PCI compliance regulations require that credit card information not be stored for any longer than is absolutely necessary for a business.  The best practice is to delete the credit card after it is processed, but for lodging businesses, it is also acceptable to retain the credit card until after a guest checks out of your property. 

As part of our ongoing efforts to help all Webervations customers maintain the greatest level of security and the least potential risk, on July 7, 2009, we will be adding functionality for all Webervations 1.0 users to choose how long they retain a customer's credit card number.  This feature will be set by default to remove the credit card number from the Webervations system three days after departure date for all reservations that come into the Webervations system; it can also be customized to remove the card any period from one-to-eight days after the departure date or one-to-eight days after the booking date.   For users who sell gift certificates or gift shop items, an option will also be available to delete credit cards one-to-eight days after the purchase date.

To customize this new feature to your preferences, simply log into your Webervations account on or after July 7 and select the Configuration tab.  Next, in the Blue sub navigation bar, choose Custom Messages, and locate the Scheduled Credit Card Delete Settings section (image included below).



For more information on PCI compliance, click here to read the PCI Quick Reference Guide from the PCI Security Standards Council.

BedandBreakfast.com, the leading specialty travel website focused on inns and B&Bs, on Friday announced that it is offering an extended line of products and services to help innkeepers better market and monetize their websites, including trip insurance, reservations for local attractions, and increased consumer reviews.

B&Bs using either the RezOvation or Webervations booking engines will soon be able to offer potential guests additional products and services in the checkout path, providing innkeepers with both additional revenue streams and increased reservations. These new optional products/features include trip insurance sold through Access America and add-ons like event tickets and local sightseeing tours, purchased right on inns’ online reservation checkout pages. Properties will also be able to embed BedandBreakfast.com reviews in their check-out path, providing positive reinforcement to prospective guests at a key decision point in the reservation process. RezOvation and Webervations customers can also allow their guests to receive a BedandBreakfast.com review reminder after they have stayed at a property, minimizing the need for innkeepers to solicit reviews directly. Each property will have the option of using any or all of the additional features on its booking engine.

“Our goal is to enable B&Bs to offer the same kind of rich website features as larger properties,” explained Eric Goldreyer, CEO of BedandBreakfast.com. “Until now, smaller properties couldn’t offer trip insurance, generally considered a win-win for travelers and properties alike. In addition, consumers are increasingly demanding to see property reviews, and these new products will help innkeepers both increase the number of reviews they have, and display those reviews to prospective guests.”

None of the additional features require any website changes or work on the part of the innkeepers, except to let BedandBreakfast.com know which features they wish to use. Each feature will be rolled out over the coming months, starting with travel add-ons and the review products;innkeepers will be notified directly in advance of each new feature launch, including details on how to customize, add, or drop the services for their property.   

Trip insurance will be sold through an agreement between BedandBreakfast.com and Access America. Consumers booking on a RezOvation or Webervations property website will see a check-box on the final page of the checkout and will be able to choose whether or not they want to purchase insurance. If they decide to take the insurance – which will protect them against such problems as trip delays, illness, and lost luggage – their information will be shared with Access America which issues the insurance policy. Properties will earn revenue on every sale made from their websites and can discontinue the program at any time; all billing and revenue sharing is done automatically. In addition, when travelers are offered trip insurance, it’s easier for innkeepers to implement their cancellation policies; after all, the prospective guests had the option to protect themselves with low-cost insurance.

Travel add-ons will be sold through an agreement between BedandBreakfast.com and Viator, a leading online resource for travel experiences, providing access to 5,500 tours, attractions, and activities in 450 destinations in 75 countries. This feature will be limited to U.S. properties in areas where Viator has coverage. Consumers who book via a RezOvation or Webervations booking engine will see a link to Viator on the reservation confirmation page; they can click through to a Viator web page with add-on activities relevant to their destination, and can purchase any of interest. As with trip insurance, properties will earn revenue on every sale, and the billing and revenue sharing will be done automatically.  

The BedandBreakfast.com reviews widget can be displayed in the checkout path to help increase the conversion. The technique of putting third-party reviews into the checkout pages has shown tremendous conversion increases in the retail sector, and is expected to lead to more reservations by consumers wary of staying at lesser-known properties. It will also help generate more consumer reviews for participating properties. The monthly income from just a few travel add-on or trip insurance sales can cover the monthly cost of a booking engine; just one review a month on BedandBreakfast.com earns a property up to $60 annually in membership credits. The reviews can be shown in a separate window when someone checks availability on a property website or as a customized graphic embedded into the room results pages.

BedandBreakfast.com began offering the same embedded review widget in January 2009. More than 600 properties have already added the review widget to their own website, and those properties are generating four times as many reviews on BedandBreakfast.com as properties that do not use the review widget.

One of the most successful techniques for properties to get more consumer reviews is a follow-up email sent to a guest several days after check-out. While this is a very effective tool, many innkeepers are reluctant to solicit reviews, and guests may question whether their information will truly be kept private if an email comes directly from a property. RezOvation and Webervations users will soon be able to give consumers the option of having BedandBreakfast.com send a reminder email to their guests after check-out. This will help innkeepers who want to avoid soliciting reviews themselves and will convey to guests that they are working with a well-respected third party to generate their reviews. Properties using the feature can expect to increase the number of reviews as well as their review credits with no additional effort.

“Travelers will now start to see professional features on small property websites, and they will be more comfortable than ever booking a B&B when they see reviews from the leader in specialty lodging,” commented John Banczak, Chief Operating Officer for BedandBreakfast.com. “We are happy to be able to offer these products to help enable small lodgings attract broader audiences.  The products and services available at B&Bs around the world are better than they have ever been; our goal is to help consumers realize what a wonderful travel experience awaits when they stay at B&Bs.”

About BedandBreakfast.com

Founded in 1994, BedandBreakfast.com is the leading specialty travel website, with detailed information on over 7,500 B&Bs worldwide. Travelers can research information including over 50,000 photos, read over 70,000 unbiased consumer reviews, and make confirmed reservations instantly at nearly 1,700 properties. Welcome at more than 4,000 B&Bs, BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards never expire; they have no restrictions or blackout dates, and are available online or at over 20,000 retail locations.

About RezOvation

RezOvation is a Microsoft Gold-certified company and the industry leader in property management systems, online reservations, website design and internet marketing for the small hotel, inn, and B&B market. Over 7,500 properties actively use RezOvation and Webervations software. RezOvation is part of the BedandBreakfast.com family of companies. RezOvation's suite of products is ideal for bed and breakfasts, inns, boutique hotels, lodges, and many other types of businesses.

A new update for RezOvation GT is available today!  The new version is 5.3.1.61 and includes the following features:

• GDS (global distribution system) integration, which allows you to provide availability on sites such as Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, and through distribution networks including Sabre and Pegasus. Additional fees apply if you wish to use this service. Please contact sales@rezovation.com for details on how to sign up.
• Reservations By Date report, which shows reservations booked based on whatever date range you choose. This report can be accessed from the Reports menu under Reservations.
• Revenue by Item report, which details all items sold based on revenue date (extras and rooms).
• Revenue by Rate Type report, which summarizes total revenue by rate type booked (e.g. Rack, BedandBreakfast.com, etc.)
• Revenue by Package report, which details sales by addon and lodging packages.
• Phone number masking for all list and edit views (including customer and reservation lists). This setting can be turned on by going to Configuration > Additional Settings > Lists and Occupancy Map.
• Auto refresh for all lists and occupancy map. This will refresh the lists / occupancy map on whatever interval you choose (30 seconds - 15 minutes). This setting can be turned on by going to Configuration > Additional Settings > Lists and Occupancy Map.
• For more features, as well as bug fixes, take a look at the release notes.
  

 

Austin, TX– Less than four months after the successful transition of the Webervations system, RezOvation is pleased to announce a sweeping set of product enhancements for Webervations 1.0.  First on the list, the encryption methods used on all credit cards entered into Webervations have been extended and upgraded to provide a much greater level of security, on par with that used by BedandBreakfast.com and RezOvation GT and Desktop products.  A number of additional security procedures were put in place, including the removal of access to credit card information through direct or unencrypted links.  Innkeepers can rest assured that their data is now safer than ever --- another step taken to protect the industry from potential theft and fraud.

To add to the security features, effective immediately, Webervations will no longer be accepting or storing CVV or CVV2 numbers as per the PCI compliance guidelines.  PCI regulations expressly prohibit the storing of CVV numbers for viewing.  Any system that provides this feature to innkeepers is in violation of PCI regulations, and innkeepers who use systems that provide this feature should know that they can be held liable for using non-compliant systems.  RezOvation is committed to ensuring that innkeepers have a system that enables them to have both the best security, as well as one that clearly follows PCI guidelines.  By the end of May, a new Webervations feature will enable users to customize their credit card retention policies.  Innkeepers will be able to choose how long they retain credit card data – they can delete it immediately after a booking is processed or retain it until a guest checks out.  This auto-delete functionality is similar to functionality that has been very well received by RezOvation GT users.  Innkeepers can hold onto sensitive data as long as they wish; all sensitive data can be deleted automatically based on their specific settings.

Webervations users who are also BedandBreakfast.com members will also be delighted by another new feature:  Webervations can now be used to manage rates and inventory, and receive reservations directly from BedandBreakfast.com, Expedia, hotels.com, Kayak, Sidestep, Nextag, and coming this fall, Travelocity!  BedandBreakfast.com recently signed an agreement with Travelocity to feature BedandBreakfast.com bookable properties on Travelocity websites, moving one step closer to the goal of getting B&Bs sold on every major online travel directory through a system that is easy for  innkeepers to manage.  Rates and inventory automatically synchronize across all systems, and reservations show up immediately in the Webervations system.  It takes only a few minutes to set up the new feature, and customers who already use the BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations program can easily switch over and use Webervations for management instead of the BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations Manager.

Additional improvements to both Webervations 1.0 and 2.0, as well as to RezOvation GT are planned for the summer months and will be announced as soon as they are ready.

We're proud to annouce the latest update to RezOvation GT, version 5.1.6.20.  This release includes many important bug fixes, along with the following features:

•  Added a "copy rate type" feature which allows you to both copy an existing rate type to a new rate type, and copy rates between one rate type and another. You can also automatically adjust rates by a specified amount. This is particularly useful if you are part of the BedandBreakfast.com online reservations program, as you can copy rates from your Rack rate to BB.com rate and automatically adjust the rate. 
  

• Added template codes for "add-on packages" and "lodging packages" to the Housekeeping report.
• Added template code for "room description" to confirmation letters, folios, registration card, follow up and reminder emails, housekeeping report, and reservations reports. This code is [sRoomsDescription] and will display descriptions for any rooms added to a reservation.
• Added a "guest notes" template code to the reservations reports.
• Added a "Quick select" feature to the reports viewer which allows you to quickly select a date range such as "today", "this month", "last month", etc.
• Added a cancellation warning to the Customer edit and Reservation edit screens which asks you to confirm cancelling changes when clicking the cancel button or close (X) button.
• Improved the organization of the Configuration screen.
• Improved the reservation list "taken by" custom filter to be a picklist instead of a text box.
• SQL Express 2008 is now installed by default with new installations.

Read more here.

We will be performing maintenance on all the RezOvation & Webervations servers Wednesday April 8th between 12am - 5am.  During this time, some websites and services may be intermittently unavailable, including the Webervations admin site, Webervations booking engine, RezOvation booking engine, and RezOvation application data synch (portal synch / server synch).   

Atlanta, GA – RezOvation, the leader in property management systems for inns, B&Bs, hotels, and specialty lodging announced the launch of a fully online version of its RezOvation GT 5.0 Property Management System product today at the annual Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII) conference. “This is not a scaled-down web-based PMS with limited functionality that requires numerous clicks to get anything done,” explained John Banczak, COO of RezOvation. “This full-blown hosted version of our RezOvation GT product is complete with all its robust features, right down to the user interface, credit card processing, and connectivity to sites like BedandBreakfast.com, Expedia.com, hotels.com and Kayak. It’s a huge leap forward in the feature set and usability of an application that can be accessed via the Internet.” RezOvation GTO is part of an increasing number of sophisticated hosted applications that have been enabled by advances in technology and bandwidth. Just two years ago, providing these features in an online application would have been cost prohibitive, but as storage, processing power, and bandwidth have gotten more affordable, hosted applications have become an extremely appealing option. The beauty of a true hosted application lies within the user interface; hosted applications enable a user experience that exactly mimics a true installed application, so features like dragging and dropping can be accomplished easily, whereas in HTML they are cumbersome at best.

A hosted application also offers great flexibility to innkeepers who can use the exact same product on either their desktop or online, at exactly the same pricing. If innkeepers prefer the speed and security of a locally installed application they can select that option; if they prefer the flexibility of remote access they can choose that instead. Pricing for the software with the Booking Engine will be the same regardless and innkeepers can switch at any time. The other appealing aspect of a hosted application is the flexibility with which users can access the system. Innkeepers can access the product directly via a website on any PC or Mac computer via Internet Explorer. Options even exist to have a robust iPhone interface, or to use a USB login key for the ultimate in security and accessibility.

For more information, or to sign up, please contact our sales team at 866-565-1800 or Sales@RezOvation.com.

Read more ...

RezOvation, the leader in property management systems for inns, B&BS, hotels, and specialty lodging with its RezOvation GT 5.0 Property Management System product, announced that it has passed full PA-DSS credit card security certification. “Our GT product is one of the first products in the world to have completed the new, more rigorous payment application certification standards,” explained John Banczak, COO of RezOvation. “Our customers can now rest assured that RezOvation GT has undergone the most stringent data security testing procedures available and is fully approved for credit card processing and data storage.”

Credit card security is quickly becoming a critical issue for all small merchants that accept credit cards, including B&Bs and small hotels. Any third-party application that a small merchant uses to capture, transmit, store, or process credit cards must be fully certified by 2010 – whether it is an online application, a website shopping-cart, or installed software – and small merchants are scrambling to find software that is approved, appropriate, and affordable. By July of 2010, just over a year away, credit card processors must ensure that all of their merchants are using only fully certified applications. In addition, merchants using third-party applications that are not certified cannot become PCI compliant. Many credit card processors are already enforcing compliance or are charging additional fees to non-compliant properties. RezOvation is already seeing a huge demand from its customers for certified applications and encourages properties to become PA-DSS complaint well in advance of the 2010 deadline to avoid the expected last-minute rush.

Read more ...

We released an update this week to RezOvation GT, and the version is now 5.0.4.255.  Some features include:

• Reservation Wait List. To add a reservation to the wait list, create the reservation using the Add Reservation button. Do not assign a room to the reservation, and enter any other reservation details (guest name, notes, payments, etc.). Click the Actions button and select Add to Wait List. To view the wait list, go to the Reservations list and click the "Wait List" button on the left hand side.
• Minimum night stay enforcement when booking a reservation via the Occupancy Map or Add Reservation screen. If the dates you have selected to not meet the minimum night stay requirements, a message will appear when you click the "Book" button, and you will be asked if you want to proceed.
• Packages by day of the week. You can now restrict packages so that they are only available on specific days of the week. This is useful if you want to set up mid week specials, etc. This feature works both for bookings made through RezOvation GT and through the Booking Engine.
• Custom colors for the Booking Engine. You can now choose what colors are used for the Booking Engine buttons and header images. Currently, there are 6 colors to choose from, and more will be added in the future.
• Fax confirmations for Booking Engine & BedandBreakfast.com reservations. To configure this option, simply enter a special email address into the Automated Notifications section under Configuration > Online Reservations > Global Online Reservation Settings. Simply enter your fax number followed by @metrofax.com, e.g. 5125551212@metrofax.com.  Do not use a prefix such as 1 or 9.
• Improvements to the data synch process. For example, if you move RezOvation GT to a new computer, and forget to uninstall / disable RezOvation GT on your old computer, you will be prompted to register the data synch on your new computer. This helps to ensure that data is always synched to our servers.
• Booking Engine display improvements. The Availability Calendar now displays room description when you mouse over room picture, and the room name is now displayed in the photo viewer (photo viewer is accessed by clicking on the room picture or room name from the Availability Calendar, or by clicking the Enlarge link from the select room list).
• Many bug fixes.
  
• Read the release notes ...
  

 

 

Some users have reported that they are still having problems receiving emails from Webervations, in particular those using local internet providers.  We have now made some additional adjustments to our email servers which should alleviate this problem.  If you still are unable to receive emails from Webervations (either from our support team, or automated email notifications from the system), please do the following:

- Check your spam filter to ensure that emails sent from Webervations.com are not getting filtered.  Because we have new email servers, your spam filter may consider our emails as spam and filter them.

- Contact your internet provider or email provider and ask them to "unblock" or "whitelist" our email server addresses.  They may need to allow the following range of IP addresses:

64.244.121.80
64.244.121.81
64.244.121.82
64.244.121.83
64.244.121.84
64.244.121.85
64.244.121.86
64.244.121.88

You can also request to whitelist the entire range from 64.244.121.80 - 88

If you continue to have problems, or receive any email bounce messages, please contact support@webervations.com or call 740-380-3807 and provide as much detail as possible.