or even the minimum nightly rate?
This would be a good feature to include instead of showing the max nightly rate as this might detour a guest's decision on booking the condo at first glance.
I'm not really understanding your description, so, can you write in to the Helpdesk with specific examples of what isn't working the way you want it, so we can investigate?
Good to hear that this may be moving forward....it would be excellent to have for VRBO. It makes a huge difference in getting guests to leave 5 star reviews and saves us time.
We have two units that can be rented together, to provide accommodations for up to 12 people. However, we would like to be able to have it so that the individual units can be booked if the two units aren't booked together. How can we accomplish this in OwnerRez? Right now, only the mutually booked option is available so the single units can't be booked. Do we have to do this manually constantly or is there a way to automate this?
Currently we're able to write a meta description for the blog homepage and properties homepage but we're not able to write distinct meta descriptions for each blog article or for each individual property. This is a flaw when it comes to SEO. Please give us the ability to craft individual meta descriptions for blogs and properties.
When I'm in a guest's booking info and need to send them an email from a template (Messages > Send Email > Switch to Template), it would be SO helpful and timesaving to have a search box at the top of the template list. I have a lot of email templates and being able to search by keyword in the template name would make an enormous difference!
Same thing when I'm in my Email Templates section (Settings > Templates), the ability to search would make things so much more efficient.
I’d like to have a rule violation trigger when a booking/inquiry doesn’t meet our minimum guest count for a property. We want smaller parties to use our smaller properties and leave the large properties available for larger parties.
I just want to add that I tried virtually any housekeeping app available, even those that does not integrate with OR. I didn’t find any of those useful and valuable.
I think I simple option for the cleaner to add a dot or a tag or a letter to the cleaning day: Confirmed, Complete, which would show in the main booking list will be extremely useful and I great start, without complicated developing.
I have guests going to my web site attempting to make a payment, but there's no built-in method to make a payment for existing bookings on hosted sites. Guests typically make a payment at the time of booking, then weeks/months later the guest want to make monthly/periodic payments, while other guests want to pay off their balance in full. The hosted web site doesn't offer a way (that I'm aware of) for a guest to go to the web site, type in their last name & booking number, and make a payment.
This could be a simple page with a form prompting for last name and booking number, which would generate the payment link and take them to that page. I don't know how that link is generated to make this page myself.
As a workaround, I could send out the payment request email more frequently via trigger, although this would generate more emails to all guests.
Let me know if there's a similar feature request already made, I searched and didn't see it.
I agree with you! A nickname field is definitely needed. So many folks don't go by their full first name and it would be nice to "get it right" in messages to them, while also maintaining accurate records of their full legal name.
In my experience you need to watch processors like a hawk and rebid your account every year.
I would like to see our community discuss this and say what their volume and average ticket is and what their processor is charging.
We should be able to get to the low 2% range given our large average ticket.
What you're suggesting—processing costs near 2%—would be incredible. Unfortunately, as a 30-year veteran in the payments industry, I can share that's not how it works.
To give you and others a bit of knowledge to help ease concerns and maybe even save some time and money, there are some essential things to know:
I'm going to give you some very in-depth information, but just in case this is more than you care to read, here's the TL;DR:
Choose a representative of a well-regarded company OVER saving a few bucks on rates
Never, ever show your statements to another provider until they have provided you with detailed pricing IN WRITING
If you like your current company, allow them to review your pricing before you switch
Your rates with any company are NEVER GUARANTEED, no matter what the rep says
Avoid term contracts and cancellation fees—and be sure that's in writing. Look for a section in the agreement titled "Terms of Termination."
Never choose flat rate pricing. Always choose a cost-plus (interchange plus) pricing structure.
The real meat for those who care to know...
Every processor works off of the exact same cost. It's called interchange. It doesn't matter how big or small the company is, whether they're "direct with Visa" (as some like to proclaim), whether they're a bank, or quite literally any other variable. The card brands set the costs of every single transaction processed. There could be some minor variables, but nothing that would affect their business so much that it would affect your pricing. You can go to any card brand's website and lookup interchange. Or just google it. Current interchange ranges from .05% + $0.15 - 3.05% + $0.00. (this is put simply and there are other extreme variables)
The costs to processor vary for *every single transaction processed* based on a handful of factors: The type of card processed (credit, debit, type of rewards), the method the card was processed (swiped, keyed), the type of business (retail, restaurant, grocery), the data included with the transaction (chip, address, zip, Level II/III), and in some instances the size of the transaction (B2B with a $30K ticket, QSR $8 ticket). There are quite literally several hundred "buckets" that every transaction could fall into, but every transaction will only fall into ONE bucket. That bucket has a percentage rate and transaction cost associated with it.
So what determines the cost you pay, and how do you keep your costs to a minimum?
Knowing that every processor works off of the same cost, the question is a) who's willing to make the least amount of profit off your business and b) is that the kind of company you want to do business with? Are they coming in with a line of BS saying -- we could save you hundreds of dollars on your mere $5000/mo in processing... That's virtually impossible anymore. If it seems too good, it probably is.
When you're shopping providers, NEVER EVER EVER provide your statement. The only reason someone wants your statement is to see what you're currently paying and then attempt to save you just enough money to switch. That creates a lose-lose scenario. Maybe you could have saved more if they had blind-quoted you—your average ticket, volume, and all that is BS. I do not need to know those things to quote you a price. Might I provide better pricing for someone who does $100k/mo vs. $5k/mo... maybe. Getting a clear WRITTEN quote in advance is key. THEN, and only then, you could provide them your statements if you'd like so they can show you what those numbers would translate to in savings.
But the other thing to consider is, ARE YOU HAPPY with your current provider? Because if you're happy—they answer the phone, they deposit your funds on time, you understand your statements, and they integrate with your solutions... who gives a crap if you can save $20/mo. If a merchant would switch to me because I could save them $20/mo... I don't want them as a client because that means they'll switch to someone else for $20. There has to be a bigger reason. Plus... if a merchant is worried about $20/mo—they have bigger problems. AND... how many people do you know that have gotten rich off of saving money?
And even if you do switch to save a few bucks, I hate to burst your bubble, but those rates are not guaranteed. They might tell you (and probably not) that there is a three-year contract, but all that means is you are locked into doing business with them for three years or you'll face steep penalties if you leave. That contract in no way guarantees your rates. They can change your entire fee structure at any time with 30 days' notice, and you're screwed.
SIDE NOTE: That is precisely one of the things I love about OR. They are payment processor agnostic. They're not forcing you to use their processing solution—which you would NEVER want to do. Because if you choose a business management solution or point of sale solution that is only certified to work with one processor—not if, but when they start jacking up your fees, you're left to decide between the lesser of two evils—being stuck paying higher rates or the inconveniences of setting up a new system. Both suck—so always choose a solution that does not force you to choose their 'preferred partner.'
Definitely do keep an eye on your rates from year to year. Many processors put a little notice at the bottom of your statement (that you never read), often in November or December (most businesses' busiest season), that they're charging a 'one time' (until next year) annual fee — or that they're raising rates. Now, interchange fees (the cost we all pay to process) do get evaluated by the card brands, generally every April and October. They might introduce new buckets or change the fees for existing ones. I recommend that twice each year (at minimum), you identify your effective rate and compare it to the SAME MONTH the year prior. To determine your effective rate, you take the fees you paid divided by the volume you processed. Assuming your volume fluctuates each month, your effective rate will as well. I'll give you a very simple example.
If your rates are creeping up and you're really happy with the company, your representative, etc., ask them to evaluate your pricing. But don't be 'that guy' who switches processors because some clown claims they can save you a few bucks. Remember, your pricing is not guaranteed anywhere, and *MOST* of the people in this industry have been in it for less than a handful of years, have no idea what they're doing, have zero control over their client's well-being or pricing, and are just peddling words and empty promises. Moral: when you find a company you love, do whatever you can to keep the relationship because they can be tough to find.
If you decide to shop around and even moderately like your current processor—if you can say to yourself, "they've been fine" or "I haven't had any issues," and the new company is not solving any other problems for you beyond price, tell your existing processor you're shopping around. You would like to know if they can lower your costs. If they ask to see other quotes, tell them you'll share your other quotes after they offer you the best pricing they have available.
Ensure you properly process transactions so that every transaction falls into the lowest-priced bucket. For example, if you are keying in transactions, be sure to pass along the address, zip code, and CVV code. Not including any of these can increase your cost by half a percent or more. If you can swipe/chip/tap transactions, do that instead of keying them in. This can save you up to one percent or more.
Lastly, (this is the big one) ensure your pricing structure is what's called "interchange plus" or "cost plus" pricing. This means you are paying actual wholesale processing fees plus a clearly defined markup. That markup is the processors profit—how they cover their expenses, pay employees, and take an occasional vacation. What you want to avoid at all costs is a flat rate pricing structure (a la Stripe, Square, etc.). Depending on volume, a fair markup is around 0.25%. So knowing that some transactions only cost .05% + a markup of .25% (.30% total) —why in the world would you want to pay 2.75%+ with someone like Stripe? This doesn't actually happen, but if your car only requires regular unleaded gas, and you pull into a gas station that is charging one price for all three grades of gas, but it's $0.20 higher per gallon than the gas station across the street... which station would you choose?
I know this is a LOT of information, but I hope it's helpful for someone interested in understanding how this industry works and how to keep your costs down. Feel free to ask any questions. I'd be happy to be of support.
Quick question - will OR integration of a property override the integration of the same property if it’s also being pushed by BDC to Google? Or will it show twice?
Great question!
We didn't know the answer, so we reached out to our dev contacts at Google, and they said the following:
...what you are referring to is typically what we refer to as clustering (i.e., different integrators giving Google the same listing and Google aggregating those listings in some way).
For our Google Hotels product, we do cluster identical listings into one listing and in the booking module for that listing we show the different integrators who have provided this listing and are available to book on.
For our Google VR product, we don't do clustering yet (we are aiming to do this sometime in Q3 or so), and so listings that are for the same property from different integrators will show up as duplicate listings in our search result page
Answer: they will show up as duplicate right now, but later this year they should cluster the results together.
In other words, if Booking.com or someone else pushes your listings and OwnerRez is also pushing it directly, your house will appear and then when the person goes to book, it will show them multiple rates in a table with Booking.com on one line and your own personal website on another with the rates next to both. The guest would be free to go to Booking.com or your personal website whichever they prefer.
We've done some checking, and believe that you are mistaken about Vrbo not charging the 3% payment processing fee on the tax portion of your bookings - on the examples we've examined, they did. In addition, they also charged you a 3% fee for the guest's booking fee, which isn't even money you receive. If you are doing your own payment processing, Vrbo does not charge any payment processing fees at all. Of course you do have to pay your own payment processor fees, but in most cases it is possible to find an account provider with a lower rate - particularly if you are doing so much business as you describe, I'd think you could find something in the 2% range. This would save a great deal.
You are correct that most processors do not refund their processing fees in the event of a cancellation... but, not all. Again, with such a large volume that may be possible to get in negotiations, which is why we support such a large variety of processors.
Hey OR team! In my Owners Portal (PM module), the owner dashboard allows financials to be viewed for the current and previous year as either the total amounts ("all time") or the amounts booked as of the current date. The latter allows for a truer apples-to-apples comparison of previous year financial data.
It would be SO helpful to have this same option when we run our own Booking Summary Report. However, there's no option to select that same type of "booked as of today" comparison.
Y'all deemed it a beneficial data-point for our homeowners to see. I'd say it's equally a beneficial data-point for us to be able to see across our internal reports as well.
