OwnerRez has partnered with Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) to provide an integrated API connection between the two systems. This allows OwnerRez users to handle their GVR listings and bookings efficiently.
All booking traffic from your GVR listing is directed to your OwnerRez Hosted Website or the OwnerRez Global Landing Page for commission-free bookings.
First, read the Google Vacation Rentals Overview (paying close attention to the Google Price Accuracy Policy section) support article and consult the Google Vacation Rentals Common Issues & Questions support article for additional questions not addressed here.
Simplified vacation rental listings will likely be published faster on GVR. The more complicated your listings are (multiple properties, discounts, promotions, etc.), the longer the GVR onboarding process can take.
Users can expect a delay of 2+ weeks before their properties go live on Google Vacation Rentals due to a manual onboarding process by Google Vacation Rentals.
Requirements
- Users must choose one of either their OwnerRez Hosted Website or the OwnerRez global landing page for their Google Vacation Rentals listing Landing Page.
- Each Hosted Website (single or multi-property) requires its own GVR connection. Disabling a GVR-connected Hosted Website is not allowed.
Restrictions
Price accuracy is critical to Google Vacation Rentals (GVR). Complicated discounts, surcharges, and tax structures can affect the accuracy of your property's price, resulting in lower search rankings for not only your property but all other GVR-integrated OwnerRez properties.
GVR API-connected properties are subject to the following restrictions.
Book Now/Inquiry Widget
The Book Now/Inquiry Widget must be configured to allow quotes, nor can the widget be set to turn off "quotes" after the GVR connection is live.
Users can check their widget settings by navigating to Settings > My Website > Hosted Websites > your Hosted Website > Book Now webpage > Booking/Inquiry Widget Change Settings > Quoting > Quote Price > select Allow Quote and Show Errors.
Discounts
Users can apply discounts to Google Vacation Rentals by navigating to Settings > Discounts > + Create Discount > Criteria > Listing Sites > and selecting All, Everything but, or Only Google Vacation Rentals. However, GVR discounts are limited by the following restrictions.
- No position-ordered discounts
- No discounts based on sub-totals
- Percentage discounts that apply to taxable items must be marked taxable.
- Disallowed discounts cannot be added back following GVR connection.
- No discounts based on specific Departure/Arrival days of the month. OR is still learning which discounts are allowed and will update as we learn more.
| Discount Criteria | Allowed with GVR |
|---|---|
| Month of year | Yes |
| Specific dates | Yes |
| Days of the week | Yes |
| Second week of the month | No |
| Last week of the month | No |
| First two weeks of the month | No |
Surcharges
Users can apply surcharges to Google Vacation Rentals by navigating to Settings > Surcharges > + Create Surcharge > Criteria > Listing Sites > and selecting All, Everything but, or Only Google Vacation Rentals. However, GVR surcharges are limited by the following restrictions.
- No position-ordered surcharges
- No surcharges based on Departure/Arrival days
- No flat-rate additional Guest Fee surcharges. Incremental per-night, per-guest fees will work.
- For example, an additional Guest fee for 4 additional guests at a flat fee of $100 won't work, but adding a $25 per-night, per-person additional guest surcharge to a maximum amount will work.
- For example, an additional Guest fee for 4 additional guests at a flat fee of $100 won't work, but adding a $25 per-night, per-person additional guest surcharge to a maximum amount will work.
-
OwnerRez does not recommend that users include non-taxable credit card surcharges without consulting their local tax authorities.
- Disallowed surcharges cannot be added back after the GVR connection is live.
- Pet fees are not supported by GVR.
- No Surcharge > Options > Position "Place this below tax line items" surcharges are supported.
Taxes
- Percentage or flat rate per night taxes only. No incremental taxes are allowed.
- Disallowed taxes cannot be added back after the GVR connection is live.
What is synchronized?
Our integration pushes listing content, rates, reviews, and availability to Google Vacation Rentals (GVR).
Beginning August 1, 2024, GVR will no longer support approximate property locations. You can change your OwnerRez property location settings from approximate to exact by navigating to your specific Property > Listing Content > Location > Change > Public Display, and selecting Exact.
Setup
Navigate to Settings > Channels > API Integrations > + Connect a Channel > Connect Google Vacation Rentals.
Landing Page
Users must select one option for their Google Vacation Rentals listing Landing Page.
You must choose either your OwnerRez hosted website or the OwnerRez global landing page for your Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) listing Landing Page.
- Their OwnerRez hosted website, which sends GVR guests to their property's standard hosted website URL as defined inside of OwnerRez.
- The OwnerRez global landing page sends potential GVR guests to an OwnerRez-hosted guest booking page.
Wondering which to select? See Before I decide which Landing Page to select, what does the OwnerRez global landing page look like for potential GVR guests?
The OwnerRez global landing page only supports the Instant Book option and does not currently support a Request to Book (RTB) option.
A Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) host can only use RTB if they have a hosted site configured for RTB and that hosted site must be selected as the GVR Landing Page.
Booking Window & Duration
Property Booking Windows are limited to 999 days or less. Select your Booking Window & Duration and Cancellation Policy.
Channel Rules
Select your Cancellation Policy from the dropdown menu.
Click Save.
Since GVR sends guests to either your Hosted Website or the OwnerRez Global Landing Page to book.
The OwnerRez global landing page only supports the Instant Book option and does not currently support a Request to Book (RTB) option.
A Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) host can only use RTB if they have a hosted site configured for RTB, and that OwnerRez Hosted Website must be selected as the GVR Landing Page.
Include Property Mappings
Including your GVR Property Mappings to your GVR integration is required before your GVR listing becomes live.
Click on Change Property Mappings.
Users can either use the Included? dropdown menu to select Include all properties.
Or simply check the Included? checkbox for each property that they wish to map to GVR and click Save.
After all properties have been "included," the wait for GVR begins.
Waiting for Google to go Live
GVR Listings will not be "live" for 2+ weeks as it's a manual process on GVR's end. When you first connect your GVR listing, it becomes a waiting game. No properties are connected, and you don't have the opportunity to change your property mappings until your GVR listing is live.
Now's a good time to review the instructions on the Instructions tab, especially running the Tools > Listing Quality Analyzer tool to fix any errors or warnings found. There are also informational and warning items for improvement, but there should be no remaining errors to proceed with the integration.
You should receive an OwnerRez email system alert similar to this confirming that you've added your property/ies to Google Vacation Rentals (GVR).
When your GVR listing becomes "live," you can see your GVR Listing ID number. Click on the copy button to the right of your listing number to copy your GVR Listing ID number and proceed to the change your property mappings section.
Troubleshooting
During the GVR integration process, users may encounter some reasons why they are not able to complete the process successfully. Clicking on the Change Property Mappings button will reveal the issues that need to be addressed for each property before a successful GVR integration can be completed.
Do not be alarmed if your Property Mapping looks similar to this initially. Users are encouraged to run the Listing Quality Analyzer to help identify issues to be corrected for a successful connection. Still, each warning includes clear hyperlinked text to take users to the associated in-app areas for users to address the issue (rates, discounts, photos, surcharges, etc.) warned about.
Delist
Individual Property
You can delist or disable individual Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) property listings by unmapping that specific property from your GVR integration. Navigate to Settings > Channels > API Integrations > your GVR API Integration > and click on Change Property Mappings.
To unmap that property, simply unclick the Included? checkbox for that specific property and hit Save.
Keep in mind that delisting or disabling in OwnerRez will not necessarily remove your property listing from GVR.
Entire GVR Channel
You can delist or disable your entire Google Vacation Rentals (GVR) listing by navigating to Settings > Channels > API Integrations > your GVR API Integration > Disable.
Then click on OK.
Note that delisting or disabling your GVR listing will only remove the OwnerRez integration with GVR. Keep in mind that delisting or disabling in OwnerRez will not necessarily remove all listings of your property from GVR.