Unannounced changes are just plain impolite, thoughtless and rude. My guests don't appreciate them and I don't either.

Dear Valerie,

I agree with the unhappy owners on the matter.  Particularly as 'msdebj' said, I don't want vrbo to be privy to my financial dealings with my guests.  I have liked vrbo and the service for advertising, but I haven't contacted for property management, payment dealings or anything else, nor do I chose to.  This felt like I was being railroaded, a bit quietly, into that.  As you said the Reply button tracks the conversation, but all then thru vrbo, with all that private information no longer so private.

The inquiry form as you have "improved " it, can be cut and pasted and used somewhat in the same way as before, but it's MUCH more work for us!  I don't care for it at all.  The last one was very easy to respond to.

Thanks for taking some of this to heart and considering changing it back.

Doesn't the system know which owners have opted to use the "Reservation Manger" (whatever that is) and only put the button on those owners' emails?

That seems like web-developer childs play.  No?

Peter.

Meredith works for HA/VRBO....they pay her to always be positive and encouraging on this Community....she just passes messages onto a seemingly uncaring and arrogant management. A management that seems to view Owners as dispensible, in my opinion.  And they are correct...Owners are dispensible....when they drop their accounts there will always be new Owners coming in to replace them.  It sems, IMO, the management is focused ONLY on *their* profits for the company and their shareholders. That's it. If they really wanted to "fix" anything, it would be EASY....they would drop their "new and improved" inquiry system that is pitting all Owners in any given area "against each other"...so we could respond to "targeted" inquiries directed to the individual OWNER...after the Traveler reads our well-crafted advertisement...that HA/VRBO instructs us to write.  Period.  It used to work very well on VRBO {it used to be the best, in my opinion...now it is performing the worst....I am on several other accommodation portals and I have my own website. My website is outperforming VRBO to bring me business now....and so are the other portals I am on.] VRBO is underperforming for this Owner.  I just want to get a few bookings this year to compensate for the very expensive ad + 16 photos I now have...which does not seem to give me  ADVANTAGE because of their "new and improved" inquiry process.  A quick glance at the Traveler Community posts will reveal that even Travelers are beginning to express frustration....because the "new and improved" inquiry system seems to make it easier to shoot ONE inquiry email to MANY Owners in any given area....but then it back fires because the request is "untargeted" ...because the Traveler does not even have to *read* a single {expensive paid for ad} ....and just waits for the offers to pour into their inbox.  But, Owners are getting "untarget" and thus irrelevant inquiries... so they do not reply....and the Traveler is getting frustrated.  I always reply regardless of whether I have the opening or not....but then I do not get a response from the Traveler, either...because that person probably has gotten more than one Owner responding...and I am at a disadvantage to get the booking. I used to succeed with bookings all the time with the old VRBO. It was the best and I used to recommend it to every new rental owner in my area.  No more.  The system is seriously flawed and geared by HA/VRBO towards serving the Traveler, and making profit.  But, isn't it Owners that pay for this service?  The management is HAPPY with all thi$. No changes seem to be on the horizon that will address any of the disadvantages the inquiry form creates for Owners.

[info@stayattremblant.com | mailto:info@stayattremblant.com]
 

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Hi VRBO,

From the blog:

>> However, using these new features is entirely  optional.

>> You may continue to reply to potential guest directly from  your email

>> client (Outlook, AOL, etc.), as you have always done.

Not true.  Now I have to edit the e-mail to remove the "Reply" button to ensure that guests are not misled into using it.  I still also need to edit out the marketing stuff at the bottom of the e-mails.  Also, why is there a copyright at the bottom of the e-mail?  That seems unnecessary.  What is being copyrighted?  The guests' inquiry to me?

Can't the HA/VRBO systems simply look to see if I'm using this "Reservation Manager" (again, whatever that is -- I certainly don't need or want it -- and I certainly don't want to continue to subsidize all of this web development of features that are useless to the majority.)

Please HA/VRBO -- you must surely be hearing us owners by now.

At least consult with us before you implement new "features" that no one wants.

P.

Thanks very much for mentioning the annoyance of needing to remove the "Reply" button (and also the "help" button, and all the handy hints of good business practices that have NO GOOD REASON to be sent to prospective GUESTS)!  And I, too, wondered "what was being copyrighted" - such as MY CABIN INFORMATION or contact information, or* is HA/VRBO trying to copyright the content of the actual inquiry FROM THE PROSPECTIVE RENTAL GUEST!?  *This is absurd, and it will look absurd (or worse, truly worrisome) to any prospective guest who notices.  And one MUST do this (or have this absurd "business only" content go to person inquiring) EVEN IF JUST REPLYING THE OLD WAY, with plain email, BYPASSING all of the HA/VRBO mumbo jumbo. <span style="font-size: 12pt;" mcestyle="font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;" mcestyle="text-decoration: underline;">NOTE that if one uses ReservationManager for these replies (and more), the ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION IS FOREVER LOCKED AWAY WITHIN THE HA/VRBO SYSTEM, and you "can't leave" without leaving the sometimes vital history/emails behind. </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mcestyle="font-size: 10pt;">   I am trying to find a way to use the charge card functions withOUT using ANY of the other features.  If this isn't possible - or becomes too tedious - I'll just stick with Chase.  However, it would SEEM that HA/VRBO should be encouraging their clients (that's US, THE OWNERS!) to save considerable money, rather than throw up ridiculous roadblocks that actually interfere.  I was about to give this all a try, and the more I read here and elsewhere, the more worried I get about what we'd be getting into...  And YES, if the listing doesn't participate in ReservationManager, then PLEASE:  kindly eliminate all that mumbo jumbo.  Thanks!</span></p>

I too, decided to "test" the new system and did so a few days ago by inquiring about my own rental property. Besides receiving the initial response from VRBO/HA, just today I received another email promoting other properties (the competition).There were" Featured Weekly Listings" and "Top Places For Couples" which listed several properties linking directly to their VRBO property ads. What criteria does VRBO/HA use in picking these listings? My property was not listed among them (of course not)!!. This was a real eye-opener to see what happens "behind the scenes" and how we as paying clients/owners are treated.

Thank you for your response.  Yes, I am answering my inquiries in the manner you

suggested, but the problem is that the message in my sent folder does not

contain the original inquiry message from the customer as it used to.  That was

a useful for both the prospective customer and myself.   I am not getting

rsponses back so I do not think the customers are really understanding who is

writing them back.  Do you know of any way to respond to them and have their

original inquiry be attached to it?  Thanks again.

Dear Mary,

                 I have tried doing that (not using the yellow reply button in

the body of the auto VRBO inquiry) and just using my own email reply button but

I do not know how to remove the rest of the VRBO crap at the bottom of the

email.  I know that might sound dumb but I am not real computer savvy.  Also I

have sent emails as a new email to the prospective customer but in my sent

folder it does not have any copy of their original inquiry so I think it

confuses the customer as to who is responding to them.  Perhaps I am making

something harder here than it has to be, but I have been very successful in

getting responses back before this new system and now I can't seem to get any

responses back at all.   Thank you for your help, anything at all would be

helpful.