Online booking and payment increases bookings
Online booking and payment lets the traveler know that once they have made their decision out of many responses that they have every chance of getting the dates they want and not be waiting a day or so for an owner response and confirm. This puts the decision into the inquirer's timezone and availability rather than the owner's, giving them booking control over the quotes that you've sent them.
Aside from the initial booking, often payment is needed to get a full confirmation of the dates. Having to send a check is not a very quick process, so for those that really need a confirmation, online payment is preferred - often by Credit Card or PayPal. Offering the payment method that the inquirer prefers clearly gives you a better change of being chosen.
- Most of the people that found and inquire about your property will have done so online. Most of those are also familiar with transacting online, and more now even require it for instantly knowing that their reservation is done and the dates held.
- By all means, continue to screen your potential guests but also offer them a familiar place to book and pay for their reservation. No writing/faxing/mailing - provide instant satisfaction - if the traveler wants to book it needs to make it as easy as possible.
- Paying with a Credit Card provides a safety net for the traveler against mis-represented properties and is not unreasonable to expect at this point in the VR industry. Give them that peace of mind by accepting Credit Cards while ensuring that you have adequate Terms & Conditions and proof of intent/acceptance of the Terms & Conditions.
- Using PayPal is also common for some Owners - a regular PayPal request-for-money style is also supported by MyVRZone. MyVRZone will create the button automatically for the Guet click while online at their GuestZone. Use it for the Security Deposit as well - you can refund that from the reservation within MyVRZone with the click of a button.
- Booking forms completed via the MyVRZone Vacation Rental Management Software record the IP address of the submitter along with a timestamp and initials specifically agreeing to the Terms & Conditions. These Terms & Conditions are attached to the confirmation email so there's full tracability should there be any future issues with unwarranted chargebacks.
News
May 4, 2013 - Custom Labels for Requests and Reservations
If you'd like to tag your reservations or requests with a particular status for easy use in your own process, then now you can. Gold and Platinum subscribers can define labels that can be selected from a drop-down list for every reservation and request that they have. Maybe you can label a reque ... read more »
Feb 3, 2013 - Inquiry responses on your smartphone or tablet
Answer inquiries on your smartphone or tablet with the full automation you find on your PC. Multiple properties, currencies and quotes in a customizable email template in seconds. Click on a request in the list, add custom text to answer questions, preview (if you want) and send. We recently re ... read more »
Dec 27, 2012 - Change tax rates for different numbers of nights
Some localities have different tax rates depending on the number of nights in the stay. For example, there are places that charge zero tax for stays of 30 days or longer. Up until now, you'd need to make those adjustments manually in your quotations. The ability to charge different tax rates (o ... read more »
