Website Channels That Ignore Icalendar

By Wm. May
Published: 03/31/16 Topics: Online Travel Agents (OTAs) Comments: 0

Everyone knows that someday, all vacation rental advertising portals will be part of a global spider web of property synchronization. Managers will list property information in just one place and it will automatically appear on every portal they choose.

This is how the Multiple Listing Services work for real estate sales. No sales agent could survive nowadays without the MLS because their listings are distributed just about everywhere it's possible to find buyers.

Way back when we first met the pleasant guys at Escapia software - Chris Kemp and Michael Kline - distribution was one of the primary benefits they were seeking for their cloud based software. Admittedly, it took them a long time to pull it off.

SLOW DOWN

After the sale of Escapia to Homeaway the number of portals that accept full integration with Escapia has grown, albeit it slowly. When Homeaway purchased various software platforms from Instant Software the same thing happened.

Reportedly Homeaway charges a hefty fee to portals who want to integrate, and then siphons off a big chunk of the commissions or listing fees. Whether by design, delay or pricing the vast majority of websites still do not display listings directly from HomeAway.

Today, a number of Channel Management businesses have sprung up to help non-HomeAway software users synchronize their bookings. They know managers want to distribute advertising to every possible portal, and then on to all kinds of travel and tourism websites.

Managers are begging for that day to come soon.

USING ICAL

For starters, some managers have adopted the "iCalendar" standard of calendar formatting and data exchange that was created by the "Internet Engineering Task Force Calendaring and Scheduling Working Group" (What a mouthful) and can be used by thousands of calendaring systems, for all kinds of uses, not just rentals.

Dozens of vacation rental portals have adopted the use of Ical including Homeaway, FlipKey, Vacation Home Rentals (Now owned by TripAdvisor as is Flipkey) and others.

While full integration must be the future, iCalendar allows automatic updating of bookings with little or no work by managers. Setting it up on most websites is a snap. Some even synchronized both ways.

For example, you can use Homeaway as your primary calendar, and then feed it to other websites. But therein lies a problem.

If you want to use other software as your primary calendar, Homeaway refuses to accept it as an import. On industry forums including HomeAway's, managers have pleaded for Ical to Homeaway uploads for a long time.

Asking a HomeAway phone rep to add this feature produces a non response, 'I suggest you post it as a request with us," but that has yielded no action from Homeaway over the years.

Clearly there is no technical reason for HomeAway to refuse iCalendar imports. So it must be presumed that HomeAway fears the eventual democratization of vacation rental advertising.

By refusing to import iCalendar, HomeAway delays competitors even though it handicaps managers who spend so much advertising with them. But it does create hurdles for other portals and software makers.

iCalendar is the key they are refusing to allow others to unlock.

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Author: Wm. May, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0006 – 03/31/16

Server Crash All Night Bash

By William May
Published: 03/25/16 Topics: Self Improvement Comments: 0

At 1am, a warning text message buzzes on my phone. One or more of the computer network servers is down. Not working. Kaput.

With luck it is just a glitch, that a simple setting or a simple reboot will solve. It happens, so I'm out the door, in the car and down to our data center.

But this time, the server will not re-start, the indictor lights look suspicious. You try again and finally realize this puppy is toast. As in maybe ready for the scrape heap.

Websites are down, business is being missed and all is at risk. Contingencies have been made against the loss of data but not all backups are perfect. You never know if they work until you need to restore them.

And you hope to never have to test the restoring.

Luckily you have a spare server but swapping all the data is a problem, and a re-install of the operating system is also in order. Tricky stuff maybe, but tricky enough to bring in an expert.

By now its 2AM and time to call the System Administrator, get him out of bed, into his car and down to the office.

When he arrives at 3AM his first words are, "Why are you here?"

And I reply, "My Dad said to."

"What are you talking about?, he says and walks off toward the server room.

He doesn't know my Dad owned a truck repair shop and he doesn't know that my Dad often got calls from truck drivers frantic for a repair in the wee hours of the morning. He doesn't know my Dad always helped even when there was little or no money in it.

As a young child I did not understand, why my Dad would always go to the shop if he had to call a mechanic to go to the shop. As a child, I didn't keep track of time but I knew they often stayed there late into the night.

As an adult, now I understand. I know my Dad was not a mechanic. I know he probably wasn't much help to the mechanics.

Or was he?

All work goes easier with help. Helping hands make light work. All work goes faster when you know others appreciate your work. All work becomes a joy if you decided to make it so.

So as I watched the server's being swapped last night. I saw the Administrator go through a myriad of complicated operating system settings, then test and retest the system. I had little to offer.

But as the system administrator left the office some hours later having put everything right, he stopped to say, "I appreciate that you stayed."

"No problem", I said, "My Dad said to."

My dad always said "No problem" to just about everything and then he always smiled.

The military says leaders lead from the front. Honor says to never asked others to do what you would not be willing to do. Fair play demands helping when not asked.

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Author: William May, MayPartners
Blog #: 0499 – 03/25/16

Chim Chimney! What to Know on Chimney Sweeping

By William May
Published: 01/01/16 Topics: Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

It’s that time of year to curl up around a warm fire - New Years has just happened, the weathers getting a little chilly, maybe there’s a light dusting of snow on the lawn. You open the flue, light your kindling, and wait for the romantic crackling to start.

But then you start wondering: when was the last time you got the chimney swept?!

It may sound like something of a Dickens novel, but modern chimney sweeping is something every homeowner needs to do. Soot deposits can clog your flue, smoking out your house, or worse, soot can create a fire hazard.

Sweeping also alerts you to any maintenance needs, and boy is it easier to repair a brick than replace the whole chimney!

So how do you go about getting your chimney swept? Well, this is something best left to the professionals. The last thing you want to do is wedge a ladder up your chimney and track soot all over the house.

Find a local sweeper who’s certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America, or the National Chimney Sweeps Guild. These groups ensure their members know what they’re doing with a brush, and can help diagnose any repairs that need to be made.

Professional chimney sweeps will set up tarps that capture failing soot, and will first inspect the flue to make sure there’s no major damage. Cleaning is done with brushes (not boys climbing up!) and high powered vacuums.

Cost typical depends on how many flues you have. While you may only have one firebox, other appliances in the house may have their own flues, such as dryers, heaters, and anything that needs to vent to the outside air.

Average prices should start around $150 and go up to $200 if video equipment is used. Video better enables diagnose of damage. For a more thorough inspection, ask for a Level II inspection.

So this winter before you pick out the movie and butter up the popcorn, make sure your fireplace is ready to go by getting it professional swept. And remember, it’s lucky to see a chimney sweep!

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Author: William May – Volunteer, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0481 – 01/01/16