"Who shot J.R.?" That was the burning question on everyone's mind on this day in 1980 as millions tuned in to find out who did it on the CBS prime-time soap opera Dallas. ðŸ¤
Spoiler alert...it was Kristin. Now that we've ruined that for everyone, we've shot (see what we did there?) out another product update detailing our November 21st release.
And just like 42 years ago, we know the suspense about today's product update is killing you. Spoiler alert again--we've got some great new features, including updated Property Descriptions and Team Access detailed below, so you will want to read all about them.
New Features
Property Description Overrides for Channels and Hosted Websites
OwnerRez users can now custom tailor property descriptions to specific platforms, including API-Integrated Channels and OwnerRez Hosted Websites. OwnerRez users can create specific property descriptions and Add Overrides for the following:
- Default Descriptions that may appear across all channels.
- OwnerRez Website descriptions.
- OwnerRez Users can also click on the Add Override drop-down list to add customized descriptions for many API-Connected Channels.
As you add additional Overrides or API-Connected Channels, you will see those tabs added along the top of your property descriptions.
OwnerRez supports Property Descriptions for many other API-Connected Channels, as seen in the Add Override drop-down list.
For more information, see our Property Descriptions support article.
Team Access
Once limited to the Property Manager Premium Feature at an additional fee, all OwnerRez users can now grant Team Access to Staff Members or Portal Users (whether owners, cleaners, maintenance staff, etc.) at no additional cost. Team Access allows team members to view calendar availability and/or perform actions like blocking off time or viewing owner statements. Each user gets a separate login, and OwnerRez Users can configure various access to one or more properties, including the ability for a single property to share multiple owners.
Everything is managed in the Team Access area. OwnerRez Users can navigate to the Team Access area by clicking on the drop-down arrow of the account menu (upper right-hand corner of the screen) and selecting Team Access.
Portal User Access allows owners, cleaners, maintenance staff, etc., to view availability calendars and perform actions like blocking off time or viewing owner statements. Each Portal User gets a separate login, and you can configure access to one or more properties or owners.
Staff Member Access allows complete OwnerRez access. Note that granting Staff Members access gives them access to everything in your OwnerRez account, including bookings, payments, emails, etc. Staff Members are basically a clone of you. Staff Members are not restricted by property or role - Staff Members can see and do everything.
For more information, see our Team Access Overview support article.
Enhancements & Tweaks
Adjacent Booking Ribbon Calendar Widget View Options
For many reasons, some OwnerRez users don't want to reveal turnover (bookings that arrive and depart on the same day) information on their ribbon view availability calendar widget. Users now have the choice to either show bookings that arrive and depart on the same day as separate unavailable blocks or show adjacent bookings merged together as one continuous unavailable block.
Here's an example of a calendar displaying bookings that arrive and depart on the same day as separate unavailable blocks.
And below is an example of the same calendar showing adjacent bookings merged together as one continuous unavailable block.
OwnerRez users can now change the Ribbon Calendar Widget Adjacent Ribbons view as shown below to display or Show as Continuous or Show as Distinct bookings.
Important Note:
If cleaners or maintenance staff are using your ribbon view availability calendar widget exclusively, be sure to share arrival and departure information with them.
For more information, see our Widgets Overview support article.
Review Status Clarification
OwnerRez has updated Guest Review labels for clarification. Now the "Show Publicly" controls indicate whether the guest review will publicly appear on OwnerRez Hosted Websites and Widgets and be distributed to Vrbo (if enabled and otherwise possible for the review). In addition, the owner response will be shown with the review in those places where it is shown publicly. Users can view individual reviews as shown below with the updated label, "Show on OwnerRez sites and widgets and distribute to Vrbo (if enabled and eligible)."
And owners can respond to public reviews as shown below with the updated label, "The public response you are making to what the guest said in their review (others will see this next to the guest's review)."
Enhanced Search Widget Rate Display
We have enhanced the Search Widget Rate Display to display the following details:
- Nightly rates only show the sum of rent items and surcharges.
- Totals to show everything but taxes.
- Underline the total and display "Total includes fees, not tax."
For more information, see our Widgets Overview support article.
'In Development' Status Added to Forum Feature Requests
OwnerRez hears you and appreciates your input on the Forum Feature Requests. We have added the "In Development" status, indicating a feature that is actively in development.
Listing Quality Analyzer Improvements
The Listing Quality Analyzer checks your listings for errors and makes recommendations for improvement to your listings for channels like Vrbo and TripAdvisor. The Listing Quality Analyzer now checks the accommodations against amenities to verify that shared spaces match the property type. For example, for some property types, such as Hotel, you can't have an Entire Home type space (which is the default if null) and will produce the following error.
Conversely, when the property type is Campground, you can't have a Shared Room type space and will produce the error below.
For more information, see our Listing Quality Analyzer video.
Zapier Integration by Invitation-Only
Zapier is a software product that allows users to integrate the web applications they use to automate workflows. Zapier integration with OwnerRez is now available by invite-only at this time. If you are a Zapier user and would like to request early access, please message the helpdesk, and we'll get you hooked up. This feature request is incomplete, and there is ongoing work before we can take it out of invite-only.
Bug Fixes
Google Thumbnail Search Results. For Google to display the thumbnail image next to search results, Google Search requires organizations to use a suitable logo image and website URL. OwnerRez now adds logo and URL properties to the proper metadata streams.
Incorrect Damage Protection Insurance Invoice Date Display. Damage Protection Insurance invoice dates displayed wrong dates in bookings and have been corrected to show the actual invoice date.
Namecheap Link Update. Updated the Namecheap link on the Portal Branding and Hosted Websites pages. For more information, see our Namecheap support article.
Non-API-Integrated Listing Channel Proxy Email Addresses. Many listing channels generate proxy email addresses or platform emails as Airbnb does. If your OwnerRez properties are not API-Integrated with these listing channels, you may or may not receive real guest email addresses or even specific reservation numbers. Users can now manually enter guest email addresses and reservation numbers on those bookings.
Rate Calendar Scroll. On smaller screens (a.k.a. viewports), the Rate Calendar no longer scrolls past the Calendar, Seasonal Rates, and Spot Rates tabs and now keeps those tabs at the top while keeping the calendar focused.
Team Access Owner Permissions Popover Help Text Added. A Property Management Team Access Owner Permissions popover help text has been added to clarify that "Access to an owner is required." for owners to view Statements and the Dashboard as shown below.
Updated Branded Team Portal Setup Link. Updated the link on the Team Access Portal to go to the Branded Team Portal Setup support article.
Updated Florida Rentals by Owner Logo. Florida Rentals by Owner has a new logo that has been updated on the OwnerRez Identifier Mapping page.
