Community : All Content - Deposits, Payments, Fees

Are all the new features HA introduces beneficial to homeowners?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:58:23 GMT

Dear All,

Here is an email I sent HA about the processes that they have introduced

Dear HomeAway,

I was invited by you to participate in your survey about HomeAway Payments and other available process - thank you.

However, I got a short way into your survey and felt I was being forced down a pre-determined tunnel and that HA has already made up its mind how it will proceed, regardless of the survey. For example we had to provide an indication of which statement would “Most likely to encourage” us to use the Home Away Payment system”. I wanted to answer – “I don’t want to use the Home Away Payment system – but was not given that option! The survey did not provide flexibility in the way I could answer the questions.

In particular statements like “Suppose a traveler can submit a booking request with payment directly from your listing with the click of a button. You have 24 hours to communicate with the traveler, if you choose, and accept or decline the booking. This service includes all of the features of HomeAway Payments, including low credit card fees, customizable email templates, and auto-populated rental agreements and payment requests.” worries me. I am too old and wise not to read through the “just suppose…….”. It resonates of a fait accompli and that HA has decided the online Payments and other associated processes will become compulsory. I am fine with the process as an option which we can or cannot use but I am not OK with HA insisting on how we process our contracts and payments

I acknowledge that HA has made many process improvements over the years but HA also has a tendency to cut out homeowners options of how we want to handle our rentals. There are sometimes VERY good reasons for the way we want to handle certain things and there is no way HA can plan for all the nuances of how a homeowner wishes to offer their property and process the necessary paperwork. Please do what you do well – advertising the properties and leave the running of the business to the business owners (i.e. homeowners).

An example of an HA change that was not beneficial was making renters “join” HA before they can offer feedback on a vacation property. This additional process has turned many of them away from leaving feedback. It was likely beneficial to HA as you have a broader “membership” and email list but it was harmful to your customers, us, the homeowners

Here is another example, this time based on the survey’s topic. - Deposits. We ask for a separate check for deposit from our renters, which we then simply return after the rental period if no damage occurs, which is 99.9% of the time. In the 100’s of renters we have had we have only had to take some of the deposit from a small handful ( 5) . Our deposit process is not onerous for us or the renter. In contrast if we were to use Credit cards, (or PayPal) for on line processing of payments, including online deposits, 2.5%= fees on those monies would be taken . This does NOT benefit the Homeowner or the renter. So who does benefit? – the operator of the payment system, be it PayPal, or credit cards, gets 2.5%+ of the deposit and perhaps HA gets some kick-back! That is just a senseless waste of the renters money.

Your survey took me further down the tunnel – telling me “HomeAway Payments provides customers with access to low rate credit card processing of 2.5%” and then asked many questions about how I want to see the HomeAway Payment improved. I see NO point in even contemplating an online process that takes 2.5% of my income ( which I will have to pass onto the renter) when right now I can do it in a way that provides flexibility for us and the renters for 0%.

We already pay 9% state tax on any income, plus tax on any gains by the Feds, plus ever increasing HA listing fees, plus actually running and supporting the property. The customer base will only pay so much to rent a property so if all these fees add up to a rental rate that drives the renter away, your customer base, the homeowners, will have to give up doing home renting

You also offered many unsubstantiated “facts” such as “Over 85% of travelers prefer booking online” which then predicated more questions. You offered 9 questions each time asking me to pick from 4 statements the MOST AND LEAST reasons that I would use your proposed systems. And the pool of statements from which the 4 choices were chosen was a total of 8, making the nine questions redundant. And also provided enough combinations that you, HA, can effectively make any result from this survey that you want. Sometimes 2 of the 4 statements were effectively the same , further limiting choice. For example one question had the following two choices amongst the 4. “Save money. Accept online payments affordably with low 2.5% Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit card processing” and “Save money. Take advantage of free eChecks and low 2.5% Visa, MasterCard and Discover processing.”

More importantly NONE of these questions allowed us to simply say we are not interested in the system.

Then the survey discussed “The Property Damage Protection” plan, which provides up to $5,000 in coverage for accidental damage to the vacation rental. You noted that the Plans start at “just $49 (for $1,500 in coverage)”. And the survey again headed into MANY combinations of a few statements. Again no option to simply state I have no interest in participating in yet ANOTHER process that costs money.

You quote another unsubstantiated fact “In fact, 75% of renters prefer a small, non-refundable payment over a larger refundable damage deposit.”. That claim is totally perplexing to me. If a weekend renter had to pay another $49 it would increase the cost of the rental by an additional 7%! In contrast we offer a system where we simply return an check to the renter if no damage occurs. So HA claims that 75% of renters are happy to pay an additional 7%! I do not agree. Again it is a senseless waste of renters money to pay into a Cadillac process when a Hundi will get to the same place

This is where I stopped doing the survey. I had to provide answers of what would encourage me to use Property Damage Protection. However, there was NO choice of answers that actually would encourage me to use Property Damage Protection. So completing the survey would have forced me into providing feedback that was untrue from my perspective.

I have done many surveys in my career and this is one of the most shamelessly biased surveys I have ever had the privilege to participate in.

From as far as I got in your survey it appears that you are encouraging ( and likely, over time, insisting) on processes that will add $2.5% in credit card charges and potentially as much as 7% for Property Damage Protection ( depending on time rented and rental cost) to the cost to the renter.

So in all HA is proposing to add ~10%! in additional fees. Crazy! I generally increase my rental fees at ~3%/year which is about the increase our customer base can absorb.

And those are todays charges – what happens a few years down the road when the 2.5% Credit card fees creeps up to 5% and then 7% and then? And the minimum Property Damage Protection of $49 goes to $75, then $100!

You also talk about the whole process of booking and payment only taking 24hours!

Have you considered that after a potential renter makes initial inquires they then often circle back with friends or family to confirm a joint vacation and get consensus on which property they want to use. All this takes more than 24 hours. We give our potential renters 3 days (sometimes longer depending on their circumstances) to get back to us

And if, as you read my email, you think I am but a single homeowner. That is true – but we have a couple of vacation properties, 14 years of renting and close to 1000 renters – all of whom have been more than happy with the process we use and fully appreciate the flexible process we can offer. We fill our properties consistently and really don’t need all the bells and whistles that HA keeps adding- especially at increasing costs. So please stick to doing what you do well – advertising our properties and stop deciding how we run our home-based businesses. The relationship between HA and the homeowners should be a symbiotic one that benefits both groups. It feels more and more parasitic as time goes on. And as any good biologist knows a symbiotic relationship is self-sustaining but parasitic one eventually kills its host, which in this case is us, the homeowner and the parasite also dies for lack of food.

Overall-. Please, please, please be very careful of what you are doing when you THINK you are improving things. If you drive what used to be a simple, flexible, home-based business further and further toward being a hotel business you will drive us, your customers, and consequently, yourselves out of business!

I hope you take this email as intended. We want to continue working with (not for) HA and we would have liked to have completed the survey if it had truly solicited our unbiased opinion.

I would also like to suggest that HA spend some time to help the homeowners investigate and counter the SCAMs that take place on Craigslist time after time. Personally I have had my property “stolen/listed” on CL, nine times by a scammer. I have reported this EVERY time but to date I don’t know of anything HA has done to help eliminate this issues. Please read the HA community listings and you will see this is a common issue. I am not the only one by any means – lots of issues with CL. Perhaps this is a fruitful exercise for HA to put its resources to that can benefit its customers! Rather than looking to control parts of our business that you should to leave alone.

cancellation - how to refund less cancellation fee?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:40:31 GMT

We have a cancellation within little over a day before check-in. Our policy says no refund within 10 days of check-in. But with the guest citing a family emergency, we are inclined to refund less a cancellation fee of $100 (per our policy for per cancellations more than 10 days before check-in.)

What steps do we follow? Do we cancel the reservation or do we require the guest to login and cancel (if that is possible)? We are not certain how it might be handled if we cancel. If we do it, do we begin with the "Cancel" button from reservations and will that process allow us to make a refund less the $100 cancellation fee?

We do want to apply the refund (less cancellation fee) via VRBO/Homeaway so there is later no confusion or dispute.

We saw some discussion about reservation insurance. While we would not like to insist that guests buy reservation insurance, can we be certain they are not making a claim against reservation insurance while also obtaining a part refund from us?

Thank you in advance

Owner trying to keep security deposit because of cancelation

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:09:25 GMT

We rented a house is sept 2012 for a week in the poconos pa. Had a great time. When the owners emailed us after the stay thanking us for leaving the house so pristine we asked if we could come back the same week sept 2013 , they said yes so we told them just keep the security deposit in escrow then for that trip. This was all communicated by email.

Come march 21st 2013 , I hadnt received any contact from them a lease or anything. I emailed and said we had changed our minds due to personal financial reasons and would like to cancel.

on 4/26 one month+ later I emailed again to ask if my security deposit had been mailed. They then informed me they intended to keep it and only return it if they "rebooked" the week.

From my research talking to an attorney , a pa realtor, the FAQ section of homeaway and more I am finding this is illegal.

A security deposit can only be held in PA if "just cause" can be proven ie receipts for damages/repairs etc. Which in this case does not apply.

They are simply trying to punish us for canceling.

They are being compltley off this planet insane trying to say since we signed a previous lease that says no cancelations - that applies for the second trip.

Which from my research doesnt matter anyway - even if we had signed another lease (WHICH WE DIDNT) but even if we had I am understanding that would entitle them to keep any money we had paid toward the rental - NOT the security deposit.

ANyone have experience with Pig owners like this trying to swindle ?

They even went so far as to threaten me with a slander suit when I advised Id really like to settle it according to the law and not have to file formal complaints with Homeaway and the BBB and leave a bad review about my experience.

Landlord asking for a cashiers check & no tax

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:02:28 GMT

Hi, I am new to Homeaway and I have a question. I talked to a landlord to rent a home (14 days - LA area) and he wants me to send him a cashiers check and he does not charge me with tax. He told me I am the first renter in his house.

Any feedback on whether this is legit? I prefer to handle the payment through the online platform but the landlord does not want that (too costly).

Thanks for your help!

Do Canadian owners have acces to the online manager with HA?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:42:32 GMT

Hi, I just paid for my subscription and while trying to set up my account, I am unable to use the " pay online feature" Anyone has any information to that?

Do credit card users make better or worse guests?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:45:13 GMT

Hi,

In the complicated process of deciding to accept credit cards I can't find any clue as to whether there's a difference in the quality of people who pay by check VS. those who pay by plastic. Below are some more specific points:

Are people who pay with plastic more likely to be flaky and spontaneous and more likely to change their minds?
Are people who pay with plastic more likely to be on shaky financial grounds?
Does paying by credit card mean people perceive they have more options for refusing to pay?
Are they younger and possibly more destructive?

Disclaimer: I use my CC all the time and certainly don't fit any of the above profiles, yet I question whether the people I lose because I don't accept plastic are worth the extra trouble. I have a very small operation (one unit) and don't like the idea of creating a two-tiered rate structure so my check-paying guests don't have to subsidize the plastic payers. Still, I cringe whenever I lose a booking. Thanks for your thoughts.

Fees after checkout?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:31:20 GMT

I haven't really had to withhold any deposit money up until now from my renters. I've been pretty lucky with my guests so far. I don't want to seem nitpicky, but I also don't want to eat the charges either. Having locks re-keyed after loss of keys was a no-brainer, but what about this:

We just had guests who checked out over an hour late. Our contract and condo instructions both outline the requirements for checking out, and no late check out is permitted. My housekeeper arrived 40 minutes after checkout time, and they were still there. She told the family she needed to clean the condo for the next guests, and they said they needed 20 more minutes. After they finally left, the place was left a mess, the garbage was not removed from the unit as was instructed, the garbage and recylcing had not been brought to the curb on the designated day, as required by contract, and the guide to the refrigerator crisper drawers was broken and was not communicated to us. It was not broken prior to their arrival.

The part costs $11, so I wasn't concerned about that. I pay someone to clean my condo and she didn't charge me extra, but she needed to call someone to help her clean. There was also excess garbage that the next renter had to drag out to the curb on trash day. At what point do you charge when your rental agreement has been disregarded? or do you just have to let it go?

Not able to mark any existing or new charge as PAID in Reservation Manager after guest arrival

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:59:58 GMT

Why on Earth am I not able to mark a payment request as PAID in ReservationManager after the guest has checked in? This may not seem like a necessary ability at first, but it is. I had a guest move back their stay by two weeks. In order to reflect the new due date I cancelled the original request and submitted a new one with the new due date. I thought I marked it paid when they finally paid by check a few days after the new due date, but after they had checked in I realized it still read "OVERDUE". There is no way to mark it as "PAID"!

What's more, they extended their current stay by 2.5 weeks. I have no way to mark the additional charge to them as "PAID" either since they paid by check. Is the only way to show a charge as PAID to force them to use a credit card and pay via ReservationsManager? Why allow it with credit card but not check? Does ReservationManager not want us to either accept checks after a guest has checked in if they decide to extend their stay, or not want us to be able to mark a payment as PAID that we may have forgotten to do before their check-in? Can someone please tell me why this is or else change this disablity? Thank you.

Reservation Manager memo field upon issuing refund misleadingly useless

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:52:43 GMT

The memo/note field when issuing a refund is misleading. At first I thought it showed up to the guests when receiving their refund notification so I had been including a brief note explaining what was being refunded, less any withholdings. When a guest receiving the refund asked me that very question therefore I was puzzled and told them it was in the note field. Although I was originally told by a HomeAway rep that guests do see that note, later I learned that memo does not show up to guests. What's more, I was then told it is solely for the owner/manager's eyes online in the Dashboard, only to learn, after going through about five different reps by phone and by e-mail, that that is not the case either. It is literally a useless memo you type for no reason as it never shows up anywhere again once submitted for guest or manager to see.

Why have this then? I got another answer that it was "never completely developed". Why not? It has been there since Reservation Manager's inception and I brought it up not only just recently but last year as well. To avoid confusion or misleading the manager to think they are making helpful future memos, please either remove this or (finally) implement it to show up for the guest and/or manager upon later viewing (although I really think it'd help for the guest to see it). It is only like 100 characters or less.

How to collect security deposit

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:47:43 GMT

We opened our rental last summer and have been utilizing the Property Protection. We are going to begin taking security deposits as the non-refundable property protection can be an obstacle for some.

Just curious how others do it.... I am assuming I will just collect it as part of their payment online through VRBO/HomeAway and then issue a refund after guests out and house inspected. We do not accept credit cards directly (we have no merchant account).

Looking for thoughts or ideas. Thanks folks!