Evolve Updates for 2020

[Jon Crosby]

I just received word of updates to Evolve's systems and platform for 2020.  As many of you know I'm an Evolve customer for several years now and often share my experience with them (both good and bad).  I'm curious about what other Evolve customers are thinking regarding the changes below.  They sort of sweeten you up on all the great stuff until the last bullet point where they are no longer paying out until after guest check-in.  Apparently this is what Airbnb/VRBO does now as well?  It's nice they are reducing their fees (well they are no longer charging the 3% credit card fee), the fact they will now be on Booking.com and 24/7 hour support.  But a little worried about their dynamic pricing (will this be mandatory?) and the no more up-front payments piece as that's going to create a big cashflow hole during the shoulder seasons now.  Just curious what other Evolve customers' thoughts are on this? 

Thanks!

Making Things Easier for You and Your Guests At Evolve, that’s our mission — to make vacation rental easier for everyone. Starting in January 2020, we’re rolling out upgrades to make our owners more successful and to make sure our guests love their stays (because happier guests mean happier owners). Get ready for a better online booking experience, more guest support, and a partnership that will put you in front of millions of new bookers. Here are the upgrades you’ll see soon: Your property will be featured on Booking.com We’re partnering with Booking.com so your listing will be included on the largest travel website in the world. We’ll take care of everything; nothing for you to do except watch your bookings increase. Your guests will get 24/7 support from Evolve Evolve will deliver better guest experiences 24 hours a day with around-the-clock support for issues or questions from guests. Your Guest Contact should still be available for guests in residence but we’ll be there day and night, just in case. Our Rest Easy Promise will give guests peace of mind We’re committing to a “Rest Easy Promise” for guests to make sure every stay meets our core property standards (safe, clean, as-advertised, and ready for guests) and lives up to guest expectations. We want Evolve stays to mean more to guests and give them every reason to choose your property over the competition. Our new website will deliver even more bookings We’ve completely rebuilt and redesigned our Evolve website to create a world-class online booking experience that attracts more online traffic and convinces more guests to stay at our properties. Launching early in the new year, our website will be available exclusively to Evolve owner listings and will always be the least expensive way for guests to book your home. We want you to earn more rental income We’re upgrading our rate setting and guest payment capabilities to capture more bookings and increase your earnings. Get ready to be part of SmartRates, our automated dynamic pricing technology that translates billions of data points into optimized real-time rates. It’s yet another reason guests will choose your home over other rental options. We’ve simplified our industry-low 10% management fee Our 10% management fee now covers all services provided by Evolve--no more 3% credit card processing fee. We’ll also adjust your advertised rates as needed to accommodate the fees charged by websites like Booking.com and Airbnb so you’ll earn a similar amount regardless of where a guest books your home. We've standardized our payout policy Some of our earliest owners have always been paid at the time of booking. Now, we’re moving all owners to the same payout policy: payments will be released 48 hours after the guest checks in (look for funds in your bank account in 3-5 days). Websites like Vrbo, HomeAway and Airbnb have eliminated upfront payments and we’re unable to provide funds prior to receiving payment from our marketing partners. What we need from you Nothing at all. But if you have questions, you can read our FAQs and review our updated Management Agreement, which will go into effect on January 1, 2020. Here’s to a great 2020, The Evolve Team