CHANGELOG

Whimstay extended its locations and now is accepting properties located in: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Peru, Spain, the UK. For full list of accepted locations, see here.

Licence requirements updated for Booking.com. Updated licence requirements for:

• Italy, Abruzzo

For more details see here

Rentals United releases a direct messaging integration with Expedia. This upgrade will allow us to receive and send messages for confirmed bookings using Expedia API and without the need of using our email proxy (forwarding) option.

What it means for you:

• Existing API users: In order to keep receiving messages from Expedia, you are required to upgrade from the "CommunicationChannel":"Email" to "CommunicationChannel":"Expedia". You can find detailed instruction on how to set up the Expedia Messaging here. Also, find the full Rentals United Guest Communication API documentation here.

  You must perform the switch within the transition period. At that time, you will be receiving duplicate messages from Expedia. After the transition period is over, you will no longer be able to use the proxy functionality (forwarding) for the Expedia partner. Of course, you can keep using proxy for other channels e.g. Agoda.

• Existing manual users: We will automatically enable Expedia Messaging API and disable the proxy (forwarding) - no action is required from you. Note however that within the transition period you will receive duplicate messages from Expedia. This is an expected behaviour. You can avoid it by removing or changing your email address in the Expedia Extranet (see this article in Expedia Partner Central) or deactivating proxy (forwarding) option in case you are not using it for any more channels (see here).

• Users connecting to Expedia for the first time will have access to all the guest messages in the Rentals United Guest Communication module & API without any additional set-up.

Important dates:

• Transition period: 2024-12-13 - 2025-01-12

• Proxy deactivation: 2025-01-13

Licence requirements updated for Booking.com. Updated licence requirements for:

• Italy, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Umbria, Veneto, Trentino

• the Netherlands, Noordwijk

For more details see here

Minor fee mappings updates for Booking.com. These changes should not affect the property managers in any way. To see the fee mapping tables, see here.

• Final cleaning fee has been removed from the mapped items as it is no longer supported by Booking.com. Final cleaning fee was mapped to the cleaning price field in Rentals United which has been ultimately deprecated on 31 October 2024 according to this announcement.
• Destination fee ID in Booking.com changed.

Licence requirements updated for Booking.com. Updated licence requirements for:

• Italy, Tuscany / Marche / Puglia
• Australia, Western Australia

For more details see here

NEW! Upgraded channel listing update (repush) for Booking.com. For now, the channel listing update was only possible for hotels with one room type. Now you can update your listing if it has multiple room types, as well. Configurations supported for listing content update for Booking.com are:

• One hotel - one room type - one rate plan
• One hotel - one room type - multiple rate plans
• One hotel - multiple room types - one rate plan
• One hotel - multiple room types - multiple rate plans

Moreover, you can make the updates (full and partial):

• for hotel and all room types
• for hotel only
• for one room type only

Detailed steps can be found here. For the full and partial repush comparison, see here.

This step ensures that we continue to meet the highest standards of security and prevent any potential risks associated with sharing sensitive information electronically.

What it means for you:

• The CVV/CVC details will not be shared anymore via the Reservation Life Notification Mechanism. Please note that this applies only CVV/CVC the CVV/CVC numbers. The credit card details will be shared with you as they are and remain encrypted in Rentals United afterwards.

• Moving forward, please ensure that you use the List Reservation or Get Reservation by ID API methods to obtain the credit card details and CVV/CVC number.

• Please note that CVV/CVC will be shared via API only once and afterwards CVV/CVC will be removed from the Rentals United database due to regulation which prohibits the storage of CVV/CVC data.

You can read more about the changes here

NEW! Screen & Protect by Rentals United is a property protection service that allows hosts to verify guests during the booking process and provides compensation of up to 50 000 EUR. With proactive protection in place, property owners can rest easy, knowing their homes are safe. You will benefit from happier guests, better reviews, and more bookings. And if any damage does occur, you are reimbursed - turning potential risks into revenue for your business. See here.

Screen & Protect is available in Services for customers having their properties in selected countries: 

• Australia
• Belgium
• Canada
• France
• New Zealand
• Spain
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• ... more to come!

Guest Communication thread deletion after 2 years. To ensure the highest level of security and to protect your sensitive information, all the messaging and guest reviews threads older than 2 years will be deleted from Rentals United Guest Communication on November 12th.

Furthermore, we are implementing a policy that involves an automatic deletion of messages and reviews older than 2 years from our platform. What it means for you:

• Starting November 12th we are initiating the process of auto deleting all Guest Communication threads (messages, reviews, pre-approvals, attachments) that are older than 2 years.

• This action is being taken as part of our ongoing commitment to safeguard your data and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information.

• We encourage you to download if needed all the messages in your system before this policy takes effect. Here you can find all relevant API methods which allow you to pull all the threads.

Licence requirements updated for Booking.com. Updated licence requirements for UAE, Dubai. See here.

NEW! We have adopted the following Booking.com features: Report stay change and Report a no-show. New booking actions are available in Big Card for Booking.com reservations.

• Report stay change: In case the guest has already checked in and they would like to extend or shorten their stay, you can report this change to Booking.com along with the new price. Your guest will receive new confirmation email with updated information immediately. See here.

• Report guest no-show: When you report a guest no-show, the reservation will be cancelled and marked as no-show. You and your guest will receive confirmation emails. Additionally, if you decide to waive a cancellation fee, you will not be charged the commission for this booking. See here.

Licence requirements updated for Booking.com. Updated licence requirements for Canada, Nova Scotia. See here.

NEW!Booking.com integration upgrade: Multi-rate plans available in Rentals United! We are thrilled to announce that this long-awaited feature has finally come to Rentals United. Now you can

• create new standalone and derived rate plans

• manage rate plans directly in Rentals United: edit, deactivate, activate and remove

• in a real-time synchronisation with Booking.com

Save time by managing your rate plans directly in Rentals United without the need to log in to the Booking.com extranet. Read about the details here.

Licence requirements updated for Booking.com. Updated licence requirements for:

• Canada, Toronto
• USA, Michigan
• the Netherlands, Schouwen-Duiveland and Maastricht

See here.

We have added new set of fields to the Rentals United that allow you to better describe your property.

• Total floor number
• Additional descriptions

We have introduced a new parameter "SenderType". With this parameter, you can easily check who the sender of the message is. The "SenderType" parameter can have the following values:

• "Host"
• "Guest"
• "Cohost" - available only for Airbnb threads
• "Undefined" - present if the sender cannot be identified, eg. the new recipient in an email thread You can check the current values of the "SenderType" parameter here: GET /api/messaging/messages/sender-types.

Affected methods:

• GET /api/messaging/messages

• GET /api/messaging/messages/{id}

• GET /api/messaging/threads/{id}/messages

• GET /api/reviews/thread/{id}/messages

Booking.com synchronisation updates: Total floor number, additional descriptions and new payment methods synchronised with Booking.com. Details of the synchronisation can be found in the following articles:

• Total floor number
• Additional descriptions
• Payment methods

New stay length restriction type available in Booking.com integration.You can now select whether you want to work on stay-through or arrival-based stay length restriction type. If you want to set the stay length restriction type, see here.

• Stay-through - the booking must meet the minimum / maximum stay requirements on each day of the booking
• Arrival-based - the booking must meet the minimum / maximum stay requirements on the arrival day only

Also, you can use now the maximum stay restriction which ensures that your guests will not be offered stays longer than a particular number of nights. If you want to set maximum stay restrictions, see here. For more information about how these restrictions work, see here.

NEW! Airbnb integration updated with regards to the fees calculation types (v3 and v2). The list of calculation types has been extended for majority of fee types, which means majority of fee types can now be sent with the following calculations:

• Amount per stay
• Amount per night,
• Amount per person & night,
• Amount per person & stay,
• Percentage

Additionally, pet fees charged per stay or per night will be now applied in Airbnb for each pet in the reservation.

The relevant documentation has been updated and for details see the following articles:

• Fees and taxes v3 - how it works
• Fees v2 mappings

Added new payment method types. Specific credit cards can now be defined in addition to generic credit card payment method. New payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club International, Discover, JCB and JAL.

Note that these new payment method types may not yet be supported by the sales channels. Tips how to ensure the correct data is displayed by the sales channel can be found here.

New payment method types added to Rentals United API

• PaymentMethodID="6" - Visa
• PaymentMethodID="7" - Mastercard
• PaymentMethodID="8" - American Express
• PaymentMethodID="9" - Diners Club International
• PaymentMethodID="10" - Discover
• PaymentMethodID="11" - JCB
• PaymentMethodID="12" - JAL

To list all the payment method types, use Pull_ListPaymentMethods_RQ.

Added new field: Total number of floors in the building. Added new field to property details: <NumberOfFloors>. The field is optional and can be used to include the total number of floors that are in the building. Methods affected by this change:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

Added secondary image types. It is now possible to assign more than one image type to an image by using a newly created container - Property/ImageSecondaryTypes. You can see the full list of image types here. Methods affected by the change:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

Guest review overall rating for Airbnb available in Guest Communication API. When receiving a guest review, Airbnb shares the property overall score received from the guest. Now you can access this score by using the Get Message methods. Affected methods:

• GET Messages in threads (full payload available here)
• GET Messages
• GET Messages by service for user
• Get Message by ID
• Get Message by ID by service for user
• Get Reviews by Thread ID
• Get Reviews by Thread ID by service for user

Updates to Occupancy Based Pricing. If you are offering different prices for different occupancy levels (e.g. by using Extra guest price or Occupancy pricing), you may expect that the number of rates in Property Settings will be changed. Instead of multiple rates (one rate per one occupancy level), you will see just one standard rate (the prices per different occupancy levels are defined in the single rate). The changes will apply to your rates after:

• full repush
• partial repush (provided there is a change in Step 1: Basic info: Maximum number of guests and you select Facilities & Services area to update)
• auto-repush (provided there is a change in Step 1: Basic info: Maximum number of guests)

See here for more information on full and partial repush or here for auto-repush.

Vacation Rental Services and Operational Services are now allowed to subscribe to ID="Messaging" type notification for Live Notifications for their connected users. This notification will be sent every time a new conversation (thread) is created and a new message within this conversation is created.

You can configure new subscription using Push_PutLiveNotificationMechanismSubscriptions_RQ. Remember that all previous subscriptions will be replaced with this new configuration.

You can list the LNMs that you are currently subscribed to using Pull_ListLiveNotificationMechanismSubscriptions_RQ. If you want to check the full list of LNMs that you can subscribe to, use Pull_ListLiveNotificationMechanismChangeTypes_RQ.

For the general overview of how the LNM mechanism works, see here.

NEW! Multiple standalone rateplans can be now updated directly from Rentals United for Booking.com and Expedia. The changes pertain to:

• partial repush
• full repush
• auto-repush

Updated information for methods exposing ChannelBreakdown. In this update we inform the users that ChannelBreakdown will not be present in the responses for reservations with more than one StayInfo container. Affected methods:

• Pull_GetReservationByID_RS
• Pull_ListReservations_RS
• Pull_ListReservationsOwnerUser_RS
• Pull_ListReservationsSubUsers_RS
• LNM_PutConfirmedReservation_RQ

We have added new optional field - NumberOfPets - to GuestDetailsInfo. Affected methods:

• Push_PutConfirmedReservationMulti_RQ
• Push_PutUnconfirmedReservation_RQ
• Push_ModifyStay_RQ
• Pull_ListReservations_RQ
• Pull_GetOwnReservations_RQ
• Pull_GetReservationByID_RQ
• Pull_GetLeads_RQ
• Pull_ListReservationsOwnerUser_RQ
• Pull_ListReservationsSubUsers_RQ
• LNM_PutConfirmedReservation_RQ

A new channel is live in Rentals United: Situ.Situ is a mid & long term channel and has a strong performance in the US, the UK & Europe. Their global property portfolio covers over 144 countries, offering secure, compliant, and high-quality accommodations for mid to long-term stays. See more information about Situ.

This feature enables you to:

• set up customised templates for messages
• choose the bookings for which you wish to automate messages (per sales channel, per property)
• choose when the messages will be sent (upon booking, before the arrival, during the stay or after the check-out)

Licence information updates

Added new licence types for US California, Inglewood.

The above changes have been introduced to the following methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

We have upgraded our Booking.com integration to support Occupancy Based Pricing released by Booking.com. The changes were made with regards to the multiple occupancy rates. Now, when adding new properties to Booking.com, Rentals United will create only one standard rate for multiple occupancy levels. See the examples here.

The update does not relate to users operating connected to Quick Connect LOS and operating on the LOS pricing model.

Licence information updates

We have added new licence types for Turkey.

The above changes have been introduced to the following methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

A new channel is live in Rentals United: bnbfinder, bnbfinder is a US marketplace with a 25+ year history connecting travellers with direct property managers. With a self service onboarding, the listings can be live within 5 minutes. The channel is now available at the interface! See more information about bnbfinder.

A new channel is live in Rentals United: Spacest.com. Spacest.com is a marketplace for medium to long-term rentals. It is a leading platform in Italy with more than 600-700 bookings per month, with also a strong presence in Spain, Portugal, France and Germany. See more information about Spacest.com.

Licence information updates

We have added possible values for Spanish fields.

• LicenceInfo/SpainLicenceInfo/ProvinceCode
• LicenceInfo/SpainLicenceInfo/CadastralType
• LicenceInfo/SpainLicenceInfo/NumberType

We have updated possible values for following fields:

• LicenceInfo/DenmarkLicenceInfo/TypeOfProperty
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/PortlandApplicationType
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/MassachusettsTaxCollectionType
• LicenceInfo/OwnerInfos/OwnerLicenceInfo/IdentificationType

We have added new field for USA licence requirements

• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/PropertyType

The above changes have been introduced to the following methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

Licence information updates

Added new licence type TouristicAccommodation. Added new exemption reason CyprusTouristicAccommodation.

The above changes have been introduced to the following methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

Licence information updates

New licence fields have been added for Los Angeles.

• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/LAFirstName
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/LALastName
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/LAUnitNumber
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/LAStreetNumber
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/LAStreetName
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/LAZipCode

New licence types have been added. New values are available for the LicenceInfo/LicenceType field:

• HomeSharing,
• TransientOccupancyResidentialStructure

The above changes have been introduced to the following methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

Licence information updates

New licence field added. Now you can provide LicenceInfo/UKLicenceInfo/EnergyRating.

We have deprecated the LicenceInfo/ScottishLicenceInfo/ScotlandEnergyRating field. We have replaced the /LicenceInfo/ScottishLicenceInfo/ScotlandEnergyRating with the LicenceInfo/UKLicenceInfo/EnergyRating. ScotlandEnergyRating field will be removed in the future. For now, the changes are backward compatible, however it is recommended to start using EnergyRating to stay up-to-date with the integration. Information about removal will be communicated in a separate announcement.

The above changes have been introduced to the following methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

Licence information updates

New exemption reasons have been added. New values are available for the LicenceInfo/ExemptionReason field:

• HotelOrMotel
• BedAndBreakfast

New identification type field has been added. A new value is now available for the LicenceInfo/OwnerInfos/OwnerLicenceInfo/IdentificationType container:

• 7: Personal Public Service Number

New licence fields added. Now you can provide the following licence types:

• LicenceInfo/HawaiiLicenceInfo/LandParcelIdentificationNumber
• LicenceInfo/HawaiiLicenceInfo/GeneralExciseTaxID
• LicenceInfo/USALicenceInfo/CertificateOfUse
• LicenceInfo/OwnerInfos/OwnerLicenceInfo/IdentificationNumber

We have deprecated the LicenceInfo/OwnerInfos/OwnerLicenceInfo/NonSpanishIdentificationNumber field. We have replaced the LicenceInfo/OwnerInfos/OwnerLicenceInfo/NonSpanishIdentificationNumber with the LicenceInfo/OwnerInfos/OwnerLicenceInfo/IdentificationNumber. NonSpanishIdentificationNumber field will be removed in the future. For now, the changes are backward compatible, however it is recommended to start using IdentificationNumber to stay up-to-date with the integration. Information about removal will be communicated in a separate announcement.

The above changes have been introduced to the following methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

We have integrated to the Vrbo & Expedia Compliance API. If you could not connect your properties to these channels due to unsupported licence requirements, now you can get your properties live. See our documentation here and here and prepare licence information required in your locations.

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

NEW! Security improvements. We have introduced the following security improvements to increase your account security and data protection:

• MFA is now required in case user logs in to the Rentals United account from unknown IP address.

• Users can now define email address used to send MFA notifications. It will help property managers make sure that MFA is always sent to the email address that can be accessed by the account owner.

• All subusers added to use Rentals United will be required to use MFA and will be prompted to change their passwords every 90 days.

Added new licence types for Canada - Principal residence establishment, Youth tourist accommodation establishment and General tourist accommodation establishment. Affected methods:

• Push_PutProperty_RQ
• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS

We are currently integrating to the Vrbo Compliance API. If you could not connect your properties to this channel due to unsupported licence requirements, now you can get your properties prepared. See our documentation here and prepare licence information required in your location. Once the changes are live (which we will let you know in another announcement), you will be ready to instantly connect and get bookings in these locations without the need to provide any additional licence information in the Vrbo extranet.

Implemented comprehensive security settings. Account owners now have control over user and subuser security configurations for enhanced platform safety.

Property managers are allowed:

• Manage their Multi-Factor Authentication setting

• Turn on/off requirement to change the account password every 90 days

See Security.

Documentation update. Added two new pieces of information to Push_PutPrices_RQ method:

• The response success rate may be decreased for requests over 90 seasons.

• In case you use LOS, LOSP or FSP pricing model we recommend sending updates quarter by quarter, i.e. one request should cover one quarter. Dividing updates into quarters will ensure faster API response and more efficient data synchronisation.

NEW! We introduced a number of changes, which improve the request-to-book flow. Please note, all changes are backwards compatible.

New naming convention (see here)

• Lead - is just a message received from the guest via “Contact host”. It does not block availability.

• Request - is a booking request received from a distribution partner. It can be confirmed, rejected or expired. It does not block availability.

New reservation statuses (see here):

• Request accepted

• Request rejected

• Request expired

New API methods:

• Put request - creates a booking request which the property manager can action (used by sales channels).

• Confirm request - used to convert a booking request into a confirmed reservation (used by property managers and sales channels).

• Reject request - used to reject a booking request (used by property managers).

• Mark request as expired - used to mark a booking request as expired (used by sales channels).

The Push_PutLead_RQ API method has been deprecated and removed from our documentation. It will still work for users who adopted it in the past, but we advise you to upgrade to use Put request instead. See full announcement here.

The Get leads API method only returns leads.

All reservation retrieval API methods have been updated to return only reservations in the Confirmed and Cancelled statuses.

To retrieve the reservations in other statuses, e.g. requests, provide the list of statuses in Pull_ListReservations_RQ/Statuses. See List reservation statuses. Affected methods:

• List reservations
• List own reservations
• List reservations for owner
• List reservations for subuser

Removed option to archive reservation from Rentals United platform. Now you can only archive/unarchive reservations via Push_ArchiveReservation_RQ API method.

In case of any questions or clarifications, reach out to our API Support team at apisupport@rentalsunited.com.

We refreshed our Guest Reviews flow for Airbnb and Booking.com, making it more intuitive and transparent as well as added new methods to retrieve and submit reviews and replies. You will find them in a newly added Reviews section of our Guest Communication API. It contains new dedicated methods to:

• retrieve a review thread
• submit a review and reply
• retrieve all reviews and replies

Additionally, you can check the recommended Guest Reviews flow at Use & Manage via API.

If you implemented the Guest Reviews before 2024-01-25, you will be required to update to the new methods before 2024-04-30.

Airbnb provides a possibility for the guest and host to select new ratings when reviewing the stay. We extended the support for review rating tags for Airbnb. Now you can also push these additional ratings while providing the host review via the Guest Communication API methods. You can provide the new ratings in the "CategoryRatingsExtended" collection in the guest review message type (you can differentiate it by "Mode":"Review" parameter).. Affected methods:

• GET Messages in threads (full payload available here)

• POST Message in thread

• POST Message in thread by service for user

• GET Messages
• GET Messages by service for user
• Get Message by ID
• Get Message by ID by service for user

Additionally, you can obtain all tags that are in use by using the GET Review category tags method.

New property types in Rentals United and refreshed mappings with sales channels! We have updated the property types available in Rentals United and also made some changes to how property types in Rentals United are mapped to property types in sales channels.

We added to Rentals United the following property types: Cabin, Bungalow, Riad, Recreational vehicle, Ryokan, Loft, Townhouse, Condominium, Vacation home.

Changes will be applied upon initial property push and next full content update.

We are refreshing the platform dashboard - your Rentals United home screen. The brand-new interface will let you intuitively navigate and quickly access all key functionalities. Stay on top of your bookings, revenue and upcoming arrivals. See the messages your guests sent you. Review the status of your inventory in Rentals United and sales channels. Read the details here.

Now available for all users!

New guest review rating tags for Airbnb available in Guest Communication API.

Airbnb provides a possibility for the guest and host to select new ratings when reviewing the stay. These new ratings are provided to us by Airbnb. Now you can have access to these additional ratings provided by the guest and read them while obtaining the review via the Guest Communication API methods. You can find the new ratings in the "CategoryRatingsExtended" collection in the guest review message type (you can differentiate it by "Mode":"Review" parameter). Affected methods:

• GET Messages in threads (full payload available here)
• GET Messages
• GET Messages by service for user
• Get Message by ID
• Get Message by ID by service for user

Soon it will be possible to provide these ratings by hosts when reviewing the stay. Stay tuned.

Hostfully integration upgraded. With this development, we improve the accuracy of the synchronised data. The scope of updates is related to:

• Daily price synchronisation upgrade
• Minimum stay synchronisation upgrade
• Fees and taxes synchronisation added
• PTBA synchronisation removed

Read more how it works here.

NEW! Smart Guest Communication Automated Messages. Smart Guest Communication makes it easy to automate standard messages that you send out to the guests - before the check-in, during the stay and after the check-out. This way, you effortlessly improve guest relations, boost your business and save time! See here.

We are refreshing the platform dashboard - your Rentals United home screen. The brand-new interface will let you intuitively navigate and quickly access all key functionalities. Stay on top of your bookings, revenue and upcoming arrivals. See the messages your guests sent you. Review the status of your inventory in Rentals United and sales channels. Read the details here.

Currently only for all Powerhost users and Rentals United Enterprise users registered after 2023-12-11.

Agoda adjustments to settings for listings managed by Quick Connect. From 29 November to 30 November 2023, the rate load type for single-unit listings (outside of the USA) will be changed from net rate to reference sell rate. The market-default commission level will be applied to these listings. You can read more about Agoda commission here. This change does not impact:

• multi-unit properties, including hotels,
• properties located in the USA,
• properties that are already loading reference sell rates AND are on the market-default commission level.

. More information can be found in the Agoda Help Center.

Airbnb alias email deprecation. On October 2, 2023, Airbnb will deprecate the email alias feature and will stop providing any guest’s email address to Rentals United. We have developed the solution which will allow all property managers to continue using email. See what steps need to be done here.

Booking.com request-to-book pilot. Now, selected clients can choose the booking mode (instant bookings or request-to-book) when adding a new property to Booking.com. See more here.

If you are interested in taking part in the pilot, please reach out to your point of contact in Rentals United to discuss your options.

Amenities' mappings updated. Now, the mappings are the following:

• Location ocean view as Location type: Ocean view (In Vrbo)

• Location ocean front as Location type: Ocean front (in Vrbo).

Booking.com request-to-book pilot. Rentals United participates in the piloting programme with Booking.com regarding the request to book flow. Now, booking requests start flowing into Rentals United and can be accepted or rejected in both UI and via API. Detailed documentation can be accessed here.

If you are interested in taking part in the pilot, please reach out to your point of contact in Rentals United to discuss your options.

Rentals United releases a direct messaging integration with Vrbo. Property managers will have access to all the guest messages in the Rentals United Guest Communication module & API without any additional set-up. The proxy functionality for the Vrbo partner will be supported until 2023-09-25.

Are you an existing manual or an API client? See what to do here.

New header - RLNM notifications. We have added a new header ru-rlnm-method to Reservation Live Notification Mechanism, This header helps differentiate between RLNM methods. For now, the possible values are four RLNM names:

• LNM_PutConfirmedReservation_RQ
• LNM_CancelReservation_RQ
• LNM_PutLeadReservation_RQ
• LNM_PutUnconfirmedReservation_RQ

The header will be added to all RLNM notifications.

Documentation update. The documentation was updated with the information that the maximum accepted value in all price fields is 214748.36, regardless of the currency you are using. If you try to put a higher value in any currency, it will not be accepted by Rentals United. If you experience this, you can:

• Change the currency, for example from ZAR to EUR. The process and conditions are described here.
• Optimise your pricing.

New API method - Resend RLNM Message.

New API method is created to enable resending RLNM. With this change API partners will be able to resend RLNM for self-troubleshooting and ensuring that they obtain the reservation details on time.

The new method is Push_SendRLNMMessage_RQ and it allows the user to resend an RLNM notification to the webhook address endpoint configured for their account. The notification will be sent to the webhook address endpoint configured for your account in LNM_PutHandlerUrl_RQ.

Fees & Taxes v3 update for Airbnb. New clients connecting to Airbnb will have the fees & taxes v3 option enabled by default. See the details of v3 synchronisation here.

Elevate: New product available in Rentals United!

Get more insights on your properties performance with brand new Elevate by Rentals United - our new product that will help you measure your performance and compare your inventory to the market data. Elevate by Rentals United is available in two plans:

• Elevate Starter - available as a part of your current pricing plan on Rentals United or Powerhost

• Elevate Premium - more reports and detailed analysis of your properties - available as an additionally paid service (14-days of free trial available)

Details descriptions and step-by-step instructions are available here.

New navigation in Rentals United platform. In order to provide easier access to the most important Rentals United features, new left-hand side navigation replaces the currently used navigation top bar. Check it out here.

Introducing Quote & Hold (request to book) mode for Vrbo. Property managers advertising on Vrbo may publish listings that will require the host's acceptance confirmation before the guest receives a formal confirmation. It is a popular practice among property managers who require guest verification before accepting a booking or in case they do not maintain exclusivity over property availability.

When the feature is on, the guest will create booking requests and the property manager should accept or decline it within 24 hours. The request to book flow is supported both in the Rentals United user platform and API. See more here

How it works translations. Content of ‘How it works’ sections in the channel checklists is available also in Spanish, Italian and French according to the user interface language selected. This is to provide a consistent interface language according to the selection made by user.

Support for Airbnb co-hosted accounts. Rentals United Guest Communication for Airbnb now supports messages and guest reviews sent by Co-hosts. Regardless if the message has been sent by the host, guest or co-host - it will be visible in Rentals United UI and API. The host will be able to respond to such messages accordingly. With this change we ensure that no messages will be left unanswered. Additionally, Guest Reviews submitted by co-hosts will be visible inRentals United UI and API, too. See the details here.

Include the channel price breakdown node in RLNM for all channels. To date, you could have noticed that booking from some channels (e.g. Vrbo), had the <channelBreakdown> details missing in RLNM. Now, this information is available for Vrbo and will be available for all channels that use the Rentals United API to insert bookings.

The <channelBreakdown> node is available in the https://developer.rentalsunited.com/#confirmed-reservation RLNM. As long as the channel shares the detailed reservation price breakdown with us, we will include it in the live notification message triggered immediately after the booking is created.

For now, channels which provide the reservation price breakdown are (among others): Agoda, Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Hostelworld, Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, Ostrovok, TripAdvisor and Vrbo.

Channel Cancellation Policy in reservation payloads. API-connected partners can now have more visibility over the cancellation policy of the booked stay. The cancellation policy description as well as all applicable cancellation policies are available now for each reservation.

New fields' structure:

• CancellationPolicyInfo
• CancellationPolicyInfo/PolicyText
• CancellationPolicyInfo/CancellationPolicies
• CancellationPolicyInfo/CancellationPolicies/CancellationPolicy
• CancellationPolicyInfo/CancellationPolicies/CancellationPolicy@ValidFrom
• CancellationPolicyInfo/CancellationPolicies/CancellationPolicy@ValidTo

New fields' descriptions with examples have been added to the following methods:

• Push_PutConfirmedReservationMulti_RQ
• Push_ModifyStay_RQ
• Pull_ListReservations_RQ
• Pull_GetReservationByID_RQ
• Pull_ListReservationsOwnerUser_RQ
• Pull_ListReservationsSubUsers_RQ

My Website available for customers with up to 50 properties. My Website is a simple website builder which gives the property managers a possibility to create their own website with properties’ listings and direct booking functionality. With this feature you will be able to create a self-standing platform where guests can book their stays commission-free.

My Website is available for Rentals United clients with less than 50 properties. Free trial is available for the first 14 days. See more here.

Native PTBA support for Airbnb. Introducing native support for Preparation Time Before Arrival (PTBA). PTBA is aimed to prevent last minute bookings and allow hosts to get ready to welcome the guests on time. Another way to call it is minimum lead time. Not all channels support this functionality, but our clients who set it up need it to be supported across all channels. Therefore, at Rentals United we automatically close availability to reflect the PTBA value. This may cause some confusion for clients connected to channels that support it. They would not see it set in their channel extranet even if the functionality is there and works. This development ensures that the value you set in Rentals United is also visible in your Airbnb extranet. See more here.

• USA, Massachusetts, Boston

• USA, California, San Diego

Characters limit used in Description/Headline changed. The number of characters for Description/Headline has been changed to 80. See the affected methods:

• Pull_ListSpecProp_RS
• Push_PutProperty_RQ

See more here.

New methods have been added to retrieve all possible values for the company information (NumberOfEmployees, NumberOfProperties, YearsInBusiness).

• Pull_ListCompanyDetailsNumberOfEmployeesType_RQ

• Pull_ListCompanyDetailsNumberOfPropertiesType_RQ allowing

• Pull_ListCompanyDetailsYearsInBusinessType_RQ allowing

See more here.

Additional company information available via API. Additional fields have been added to the CompanyInfo container in the method Push_FillCompanyDetails_RQ. Use these fields to provide more accurate information about your company.

A new container LegalRepresentativeInfo has been added to the method Push_FillCompanyDetails_RQ and includes the following fields:

See more here..

With our newly integrated Booking.com Contracting API, hosts can trigger Booking.com contract creation directly from the Rentals United user interface. They then receive an email from Booking.com where they can sign the contract immediately. This extremely shortens the time it takes to go live on Booking.com for property managers interested in this channel. All instructions can be found here.

Booking.com Messaging API. Rentals United released direct messaging integration with Booking.com. Property managers have access to all the guest messages in the Rentals United Guest Communication module & API without any additional set-up.

Once you connect to Booking.com or map the first property, you can start using Guest Communication immediately. Read more here and here.

Additionally for API clients, the method POST /api/messaging/threads/{id}/messages and GET /api/messaging/threads/{id}/messages (as well as some other methods) now includes "CommunicationChannel": "BookingCom". Use this communication channel to send messages to your guests and retrieve messages from your guests via Booking.com. Read more here.

Improved Airbnb photos management. We updated image management for your Airbnb listings to prevent unnecessary updates. This should result in better positioning of listings within the Airbnb search results and, in effect, higher discoverability of your listings. All actions taken in the backend - see more.

Extend your contract with Booking.com directly in Rentals United.Added the process of extending your Booking.com contract when you upload a listing in a location not covered by your current contract. See what licence information is required in different locations here.

On 2023-03-20, we added a functionality to send and receive attachments via our API - see here.

Now, you can send and receive attachments directly in the Rentals United platform using Guest Communication chat and email. Read more how to send attachments in Guest Communication and Smart Guest Communication.

Guest Communication upgraded with the possibility to send and receive attachments. Attachments should help property managers to grow the relationship with guests by giving the ability to send guests information needed for their stay like instructions, documents to sign or images of items guests accidentally left behind at the property. Read more about the implementation here and check the updated methods in our Guest Communication API.

New methods:

• POST /api/messaging/messages/{id}/attachments
• POST /api/messaging/messages/by-service-for-user/{id}/attachments

Updated methods:

• GET /api/messaging/messages/{id}
• GET /api/messaging/threads/{id}/messages
• POST/api/messaging/threads/{id}/messages
• GET /api/messaging/messages/by-service-for-user/{id}
• GET /api/messaging/messages/by-service-for-user
• POST /api/messaging/threads/{id}/messages/by-service-for-user
• PUT/api/messaging/threads/{id}/messages/by-service-for-user

Possibility to cancel subscription of Smart Guest Communication service have been added for clients who use this service as a paid add-on in their Rentals Unitedbilling plan. See here.

Smart Guest Communication gives property managers a possibility to get in touch with guests using one unified inbox and communicate with them via various channels - online chat, email or WhatsApp. With this feature property managers will be able to answer all guests’ questions in one centralized place.

Smart Guest Communication is available now for Rentals United Enterprise for clients with up to 20 properties. Configure Smart Guest Communication now following the instructions at Quick start and use the free trial for 14 days.

The following enhancements introduced to :Guest Planner:

• Customers can now see by default reservations from last month sorted by date of creation.

• Check-out date added to the XLSX reports generated via Guest Planner

The following enhancements introduced to Multicalendar:

• Quick switch to Edit property for each property directly from Multicalendar
• Improved display of property names
• Multicalendar available in additional languages - Spanish, French and Italian
• General UI/UX improvements

The descriptions were updated for all methods that use the UserAccountId field. Affected methods:

• Pull_ListAllOwners_RQ

• Pull_GetOwnerDetails_RQ

• Pull_GetAgents_RQ

• Pull_ListMyUsers_RQ

Improved way to handle messaging between Vrbo and Rentals United to ensure no messages from your guests are missed.

Now PULL sales channels can insert information on the guests details (number and age). See Rentals United API Portal for details.

A new channel is live in Rentals United: The Dyrt. The Dyrt is the biggest camping app in the US used by 30 million people annually to find places to stay outdoors. With 37.000 properties, The Dyrt has the largest database of campgrounds in the US and offers commission-free bookings to properties.See more information about The Dyrt.

Guest details info has been introduced. It's a set of information that specifies how many adults, children and infants are going to arrive for a given reservation and includes information about the age of the children and infants (if provided by the channel). Also, arrival time has been added. It specifies at what time the guests have arrived. See the full API changelog entry here.

A slight change to ChannelBreakdown has been introduced. Because there can be multiple Rent items specified for each day of the stay, a new container was created to house all those items. The change pertains to the following methods:

• Pull_ListReservations_RQ
• Pull_GetReservationByID_RQ
• LNM_PutConfirmedReservation_RQ

Detailed reservation price breakdown as received from the sales channels is now available in the node. The following methods have been updated to include:

• Pull_ListReservations_RQ
• Pull_GetReservationByID_RQ
• LNM_PutConfirmedReservation_RQ

NEW! Important updates to Airbnb connection

We are rolling out a few updates to the Airbnb connection and would like to draw your attention to them. Here they are:

• On-demand content updates - updates to your listing content in Full sync will no longer be automated. In case your property content is changed in Rentals United and you would like you Airbnb listing reflect it, follow the instructions at Updating listings.

• New data points added - share even more details about your property:

  • Instant bookings - decide who can make an instant booking and who needs to be verified

  • Check-in options - share how the guests can get into the property

  • Listing expectations - disclose any non-standard details your guests should expect

  • Shared rooms - provide information about what parts of your property are shared and with whom

These updates will be gradually rolled to you throughout the month of June and the clients' connections will be respectively switched.

Action required: We ask you to update your integration so that you no longer upload CleaningPrice and start using the Push_PutProperty_RQ/Property/AdditionalFees collection to communicate the cost of cleaning by November 30, 2021.