Community : All Content - Rates

HA/VRBO Reps - this is how the rates should be setup

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:51:03 GMT

HA/VRBO Reps,

In lieu of waiting to see what the enhancements to the current rate setup will entail, I would like to put in my 2 cents on how the rates should be setup. This setup allows for a wide range of possibilities that should handle dynamic rate quotes from all homeowners.

Obviously some sort of owner supplied text area should be provided for the owner to place special instructions to renters such as monthly rates, or premums for certain holidays etc.

There should be 3 types of rates

1) Weekly

2) Minimum number of days/rate

3) Extra night - nights added onto the minimum days/rate up to 6 nights and then roll to weekly rate

Weekly rate is obviously for 7 days

Less than weekly starts out with a minimum number of days which can be 1 or more

That minimum stay date has a set cost

To calculate a rate for a stay less than weekly, algorithm is as follows

Desired nights = Minimum stay + extra nights

If you allow a nightly rate with no minimum, you can set your minimum days to 1 and set that rate to your extra night rate

Examples:

Weekly Min Stay Extra Night

$3995 $1995 2/nt $450

7 Nights = $3995

2 Nights = $1995

3 Nights = $1995 + $450

4 Nights = $1995 + $450 + $450

If stay > Weekly

8 Nights = $3995 + $450

9 Nights = $3995 + $450 + $450

...

14 Nights = $3995 + $3995

For those who DO rent by the night

Weekly Min Stay Extra Night

$3150 $450 1/nt $450

7 Nights = $3150 (Owner set rate to be 7 * nightly)

2 Nights = $450 + $450 (Owner set minimum to 1 night and set that minimum to the same as nightly rate)

3 Nights = $450 + $450 + $450

....

I have written my own software that does just this so I know it can be done and I'd be happy to provide code to your developers or other input if one would like to contact me.

Rick

www.vacationrentalhelper.com

Just now realized big discrepancy in display of rate quote to guests between VRBO and HomeAway...

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:32:22 GMT

As of today I just noticed a big discrepancy in the way VRBO and HomeAway uses the "same" system of Quotable Rates. I couldn't figure out why one of our properties which rents for $400/week in the summer (including tax) had quoted a guest $734.98 according to the e-mail I received. The e-mail had the HomeAway logo and property ID number. The rep on the phone tried and she got the correct quote (around $399.98). After several minutes she was ready to file this off as a mistake when I noticed that despite the branding and logo, if you look carefully at the line that says "Inquiry From" the quote was actually submitted from VRBO,. Then we tried the same dates on VRBO and sure enough we got that same $734.98.

Apparently, something I didn't know all this time is that VRBO represents the total differently, for the same dates and property, like this:

HomeAway, however just gives the rental amount (no breakdown) in the sidebar, like this:

Only if the traveler again clicks the orange "Request Quote" button do they get the breakdown on HomeAway, like this:

Is this method of comparing "apples to oranges" intentional? If someone were looking at the same property consolidated but on the two different sites they might leave with wildly different rates in mind, especially if they are revewing dozens of properties and requesting multiple quotes. Heck, it took the rep and I over 20 min. by phone to figure it out and I own the place and set the rates and she works for HomeAway/VRBO! This discrepancy between HomeAway and VRBO with regard to Quotable Rates is definitely adding unnecessary confusion the traveler and often the owner/manager too.

On a sidenote, I also received this inquiry for the same property from the same person three times, each one second apart. Is it even possible for an inquirer to do that by mistake?

Also, is the branding logo and property ID supposed to show as HomeAway even if the inquiry originated from VRBO with a different property ID? Does the owner/manager only see the branding for whichever site is their primarty/master of the consolidated listings, even if it originated from the secondary?

how to set rate for a specified number of guests and upcharge for additional guests?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:24:40 GMT

I'm sure this subject has been approached in different ways and for different reasons. I am unclear how and where to specify a number of guests for our standard rates. I expected to find something on the rates page but do not. Do we add something in "Notes"? (Not sure how to harmonizes with "quotable rates" and "maximum occupancy".)

We note that we sleep up to 7 (a King bed and two Queen pull-out beds.) But we would like to advertise our rates for up to four guests... and a small up-charge per additional guest per night. This thought is prompted by questions of potential wear and tear and additional cleaning needs while we otherwise try to keep our standard rates as reasonable as possible. Can anyone please guide us to the best approach within the "quotable rates" framework?

(While reviewing before writing this, we noticed discussion about charging even more for unlisted guests. That would seem to be an awkward thing to enforce. Do you meet the guests and take roll call every night? I hope occasion never requires us to consider an unannounced guest up-charge.)

Thanks

Why is HA trying to force everyone to use quotable rates?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:42:57 GMT

I discovered tonight that Instant Quote was activated on my site when an inaccurate quote was given to a prospective renter.

Instant Quote won't work for me because I have a very complicated rate schedule that varies with season, holidays, local sporting events, etc. In addition I offer multiday discounts for stays greater than 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 days. Also, I charge more for parties larger than 6 and have an absolute limit of 10 persons.

The tradition rate quote has worked very nicely for me. I was told by the phone support person tonight that the tradition rate quote will not be available for much longer. Please don't ruin a good thing and force me to use quotable rates!

Adding rates for Easter with Reservation Manager

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:37:58 GMT

Hi,

I've just tried setting up Reservation Manager and applying our rates which vary according to the time of year. I found it a bit odd that you could only set seasonal dates by the day and month but not according to the year. This wasn't too much of a problem until I tried to set the rate for Easter. Because Easter changes every year my only option was to try doing an "Event Rate" which does allow me to set a price for a date range in a particular year. The problem is that if I have a guest make a booking that overlaps into the Event Rate Easter period they are charged for the whole 4 week period of Easter! Unless I'm getting something wrong this seems to be a major oversight by HomeAway as Easter is a very popular time to book but most people dont want to book the entire period for a specific date range.

If anyone knows of any ways to set a rate for Easter each year that doesnt make a guest pay for the entire Easter period I would be very greatful.

Thanks

Craig

Quotable Rates - Tax Calculation Design Flaw

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 16:01:39 GMT

My rental properties require tax be levied only for 28 and fewer days. For any stay that exceeds this duration (monthly), the tax is not applicable because the stay is legally defined as a long-term rental agreement--not a vacation rental. (I would expect that this is similar in many cities/counties.) However, there is no option that I could find in the settings to define the duration for when taxes are applicable. Consequently, prospective guests using the quotable rates for a monthly stay (which represents 50% of my bookings) are falsely presented with a tax charge--$500+ per month. Not only is this incorrect, it is resulting in an inflated total amount that would likely discourage a guest from booking a rental from me. Additionally, it impairs my credibility that I may be trying to collect a false tax.

Is there an option to set the taxes for this situation? If not, please advise with a suggestion to mitigate this situation. Thanks.

Quotable rates misstates pet policy

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:25:43 GMT

I was just playing around with the quoteable rates feature on my listing to make sure my holiday rates were entered right and I noticed that if you put dates in the box to get a quote and hit "request quote" it pops up the result and says "Pets are not allowed". We do allow dogs and it is listed in our amenities and our listing shows up when you filter for pet friendly. I looked around in our area and all of the listing seem to do the same thing. This seems really confusing for guests.

I also don't understand why it lets the inquirer adjust the number of adults and children and then resets like it is re-calculating based on that even though there is no option when setting your rates for different rates for different sized groups.

rental rates

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 03:58:44 GMT

If you have tried to modify your rental rates in the past few days you will find VRBO has switched to a new system that does not allow you to modify your monthly rates. This is a new and very complicated system that will not work for monthly rentals. Time to demand they fix it or refund our money

Rental income as a percentage of home price

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:37:47 GMT

I am trying to get a better understanding of the financial details and possibilities of vacation rentals since I am considering buying a second property. I would like to find the optimal size and price for a vacation rental home and I have spent some time on Homeaway and VRBO to look at rental rates for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. I quickly realized that except for understanding that the rental price increases with the number of bedrooms, it is hard to determine more accurately what the best investment is without being able to access lots and lots of data on Homeaway/VRBO.

I instead started to look at my own rental and do some calculations on my rental income as a percentage of the value of my condo and got the following result:

Renting out a 2 bed, 2 bath condo in the Tampa area, in 2012 I have been able to get a rental income of 10.2% of the value of my condo. The rental income calculation does not include any taxes or cleaning charges. If I include taxes and cleaning in the calculation, my gross income in 2012 was 12.8% of the value of my condo.

Is this high, low, medium? I am curious to hear what percentage others are able to get and how it correlates to number of bedrooms etc?

my first serious inquiry less than min$

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 06:27:19 GMT

Hi everyone Im brand new here and I have an inquiry and I am not fully prepared! Still finishing rental agreement. Also this is a group of 6 graduate students who would love to stay here (Im sure the other homes on this lake are booked already) for a quiet get-together. They were all friends in highschool. They want just 2 nights but willing to pay (in their own words) "significantly" more for a nightly rate. Mon and Tue night which oddly enough leaves the previous Sunday open (I rent Sat-Sat) and that Sunday is the last day of our film festival in which I charge more. It may be good for someone who wants to be here for the whole fest.

My question, how often do you all agree to rent nightly in season and how do you adjust your rate? . I have similar potential problem in july for a festival that run Fri to following Sat I want to respond to them tomorrow with a quote and have no idea what! I would like to take them (like I said I am new with no bookings yet and got a late start on vrbo) I am going to have to explain as well that when my rental agreement is finished I can send it to them by gmail I gues - atleast give them and quote and speak with them asap.

btw, this area thrives on tourism - I just heard many hotels and campgrounds are booked 1 and 2 years out. my home is #464642

Thanks for your help in this last minute question!