How do you handle overlapping inquiries?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:30:13 GMT

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to handle overlapping inquiries.

I receive several inquiries a day for my property, respond quickly, and make it clear in both my email and our rental agreement that I receive multiple inquiries and therefore the guests' reservation is not confirmed until I receive a contact, deposit and proof of insurance.

However, inevitably a guest gets back to me days later and wants to confirm, or mails in their contract with a check, and in the meantime, someone else has already emailed me their contract and paid by credit card (which of course is faster).

I take the time to write a very nicely worded email to let the guest who didn't get their contract and payment to me quickly enough that the place has been rented. However, I get very angry responses. While I understand their frustrations, I would say about 60% of potential guests who submit requests don't get to returning the contract, so I am unwilling to pass up out guests who do so promptly, when I have no guarantee that the other inquiries will pan out. Many people say they will return contracts with payment and simply don't.

I am a property manager, I don't own the properties myself, so I need to act in the best interest of my clients. However, I do not want to get a bad reputation among guests who feel that I was unfair in my handling of the reservations.

Any input anyone has would be much appreciated.

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How do you handle overlapping inquiries?