With a new offline payment plan, HomeAway is pressuring vacation rental owners and property managers to accept online bookings.
Source: skift.com
It is doing so by implementing a system where payments can be accepted either through the existing HomeAway Paymentssystem, which accepts credit cards and e-checks through HomeAway sites, or by a new offline system that enables vacation rental owners and property managers to accept payments through checks, bank transfers and credit card payments taken over the phone or via a supplier checkout.
HomeAway will reward — or punish –owners by scoring the quality of their listings and their responsiveness.
New algorithm elements:
- Credit card acceptance: is rewarded with higher sort position.
- Acceptance rates: and those who have low acceptance rates will lose the booking-request button and, in extreme cases, lose their listing. HomeAway will monitor which owners are responding to booking requests within 24 hours and which ones aren’t,
The company says it will not penalize owners who don’t accept travelers who might not be suitable for their properties.