Mark Your Calendar! VRWS15 Dates Are Out!
Watch Video To Know More & Find Out Who This Week’s Speaker Is
Add The Summit To Your Calendar (& Watch It Online)
What Happens When You Give Your 101%
First of all thank you! Thank you for all the fantastic feedback you gave me on my last update.
It really means the world to me. You gave me a lot of great hints on how to present the Summit and I haven’t initially responded to any of your comments for three days, because I was all ears and didn’t want to influence any following comment you were making.
It’s not the norm for me, because I almost feel an obligation to get back to whoever writes me, it’s just the way I am…in fact you can read my late replies to each one of you here if you want, I couldn’t hold myself from giving back!
The Time Is About To Come
That said, I think it’s time you mark your calendar for the event, because we’re ready to release the dates of this year’s Vacation Rental World Summit.
In fact, if you go to the Summit’s site you’ll see how we’ve made some changes to reflect the current updates.
So mark your calendar for November 6-8, 2015 from 9:00am to 4:00pm Eastern (NY Time) and if you can’t make it don’t worry, because you can always get unlimited access to all recordings, each speaker, the community and all the other goodies I will unleash soon as I anticipated in my last video.
If you haven’t done it yet, click on the buttons below, to add the Summit dates to your calendar via iCal, Outlook or Google Calendar now.
That way, you won’t forget it.
Add The Summit To Your Calendar (& Watch It Online)
Why November?
We decided to postpone the Summit to early November to allow for all October industry events to unfold: HomeAway, Vrma, RezFest and so on.
I think you may attend some of them and I want you to make the most of each, including the Summit. Plus, that give us some extra time to refine all presentations.
Introducing Sébastien Grosjean
That said, we’re honored to introduce our next speaker and the topic he’ll cover.
“Séb embodies the spirit of the vacation rental industry: young, aspiring, and strong to his beliefs. I have watched Séb and his company BookingSync evolve over the years and it’s this duality — of being flexible with the times WHILE building a sustainable solution — that makes them different from other companies.”
Matt Landau – VRMB.com
I think some of you know Séb Grosjean already. A citizen of the world, he’s always in different locations, managing his global team and his company in a really cool way.
Take a peek at what Séb is going to share below and help us spread the word about the Summit with all your peers
⤹ ⤹ Share Séb’s Session Outline Below & Unlock It ⤵︎⤵︎
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The goal of vacation rental management software is to help users save time and generate more bookings.
In this respect, technology has played a big role: vacation rental owners, managers, and agencies may choose from an ever growing array of digital products and services to improve their management experience. Accommodation marketplaces, reservation systems, website builders, dynamic rates engines, and online payments are just a few examples.
A further example, and one of the most significant advances in VR management, is the advent of synchronization functionality. In its idealist form, synchronization functionality allows managers to maintain one centralized calendar and keep bookings and listings updated across distribution channels.
In this talk, we will explore the issue of Vacation Rental Synchronization in fuller detail:
- What is Calendar Syncing?
- What is a Channel Manager?
- How does synchronization work in theory?
- And how does it work in reality?
- What are limitations of the technologies?
- How can synchronization systems be improved?
These questions and more are the nuts and bolts of what we will be diving into.
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Streamlining Your Workflow
So if you ever wondered:
- Which VR software to use to manage your bookings
- How calendar syncing really works
- What are the pitfalls, the myths and the truth behind what you’re being offered
- and a lot more useful and actionable tips regarding better VR management
Séb’s session will give you an insight into the right approach you should have that will eventually lead to making the best decision for you and minimize the chances of headaches and regrets for having spent time and money into a solution that’s not deliverying on its promise.
And I warn you, though Séb is the CEO of BookingSync, he’s also known for giving true, genuine and unbiased advice rather than pitching his product, so you’ll be surprised at what he’s going to share.
It’s Your Turn Now (And Don’t Let The Chance Go)
Now, if you have a question that you’d like to ask him, or an issue you’re currently facing, write it in the comments below. This way, we’ll make sure not only Séb will give you great information but he will also address your #1 question and therefore give you even more value.
So go ahead and tell us:
Are you using any VR management software at all? if so, what do you use? And how happy are you?
If you are using a VR software or you are thinking about a way to streamline your workflow, what are the problems you have and how would you like to solve them?
This should be a great session.
I am currently using VR software and now that I am, I can’t imagine ever going without!
I use MyVR.com – still in somewhat early stages but quickly evving into a truly integrated solution.
The biggest issue I think that faces users of VR management software is the customization to your individual business. Many features are coming into play – we just need choices on which ones to turn on or off – and sometimes at an individual guest level. This could include payment methods, expiration of quotes, automatic payments, timed automatic responses, the list goes on. A good VR Managememt Tool will work toward that.
Hey Jenny, interesting that you point out the “customization to your individual business”. I fully agree that vacation rental is a really fragmented business we many practices. While having softwares enforcing good practices can be great we are in an industry where flexibility is of the essence. This pose real challenges to all the industry players and I’m gonna pin point some of this challenges in my upcoming talk.
I see Jon’s work with MyVR.com and think they do a great job.
Hello, I’m using KIgo and…ok, don’t get me started. Anyone knows or tried Magarental?
I also use Kigo and could probably share ‘stories’!! Looking at Lodgix and Sebastien’s bookingsync. The biggest problem changing is the time taken to input all the info and I’ve only got 3 properties to deal with. This should be a good session but I need to have something in place Now!
Yep, same as per my reply to your other comment up here, @Ralph Moorhouse. Whatever makes the integration you mention a breeze is surely a great plus of VR management softwares and I am strongly in favor of those providers who got how important it is for owners and managers to save time. Knowing you don’t have to insert info into a new channel/software manually one by one every time and having a sort of “scraping” button to do that for you in one go is key in winning new customers for these companies and I wish there were more understanding this pressing need for time saving.
Yep, same as per my reply to your other comment up here,@wwwparisnicevacationscom:disqus. Whatever makes the integration you mention a breeze is surely a great plus of VR management softwares and I am strongly in favor of those providers who got how important it is for owners and managers to save time. Knowing you don’t have to insert info into a new channel/software manually one by one every time and having a sort of “scraping” button to do that for you in one go is key in winning new customers for these companies and I wish there were more understanding this pressing need for time saving.
Never heard of Magarental before @Michele. Maybe someone chimes in here with more on that?
Never heard of Magarental before @disqus_nRjGGEuBC7:disqus. Maybe someone chimes in here with more on that?
Seb. The biggest challenge with switching to a new VR software is integrating . Inputting all existing reservation detail is a major task [which I am willing to do] but if the software is not friendly then frustration grows. I’ve been trialing a software option and am about ready to quit. Not sure how bookingsync allows importing data but if at all possible the solution that takes an xls or csv [or similar] file would get my business now!!
Hey Ralph, I fully agree that migrating from one solution to an other is a big pain and often even desired so you can try a product. We do run imports for customers frequently and for sure would be happy to look at it for you, just contact BookingSync support asking for an import including details about it :). In practice, we can import from pretty much any structured source: XLS, CSV, XML, JSON, exiting software if you share access, portals you use, you name it.
Good points, Ralph! And some I discussed/raised with Séb earlier on a private talk while trialling BookingSync
Just so you know the level of professionalism and advice you can expect from Séb, have a look at this: http://www.vacationrentalmarketingblog.com/start-ups/
Helo everybody. Magarental is an italian (mmhhh…they basically are located in Lugano) software house providing webased tools for real estate world. I was told they invested a lot during past year on VR. Try to ask for a demo http://www.magadesign.net/software/magarental
and let’s share some opinions. I tried. I found they are skilled about VR. It’s not a common webagency working along several fields. They are focused on Vr. Try it and let’s talk.
Will do, Michele. Thanks 🙂
I’ve used Vacation Rent Pro for 6 or 7 years and love it. I hope others look into it as well.
Anything in particular that makes you love it, Brea?
Reminds me to do everything – for example when to collect money, how much to collect, when to send welcome letters and thank you letters. Booking a guest is easy. There are templates and emails. We have four properties. VRP (Vacation Rent Pro) will insert the property name and any other special info I need by using placeholders into all my individual rental agreements, documents, emails. Responding to an inquiry is a piece of cake and takes 1 minute or less and all I have to do is open the email, click a couple of tabs and it’s done….and they look very personal to each inquiry. I can not say enough good things about the software and the developer. He is responsive to any question I have and usually calls me to go over things. He updates all the time and stay up to date with listing sites changes. It does a lot more than what I use.
Thank you for sharing this Brea! It really makes you want to check VRP now! I think I’ll test it out and see it for myself too. Since streamlining workflows is a must for everyone finding reliable sources makes our business life way better!
Definitely do check it out. Mark is the owner and would be happy to discuss anything with you. A huge advantage is that it is not web based. Also, many of the online sites require monthly fees or a %% of our revenue. I believe VRP is the only software that is true software that you own and keep all the data behind your own local firewall. And, if you need remote access, that can be accomplished.
Jenny’s comment on flexibility is spot on, there is now a serious need for new systems that have adapted to the new world. A lot of the older systems and even some recent ones are “one rule” suits all, which is n ow redundant. PMS systems need to have a well defined individual base setup and modular access systems.