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Q: What is the purpose of the guestbook?
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A: The HomeAway Connect guestbook is designed exclusively for owners and managers of vacation rental homes. Each guestbook displays comments submitted by guests who have actually stayed in the vacation rental property. Also, the homeowner may enter his or her own comments to the guestbook. In this manner, comments from previous guests can be entered.
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Q: Can I create a guestbook for more than one vacation rental property?
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A: Yes. The customer account for each homeowner or property manager at HomeAway Connect can include as many as 99 property-specific guestbooks.
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Q: What is my annual fee for each guestbook?
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A: Each guestbook is free, so long as you agree to receive a once-monthly email from the sponsors of HomeAway Connect, and you agree to our other terms of service.
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Q: Can I link to my guestbook from my listings published on the HomeAway Connect partner sites?
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A: Automatic linking is supported by several sponsors. Please contact each sponsor for specific linking details: A1Vacations, CyberRentals, Great Rentals, Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO), HomeAway Vacation Rentals.
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Q: Can I link to my guestbook from ANY other webpage?
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A: Yes. Your link is: http://www.homeawayconnect.com/guestbook.cfm?pid=#. You must replace # with your Property ID number. Your Property ID number is identified at the bottom of your guestbook.
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Q: How many entries can be put into my guestbook?
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A: The number of entries is virtually unlimited.
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Q: I have a paper guestbook in my vacation rental home that has lots of great comments in it. Can I enter those past guests' comments into my HomeAway Connect guestbook?
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A: Yes, you can enter as many comments as you wish. The comments that you enter will be designated as "homeowner-added comments", and will contain no positive or negative rating.
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Q: How does a guest enter a comment into my guestbook? What is the procedure?
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A: The guest begins by looking at your guestbook page. If he or she wishes to add a comment to your guestbook, the guest enters his or her email address and clicks on the "Add Comment" button at the bottom of the guestbook. From there, the guest is asked for his or her name, phone number, and city, state/province. The guest may choose to display any or all of these items in the guestbook. The guest then enters a comment and submits the entry. After the guest has verified his submission via an email sent to him or her, you as the homeowner will receive an email notification for the new guestbook submission. From this email you can click on a link which will take you to HomeAway Connect where you can approve the submission or not. If you approve the submission, the comment will immediately appear in the guestbook. If you disapprove the submission or do nothing, the comment will NOT appear in your guestbook. The rating of the comment, positive or negative, will, however, appear in the rating totals that display at the top of your guestbook.
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Q: How do the positive and negative rankings work?
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A: Whenever a guest submits an entry to your guestbook, he or she will denote the rating as positive or negative. The total number of positive and negative ratings is displayed in your guestbook. Each individual guest entry that you approve to be displayed in your guestbook will also display the plus or minus rating as either the word "Positive" in green, or the word "Negative" in red.
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Q: Can a guest put a comment into my guestbook without my knowledge?
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A: No. Any time a guest submits a comment, you will get an email notification. You will be able to click on a link in the email which will take you to HomeAway Connect so you can choose whether to approve the comment or not. If you approve the comment, it will immediately appear in your guestbook. If you disapprove the comment or do nothing, the comment will NOT appear in your guestbook. The rating of the comment, positive or negative, will, however, appear in the rating totals that display at the top of your guestbook.
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Q: Do I have to approve all guestbook submissions by guests? What if I do not like the comment submitted?
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A: No, you do not have to approve all entries submitted by guests. In fact, if you choose not to approve a comment, that comment will not appear in your guestbook at all. However, the rating indicated by the guest will appear in the rating totals for your property in the guestbook.
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Q: I would like to get rid of a negative rating that appears in the totals in my guestbook. How do I do this?
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A: 99% of guestbook comments are positive, but it is possible to receive a negative comment… if you do, you have 4 options - we highly recommend options 1 or 2.
- Contact the guest who submitted the negative comment and try to work out the problem. The guest can then remove the negative comment.
- Edit your guestbook and add your response or rebuttal to the negative comment to explain your side of the story. If there was a temporary problem which has be rectified, explain it… if there was a situation which was out of your control, explain it… if the previous renter is being unreasonable, explain it… future renters will appreciate your honesty. Future renters will not expect your property to be perfect, but they will expect you to try to remedy negative situations…
- If options 1 or 2 do not work, you can always RESET your guestbook. RESETTING your guestbook will cause ALL comments to be deleted – if you save a copy of the previously entered positive comments before you RESET the guestbook, you can manually re-enter each positive comment you wish to keep as a “Homeowner-entered comment.”
- As a last resort, you can DE-ACTIVATE your guestbook. This will prevent your guestbook from being displayed at all, but it will save all of your comments if you choose to re-activate it later.
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Q: I would like to respond to a guest's comment in my guestbook. Can I do this?
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A: Yes, you can. The "Edit Your Guestbook" page of HomeAway Connect allows you to do just that.
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Q: Can I make a change to a guest comment that appears in my guestbook, or remove it altogether?
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A: No. You can, however, contact the guest and request that he or she change or remove it. To do this, they will need to delete their comment and re-submit it. If that is not possible, you can RESET your guestbook. RESETTING causes all comments to be removed from your guestbook.
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Q: Can I change or remove comments I have entered myself?
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A: Yes. Use the "Edit Guestbook" page. You can go there by clicking on the "Edit Your Guestbook" link at the bottom of your guestbook page.
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Q: What should I do if I can't remember my email address or password, for login?
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A: If you forget your password, you can request it by email, at the login screen. If you forget the email address that you use for your HomeAway Connect account, you must create a new account, then re-enter all of your information. We cannot help you to 'find' your old account, but the software will automatically delete your older, inactive account.
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Q: I linked into my guestbook through the "Edit Your Guestbook:" option at the bottom of the guestbook. I was able to edit my guestbook without typing my email address and password. I know that I saved my login information in the "cookie" that was stored in my computer by HomeAway Connect, but I'm concerned that someone else could make changes to my guestbook. Is that possible?
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A: If you have saved your login information for future use, ANYONE USING YOUR COMPUTER (where the "cookie" is stored) can login automatically to edit your guestbook. No one using a different computer can edit your guestbook unless they know your email address and HomeAway Connect password.
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Q: Can I change the colors or fonts used on my guestbook?
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A: No. Standardized colors and fonts have been selected to make the guestbook easy to read and understand, when viewed with nearly any browser -- Netscape, Internet Explorer, AOL, Opera, WebTV, etc.
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Q: Can I display a webpage address link or my email address on my guestbook?
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A: No, the guestbook is intended ONLY to display comments and ratings from guests. Links and email addresses are prohibited. Guestbooks that include either will be automatically disabled or deleted.
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Q: How will HomeAway Connect use my email address and other personal information?
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A: HomeAway Connect will use your email address and other personal information to send you a monthly newsletter from the sponsors that may include the sponsors' promotional information. Your email address and other personal information will NOT be displayed on your calendar.
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Q: How can I get assistance with my guestbook?
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A: The guestbook is a free service, and it is 100% self-service. If you have questions, please carefully follow the online instructions whenever you create or edit your guestbook -- and please review this FAQ frequently for more help.
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Q: Is there a PAID option for the guestbook?
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A: No, the guestbook is paid for by the sponsors of HomeAway Connect
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