Experience the difference of "Elite".

User Profile: Stay Better Vacations

  • Posted on
  • By

Stay Better Vacations is doing something (actually, pretty much everything) right, maintaining a 5 star rating on Google and a near-perfect 4.9 rating based on close to three thousand reviews on their website! The same meticulousness co-owner Stacie employed as a teacher for 18 years is serving her well as a property owner and manager.

Can you tell us a little bit about your history?

In my previous life, I was a school teacher for 18 years. The last few years of my career I started dipping my toes in owning and managing a few vacation rentals. Soon my portfolio grew, which made me realize there was a strong market for a boutique-style management company and I should explore doing this gig full-time. I then retired from teaching (my resignation letter was one sentence) and began growing the business by bringing onboard my friend Pam who had experience with real estate, marketing, and hospitality. From that moment we became a guest-focused business aimed at providing the best experience for both our guests and owners.

Stay Better Owners

What is your professional background?

Teaching, which requires juggling many balls and demands!

What do you love most about the VR business?

Variety - one day is never like the previous or next. Constantly adapting, reinventing, and being creative on how we approach new challenges or how we can do things better!

What are your main challenges?

Staying consistent with whatever is thrown our way - creating a happy experience for all types of travelers and accommodating all our owners so we are meeting their expectations. Ensuring our cleaning team meets our standards to ensure good reviews and guests satisfaction.

Palms trees and pool

How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?

It touches all moving parts! Integration has been key...Operto, RueBaRue, Lynnbrook, Point Central, Calendars syncs. It's a one stop shop that we'd be lost without.  

What is the most useful feature that OwnerRez offers?

Website and API Integration with Airbnb and Vrbo. We get so many compliments on our website - we love this feature and are always so excited when there are updates or new tools being offered.

Thanks, Stacie and Pam - first for educating our future generations, and now for providing them with amazing vacation rental options!

8 Comments (add yours)

Scott J
May 24, 2023 2:47 PM
Joined Mar, 2019 167 posts

How do you get your reviews on OwnerRez to publish on Google? I've never had it properly explained to me.

Patricia Knight
May 26, 2023 6:13 PM
Joined Jan, 2020 20 posts

@Scott - I have an email that goes out to guests the day after departure and I ask them for a review. They can leave a review on the platform they booked through and I also provide a link to my business Google profile and say they can write a review there too. I've had several guests leave me reviews on Google already. 

Scott J
May 26, 2023 6:28 PM
Joined Mar, 2019 167 posts

That's great, Patricia.

I thought maybe you were getting your website's reviews to get published on Google, as almost two years ago now Paul had said was then finally possible. But I could never figure out how that was supposed to happen and my questions on that were never properly answered.

Short of getting those hundreds of reviews to show on Google, asking guests to also leave their new ones on Google seems to be the only way.

Stacie S
May 28, 2023 12:17 PM
Joined Mar, 2019 24 posts

We send all of our guests a survey via RueBaRue after checkout that has a link to leave a Google review. 

Bri
May 30, 2023 11:29 AM
OR Team Member Joined Mar, 2022 44 posts

Hi Scott,

To the best of our knowledge, Google will only allow for native reviews to be displayed. I found a Google Community thread that touches on this topic, which you can view here.

Scott J
May 30, 2023 1:18 PM
Joined Mar, 2019 167 posts

Hi Bri,

I am referring to this OwnerRez blog post by Paul W. on September 27, 2021:

https://www.ownerrez.com/forums/blog/star-rating-on-google-new-charges-grid-other-rooms-eg-kitchen-disable-rates-on-websites-property-sharing-between-accounts#new

I have a Reviews page on my website using the OR plugin and widgets, and my ratings are not transferring over to Google.

Caleb M
May 30, 2023 6:12 PM
OR Team Member Joined Mar, 2022 114 posts

I believe what Paul W was referring to only works for specifically OwnerRez Hosted websites, not widgets on third party sites. Do you have an OwnerRez Hosted website? If so I'd recommend emailing in for further discussion so we can take a look at your specific situation.

~Caleb

Scott J
May 30, 2023 6:32 PM
Joined Mar, 2019 167 posts

Yes, as I indicated, my website is using the OR plugin and widgets.

The same data and tech that is provided for the hosted websites is supposed to be provided for sites using the plugin and widgets.