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You can just put a phone number into an SMS template and have OR send it out based on a trigger... we do this... Notice the to line has two phone numbers separated by a semi colon... This notifies those two phone numbers that the hot tub was used and is needing to be serviced. We base it on a trigger that uses a tag on the booking... basically if the booking has the hot tub tag send this notice to the 3rd party that they need to clean the hot tub.
There is a caveat... don't expect to see any responses come back to the booking... so if my hot tub guy responds "Not Able to Do It" you will get the notification from OR that there is a new text message and you can see the response... but you will not see the response on the conversation that goes with the booking. (I'm guessing this is because normally the guest is what would be in the to field and we've short circuited the to field for our own purpose.
Email is dead, most companies are now using text. Inboxes are clogged with BS work emails. LOL PPL on vacation steer away from emails, well not entirely, but for the most part, but the will ALWAYS read text messages because its built into the phone.
You can still use text messages for 3rd party alerts by using the 3rd parties phone number with the proper phone network, like this.
This is the email address used to send our cleaner a text message via the Vorizon cell network. Hope that helps
Ken T :
We are interested in Google Vacation Rentals !
Unfortunately, as you correctly pointed out, this would be absolutely dependent on the Vrbo API to support - and they've told us they don't have any plans to add it. :-(
I'd like to refresh the vote on this potential enhancement ... adding a tag to the booking criteria filter. If the contact is a VIP or Return, apply the discount. I'd use it for sure. Thanks!
Hi Tempo,
Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. We have created a bug in our system to get this resolved.
Could the booking system automatically offer a list of alternative dates/prices if a guest enters dates that do not meet rules and requirements.
Something similar to booking.com would be great. (See pic).
The price structure with Jervis is more than RemoteLock. So it seems OR is working on an integration that is more expensive than what is currently available
If you're talking about the Jervis integration, that integration has been out for a while, and we didn't build that in-house actually. That integration was built by Jervis and is managed/supported directly by them. You would need to consult with Jervis on pricing. Great company there, and they have some cool features!
The Yonomi and other things I alluded to recently are integrations directly with lock brands. They do not involve third-party partners and would be direct to the lock maker like Schlage, igloo, Yale, etc. There would still be a monthly price for these direct-to-brand integrations however because each of these brands charge a certain amount for API/SDK access to their lock platform. But it would be very small compared to some of the third-party platforms. The third-party platforms offer a lot of other devices and have value-adds (ie. extra features) that OwnerRez would probably not develop, so you may still want to use a third-party platform. We are just exploring options for how to give direct lower-cost options to some of our customers that are trying to trim the fat and look for simple alternatives. Lots of balls in the air right now... 🤹
Interested in Beta
I upvoted as well. I am not sure if I made it before they shut down any more volunteers. I would be interested in Beta testing Hopper when that is ready as well.
Just a quick note about Hopper - we learned today that Hopper integration is delayed indefinitely. They are re-evaluating their direction on vacation rentals.
Yes, there's not a direct link to it from there. But this preview rates modal, is the same as Tools > Rate Checker in the main menu. And you can select any channel at the top.
The link under the Airbnb API dashboard is the exact same modal - we're just opening it with Airbnb already selected. But you can select a different channel if you like, or reach that modal directly from the main menu.
Maybe that is how it is supposed to work, but when using the "Preview for AirBNB" both cancellation field codes only show the custom policy which is for Vrbo, HomeToGO, etc. Also tested it and it inserts the "custom policy" into my AirBNB listing.
So instead of a feature, we have a bug? I am sending documentation to Help email.
Thanks, Ken!
This is not needed, because the booking cancellation field codes pull in whatever the appropriate cancellation policy is for the particular booking, whether that be from Airbnb, OwnerRez, Vrbo, Booking.com, etc. You should just use {BCANPOLLEGAL} and, with few exceptions, the correct policy will be automatically filled in.
This article may be beneficial to you:
https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/capture-additional-fields-on-checkout-quote-acceptance
You really mean this? I neverrrrrrrrrrr had any booking or even inquiry originate on IG.
Hey everyone, I looked into this a while back, and it's not possible for PMS or VR/STR software (like OwnerRez) to use this.
In order to have an "action button" on Instagram, you have to fall into one of three categories that Instagram supports:
Read about Allowed "action button" Business Types for Instagram.
We (OwnerRez) cannot sign up to be in one of these categories because we're about lodging and would not be approved. I actually checked - the signup process only allows business software of one of the above types. This is why you don't see any lodging/hosptiability vendors on the list. Only beauty/dining/food vendors like OpenTable or Appointy are there.
If you want this to happen, the first thing you would need to do is reach out to Instagram (Meta?) and petition them to allow lodging software (first) as a category, and then that OwnerRez be approved after they start allowing that category.
Thanks Ken,
I'll give it a try, but thus far, I haven't been able to achieve the desired result. I'll play with it some more and update if I still can't get it to do what I am trying to achieve
I'm not clear on what you're asking for that is not already possible manually?
To use your example - During peak season, we only want to allow booking of the Parent Unit A (keep the child units blocked)
So, during that time, create blocks in OwnerRez on both of the child units so they cannot be booked. Because of the mutual blocking, doing this would normally also block Parent Unit A. But, in these new blocks you create, select the "Don't block other properties" option:
https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/combined-properties-blockoff-lockoff#bypass
That will have the result you're looking for.
Yes, this is a known issue that is considered to be a bug. We're making changes to how this works.
This would be a great feature to have
I believe you need to add a custom field which you can opt to show up during quote acceptance:
Custom Field
Settings>Workflow&Devices>Custom Field Definitions (pick plain text) (Show During Quote Acceptance-they are in numerical order)
What I can't seem to find is where are you collecting this information from the guest? It seems I can only ask for # of guests and name/address on a booking inquiry? How can I get the information on other guests staying?
I would like to see a way to limit the timeframe for mutual blocking of parent/child units, or the ability to do it base on seasonal rate schedules
For example - Parent Unit A has child unit b and child unit c - During peak season, we only want to allow booking of the Parent Unit A (keep the child units blocked) but during off season or shoulder seasons, allow guests the option to book either the Parent or one of the children
Currently, if we set up a mutual block, it applies to all open dates, which causes us to have to block the child units during seasons we want them to be available. We can only accomplish this be doing manual block/unblock, unless I have missed something.
I know it is dependent on the Vrbo API, but is there a timeline for this feature?
When a booking is cancelled prior to the arrival date, why not automatically cancel, or release if appropriate, the security deposit hold? Or at least present that as an option.
Recently had one where AirBNB cancelled it. Did not give it a thought until the guest contacted me really upset there was a hold placed on his CC.
Seems to be it makes sense. At a bare minimum, some type of notification to the host?
Maybe, for these situations where a security deposit is being held for a canceled reservation OR can send an alert or have something displayed in the system to catch the attention of the host?
Chuck
Seems that this exists already.
I can get to it by doing PREVIEW AIRBNB RATES, then changing the source. But I don't see a way to get to it on the VRBO channel page.
We have one for general/Vrbo but not one for AirBNB.
- Chuck
Brivo can send many different notifications... specific door code use (to monitor staff going in and out) , first time a door code is used (for that initial guest checkin), battery low, staff use after certain hours, it also supports non lock operation codes... we have codes 0000 and 8880 in all locks and ask our guests to enter the 0000 code into the lock when they checkout. This then instructs Brivo to send an email letting housekeeping know that the guest has checked out. Housekeepers enter 8880 into the lock once inspected and we are notified the property is guest ready. Neither of these codes allow for the door to be unlocked. Brivo also charges by the door lock. Not sure if they support the locks you have but if that is the functionality you are looking for it might be worth a check.
Door lock solutions seem to be a fickle bunch Valerie... We started doing things manually with Vera back in the 2016 timeframe. It was great, easy to use but we only had a couple of properties we were managing and creating the codes by hand and putting the restrictions on them for arrival and departure was relatively easy. When we added 14 additional properties all at the same time it because nearly impossible for us to manage so we ventured out on a search and looked at Lynx (I don't recall what their original name was.) which supported an interface with Vera as well as Remote Lock which supported Vera as well. We had challenges with Lynx and decided we would try to migrate some of our locks to the Samsung Smartthings platform instead of Vera. Still zwave controlled locks but using Smartthings controllers. We had limited success there with Lynx so we went to Remote Lock. Things chugged along fine with RL for awhile but their licensing started to get in the way when we added 12 more properties. I posted in another thread about the licensing and how expensive it became to manage our booking volume with their per lock/per guest pricing. We started looking for a solution. We chose Brivo as that solution. It meant we would have to migrate all of our locks to Brivo controllers but at the time we signed up the pricing was based on controller and how are properties are situated this made a single vacation rental with perhaps 5 locks affordable again. Good interface, good integration with OR everything was fine until Jan of 2023. I received a large bill from them. We were apparently the last customer that had the per controller pricing structure and they moved us to the per lock billing without even discussing it with us. 50 locks at $12 dollars per month was more that our budget wanted to take and even after their concession to $10 the reality is I am not getting $500 per month worth of service from them. So long and short we are now back looking at solutions for our door lock dilemma.
Since we initially setup our locks, wifi controlled door locks have come a long way and seem to be what most companies are supporting if they do not have their own zwave controllers. Replacing all locks is an option but one we would rather not take at $200-300 per lock depending on type. Zwave mesh networks can also control other things besides just door locks... you can do thermostats, lights, etc... so ideally zwave is where we would like to be with a partner that controls the locks with OR and we control the thermostats, lights, etc... with the partner's UI.
I've taken the OR Integration Partner list and have contracted all of them. I'm finding they are quite "proud" of their software. One vendor Ive talked with has indicated a price of $15 for the primary door, $3 for addon doors in the same unit and then $8 for an employee only access. For us that is $650 +/- per month. I can hire someone to do daily data entry on Vera door locks for 30 hours a month (and it will take nowhere near that for our 32 properties) for less than that. So I know for sure we will not be going with that vendor.
A tech person should be able to come up with a simplified integration to VERA that reads a property ICAL and adds/removes/updates door lock codes. I have found one such vendor, not on Vera unfortunately but on Smartthings. Since Smartthings has changed their underlying architecture their apps are not working at this point either. I've also placed feelers out in the Vera world...
I'm not opposed to paying for a capability but I think it needs to be reasonable based on what it does for our business. The prices I am seeing now just can't be justified for businesses of our size. I'll keep you updated on what I find out.
