This tutorial provides a walkthrough of the booking process for a rental property from the renter's point of view.
By being familiar with what renters are seeing and the steps they are taking users will be better able to answer their questions and will recognize aspects of the booking process that a renter might refer to of which users might otherwise be unaware.
Article contents
- Submitting inquiries
- Inquiries to online booking
- Instant bookings
- Renter payment page
- Manual reservations to online booking
Submitting inquiries
When someone visits your site and is interested in renting a property, they typically will submit an inquiry or attempt to book their stay right from the website if online payments are set up for the MyVR account to accept payments online and if Instant Bookings are enabled.
To submit an inquiry the prospective renter must fill out all the fields in the Inquire & Book window. This will generate an estimate that they can see before they click on Send Your Inquiry.
Inquiries to online booking
After submitting an inquiry, if automatic responders have been set up, the prospective renter will receive a response. Otherwise, they will not hear from you until their inquiry is processed, which will now be visible under Messages. From there, users may issue a message for potential renters, generate a quote or create a reservation.
When a quote is sent, users may select the Request Online Payment box (see first screenshot below) which will send the inquirer an email with a Book Online link (see second screenshot below for an example of what they would receive).
Screenshot #2
If users do not select Request Online Payment, they will receive the same message without the link. Once an online card payment has been tendered for a reservation, either by the renter or submitted manually within the MyVR account, they will have access to the Renter Payment Page.
Instant bookings
If Instant Bookings are enabled and a Stripe account set up, an inquirer can book directly online. When visiting the website they will be able to select a Book Now button or, if they select Inquire and Book they will also be prompted with a "Ready To Book?" link. Choosing either of these options will take them to the renter payment page.
Renter payment page
Upon selecting Book Now or Ready To Book on the website, they will be taken to Stage 1 of the Renter Payment Page, Plan Your Stay.
Once their stay details are filled out, the renter will be able to click Next - Payment Details and move to Stage 2 of the Renter Payment Page. If "Require Renter Address" is selected for the booking policy, this page will also require their billing address.
Upon entering their payment information and agreeing to the terms of the rental agreement, the renter can click Next: Review Reservation and advance to the next stage.
In the Review & Submit view, renters can review the details of their stay once more before submitting payment and add any questions or comments they may want to relay. When ready they can click Submit Request. They will then be taken to the next view, Your Stay Details.
The renter's submission is now in the MyVR Messages and pending approval for confirmation (first screenshot below). At the same time, the renter will receive an email which includes a link to the Your Stay Details which they can check to verify the status of their inquiry at anytime (second screenshot below).
Screenshot 2
Manual reservations to online booking
If a reservation is entered manually within the MyVR account, an online payment may still be processed if a card is on file.
When a renter inquires by phone or email, manually create the reservation in the Reservation section of the account.
Once the steps above have been taken, send them a quote (with "Request Online Payment?" enabled) and they will receive an email with access to their renter payment page.
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