Hi All,
As a MyVR integrated user, what should I do to prepare for HomeAway communications changes?
This depends on how much customization you'd like in your inquiry auto responses:
Level 1: Do nothing. Your current auto responses will be sent as is and HomeAway will remove the restricted content
Level 2: Tweak Customize templates to work well after HomeAway strips content.
Level 3: Add custom templates for HomeAway, VRBO, VacationRentals.com
Just wanted to give you a quick update. It turns out that we had already implemented text only messages for HomeAway about 10 months ago when we made a similar change for FlipKey / TripAdvisor. The messages sent to HomeAway guests do not include rich HTML versions but rather a text only version. These currently still include restricted content such as links and email addresses in the message and HomeAway has not yet started stripping away that content.
We've learned a number of things while verifying this will continue to work as expected.
@John-Hughes asked if messages with links will be sent. And I'll echo @Jenny-Oest response here. If the message contains any of the restricted content, HomeAway will simply strip that content out before presenting to the renter, but will not prevent the delivery of the message. Any email addresses, phone numbers, links or attachments will be removed by HomeAway.
@Jenny-Oest mentioned creating message templates with auto responders specific to inquiries from the HomeAway brand of sites. Internally we briefly discussed and think that might be a little more than necessary.
One thing that I would consider doing is modifying the content of the message to read well, whether or not the message includes restricted content.
For example:
BAD
Hi guest, Thanks for booking our property. Feel free to email us at myprop@myprop.com or call us at 775-225-1111 with any questions about your inquiry. Or checkout our website: myprop.com. Thanks, PMGOOD
Hi guest, Thanks for booking our property. We look forward to connecting. Many thanks, PM myprop@myprop.com 775-225-1111 myprop.comThat way when the message is stripped of any restricted content, it does not change the message.
GOOD STRIPPED
Hi guest, Thanks for booking our property. We look forward to connecting. Many thanks, PMIf small tweaks like this do not work for your situation, the next best option sounds like creating templates for HomeAway specific inquiries.
Hope that helps. We'll be monitoring this closely and making a few small adjustments this week in preparation for the change.
