Inquiry Management – [autosuggest] Merge Tag Update

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Previously, Lodgix deployed a simple algorithm to determine which properties to [autosuggest] for inquiries on properties that are not available.  [autosuggest] is a merge tag that can be used in automated responses to suggest other similar properties that ARE available for the same dates in the original inquiry.

For must property managers the Lodgix alogorithm works just fine.  However for some property managers who have properties in multiple cities,  the Lodgix algorithm isn’t smart enough to not [autosuggest] for example a 2 bedroom in Fort Myers when the original inquiry was for a 2 bedroom in Tampa.  Thus the [autosuggest] feature might suggest properties that the guest would have no interest in renting.

Another situation would be when a property manager wants to rent certain properties before other properties.  The Lodgix algorithm doesn’t allow the property manger to order which properties are [autosuggested], it simply spits out the properties.  This also causes some consternation amongst some property managers.

To fix that we now allow Lodgix customers to “associate” properties to [autosuggest] manually.

Here is the interface located under inquiries > configuration options

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Note the properties you associate as an [autosuggest] are in order of importance. If the property doesn’t have any [autosuggest] associations, the merge tag will work as usual, using the current automated auto-suggest algorithm

Inquiry Management – Automated No Response Followup

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Located within Lodgix under Inquiries > Configuration Options (disabled by default)

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This setting pertains to web inquiries ONLY, phone inquiries are exempt. Some property managers wonder why many times when they respond to an inquiry they never hear back. Maybe the guest never got the response, maybe they accidentally deleted the response from their inbox or more likely than not the guest had already found another property or had found a more appealing property elsewhere.

When turned on, the no response follow-up feature will send out a custom follow-up email X number of days after your (or the system’s) initial response to the inquiry. This follow-up will ONLY apply if the guest has never responded to the inquiry and it only applies to email inquiries NOT PHONE INQUIRIES.

We have developed a manual ability within the communication stream to turn off the no followup response in the event that the guest responds to the inquiry over the phone, as opposed to email and you don’t want the no response follow-up email to go out.

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WordPress Rentals Search Widget Updated with Amenities Filter!

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Within WordPress, under Appearance > Widgets, you will find the Rentals Search widget. This is a simple, but powerful tool for vacation rental managers and owners with larger number of properties who want to make it easier for their website guests to search their inventory.

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One of the coolest features of this widget is that it filters in real-time to display the number of properties that match your search criteria. Too many systems force the guest to choose a series of search criteria and then click a “search” button, only to return a message, “I am sorry no results matched your search criteria, please try again!”. How frustrating is that!!!

With Lodgix we return the results on the fly.  Thus if zero results are returned you’ll know immediately which criteria caused the results to equal zero and allow you to make an adjustment.

Note: The Location field can be setup under the area manager within Lodgix.

Amenities Filter – New Feature 5/15/2013

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The rental search widget within the Lodgix.com WordPress plugin can now filter by amenities! To enable the amenities filter:

  1. Within WordPress go to Appearance > Widgets
  2. Find the Rentals Search widget and there will be a check box for “Amenities”
  3. Check the box and click the Save button.
  4. Go to Settings > Lodgix settings within WordPress and at the bottom of the page, click on the button Save and Regenerate the pages (this will force the widget to pull the chosen amenity filters from Lodgix).

How do I select which amenities the guests can select to filter their search results?

Lodgix will pull the same amenities you have setup for the internal calendar tape. Read through the support article on how to configure the calendar tape filter options and you’ll be all set!

Notes from Development

The rentals search widget uses AJAX and a REST API. Any designer with minimum jQuery knowledge can query the API and receive the same results with a URL like:

/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=p_lodgix_custom_search&area=ALL_AREAS&bedrooms=1&id=&arrival=2013-02-22&nights=1

This will return 1 Property Found, etc. With that knowledge designer can use any code to query the API and redirect to the search page.

Pay via PayPal Merge Tag Now Available for PayPal Users

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For PayPal users, there is now a new Pay Via PayPal merge tag available within the trigger interface. This tag can be used to add a Pay Via PayPal link within your trigger emails which will allow guests to pay their remaining balances via PayPal.

Previously this was only a manual process only, available only within a guest invoice.

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