As a software product grows up, it can run the risk of becoming too complicated and cumbersome to use. However, here at BookingSync, as the software grows up, we are continuing to maintain its user-friendliness, ease-of-use, and simplicity.

In this post I would like to explain the complete BookingSync process from the guest inquiry to the reception of the final payment. I'll try to do that in three simple steps

Step 1

In the “Publish” section you can choose and customize what kind of widget you would like to embed on your website. After doing so, a prospective client visits your website and fills out the booking form in order to send a booking inquiry:

Step 2

As soon as the potential client has sent the inquiry, you’ll be notified about it by email, but you’ll also be able to see the new inquiry in the “Inquiries” section:

To make the complete booking process even easier, at this point you can load the inquiry in a new booking from here:

Client's input information is retrieved, and prices (to be released in the upcoming version of BookingSync) are calculated automatically. You can further add discounts if you’d like. When you’re finished, simply click “Create” to create the new booking.

Now, in the “Bookings” section you can see the newly created booking as tentative. When you click on it, you can see all the details:

Step 3

At this point, if you click on the "+" on the right side of your screen, you’ll discover the Payment Request's Link:

Sending the Payment Request is very easy. You just need to copy that link and send it to your client. When your client opens the link, he/she will see the form, which has to be filled out and submitted.

Deposit payment (or total payment, it depends on your previous settings) is completed. Yes, it is that simple, quick and easy...

At the same time, you’ll automatically receive three emails: one about the received payment, another regarding the payment confirmation with all the details, and a third with the rental contract.

In the “Bookings” section, if you click on the booking and on the arrow on the left, you'll see all the payment details and from here you can add new payment:

At the end, I would like to pay attention on the “Bookings List” section that can be found in “Bookings” and one click on the list icon:

This is the place that gives you complete image about all the bookings. This is the place that shows all the payments (made and remained). This is the place where with only one click you'll always know where you are.

Of course, adding a new payment is possible from here, as well:

As you can see, you can benefit a lot from BookingSync, as its interface is really clear, simple and user-friendly. You can enjoy all its features that are highly recommended for everyone willing to implement innovative and efficient solutions in the vacation rental business management process.

If you have any questions about any feature, please feel free to contact our clients support team at support@bookingsync.com or directly within BookingSync by clicking on the "?" icon in the bottom-right part of your screen.

If you manage multiple rentals, your business certainly becomes more complicated. The process of managing takes more time as you have more rentals. It could be said, yes...it is not simple... But is it too complicated?

The time spent on your vacation rental business management is а measure of the complexity of your business. That is, the less time spent, the less complicated your business. So why not simplify your business through proper time management?

Easier said than done. Simplifying your business through proper time management is no small task. However, I would say, the key is becoming aware of time. Whether it is becoming aware of your lack of time or becoming aware of your ill use of time, becoming aware of time in itself is what’s most important.

Get organized - Plan your time

The amount of time is the same for all of us. When it comes to the time you spend on your vacation rental business, properly planned and effectively used time is the right course of action. Unfortunately, many fail to spend the time needed; fail to set the necessary tasks in real time; and fail to complete obligations in the most appropriate timeframe.

Swap habits. Play around. Find the most productive time for yourself. If you feel more and more the burden of your business, if things look more complicated day by day, if you miss more time for personal tasks and private life, then you need to seriously ask yourself whether you have chosen the right path, whether you make the best use of the time available to you.

Not everyone is accustomed to waking up early. But perhaps here is where the rubber meets the road: Test strategies to find the most effective and most productive working time, and the results will follow.

It is very important to properly organize tasks. Always to be sorted by priority and to be completed  accordingly. To reduce as much as possible outside influences consuming attention, concentration, and thus time. Computers help us tremendously in different aspects of our work, but at the same time they are excellent at directing attention away from the task at hand. They offer so much and can very quickly take us away from what we do. Meanwhile, time runs…

Follow the latest trends - Save time

We are all aware that technology is quickly progressing. New discoveries are made every day, and technologies are constantly being refined. It's not easy to keep pace with rapid technological development, but at the same time it is not difficult to accept and use what could serve us.

Following the latest trends in the vacation rental business is very important because of the great benefits. A simple example is VR software. All will agree that it is better to manage your VR business in a simple, centralized way -- without unnecessarily running around, and needlessly wasting energy and time. Why accomplish your tasks with outdated methods, when modern ones offer so much more?

With technological developments, vacation rental software has grown smarter and more sophisticated.

Wouldn't you like to have access to all necessary information related to your VR business from anywhere in the world, and not be tied to your cluttered office desk and the computer on it? If you follow the latest trends, you already know that cloud-based VR software allows such.

And to emphasize, cloud-based VR software continues to be further developed and enhanced in order to make the vacation rental management process easier, more convenient, and suited to everyone's age and education.

http://blog.bookingsync.com/en/news/2013/4/14/the-importance-of-simplicity-in-software

If you are trying to simplify all VR management processes by constantly updating your knowledge and following the latest trends, proven to be really more efficient, productive, savvy, then you are a huge step ahead. You are bringing efficiency to your business.

The offer is large, but the choice is yours. Work smart and short, not long and hard. Meanwhile, time runs...

Don't forget yourself - Take your time

Thorough, extensive work requires a large commitment on your part, and it involves investing time and energy. Always ask yourself if it is worth being that much more exhausted and if that's what you planned when you started the business.

After all, the health and the success of your business depend on you. If you feel good, relaxed, rested, energized, then you can create a healthy and successful business. Business efficiency is inversely proportional with the amount of stress and fatigue. Always find time for yourself and do what fulfills you. Take a walk, read a book, do some sport, enjoy your family and friends, do not forget yourself. Be assured that in that way you don't neglect your VR business, but instead you make it possible to achieve better results in a shorter period of time. Yeah, time runs...

Your vacation rental business is never too complicated to be simplified. Proper time management is crucial for that. Therefore, plan your time! Save time! Take your time!

Owning a vacation rental does not mean that you are straight away successful in the vacation rental business. It is the goal of every owner to be progressive and to gain satisfactory results, each with its performance standards, each with its objectives and evaluation of achievements. However, the road to success depends on many things present there for you to implement, monitor, and use effectively. But some things are basic, necessary, and simple—without them, great achievements would never be reached.

Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, yeah, yeah. This is a boring, cliche subject; there is nothing new in this post, nothing special or interesting. But I feel the need to mention again one of the most important moments, one of the key factors that plays a crucial role in our lives. I will mention some standards that need to be met if you are willing to point yourself on the road that leads to a successful vacation rental business. Cleanliness!!!

This is a pretty popular subject to discuss, as each vacation rental owner is already sufficiently dedicated to it, but maybe it is time to finally realize the seriousness of this fundamental component in order to raise the cleanliness standards and to think a little deeper about it and its essential role in the vacation rental business.

Inspired but at the same time stunned by recent experiences of people with whom I am close, people who were willing to spend over 90 € / day for a rental in London, I would like to ask you just a few questions:

1) Do you really think that the dust and hairs clearly visible all over the toilet are part of one’s high standards of cleanliness?

2) Is it normal to say that the toilet bowl is clean if there are rust and other stains in it?

3) Does it meet the standards for clean if the closet shelves in the bedroom are so dusty that it takes you plenty of time to clean them, make them ready for use?

4) Is it a high standard of cleanliness if the shelf has scattered remnants of cosmetic products? (Here is another question for you: Do you really think that someone would use half-emptied mouthwash or almost-wasted body lotion?)

5) Do you consider it nicely cleaned if the fridge contains rotten food leftovers, or do you maybe actually think that someone would eat them?

With an affirmative answer to the questions, it is not nice to welcome someone for free into a home with these things—not to mention someone who is actually paying for it...

Nobody likes disappointed, disgusted guests—especially not those with a revoked smile and who feel deeply inspired to write negative feedback about their stay.

Whether you will decide to clean by yourself, employ cleaning staff, or use a cleaning company, the choice is yours, and the cleanliness standards will be determined by your guests. You should never use the term “different cleanliness standards” as an excuse for your dirt (yes, yes, you read it well—there are some vacation rental owners with such responses).

They say that “cleanliness is half of health.” But when it comes to your vacation rental, I would say that the cleanliness is the base for the full health of your vacation rental business.

As a vacation rental industry analyst, I recently wrote in a HomeAway column that I believe 2014 will be all about creating optimal experiences.
I was led to this conclusion because of two trends that have been made abundantly clear over the past decade:

First, vacation rentals represent the most sustainable travel movement that has (and will) come along in a very long time.
And second, perhaps the biggest hurdle that exists in this nascent industry is to streamline the way guests experience rentals as a whole.

When I say streamline, I’m not talking about adopting the generic nature of chain hotels like Hilton or Marriott…
Nor am I referring to the human-less void of airline ticket kiosks or automated customer service phone calls (I absolutely hate talking to a computer).
 
Instead, to me, streamlining the vacation rental industry means the challenge of forming a universal set of expectations for travelers…

…Expectations that can then be met (or in the case of my subscribers, superseded) by property owners and managers around the world.
 
Establishing these expectations will benefit all of us.

And in very much the same way that BookingSync has set out to make the managing your vacation rental easy, I believe that the largest opportunity in the vacation rental niche, for owners and managers -- the way to make the most money and to conquer the most market share -- is to discover your own optimal processes on an even greater scale.

This could range from an optimal correspondence method: a sequence of questions or emails or actions that you find converts the most inquiries to bookings…

It could mean finding the most optimal bed linens: the ones that cost the least but feel the softest…

It could even mean picking the optimal property (yes, many of my subscribers are now going on to purchase second, third, and in one case NINTH vacation homes due to their success).

The point is this:

Vacation rentals evolved organically to make life easier for travelers.
Now, it’s our job to make the experiences surrounding those properties as optimal as possible as well.
This means testing, prodding, researching, learning, failing, improving and doing it all over again.
2014 will be an extremely influential year for vacation rental owners and managers.
 
How optimal can your business be?