Matching Third-Party Rates VRBO & Airbnb
Matching Third-Party Sites |
VRBO & Airbnb
Vacation Myrtle Beach Edition
Third Party Booking means using an internet travel site such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Kayak, Hotels.com, etc. where a traveler may research and book travel reservations.
IMPORTANT INFO | HOW TO MATCH A RATE
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We do NOT match all third-party sites. If you have a caller on the line who states they see a lower rate on a third-party site then you can let them know that you will be happy to check into that to determine if we can possibly match the rate for them.
You will need to find out what third-party site they are on and go to that site and verify the room type and rate. Verify the guest count and be sure the rate you see includes tax and fees. You will also need to verify the unit is through VMB and not a private owner or different company.
You will then need to message the Floor Manager with the details for approval. Include the resort and the rate you are seeing compared to what it is on our end.
Once the Floor Manager gives you the approval, you will proceed with making the reservation as normal. The reservation will need to be booked at the Best Available Rate.
Message the Floor Manager with the Folio # and they will adjust the rate Iqware. Note: Sometimes it will be necessary to override the rate in the Agent Portal before you process it.
POPULAR THIRD-PARTY SITES
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Groupon | www.groupon.com
Expedia | www.expedia.com
Hotels.com | www.hotels.com
Priceline | www.priceline.com
Travelocity | www.travelocity.com
Orbitz | www.orbitz.com
Hotels Tonight | www.hotelstonight.com
TIPS
You never want to disparage another company, but instead, focus on the benefits of booking directly through us.
Benefits of booking direct
The guest is dealing with the resort directly. If something goes wrong with their trip or stay, they will get better service.
We will secure and confirm the reservation while the guest is on the phone.
Room preferences - We can ensure any special requests are added to the booking (still not guaranteed).
Flexible cancellation policy.
VRBO & Airbnb
VRBO (sometimes pronounced ‘ver-boh’) stands for Vacation Rentals by Owner. Vacation Myrtle Beach has over 500 listings on VRBO and Airbnb that are directly through us (VMB) and not private homeowners. Homeowners NOT on our rental program may also advertise their unit on VRBO or Airbnb. Typically these advertisements will be for a particular room number and not just a room type with a few exceptions.
HOW IT WORKS
When a reservation is made on the VRBO or Airbnb site, someone from our QA team receives the inquiry and will make the guest a new reservation in IQWare.
For the majority of properties on VRBO and Airbnb, the guest is only booking the unit type, not a specific unit number.
Forest Dunes and Palms are listed by individual room numbers. Every listing has different pictures and the guest is guaranteed to get the unit they see in the picture.
The rates are higher than they are in our system to make up for the fees.
Ocean Escape and Willow Bend are on Airbnb as well.
HOW TO KNOW IF IT’S OUR LISTING
If a guest calls in and says they see a listing on VRBO (ver-boh) or Airbnb, it could be ours but it could be a private owner that is not on our rental program. For our (VMB) listings, we use pictures from our direct website. We have the professional photos of the amenities. Also, our descriptions tend to be much longer. We also mention several times in the description that we are the official onsite rental provider for the property.
Here is an example of a unit at SWT we currently have advertised on Vrbo. Notice how it says "Hosted by Sea Watch Resort".
Here is an example of a unit advertised on Vrbo that is NOT thru us. Notice how the unit description has a room number attached and there is also a note that states it is from Eagle Realty. This means this is a unit not on our rental program. A guest booking this unit would NOT check-in at our Front Desk and would not have access to all the amenities (varies per resort).
