Community : All Content - Managing Inquiries

Question/issue with sending email quote

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:03:05 GMT

I'm a newbie to advertising on VRBO, so perhaps I'm just missing something. I sent an inquiry to myself and responded with a quote just so I could really experience the booking process from the customer perspective and be better able to answer questions that might come up. When I received the quote on my "customer" email, I couldn't find a link or any type of easy way to book or request to book. It seems to me that when someone receives a quote, they should be able to click on a link that would just let them go right to the "Book it now" or the page that lets them request a booking. I want to be able to tell people to just "click the link in the quote to book the rental for the nights requested", but I don't think the quote email is that simple. Seems really cumbersome to me to have to either go back to the VRBO site and "book it now" and re-enter all the stuff I put in before or to have to email the owner and request that they book me for those dates. AM I MISSING SOMETHING? Or has someone found a workaround? I know I could just do a "Book it" email instead of a quote, but I don't really want to do that. I want to keep quotes separate of bookings.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

We are looking to outsource most of the day to day administrative functions ( not Property Management, Cleaning, etc) such as inquiry response, quotes, payment link, frequently asked questions, etc. Is anyone aware of outsourced services in this area?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:24:29 GMT

We are looking to outsource most of the day to day administrative functions (not Property Management, Cleaning, etc.) such as inquiry response, quotes, payment link, frequently asked questions, etc. Is anyone aware of outsourced services in this area?

Unusual number of requests for already booked dates

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:41:16 GMT

Is anyaone else experiencing this? I have now received 11 straght inquires for dates that are already booked. Some of the inquiries have gone through the request a quote process so I know they have to put the dates on the calendar that clearly shows the dates are unavailable. I did notice that a red printed " X dates are unavailable" appears briefly under that small calendar, but it doesn't always appear, and when it does it is immediately covered up by the yellow block that says "Get and Instant Quote". Any discussion of this would be appreciated. I know there are a lot of issues being resolved by tech support right now, but wondering if this is one of those infamous "known issues" or if it's just me.

Renters not receiving responses to inquiries?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:09:24 GMT

Help! I've heard from several people now that my quotes are not getting to them. I'm assuming that they're getting sent to SPAM. How do I avoid this? I've been replying through the VRBO/FlipKey portal. Should I be replying directly to their email address with a new subject line? This seems to be more a problem with FlipKey than VRBO.

VRBO's "tips for packing for summer vacation"

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:16:54 GMT

Wow! I just read this, and I sure hope my guests don't think this comes from ME ( if this goes out to all VRBO inquiry emails). It's offensive.

Other clothing requirements for a beach trip

A bathing suit is an absolute must. You should also work on your physique to get a chiseled, sculpted look to fit perfectly in the suit. Your body type will help you in choosing the bathing suit that will complement you the most and keep you away from embarrassment. If you are planning to lodge yourself in a vacation rental, you can carry lots of clothes with you to reflect your various vacation moods and save yourself from the humiliation of a wardrobe malfunction

Want to Rent - Intracoastal Charleston, SC

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:10:43 GMT

I am looking to rent a house that is in the Charleston area, on the Intracoastal and has a dock. There are 4 couples and we will be boating and want to be able to tie it up. If anyone knows of something that might work for us, please let us know. We're looking to do this for a long weekend in June (3 days, 2 nights). Thank you

Military Discounts?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:13:18 GMT

Hi, I would like to offer a military discount to possible renters. What amount is a reasonable discount? Do I need to ask for some sort of proof of service to our country? Thanks for your input, suggestions or ideas!

No page looks, no inquiries. What is going on?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:19:32 GMT

In a normal month I have hundreds of page looks and usually 30 something inquiries. I have had two inquiries for the Month so far (as compared to the last two years where inquiries were much, much higher)

My property is #1 in my town, but can only chalk it up to my town being one of thirty or so in Breckenridge, and maybe the rotation of towns have changed? I don't know, but something needs to change soon...getting a little worried. VRBO#278275 if anyone can think of anything I need to do differently?

Introducing an Easier Way to Provide a Quote......I LIKE IT BUT!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 02:34:03 GMT

I got to admit that I like the easier format. I did a test run and it was brainless on how easy it was.

The only two things I still do not like are:

Multiple other properties are listed below your request so HA is still encouraging the renter to check other properties as well.
I do not like the automatic save information check box being checked. This allows the renter to shot gun inquiries.
If the renter sees that the date is booked then do not allow the renter to still add that date. As an example I am booked solid until late August. All a renter would see is lines going through every date such as below. Make them move to an empty date or I will (sorry....am) getting a lot of inquiries with dates already booked.

What I do like is:

Pretty easy to do for the renter and owner/PM
I like the calendar where it forces the renter to enter dates to proceed further but to my point above they should not be able to add booked dates already IMO. Will this cut down on stupid inquiries, probably not until the check box mentioned above is in the unchecked format.
This format blends naturally into the Reservation Manager which is now easier to use. I really like Reservation Manager.

All in all good job HA/VRBO.

Thanks

What to do when you tell a renter your property is available, then another potential renter inquires?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:30:58 GMT

We just listed our property and have been getting quite a few inquiries, which is great. But in a couple of cases, I've received an inquiry asking about renting our place for a few days and have responded and said it's available - and then subsequently gotten an email from someone else who wants to rent it for a month.

We'd prefer the longer rentals but don't want to renege on the person/people we responded to first. On the other hand, I want to respond to every inquiry ASAP, which can mean committing to one renter and then hearing from someone else who wants to rent for a longer period - which we'd prefer (more rental income, less cleaning, etc.)

I'm wondering how other people handle this. If anyone has suggestions, I'd appreciate it.