Escapia Announces a Next Generation Internet Business Platform for Professional Vacation Rental Managers
SEATTLE – April 26, 2007 – Escapia, Inc., the #1 web-based provider of management and marketing solutions for professional vacation rental managers, announced its integrated Internet business platform, Escapia®ONE™, and a significant expansion of the company's property management software with new ways for property managers to market vacation rentals on the web.
EscapiaONE is the only complete Internet business platform for the vacation rental industry combining the best of online marketing and property management in one place. Escapia offers the easiest turnkey solution for online bookings, and an integrated dashboard for managing online distribution. "To thrive in today's Internet-driven marketplace, professional vacation rental managers need broad online distribution of their units, an easy way to manage that distribution, and robust property management software," said Bill Furlong, Escapia's CEO. "EscapiaONE delivers that in a tightly integrated package that lets vacation rental managers grow their business and save time managing their agency."
The following are the new enhancements included in EscapiaONE:
- Escapia Vacation Rental Network: Escapia will launch the Escapia Vacation Rental Network this summer, a one-of-a-kind way for property managers to distribute their properties across the web. Using the Internet to reach consumers and drive bookings is increasingly critical to vacation rental managers. "More and more consumers are searching the web for vacation rentals, and want to complete the transaction by reserving their rental online," said John Suzuki, Vice President. "Integration with EscapiaONE means that consumers will be able to do more than just inquire about a property; they will see real time, accurate availability information and have the ability to reserve and transact vacation rentals online." The Escapia Vacation Rental Network will be the easiest way to unlock the potential of online bookings through leading online vacation rental and travel sites.
- Escapia Consumer Site: As part of the Escapia Vacation Rental Network, Escapia will also launch the premier web site to connect consumers with professional vacation rental managers known to deliver the best experience to their guests. "We're committed to do all we can to help our clients leverage the web to generate more bookings. No web site today is committed to providing the best experience for consumers by tightly integrating with professional vacation rental managers," said CEO Bill Furlong. "Escapia's booking site will deliver the best online experience for vacation home renters."
- CustomWeb: EscapiaONE now lets property managers work with third-party web developers to create custom web sites completely integrated with the EscapiaONE management platform through an advanced application programming interface (API). "We recognize that for some vacation rental managers, the ability to create highly customized web sites that integrated with their back-office operations is very important. Escapia lets them do that through a robust API," said John Suzuki.
- Advanced Service Order Accounting: This new module will build upon Escapia's service order system by integrating all costs for service orders and the billing of those costs to the responsible party. "Releasing service order accounting is another milestone on the path of having the most complete, integrated web solution for vacation rental companies," said Evan Gull, Director of Platform Development. "Having single-entry billing for service orders helps avoid billing errors, and allows agencies to capture more revenue by passing on the costs of bills they pay on behalf of owners. Escapia will now make doing this a seamless part of the platform."
In early April Escapia announced another quarter of record results, with bookings made using Escapia software increasing by 70% over the year before. The company also recently released enhancements including upgrades to travel insurance processing, customized unit flyers, and usability enhancements to WebPortal. "In the past six months, we've made major enhancements to our reservation engine and are releasing complete service order management and accounting tools," said Melissa Yang, Chief Technology Officer. "Along the way we've also made scores of minor but important improvements that make Escapia the best way for a vacation rental manager to manage their business."