Community: Message List - VRBO Security Warning on Listing

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:50 GMT

Quick update: This issue has been fixed and is in production. Filtering by “outdoor grilling” shows properties which have marked gas grilling or charcoal grilling as an “outdoor” amenity.

Tom

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 06:18:26 GMT

I think both you and thaxterland have made interesting points!

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

kastnersbeachhouse@gmail.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 06:02:41 GMT

I agree thaxterlane about pictures not telling a true story. Would I have rented to Ted Bundy by looking at his picture....yup, I would have to say that I would of seen a clean cut, professional, family man by looking at his picture.....Would I have rented to the man down the street who wears chains, has 6 or 7 tattoos, a very long ponytail and braids.....probably not...and he is a professional, responsible family man....Pictures just don't show the true person....I would hate to sterotype and miss out on some good rentals because of pre conceived notions I might have or have not of someone. And on the flip side, I would hate to approve a renter only to find out later that he was a menace to my condo or the neighbors just because he seemed ok! SK

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:16:15 GMT

I think travelers will be very confused by liisting "NO HOT TUB" and "NO POOL" among the amenites. It may make sense for your particular area because of the price differential, but it will just confuse everyone else.

People can sort the filtered results by price if they wish, and then your listing will pop up to the top because your price is lower than listings with a pool or hot tub.

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:58:49 GMT

Hi Tom,

I've been appreciating the dialogue you've engaged in here in the Community. I hope that my comments haven't been off putting. I'm grateful to get any details that you are sharing here. From the beginning of this discussion, I've been happy to know that HA is taking into account the issues, especially on security, that owners have been expressing over the past months, here. I am on record for wanting a *full and complete* inquiry form --- that's all that I was hoping for.

Personally...

I have no issue with the creation of personal profiles that are optional [you said they would be, from the start].

I have no issue with traveler portraits being included, if travelers want to.

I have no issue with seeing travelers' reviews posted. Maybe we can glean something interesting...or not.

I'm open to new ideas...I'm open to a "trial period"....I think others would like to be more involved in perhaps "testing" as users...to help you shape what works...what doesn't. Why not involve owners in a Beta...ask them if they want to participate helping to shape this?

I do have a problem with a continued 'negligent' inquiry landing in my inbox, whether sent "bulk" or not. That is actually what I meant when I stated, earlier, that I'd welcome what I termed "personal data"....because I just assumed that the content would be the following...and why:

A full name, telephone number, state/country of origin, email address, the number of adults and the ages of children is *basic* information that any hotel or inn would require someone to provide when they inquire....either via the Internet booking portals, or via phone contact. I find it *very* odd that some owners and property managers just think that a full name and email address {commonly a free throw-away one that leads to zero Internet traces} is enough for them to feel secure.

Personally, I don't see the problems that others see in creating "optional" traveler profiles {you can change the name from profile to something similar....it doesn't worry me....it didn't worry me at all when I joined this Community Forum and completed my "personal profile" here. To avoid any misunderstandings of the purpose, you can just call it a "Bio". Regardless of what it's called, the most important thing is that it is optional.

One concern I do have: creating a 'traveler account' could disuade travelers from using VRBO. It used to be a simple procedure for a traveler to contact an owner, direct. No hoops to jump through. I'm concerned that all the bells/whistles and hoops will drive many travelers away from VRBO.

Having said that, I'm liking the tone of more secure ways for owners and travelers to communicate with each other....so we know that we are both legit! I did read your article in the "Blog" section on "Phighting Phishing" {everyone should...it will answer some questions...and generate new ones, for certain}.

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:52:24 GMT

Thaxterlane,

Very well said, and thank you for that. I think every bit of criticism here by the owners is surely constructive criticism. We're here to help make improvements. Simple negativity without suggestions would be useless and destructive, and I don't think anybody wants that.

Linda

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:33:51 GMT

Thank you for your response.

"But there is an undercurrent of negative tone here, and as someone who works hard to serve your needs and advance the cause of vacation rentals, it's a bit offputting. I feel like I am a member of the community and it seems like there is some stored up resentment towards HomeAway that you are painting me with. Oh well, I am committed to participating and engaging with all of you, so it's a good thing I have a thick skin!"

I regret if I have contributed to your discomfort. I am simply attempting to express my point of view.

My concern is change that will negatively affect my ability to market my property on Homeaway and VRBO. I do not see much benefit in the profile project as described.

To repeat, I believe Homeaway/VRBO would better serve their owner community by offering advice and training in interviewing and screening prospective guests.

I searched the forum for discussion of these topics and didn't come up with much. Perhaps I didn't search on the proper terms.

Think of the negativity as healthy criticism. It could be worse . . . . In my professional career I have learned to have the skin of a rhinosauros. As director of an academic department at a major university I would distribute memorandum to faculty regarding university and department policies, many of which were unpopular. There were several faculty that would wait for me to be present at the mail boxes to read my memos with a disgusted look on their face, scrunch up the sheet of paper, and throw it at my feet.

The comments in this forum have been polite, if negative. Would you rather not hear our opinions?

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:12:01 GMT

Kind of off thread, but re: profiles: 2 things combined bother me. Requiring a photo and the word " profile ".

In today's political climate it would be wise to come up with another term, if HA is going to require photos. Why give reason for a potential conflict if it's not necesssary?

A fellow neighboring VR owner recently had to deal with an ugly situation, (accused of profiling a potential guest). Inquiry received, owner notified them it was available AT THE TIME, bith via email and phone. Potential Guest responds 2 weeks later saying they wanted to rent. Alas, it had been booked the previous day. The potential guest made wild accusations that the owner was discrimninating, since the inquirer was of a specific minority. Threatened legal action, etc. etc. GIANT HEADACHE.

(And no, the owner had no idea of the potential guest's ethnicity- and would NEVER take that into account) But in today's world,,,

Just adding my 2 cents.

Debj

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:54:17 GMT

"If you catch others let us know."

OK.

Are they aware that there should be NO POOL and NO HOT TUB check boxes in the filter? Minimal work, and I can't think of a single reason adding these would be to anybody's disadvantage. Maybe I'm missing something, but nobody's said anything to me about it.

In the filters under "number of bedrooms" and "sleeps", these are radio buttons, so one can choose only one of 1+, 2+, 3+, etc. When 1+ is chosen, all the properties are returned, so not much of a filter. Is there some reason these can't also be check boxes: 1, 2, 3,........9, 10+ or something similar so that those looking for a 3 or 4 bedroom home don't have to see those with 5 BR and more also? Isn't this what a filter is for? I've nad no response from VRBO about these either.

Want another?

I did a search on homes in my area and filtered for owner managed only. I tested several inquiries to homes in this area. As soon as I submitted the inquiry, the page comes up with 10 comparables. Of those 10 comparables, 8 of them were managed by property managers. Shouldn't the filter also work for comparables?

If I am being negative, I'm sorry. It's just that it's been about 2 weeks since I emailed one of your employees about these things and was told that they'd be passed along. At that point I was very positive, hoping that my testing would be of some help. I think the filter is extremely helpful to both renters and owners, but I think it needs some work and should have been tested more thoroughly before taking it live.

Thanks for listening and responding.

Linda

Re: VRBO Security Warning on Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:31:42 GMT

Great thread - I really enjoy hearing from everyone. So many great comments and ideas - it's really great to hear from you.

But there is an undercurrent of negative tone here, and as someone who works hard to serve your needs and advance the cause of vacation rentals, it's a bit offputting. I feel like I am a member of the community and it seems like there is some stored up resentment towards HomeAway that you are painting me with. Oh well, I am committed to participating and engaging with all of you, so it's a good thing I have a thick skin! :->

I need to focus on a few other tasks today, but I wanted to wrap up my participation in this thread with the following:

@Anja

Profiles are not required for inquiries. They are optional. So no fear there. At the summit, we showed the inclusion of links to profiles (where they exist) in the inquiry email. So perhaps that's where your confusion came from

@Anja and Linda

As to the feature request of making all/most fields required in the inquiry form so that the form won't send without all the info, there are diversity of viewpoints on this one among owners and property managers. Some folks just want first name/last name, email address to be required, others like you want every field to be required. We take our responsibility of delivering the maximum inquiries very seriously, so there is more discussion required on this one to make sure we're striking the right balance. But thanks for your input on this!

@Thaxterlane re photos

I agree with you that owners are wise to screen their guests. But many vacation rental owners do not have the time or inclination to do so, and for them, a photo is better than nothing. It's not foolproof and yes their can be artifice and it's just one datapoint that may help someone make a decision.

@Linda re Filters

Congrats - that's a good catch on the filters not picking up grills. The VRBO team is now aware of the issue and will queue it up to be fixed. If you catch others let us know. Thanks!