•   What is the Native Connection with Airbnb?
• Your Porter App has become an official software partner of Airbnb by the last quarter of 2019. Through the official integration, we released a new Airbnb connection type: Native Connection. When you want to add a new Airbnb listing to Your Porter App, you are automatically directed towards the Native Connection; therefore, it is the way to go for our recently registered users.

•   What are brought by Your Porter App's Native Connection to Airbnb?
• By the Native Connection, the communication between Airbnb and Your Porter App is enhanced and the reliability is ensured. In simpler terms, the reservations and messaging (hence the push notifications) do have real-time sync, more stable calendars and faster onboarding processes are reached, and many other advantages with regards to expectations from a property management app.

•   What points do I need to take into consideration in terms the Native Connection?
• As stated while you are importing your Airbnb listings to Your Porter App, there are things to be noted due to Airbnb's official channel manager connection. For example; rates and availability can be edited only through Your Porter App, Airbnb's smart pricing will be disabled (you can still use the external dynamic pricing tools), Instant book will be activated, imported calendar links will be removed, etc.

•   Do I have to use the Native connection on Your Porter App?
• If you are using Your Porter App since before the last quarter of 2019, our previous connection type to Airbnb (we call it Extended) will remain in your account; you can always switch to the Native Connection, or turn back to the Extended Connection whenever you want. If you simply go to Menu > Airbnb > Listings > Edit and change the sync status to Disconnected, you will receive a notification that your sync will stop but it does not apply as long as your Airbnb account is connected via the Extended Connection, all of the features will work as expected without any issues.

•   What is the Extended Connection with Airbnb?
• Before becoming an official software partner of Airbnb, Your Porter App was still able to perform almost the same operations in terms of the sync (in a less reliable but acceptable way of course). After the Native Connection is released, we kept the previous connection type and called it the Extended Connection. Although it is shown for our prior users, the new users are headed towards the Native Connection by default.

•   In which cases would the Extended Connection be more appropriate?
• If it is compulsory for you to have Instant book disabled, or you have a binding configuration to control your rates and availability on Airbnb side; you can continue with the Extended Connection by the acknowledgment of leaving off the opportunities brought by the Native Connection.

•   How can I switch to the Extended Connection as a new user?
• The Extended Connection is not displayed for our new users; however, if you contact us by mentioning your use case, we can make the necessary arrangements for you. After that, you can go to Menu > Airbnb and connect your Airbnb account via Extended Connection by entering your credentials; then, you can disconnect your Airbnb listings from the Native connection.

•   Can I turn back to the Native connection again?
• Yes, if you have both of the Airbnb connection types defined in your Your Porter App account, it is quite simple to switch between them. You can follow the steps mentioned above, or have a look at our documentation.

•   How can I connect my Booking.com properties to Your Porter App?
• Go to Booking.com Extranet and click on your property. After that, click on Account on the top right corner of admin panel, choose Channel Manager. Start typing Your Porter App and select Your Porter App as your channel manager. Check out our documentation for connecting your Booking.com properties to Your Porter App.

•   Which types of connection should I assign to Your Porter app as channel manager?
• You can choose Reservations, Rates & Availability, Messaging as connection type. It is suggested to include all of them for a reliable connection, i.e. if you want Your Porter App to import your new reservations, get/send messages, and sync pricing and availability.

•   What is the next step after sending a channel manager request on Booking.com?
• Go to Your Porter App and click Menu > Booking.com. Make a Request to connect your account to Your Porter App. After that, you will receive an email with detailed instructions.

•   How can I match Booking.com rooms with the related Airbnb listings?
• Go to Menu > Your Listings, and click Add Another Channel for the listing you want to continue with. After that, click Link Booking.com and choose the corresponding Booking.com room. Set your pricing rule, and choose payment processor. After matching with Airbnb listings, we will be notified that you are ready for activation.

•   Can I match multiple Airbnb listings with single Booking.com room?
• It is possible if you have more than one Airbnb listing which stand for the same Booking.com room. In this case, Booking.com will allow you to get multiple reservations for the same dates concluding that you have multiple rooms of the same property in real life.

•   Can I connect only Booking.com properties without having an Airbnb listing?
• Your Porter App is an Airbnb-dependent platform, therefore it is not possible to use Your Porter App if you list your properties only on Booking.com.

•   Will my existing Booking.com reservations be imported to Your Porter App?
• Of course, Your Porter App will export your existing reservations and add them to your calendar. Though, you should enter some information regarding these reservations manually like email of the guest.

•   Can I manage my Booking.com inbox via Your Porter App?
• When you connect your Booking.com property to Your Porter App, you will be able to manage all the conversation through our unified inbox. You can find it under Messaging > Booking.com Inbox.

•   How can I send automated messages to my Booking.com guests?
• If you go to Menu > Settings, and enable Send automated messages to other channels option, your automated Airbnb messages will be sent to your Booking.com guests as native platform messages.

•   Why is my Booking.com admin panel limited after connecting to a channel manager?
• Due to Booking.com's channel manager structure, you need to control most of the operations through Your Porter App after the connection is established.

•   Do I need to contact you if I want to modify the policies regarding Booking.com integration after activation?
• Yes, you should let us know if you decide to make some changes regarding Booking.com integration such as changing the connection type, adding/deleting rooms, modifying rate plans, etc.

•   Can I cancel my Booking.com reservations from Your Porter App?
• You should handle the cancelation process in Booking.com by yourself, it is not possible to cancel reservations from Your Porter App.

•   Do I have to use a Stripe account and collect payments through Your Porter App?
• Although this is quite useful for hosts, it is not a required to activate credit card in your account in order to use Your Porter App as your channel manager. If your property in Booking.com is eligible for Payments by Booking.com or you want to handle credit cards manually, you can skip this feature.

•   How can I connect my Stripe account to Your Porter App?
• You can link your Stripe account by clicking Add New Stripe Account on Menu > Booking.com > Stripe Accounts. If you do not have a Stripe account yet, you can create a Stripe account very easily. If you already have a Stripe account, you can Sign In by clicking the link in the upper right corner of the page. Please have a look at our documentation for Payment Processing via Stripe.

•   Can I choose different Stripe accounts for different properties?
• You can use different Stripe accounts for different properties on Booking.com, that's why you need to add your Stripe accounts first and then link them to your properties.

•   Do I need to change my payment policy on Booking.com?
• In order to let Your Porter App handle your Booking.com payments (including security deposits), you should choose to get credit card details of your guests (instead of Payments by Booking.com or cash). You can check it from the Property > Policies section in Booking.com Admin Panel and contact Booking.com support team if you need further assistance.

•   How does the payment processing via Stripe work?
• Whenever you receive a new reservation on Booking.com, we will create a customer object on your Stripe account. Once the credit card details are stored in your own Stripe account, you are able to charge the customer anytime you prefer according to your policies.

•   How can I automate payment processing for Booking.com?
• You can create an auto-payment rule from Menu > Booking.com > Auto Charge Rules, then we will charge your Booking.com guests automatically according to your rules. Just visit our documentation to see more details about collecting auto payments.

•   Can I have multiple auto-payment rules?
• Yes, you can add different auto-payment rules. You can collect the partial payment when you receive a reservation, and the remaining part will be collected by Your Porter App according to your rules.

•   Can I cancel an upcoming auto-payment for a reservation?
• Yes, you are always in control for your auto payment rules. You can go to Reservation Details > Auto Charge Details section.

•   How can I collect security deposits for Booking.com reservations?
• You can protect your property from any possible damage or misuse through Your Porter App. It is possible to authorize or charge a deposit from your guest, and even this process can be automatized. Please check out our Deposit Management feature.

•   How can I see the credit card details of a reservation in Your Porter App?
• Your Porter App never keeps the credit card information for high-security levels (PCI Compliance) required by Booking.com. We only forward the data to your Stripe account. Therefore, it is not possible to see the credit card details in Your Porter App.

•   What happens if a guest submits an invalid credit card?
• In that case, both you and your guest will receive an email indicating the credit card is invalid. Then, your guest needs to update the credit card details within 24 hours. If not, you are allowed to cancel the reservation without paying penalty.

•   Is there any commission for payment processing via Stripe?
• Although, there will be no charge on our side when you link your Stripe account, there is a transaction fee for each transfer that Stripe takes as commission.

•   Why is my net payout for a reservation different than the amount I see in Booking.com?
• While Booking.com shows the amount which guests pay, we show the net payout you make from a reservation after deducting the Booking.com's commission. This is the main reason behind the price difference you notice.

•   How can I set different rates for Booking.com than Airbnb?
• You can update rates and availability channel-wise. You just need to select Booking.com while making changes in Calendar > Pricing View. Here, you can also set up minimum duration of stay restriction on the basis of channels.

•   How can I add a markup on my Airbnb rates for Booking.com?
• Just go to Menu > Booking.com > Rates and here, you can set a markup rate. We add 15% on top of your Airbnb prices by default while updating your Booking.com rates. You can find more information about adjusting pricing rules for Booking.com.

•   Which rate plan can I control from Your Porter App?
• You need to choose one rate plan to control via Your Porter App. If you use multiple rate plans in Booking.com, you need to set other rates to be updated relatively to the rate which you control through Your Porter App.

•   Can I have different currencies in Airbnb and Booking.com?
• We usually suggest not to have different currencies between platforms to avoid any issue while syncing the rates. As a workaround, you can adjust the markup for Booking.com rates in a way that balances the currency difference.

•   Does Your Porter App have any integration with smart pricing tools for Booking.com?
• Your Porter App has integration with all the major smart pricing tools. We can periodically take the daily rates from Airbnb and push them to Booking.com on a daily basis with the markup you specified. To activate this feature, you should go to Menu > Booking.com > Rates > Enable Auto Rate Push.

•   If I change the rates and availability directly on Airbnb, will they be pushed to Booking.com?
• If you want to keep editing your rates and availability directly on Airbnb, you should activate auto-sync from Menu > Booking.com > Rates > Enable Auto Rate Push.

•   Can I manually push the rates and availability from my calendar to Booking.com?
• If you change something in Airbnb and want to push it immediately to Booking.com, you can always manually trigger the sync from Menu > Booking.com > Push Rates and Availability.

•   How can I add advanced restrictions like extra person pricing for Booking.com?
• You can add special restrictions by going to Menu > Booking.com > Restrictions. Here, you can add restrictions different than Airbnb.

•   How can I offer discounts/seasonal rules for Booking.com?
• We do not have any control over your discounts/seasonal rules. You need to adjust them directly on Booking.com Admin Panel.

•   Do you push the cleaning fee from Airbnb to Booking.com when I activate the syncing?
• We do not push your cleaning fee from Airbnb to Booking.com. You need to set extra fees like cleaning fee on Booking.com Admin Panel.

•   Can I see the calendar in a monthly view?
• You can display the reservations calendar by month for each listing. Just go to Calendar > Reservations View, and click on the calendar icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen. Please check our tutorial to see more about reservations calendar.

•   How can I change the date interval displayed on the calendar?
• In order to move onwards or backwards through the dates, you should use buttons on the top-right corner of the calendars.

•   Can I change the calendar start date?
• Yes, you should go to Menu > Settings > Calendar Start Date, and select how many days from the past you want to start the calendar.

•   Can I have my all groups expanded on the calendar?
• If you have more than one group of listings, only the first group is expanded on the calendar, others are collapsed by default. In order to have all of your groups expanded, you should go to Menu > Settings to disable the Collapse Groups in Calendar option. However, if you have many listings, it would be better to keep this setting enabled in terms of the speed performance of calendars.

•   How can I remove the demo listing and group from my account?
• You can remove your demo listing by going to Menu > My Listings, choose listing and click on Delete. Then you can also delete the group by clicking on edit.

•   How can I import my Airbnb listings to Your Porter App?
• Since Your Porter App is an Airbnb-dependent platform, you need to link your Airbnb account beforehand. In order to do that, you should go to Menu > Channel Manager > Airbnb and click Connect Airbnb Account. After that, you will be able to select your listings to import into Your Porter App. Please see our documentation about connecting your Airbnb account.

•   Can I link my listings' calendars to each other?
• If you have multiple Airbnb listings which have a parent/child relationship, i.e. entire home and room inside that home, you can link their calendars on Your Porter App to prevent double-bookings. You should go to Menu > My Listings and choose one of the listings; then, you can click on Link calendars and continue with specifying details. Please have a look at our tutorial to see more about linked calendars for multiple listings.

•   How can I add a new group /change its color?
• You can add a new group from Menu > My Listings > Add New Group, and change the color of your groups by clicking on edit on the right-hand side.

•   Can I change the dates of a reservation?
• You can change reservation dates in two ways: go to Calendar > Reservations View and click on the reservation you want to alter. A new page will appear and you can update check-in and check-out dates with a click on them. Or go to Menu > Recent Reservations and click on the reservation you wish to change.

•   How can I add a manual reservation?
• You can add a manual reservation for a listing in two ways: go to Calendar > Reservations View and mark the date range on which you wish to create a new reservation or click on the Menu > Add New Reservation. A pop-up will be opened, here you can fill in the reservation information including dates, guest and payout details.

•   How can I delete a reservation from calendar?
• You can remove the reservation by going to Calendar > Reservations View. Here, click on the reservation you wish to delete, a new page will be opened and you will see reservation details. At the bottom of the reservation form, click Delete Reservation.

•   For which channels can I delete reservations?
• You can only delete Booking.com, direct booking website, and manual reservations. Since we have iCal connection for other channels like Airbnb and HomeAway, it is not possible to delete reservations from them.

•   If I delete a reservation, does it automatically get cancelled on the specific channel as well?
• In that case, the reservation will only be removed from your calendar, you should handle the cancelation process manually.

•   Can I move an existing reservation into another listing?
• It is not possible to move a reservation from one listing into another listing on your end. You can delete the old reservation and create a manual reservation in the new listing for that purpose.

•   How can I update guest information and reservation details?
• You can update the reservation details by going to Calendar > Reservations View. Here, click on the reservation, details of which you want to alter, and edit the information about guests, check-in and check-out time, payout details and much more.

•   Can I control my automation rules as reservation based?
• If you go to Reservations Details screen, you will see all message and task automation rules for that reservation. There, you can check the status of your automation rules, and stop them if needed.

•   How can I export my reservations to Excel?
• In order to export your reservations to an Excel file by selecting the listings, content, and date, you should go to Menu > Export Reservations. Please have a look at our documentation about exporting reservations to Excel.

•   How can I share my calendar with the 3rd parties?
• You can create shareable links for your calendars by choosing which listings to display or which information you want to include from Menu > Share Calendar. You can check out the details of sharing calendar with the 3rd parties here.

•   How can I manage daily rates and availability through Your Porter App?
• You can update your nightly price by going to Calendar > Pricing View at the right corner of the screen and clicking the white boxes under the price. In the pop-up window that appears, enter daily price and availability you wish to change for the selected listing. You can have a look at how to control pricing view in calendar.

•   How can I set minimum length of stay restriction for specific days?
• You can set minimum length of stay for specific days through Your Porter App. After selecting the days, on the new page, you can see Minimum Duration of Stay section and fill it accordingly.

•   How can I change rates and availability for each channel separately?
• When you select the dates in Calendar > Pricing View, you will be able to choose the channels you want to update rates and availability for on the new page.

•   Can I update rates and availability for multiple listing at a time?
• Yes, after choosing the dates on the pricing calendar, you will see the Listings section on the new page, there you can select more than one listing to update the rates, availability and minimum duration of stay settings simultaneously.

•   What does R or B letters in some dates mean?
• In Pricing View, you directly see your Airbnb calendar and prices. The letter R is for 'Reserved' which means you have an Airbnb reservation while the letter B is for 'Blocked' which indicates that your listing is not available for that day. When you get a reservation from another channel than Airbnb, we block your calendar in Airbnb, so you see 'B' again.

•   Does Your Porter App have any integration with smart pricing tools?
• We have an integration with all the major pricing tools, including BeyondPricing, PriceLabs, and Wheelhouse. If you use these tools for adjusting your price on Airbnb, we will get the adjusted price in real time, and can even push them to Booking.com and HomeAway.

•   May I keep the smart pricing function of Airbnb enabled?
• If you keep the internal smart pricing option of Airbnb enabled, we are not able to make changes on your prices. So, you should disable that feature in Airbnb to continue updating your rates through Your Porter App.

•   What does "Connect your Airbnb account" alert mean?
• When you see Connect your Airbnb account alert on your pricing calendar, it means either your Airbnb account has not been connected to Your Porter App, or you did not choose the Linked Airbnb account as Primary host. You can link your Airbnb account from Menu > Channel Manager > Airbnb, and check primary hosts from Menu > Your Listings > Details.

•   How can I create a direct booking website through Your Porter App?
• You can create your direct booking website by going to Menu > Website Builder > Create New Website. After you create your website, there is one more step on our end. When we complete this step and activate your website, we will let you know in a few hours. Please have a look at our documentation regarding creating a direct booking website through Your Porter App.

•   Can I use my own domain while building a website via Your Porter App?
• Of course. In order to use your own domain, we have an additional package on top of your Your Porter App subscription. Please contact us or simply make a request with your own domain for further instructions & details regarding our self domain package.

•   What may differ if I use my own domain instead of Your Porter App's subdomain?
• Having a special domain would be helpful for creating a brand value, your potential guests will know that you are professionally concerned with vacation rental business. However, the same booking functionality works with our 'staydirectly.com' subdomain as well.

•   Where does Your Porter App take my listings' details from?
• We get all the required information regarding your listings from Airbnb and then, push them to your direct booking website. After we create your website, you will able to update your listing's details as you wish.

•   How can I customize my direct booking website's visual settings?
• You can customize the look of your website by going to Menu > Website Builder > Edit Website > Visual Settings. We provide 8 different templates which affect the colors and texts on your website, you can also insert a logo and header image to your website.

•   Can I add/remove listings after my direct booking website is activated?
• You can determine which listings will be listed on your website by going to Menu > Website Builder > Edit Website > Listings. There, you can add/remove listings any time you want.

•   How can I refresh/update my listings' details on my direct booking website?
• If you go to Menu > Website Builder > Edit Website > Listing Details, you will see all the information related to your listings on your direct booking website. Whenever you want to retrieve the latest available data from Airbnb, you can click Refresh button at the top of this section.

•   Can I set different rates for my direct booking website than Airbnb?
• We take the daily base prices from your Airbnb calendar. However, in Rates & Payments section, Rate Markup sets the percentage that you want to put on top of your Airbnb rates for your website. This markup rate can also be negative if you would like to offer lower prices than Airbnb.

•   What kinds of taxes can I have on my website?
• If you go to Rates & Payments, you will see Taxes below; there you can give a name, choose the type, and specify an amount for your tax. After that, you should click on the Add New Tax button. Please keep in mind that the taxes will automatically be applied to all listings on your website, if you want to modify them for each listing, you should go to the Listing Details section.

•   Can I deactivate my direct booking website any time I want?
• You can easily activate/deactivate your direct booking website by going to Menu > Website Builder > Edit Website > Website Status section.

•   How can I change my website's domain?
• You need to contact us for editing or changing the domain of your website. Even if you created your initial website with our subdomain, you can always switch to your own domain later on. The same is valid for switching to our subdomain from your own domain.

•   Can I keep track of my direct booking website's statistics via Google Analytics?
• If you have a Google Analytics account, you can insert the tracking code into your direct booking website by going to Menu > Website Builder > Edit Website > Website Details.

•   How can I boost the SEO performance of my direct booking website?
• Your Porter App’s direct booking website is designed with SEO in mind. If you have a Google Search Console account, you can increase the Google search performance while receiving some insights regarding your website. Here, you can find more details about SEO for the direct booking websites.

•   How can I include additional pages on my direct booking website?
• You can add some more pages to your website such as ‘Terms And Conditions’ by going to Menu > Website Builder > Edit Website > Additional Pages. Some improvements like adding a blog page are planning to be released soon.

•   Can I add multiple language options to my direct booking website?
• Although multiple language option has not been offered on direct booking website yet, you can create unlimited websites and fill in the descriptions in any desired language from Menu > Website Builder > Edit Website > Listing Details.

•   Is there a quota for creating different websites through Your Porter App?
• No, you can build unlimited direct booking websites via Your Porter App. Besides, using our subdomain does not require any additional cost in Pro-Host plan even if you create multiple of them.

•   Will the reservations from my direct booking website be synced with my calendar in Your Porter App?
• Your direct booking website will include your up to date calendar, and when you receive a new reservation, it will be synced with the channels you have on Your Porter App.

•   How can I send automated messages to guests book through my direct booking website?
• If you go to Menu > Settings, and enable Send automated messages to other channels option, your automated Airbnb messages will be sent to the guests from your direct booking website as email. If you have email automation rules additionally, they will be sent to your direct booking website guests as well.

•   Can I accept online payments on my direct booking website?
• If you link your Stripe or PayPal account to Your Porter App, you can receive online payments from your direct booking website. You can even automate the payment process by adjusting the rules in the Payment Plan section.

•   How can I connect my Stripe account to Your Porter App?
• You can link your Stripe account by going Menu > Website Builder > Stripe Accounts > Add New Stripe Account. If you do not have a Stripe account yet, you can create a Stripe account easily. If you already have a Stripe account, you can Sign In by clicking the link in the upper right corner of the page.

•   Can I receive payments to different Stripe accounts for different listings?
• Yes, you can link different Stripe accounts to different listings. After you added your Stripe accounts to Your Porter App, you need to go to Edit Website > Listing Details > Payout Option, and select the related Stripe account for your listing.

•   How does the payment processing through Your Porter App work for Stripe?
• Whenever you receive a new reservation from your direct booking website, we will create a customer object on your Stripe account if the credit card is valid. Once the credit card details are stored in your own Stripe account, you are able to charge the customer anytime you prefer according to your policies.

•   Can I collect security deposits for the reservations from my direct booking website?
• You can protect your property from any possible damage or misuse through Your Porter App. It is possible to authorize or charge a deposit from your guest automatically. Please check out our Deposit Management feature.

•   What is the difference between using Stripe or PayPal for online payment processing?
• While using Stripe, you are able to create auto-charge rules for both Pre-payment and Final payment separately; however, PayPal allows only one payment rule in total, this is related to the structure of Stripe and PayPal independently from Your Porter App.