Allow guests to Select "Manual Payment Method" (Zelle, ACH, Venmo, etc) on payment screen and upload proof of Payment by uploading a file or screenshot of the proof of payment.
Currently, if the guests is sent a request for additional payment it defaults to the previous payment method they used instead of offering all the choices.
In the screen after clicking "Confirm and Finalize Now" they would get instructions for payment as they do now and an additional button to upload proof of Payment. In the email they get with the confirmation there would be a link to "Upload Proof of Payment" in case they didn't do it immediately.
Also, it would be great if in setting up the Manual Payment method we can upload an Icon (ie Zelle Icon for Zelle) so it shows up on the list of payment methods instead of the current "Manual Method".
Additionally, the list of Payment methods should be separated into Credit Card and OTHER so Guests can clearly see all the Alternative payment Methods more clearly
This won't fully automate the payment methods but will highly facilitate these processes. In Europe clients are used to this process and is quite common.
As an added bonus, if there is an additional fields to record a Reference Number (for the payment in offline system) and one for a weblink to the transaction in offline system when the deposit is recorded it would be great.
This combined with the already existing "Deposits" feature will allow hosts to much easier, receive, manage and reconcile offline payments.
Most of this code already exists in other parts of the system so it should be very little effort for a large benefit!
I have to Stripe accounts (I have properties in US and EU and need to have an EU Stripe account where EUR are the base currency) and they are both Named "Stripe" automatically when I connected them and there is no way to edit the name so they are not differentiated in any report.
I know this is not a problem for most but it is almost a bug that needs to be fixed.
This integration exists today, although it is not well publicized. Jervis Systems (https://www.jervis.systems/) supports MyQ for both LiftMaster and Chamberlein. I have a house where i can't use a smart lock and their integration manages my Guest access through an app. They are about to roll out a web version very shortly - I'm suppose to get to Beta test in the next few days - so the guest won't have to download an app. They are also working on a virtual keypad for the MyQ integration so the guest can enter a pin on their phone and the garage will open/close.
This would be great! Ideally, I'd love to see an integration with Liftmaster (I think they are the biggest) who uses the MyQ app. I'd love to see this work similarly to the RemoteLock / Schlage locks -- guest gets a unique code that starts and stops with their stay.
I had a feature question for you. Will the Schlage Encode integration feature the same ability to monitor battery levels like Remote Lock does?
Hello! We can garner that info from Schlage but we are not supporting battery levels for the v1. We envision a future release where you can see that info and even receive a notification from OwnerRez that batteries are getting low.
Currently the closest option we have is run a report and then export and use what we have there, alternatively you could go to the booking tab and change it to a list view. Once here you can export your bookings into an excel file with a large portion of relevant data.
Just received a reply from CJ Wolf, CEO of Glamping Hub...
"We are in the process of integrating with Lodgify and Guesty then we are going to work on Cloudbeds followed by OwnerRez. I hope to have OwnerRez done by the end of the year."
Hey folks, I’m looking for some clarification. Is it true that we can’t set up an auto responder for Airbnb inquiries & requests? I asked this question when I first onboarded and remember being told no, but now that I’ve been around for a while I’ve found out that other PMSs offer this feature so I’m hoping I’m wrong and just misinterpreted the memo.
I really really really need this feature as I desperately need to be able to turn my phone OFF at night! Most of my Airbnb inquiries happen long after I’ve fallen asleep.
I actually had a Zoom meeting with the new CEO of Glamping Hub, CJ Wolf, at the end of July and I did bring the need for an API to PMS software to his attention. I'll reach out to him again.
Do you have guests complete a Rental Agreement/Legal Doc from within OR when they book?
If yes, perhaps you can add this question to that form. When they complete the form, you can review the Custom Fields and then associate a tag to where their from.
I do something similar to this on my Rental Agreement. I have tags for Domestic travelers and then one for international. I can then go into the Contacts tab and run a filter for specific tags and then export the data.
I do something similar through another program I use for having my Clients/Homeowners sign my Contract for service, etc. There is a Questionnaire I created for the Homeowners to complete and it has all the questions about the property I need from them. I then copy and paste that information into Owner Rez.
However, I can see the time saved even with copying and pasting if the Homeowners could complete this questionnaire in OR. Perhaps something similar to the Legal Docs we can generate automatically for guests to complete for every reservation. We could add them in as Owners like we normally do and then send them a legal doc attached to their property to complete, etc.
We discussed with Yale/August's parent company and it is cost prohibitive for us to do direct integration (i.e., Wi-Fi-based locks) at this time. Our goal with direct integrations is to offer a cost-effective option to our users.
Jervis (https://www.jervis.systems/) supports almost every lock (Igloo is supposed to be coming very soon) and they are the only one that supports MyQ - you can have your guest check-in through your garage - no more battery issues and no more garage remotes left in the rental car. I have a property where I can't install a smartlock and this works great. They are also launching a web control this month so the guest doesn't have to download an app to use MyQ for entry. Plus you can enable almost any Garage Door with MyQ for $30 on Amazon ($50 for double door).
Plus they also let you manage Thermostats (new feature) and they are running a launch promo where you get 50% Off (So Thermostats are free if you do a lock) for 3 months (plus the 2 week free trial)... also they are telling me that they are going to offer Free Thermostats for rest of 2023 for lock customers. The Promo code is "THERMOSTATS"
PS For my properties it was around half of the cost of REMOTE LOCK and by far the best bang for the buck of all the systems I looked at and they have new features all the time
As far as status goes, what does "Planned" mean? A Unified Inbox is clearly the most basic, fundamental, mandatory feature of a PMS. How has this not been obvious to OR long before my six years in this business? Someone might ask me, "Knowing that, how can you have justified switching to OR from Hostaway?". Well, because overall I loved the other features and in my onboarding, I was told the unified inbox was imminent, and I believed it because, as I said above - it is the most basic, fundamental, mandatory feature of a PMS.
I was reminded this week of the necessity of getting this done when I didn't have access to my email accounts for a few days. I had access to OR, but a couple of email messages from guests slipped through the cracks resulting in the dreaded "We've been trying to get ahold of you for days!!!" reaction that no host investing in a managed solution wants to - or should ever - hear.
If you are newer to OR like me, here are a couple of suggestions for workarounds from someone who desperately had to find them:
Minimize your use of email templates, to minimize emailed responses. Channel messages and SMS come to the OR inbox. I had to go through and redo all my templates to make them channel templates. Being able to use HTML in a message is just not worth the risk of missing an email.
Make sure your System Alerts and Guest emails do not go to the same email account. My fix was to set up a private email domain, once I did so I was able to separate my guest emails (domain email) from my OR system alerts (account profile email?) Important guest communications can be buried by the mass of system alerts if you use one account.
None of these workarounds replaces a unified inbox. I use a PMS because I am busy and I need to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. This is a crack.
And in pleading with OR to move this from "Planned" to "In today's release...". I would offer the words of the sage, Larry the Cable Guy: "Git 'er done!"
Digital thermostats have become a very popular addition to rental properties. They allow owners to reduce costs when the homes are not occupied during very cold or hot days.
I would like to request a feature that would integrate with a third party controller to automatically turn thermostats up or down based on guest reservations. Ideally there would be an option to adjust it a day or two ahead of their arrival.
I have just installed Daikin AC units in Florida rentals, so would like the integration to work with the DaikinOne system.
They are running a promotion for their thermostat launch of 3 months at 50% off - use code "THERMOSTATS" at check-out and you will get a 50% discount on Thermostats for 3 months after the 14 day Free trial. They are also planning a FREE thermostat promotion with every lock automation subscription for the rest of 2023 (if you sign up for lock and thermostat the 3 month promo gives you the Thermostat for free)
I have been using their Lock automation since RBoy apps went MIA and it is great. They also have a very unique feature where you can give your guests control of your MyQ garage doors. No more lost remotes - currently the guest has to download an app to control the garage door but they are launching a web interface very shortly.
This is by FAR the most robust lock / house automation for the money (there are free things that one can cluge together but they are highly unreliable and a pain to maintain - this is coming from someone who has tried a few :-)
I have been testing one of my properties fully on the App and it has been GREAT - before I had a Centralite keypad with MyQ and RBoy which is now not possible.
I have had a couple of calls with support they have some really cool stuff coming down the pipe... like OR they launch new features monthly and sometimes more often.
They don't have Daikin integration yet but will likely come soon if the Thermostat feature takes off... they have almost every imaginable brand.
Also, they do their own direct integrations (again similar to OR) they don't use a middle layer system like most PMS and other providers so their support and ability to add new providers is excellent. Also, if you are a large property manager they are able to process new integrations quickly from requests.
I love OwnerRez in general, I really do. To put it bluntly, if you want OwnerRez to be the go-to place for messaging, you need to design it better.Otherwise all that effort is wasted because no-one is going to use it. There is often a disconnect between what a web developerthinkswill be handy and what the end-useractually needs. I hope you will take this seriously coming from an active user.
Inbox on the main menu, not tucked underCRMwith two other rarely-used itemsReviewsandContacts. Access needs to be quick, navigating menus is more tedious than you realize.
Use a split-screen like all modern email systems do, so I can quickly click through messages looking for anything important. 95% of messages are clutter and do NOT need to be acted on. Your current interface requires me to click each message to mark it Read, or check boxes next to messages then click "Mark As" then click "Read". Tedious and clunky.
Add Property name so we know which property the message is in relation to. Also add stay dates.
Convert AirBNB, VRBO, and SMS to icons.
Add a "Quick reply" box so we can easily reply without leaving this view.
Waste less screen space. Make everything tighter.
Here are some marked up screenshots with some suggestions:
These are all great suggestions... one small tweak. I like the Icon idea but we need one column to Identify the platform (ie AirBnB, VRBO, etc) and one to ID the medium (ie email, SMS, Channel Msg, and ideally be able to log Calls and/SMS outside the system be able to add own communication mediums (ie WhatApp) and be able to log communications. Maybe we could start with this latter idea which would at least allow for a manually generated record of all communication and then can add automations one by one to well developed structure.
Also integrate the Conversation and Inbox into a standard view (which includes triggered communication) - one more column could distinguish between manual and automated messages and field would be one more filter so one can filter out triggered messages.
Just this one integrated view with the ability to log messages manually would be a GAME CHANGER - should we create a seperate Feature request for "Manual logged Unified Inbox" as a starter
It would be great to add structure to feature requests so that when a request is made there is a couple of drop downs that would catagorize it by area and sub-area of improvement.
Especially to differentiate new capabilities (ie Google STR sycn) from Enhancements (ie improved filtering)
The other option is that there are some great tools already developed that are inexpensive so you don't have to re-invent / build something that is already done.
It would be very useful to be able to filter the Batch Update lising by the options below -- they are listed in order of importance/value, although all are needed:
- Property (MOST USEFUL and can be done as first step)
- Sync time and an option that would list enabled but not yet synced
- Sync Status (Enabled / Not Enabled)
- Payment type (in the case of multiple payment types, include in list if selected payment type(s) is used at least once)
This is very useful from transitioning from a different accounting sync system
It would be awesome if instead of deleting photos, we could hide them. For my mountain cabin, I change out photos and would love to easily update versus deleting and re-adding. Thank you for considering.
