Important updates to the Owners Direct Booking Platform

[AngloDutch]

Email just received from OD:

Important updates to the Owners Direct Booking Platform


Last year, we transitioned to a booking platform. Since then, we have continued to evolve and improve to support the needs of travellers, owners and managers. Here's what you need to know about recent and upcoming changes we are making to support this transition.

• Online booking: In the near future, online booking will be required when you list on Owners Direct. Owners and property managers who have not yet enrolled in online booking will receive more information when it becomes applicable to them.

• Messaging through the Owners Direct platform (coming soon): All pre-booking enquiries and responses will be facilitated through Owners Direct’s secure messaging platform. You can message back and forth with travellers as you do today, but phone numbers, links and emails will be hidden in the messages. Contact details will continue to be available in your dashboard after a booking is accepted. Keeping communications and bookings on Owners Direct helps to protect you and travellers from phishing and other fraud.

• Auto-declines hidden from search results: If a booking request for one of your properties is auto-declined because a traveller has not received a confirmation or decline in 24 hours, we may proactively hide the property in search results to help preserve your search ranking. You can easily un-hide the property when you are available again.

• House Rules for your property: A new House Rules feature allows you to set policies for what is permitted when someone stays in your property. Travellers will be asked to agree to your House Rules before they can send a booking request.

• $1M liability insurance: When a traveller books and pays through Owners Direct checkout, the reservation automatically includes $1 million USD in primary liability insurance. This new program helps to protect you against claims related to traveller injury or damage to another person’s property. There is no added cost to you.

What’s coming next

We’ve heard your feedback about wanting to know your travellers. We’re working on enhancing traveller profiles, and we will continue to keep you posted about these and other updates.

Kind regards,

The Owners Direct Team

[noud]

We received the same mail from Fewo-direkt... So I think that HomeAway is protecting what they can protect. As a real US policy of today : HomeAway First !!!!!

[waterwitch]

I've just received it too - so all contact details will be hidden from now on to protect us? Come on.

Not sure what the auto-decline clause is all about - does this mean if we don't get back after 24 hours the property is hidden off the site? Sometimes I answer questions or raise a question and need to wait for them to get back to me before I accept the booking. It doesn't all happen in 24 hours when we are opposite ends of the world.

[noud]

I think as soon as you replied to a booking with available or unavailable or even write an answer it is OK. At least that's what I do... Then I did not accept the booking yet. After that we used to contact the prospect guests. That's no longer possible I fear. Anyway all the more reason to get a commission advertisement as we cannot contact the guests anymore prior to actually booking.

[barbersdrove]

taking a leaf from the Airbnb model methinks.

[AngloDutch]

I think as soon as you replied to a booking with available or unavailable or even write an answer it is OK. At least that's what I do... Then I did not accept the booking yet. After that we used to contact the prospect guests. That's no longer possible I fear. Anyway all the more reason to get a commission advertisement as we cannot contact the guests anymore prior to actually booking.

Yes, it does look like OD is going to force all communication via their platform. Personally, we very rarely use communication via their system - the only thing we do via their dashboard when we are notified of an enquiry is go and click to reveal the guests' phone number. This is seen by OD/HA as a reply, so our response time is kept high. We then contact the guests using their email address and most decide to proceed to book directly with us (we offer them the option of booking via OD as well, but most decide against it).

The guests that go through the HA/OD online booking system have already decided to go that way before contacting us (most have booked and entered their credit card details). Those guests just receive our automated templated emails through the system. We then send additional info through to them via the platform or directly to their own email address if the info contains alot of links.

With the changes now coming, the only reason for us to continue on a subscription basis is due to the fact that we will be still in control of what remains of our cash flow. Both TA, VR and ABB pay us a total amount after the guests check in, and it is just OD that transfers deposit and balance payments soon after they have received payments from the guests. If we were to get OD payments after check-in as well, then it would cause quite a problem for us as, like many, we make use of the deposits coming in at the beginning of the year to help with the cost of upkeep of our property. We get alot of bookings through our own sites, but would certainly miss the deposits from guests coming through OD being paid out straightaway.

[Mouse]

Does this mean everyone will be on online booking and online payment?

If so..... how are they going to decide the rankings?

Mouse (on subscription)
x
p.s. good point about cash flow. Can you get paid earlier if not on subscription?

[COYS]

Will they refund those who paid extra subs not to have online booking enabled?
I'd guess not & that is just one more scam of theirs in a long, long list.

[Nigel Goodwin]

With the changes now coming, the only reason for us to continue on a subscription basis.

I thought you wouldn;t have any choice about that, either now or very soon?

BTW, remember ABB has an option for 30 or 60 day cancellation terms, which pays much earlier, but you have to ask nicely.

Your point about cashflow is very important.

[AndrewH]

Does this mean everyone will be on online booking and online payment?

If so..... how are they going to decide the rankings?

Mouse (on subscription)
x

Mousie, it looks like online booking will be the only option for owners on OD (and HA generally) and that of course implies only online payments. That way, OD can make sure that they get their detested "Service Fee" on every booking.

"Financial leakage", as it appears to be called in the industry, will be further shored up by their new implementation of not revealing owners' emails and telephone numbers until after a booking has been made. On subscription with OB and OP, the present position is that these details are revealed after the initial exchange, but before a booking is made, which gives the opportunity for owners and guests to communicate directly, and conclude a booking without payment of the service fee.

I have a theory (but only a theory) on your other point about ranking. I think their ill-named '"Best Match Algorithm" does, among other things, compare the number of viewings a property gets with the number of bookings it achieves through the OD site. So lots of viewings yet no bookings points to "financial leakage", which gives the property a low ranking and puts it way down any list. If that owner doesn't want to renew, it's no skin off OD's nose, because that property was no good to them (in the form of service fees) anyway.

[apexblue]

So can we claim a refund as they have changed their terms.....

[The Olive Grove]

I think like most, I am unhappy about loosing even more control of my business. I like to build up a relationship, and just as importantly trust, before reaching a booking stage. How many of us would have to "vote with our feet", or at least threaten to, to get them to maintain some sort of flexibility in this.

Not happy at all. May be time to try and find another booking portal.

[barbersdrove]

ive already made the decision to leave. I've cancelled automatic subscription renewal when my year is up that I have paid for I will be off. Easy for meto say no doubt as I can count on one had the number of enquiries Ive had let alone bookings for the last months and I think that' becases I am on a subscription basis with them.

[petitbois]

same here, no longer our idea of doing business, though we have had guests book direct after seeing our listing & Googling, had no enquiries at all this year, so time to leave.

[COYS]

Does this mean everyone will be on online booking and online payment?

If so..... how are they going to decide the rankings?

Mouse (on subscription)

Remember the precious metal paid rankings in days of yore?
Well maybe when they have everyone captive on OB/OP they may well make a reappearance to keep the cash cow producing. And then the whole sorry show starts over again