Important updates to the Owners Direct Booking Platform
Dear Property Manager,
You have recently declined a significant number of booking requests. To provide the best experience for travellers booking on our platform, and help prevent a negative impact on your performance and ranking, we’ve temporarily hidden your property from being displayed in search results.
Once you’re available and ready to accept bookings, you can easily unhide your property. Visit your dashboard, go to the Listing Details page, and change the setting to 'unhide'. Please review our HomeAway Marketplace Standards to make sure you are operating in compliance with our guidelines. Failure to comply with these Marketplace Standards will be a breach of our Terms and Conditions.
Cannot get to site. Can you?
You have recently declined a significant number of booking requests. To provide the best experience for travellers booking on our platform, and help prevent a negative impact on your performance and ranking, we’ve temporarily hidden your property from being displayed in search results.
Once you’re available and ready to accept bookings, you can easily unhide your property. Visit your dashboard, go to the Listing Details page, and change the setting to 'unhide'. Please review our HomeAway Marketplace Standards to make sure you are operating in compliance with our guidelines. Failure to comply with these Marketplace Standards will be a breach of our Terms and Conditions.
Cannot get to site. Can you?
It is better to remain quiet and have one think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt....
The biggest mistake we make in life is thinking we have time.
The biggest mistake we make in life is thinking we have time.
And therein lies the problem apexblue. Because no matter how many hoops you jump through it will never be enough.apexblue wrote:Dear Property Manager,
You have recently declined a significant number of booking requests. To provide the best experience for travellers booking on our platform, and help prevent a negative impact on your performance and ranking, we’ve temporarily hidden your property from being displayed in search results.
Once you’re available and ready to accept bookings, you can easily unhide your property. Visit your dashboard, go to the Listing Details page, and change the setting to 'unhide'. Please review our HomeAway Marketplace Standards to make sure you are operating in compliance with our guidelines. Failure to comply with these Marketplace Standards will be a breach of our Terms and Conditions.
Cannot get to site. Can you?
Marketplace Standards? Is that what they're dressing it up as now?
This time next year Rodney, we'll be millionaires.
COYS wrote:
And therein lies the problem apexblue. Because no matter how many hoops you jump through it will never be enough.
Marketplace Standards? Is that what they're dressing it up as now?
I think this is going to be the breach of marketplace standards...apexblue wrote: That's us stuffed as we leave calenders open so we can direct to other rentals if booked.
Is there anything that the enquirer can do to 'extend' the time?
When you press accept - what happens. Is is an automatic booking or does the guest have to do something i.e . Is there another step?
Unfortunately there is no other step in the process and no way of slowing the clock which counts down on your dashboard like a time bomb lol.Once you press accept then OD take payment as they already have all the card details. The only way then for us to stop things would be to receive payment and cancel direct with the guest. Not a very professional way of going about it.
Currently potential guests can still send an enquiry if they have questions they need to ask before booking without entering card details etc. It's not clear if this will still stand when the changes come into force.
We are pretty booked up until the end of the season all through OD and only 2 of those enquired first so people seem to like instant booking and use it then send any questions.
Having said that we haven't renewed our subscription yet because we have been unhappy with the level of control they try to take and the recent email is a step too far! Also the quality of the guests so far has been disappointing compared to other years when we have had a chance to suss them out and get to know them more. We have already had more damage than our other 2 years put together and there is still a long way to go....but that's a whole other debate I think. Or maybe we've just been lucky in the past.. who knows
When you press accept - what happens. Is is an automatic booking or does the guest have to do something i.e . Is there another step?
Unfortunately there is no other step in the process and no way of slowing the clock which counts down on your dashboard like a time bomb lol.Once you press accept then OD take payment as they already have all the card details. The only way then for us to stop things would be to receive payment and cancel direct with the guest. Not a very professional way of going about it.
Currently potential guests can still send an enquiry if they have questions they need to ask before booking without entering card details etc. It's not clear if this will still stand when the changes come into force.
We are pretty booked up until the end of the season all through OD and only 2 of those enquired first so people seem to like instant booking and use it then send any questions.
Having said that we haven't renewed our subscription yet because we have been unhappy with the level of control they try to take and the recent email is a step too far! Also the quality of the guests so far has been disappointing compared to other years when we have had a chance to suss them out and get to know them more. We have already had more damage than our other 2 years put together and there is still a long way to go....but that's a whole other debate I think. Or maybe we've just been lucky in the past.. who knows
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- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:45 pm
- Location: Villa in Gale, Algarve, Portugal. At home in Fetcham, Surrey, UK
- Contact:
I've just this morning received an OD enquiry for a June 2018 booking. I'm on subscription and am no longer privileged to see the enquirer's email or phone number until a booking is confirmed, so I can no longer give them the option of booking direct. So this new policy now affects us all. So what happens if they book and I then see it's a group of 18-21y olds on a hen/stag weekend?
I'm now considering charging a tad more on my listing to cover the fees Yapstone will charge me for the privilege of them holding my payment for a year until they transfer it to me.
Also have to think about going over to commission when my renewal is up next year. I guess I have plenty of time to monitor enquiries-bookings and which option is financially the better.
I'm now considering charging a tad more on my listing to cover the fees Yapstone will charge me for the privilege of them holding my payment for a year until they transfer it to me.
Also have to think about going over to commission when my renewal is up next year. I guess I have plenty of time to monitor enquiries-bookings and which option is financially the better.
TA lurkers walk among us; the LMH Walking Dead
dont mess in the affairs of cats for they are subtle and will p on your computer.
www.algarvevillatrinity.co.uk
www.facebook.com/villatrinity
www.gardenerscottage.promotemyplace.com
dont mess in the affairs of cats for they are subtle and will p on your computer.
www.algarvevillatrinity.co.uk
www.facebook.com/villatrinity
www.gardenerscottage.promotemyplace.com
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- Posts: 13173
- Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
- Location: French Alps
- Contact:
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- Posts: 204
- Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 1:50 pm
- Location: Mouy, Oise
- Contact:
Well that's us stuffed then. I am tied to Gites de France for ten years after they subsidised the creation of our gite, so all bookings have to go through them. So I can't accept online payments. That's AirBnB out, and now HomeAway. HL/TA dried up for me about a year ago - so what's left? Seems the only place I get enquiries now is Gites.nl...
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- Posts: 13173
- Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
- Location: French Alps
- Contact:
Many thanks you to all who responded to my questions of 10 July. With all the other recent discussion on LMH I've decided to cancel my OD subscription when it runs out in February and go to commission. I'm really nervous about I can handle all the intricacies of their booking system, but I hope you lovely Hatters can help me if I get into difficulties.
And of course I'm expanding into other marketing options. At my age I'm a "Luddite" with regards to social media, but my mid-year resolution is to change this. Thanks to all of you who have shared their marketing knowledge on LMH - it's been extremely helpful.
Giraffe x
And of course I'm expanding into other marketing options. At my age I'm a "Luddite" with regards to social media, but my mid-year resolution is to change this. Thanks to all of you who have shared their marketing knowledge on LMH - it's been extremely helpful.
Giraffe x
The best things in life are free
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- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:45 pm
- Location: Villa in Gale, Algarve, Portugal. At home in Fetcham, Surrey, UK
- Contact:
Yes I do.roxytoo wrote:sam do you have online booking enabled?
TA lurkers walk among us; the LMH Walking Dead
dont mess in the affairs of cats for they are subtle and will p on your computer.
www.algarvevillatrinity.co.uk
www.facebook.com/villatrinity
www.gardenerscottage.promotemyplace.com
dont mess in the affairs of cats for they are subtle and will p on your computer.
www.algarvevillatrinity.co.uk
www.facebook.com/villatrinity
www.gardenerscottage.promotemyplace.com