We have 3 properties listed on OD and after noticing that none of them were appearing on any combination of search criteria I phoned for an explanation.
I spoke to 3 different people over 3 days, the first two telling me it was a technical error based on location issues and they would look into it and fix it. Each promised to email me with an answer which of course they didn't.
The 3rd one then explained that the technical team were running a test and anyone who didn't meet the best match would not be shown for an indefinite period of time. My misdemeanor was accepting 0 out of 3 instant bookings.
I tried to calmly point out that 0 out of 3 is hardly catastrophic and that all of the refusals were out of my control but if I had to be shoved to the bottom of the list while they were testing whatever it was they were testing then so be it but to take all the listings off altogether was just downright unfair (and probably not even legal ) .... he agreed (anything to shut me up I suspect) and promised to look into it. Got this reply today:
As per our recent conversation yesterday, I have spoken to my technical team and they have confirmed that there is no timeframe as to how long the test will last regarding listing visibility on the live website.
Furthermore, they’ve explained that listings that are affected by this test will show in the search results 50% of the time as mentioned by Adriana in her email. It depends what search the traveller is filtered into when they use the Owners Direct website.
If there is any further information regarding the test then I will let you know.
Thank you for your time and patience.
How they can justify calling this a "test" is beyond me ....and typical for the first time in years we still have a fair bit of early July to fill
What??? That is just infuriating. My gob is truly smacked.
Just to confirm....are you on commission and online booking? I suspect so. Could you change to subscription?
It is very scary indeed that they can get away with just removing your listing at will. Off course there will be many times a booking doesn't 'fit' but their inability to understand that means there's got to be something else going on here.....you don't sway more owners/agents to accept online bookings by removing them from the listings. ....obviously they will then just find another route.
Whether you are on subscription or commission, what OD are saying and doing is seriously bad and (IMO) unlawful. I sometimes think that when dealing with commission customers these OTA's, like OD, believe they have no contractual obligation towards the owner. In fact, they could not be more wrong.
A 1-star complaint against OD on Trustpilot, will get a response from OD (you should quote your listing reference).
We're on an annual subscription and online booking
I actually told them that I was sure if I had been on the commission listing that I wouldn't have been taken off at all as that may well cost them money .... once they have your money from an annual subscription they won't be bothered if you're visible or not... I also asked if they would be refunding part of my payment since my ad was not not there
he was eerily silent on both counts
Mouse said there's got to be something else going on here.....you don't sway more owners/agents to accept online bookings by removing them from the listings. ....
Actually Mouse I think that's exactly what they're trying to do .....they will gradually "attack" all the people who aren't meeting their best match criteria and scare them into complying by simply removing their listing until they do. Once they've gone through the ones who have already accepted online booking they'll wade through the rest with some other threat and then start the same tactics with online payments
It doesn't seem legal but I'm sure they have it covered in the small print somewhere ... or they just know that the ordinary guy in the street won't have the funds or backbone to take them to court ...
I think this is what has happened to me too and I am on subscription with them. I have not had an enquiry from them for months now here ai used to get them regulalrly. Since registering on Airbnb Ive taken 3 good bookings in the last 2 days so people are looking for this area. I will be cancelling my subscription with them.
One rental defo not showing and I have accepted 3 out of 6 bookings.
Left message on Twitter. See if they respond.
From OD site.....What is the booking accept rate?
The booking acceptance rate is a rolling average of your accepted bookings and is calculated based on the number of bookings you have accepted out of the most recent 10 reservation requests you have received. If you received less than 10 reservation requests, we will use only the ones you have received.
It is important that you respond to all reservation requests within the 24 hour period as this rate impacts the traveller experience and also influences your search position through best match.
We understand there are issues that may prevent you from having 100% booking acceptance, so the occasional decline should not impact your overall performance. However, we recommend providing as much detail about your property as possible and keeping your calendar updated to avoid receiving reservation requests from unsuitable guests or for dates your property is not available. If you are on holiday or unavailable to reply to reservation requests, you can always temporarily hide your listing to prevent your reservation requests from expiring.
Please note: If you neither accept nor decline, but edit a booking request within the 24hr period, this neither hurts nor helps your accept rate as it becomes a payment request instead. A payment request is not reflected in the dash tile.
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.
This 'game' is so weird. I have 2 properties on subscription only. I won't entertain online booking or BIN. My calander is not up to date (so shows availability for most of the time) But I have never been so busy with enquiries from them. I keep expecting them to vanish but its not the case. I have no answer.....
This 'game' is so weird. I have 2 properties on subscription only. I won't entertain online booking or BIN. My calander is not up to date (so shows availability for most of the time) But I have never been so busy with enquiries from them. I keep expecting them to vanish but its not the case. I have no answer.....
How long have you got Roxytoo before your listing needs renewal?
We are in the same boat as you and now have '25 days they tell us' counting down on a daily basis, before our listing expires.
They have been pressuring us to accept online booking etc. We are NOT going to do this and so intend to let our listing lapse. We have had enough and are hopeful of not regretting the decision.
2018 will be interesting for us without HA/OD but judging by our outstanding booking levels for this year, we hopefully don't need them, time will tell.
I actually can't believe they have done this. Surely if you pay for a service you are entitled to receive it? Bookings can be refused for many reasons, overoccupancy, dogs etc. I would definitely be speaking to TA, are you a member of Which? by any chance - I would be involving them too.
