Escapia Reviews

Pros
Very easy to understand and cost effective. Each module has a unique ability to help hospitality business.

Cons
The time it takes to learn or understand the software. however the CSR team is good and always supportive

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The accounting side of this software is strong and a knowledgeable user has powerful tools. Owner statements are transparent and clearly structured. Correspondence is attractive and easy to customize. The various tools available for setting rates/manipulating rates are easy to use. The reservation grid is easy to understand, and the filters and quotes make the reservationists' work easier and more consistent. Integration with Glad Hospitality helps provide a good guest experience without much effort (once the initial setup is complete). The reports are informative and useful. Bank reconciliation tool is an absolute essential. Having used Escapia and other VRM software while working for other companies, when I started my own company, I knew the only software I wanted to use was Escapia.

Cons
Features for automated or scheduled correspondence are weak. There is no "notes" area associated with owners for keeping a record of requests, authorizations, etc. Because it is a powerful system, to develop the skills necessary to fully take advantage of its many useful features means you need to invest some time and effort. That is not really a "con" to me. If you have a good tool, you want to learn to take full advantage of it. However, for a new user, it could seem a little scary. But we found that it's not terribly difficult to learn what you need to learn in order to successfully take advantage of the system as a basic user, and that if you want to stop there, you can and you'll still have a good system. It's worth putting in the work, though, to become a skilled user to take advantage of the full capabilities of the system.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Escape customer support has done a good job troubleshooting and explaining how things work when I contact them. There are also lots of training resources, self-help articles, explanatory videos, etc, available. I have also heard that the Escape accounting features are useful and thorough. I have not had any experience with the accounting side of Escapia.

Cons
One of the things that have been most frustrating about Escapia is the Owner web feature, which is supposed to provide an owner portal where our property owners can log in and see property details, upcoming reservations, owner documents, etc. Owner web itself is pretty limited, which is fine if that's what you want. One problem is that as of now owners cannot reset their password, and so they always have to contact us if they forget it so that we can change it for them. Another challenge has been that many of our owners own more than one property and that for accounting purposes each of these units has to be set up with different owners. That means that when one of those owners logs into the owner portal they can only see one of their properties unless they set up separate logins for each property, which includes separate email addresses. But then those email addresses will automatically be where their owner statements are sent, so if they want all the owner's statements to go to one email, they will have to forward them. We do not want to make our owners jump through hoops like this. We want their experience to be as simple and streamlined as possible. Escapia also lacks some features (such as automated emails, simpler reports, better filters for sending a guest communication, and the ability to add attachments to that communication) that would make the software more functional. I have also heard from our maintenance and housekeeping teams that Escapia is challenging for them to understand and use as they would like to. Basically, we've ended up using other software and strategies to fill in the gaps and give us the features we want, which is a little disappointing considering the seeming hugeness and complexity of Escapia.

Rating breakdown

Pros
So many great things to say it is hard to know where to start. It is so easy to keep track of what is being completed where and by who. Always time stamps with names on holds, reservations, payments, refunds as well as email correspondence. The visual calendar is another added bonus because it gives a great overall picture of each home and dates that are and are not available so filing spots is very easy. The quick quote feature is fabulous as you can pick a home in the drop down menu and apply any filter and discounts that you already have up to any home easily. Web based is a very huge bonus because you are able to view any information on any device no matter where you are. The software also links up to many other sites so linking and sharing homes and rates is as easy as clicking a button and everything feeds right over. The quick search button at the top makes it very easy to find reservations that are valid or cancelled without having to use many steps.

Cons
When adding some new charges they can be hard to track if you are not 100% sure which report that you should be running to find them. Processing revenue can be difficult at some times when guests are in house and reservations crossover between months. This is mostly because if you need to adjust a reservation and revenue has already been processed it can cause some errors with commissions. Just have to be extra aware of what you are doing to not make any mistakes.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Rating breakdown

Pros
One of the main reasons we chose Escapia was for its easy integration with third parties so we can maximize how we use the software - it hasn't disappointed.

Cons
Not enough reporting options for owners - I would like reports that show number of nights rented vs. owner use nights, revenue lost for owner use nights, and reports that put all of this info together in one place. Also, lately the tech support has been hit or miss with response time and ability to answer my questions.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I have so many great things to say about Escapia. My number one is customer support. If you can't figure something out immediately, give them a call and it will be fixed within minutes. We manage 70 vacation rental properties and use Escapia for pictures, descriptions, rates, everything! We recently attended one of their meetings where they announced they will be launching a new, more updated Escapia to combine their other softwares as well. I am very excited!

Cons
Sometimes it will go out for a while, but they do always have it back up and running in a timely manner. There's nothing to say I like the least because they are always willing to fix anything.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The booking engine is strong and it is a well-established software. It never goes down and always performs its core functionalities. It has API connections with every supplier that we need. It also has trust accounting.

Cons
It is old and dated with very few updates in the last four years. The reporting and rate engines are frustrating to use and it has a number of oddities that make training and using difficult. The lack of connection to Airbnb is also a serious issue along with the "Price Consitency" rules from Vrbo.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 6/10

Pros
The 3 best features of Escapia are 1. they are always updating and adding new features to be current with trends and needs of property manager. 2. They have absolutely the best support team of any software I have used to date. 3. The seamless integration with VRBO/HomeAway is unmatched with any other program!

Cons
The upfront cost is steep especially given how many other web based programs charge per unit and not a huge upfront commitment. And the aesthetic of the site to me, is not very appealing and seems out of date.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
Escapia was very powerful. It could do many things for our business. Also, support was outstanding.

Cons
It was just too expensive for us as we are a small vacation rental company.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 7/10

Pros
Throughout the years our staff has worked with Barefoot, Property Plus and Property Boss. Escapia by far is the best choice for us. We like the grid view and the ease of reporting as well as the high level of support given by the customer service staff and account relations. If you advertise on HomeAway websites like VRBO the integration is seamless and easy. Great group of innovative individuals who are constantly trying to improve the software and stay ahead of the competitors

Cons
Sometimes there are a few too many steps to get things done, but when you provide feedback to the support staff they will work to improve things. We really feel like partners with with Escapia team.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Escapia really is a full-service solution. Reservations, housekeeping, trust accounting...it's all in there and works together. I looked at several options before choosing Escapia and none of the others offered as complete a system. Also, they have amazing customer service. Tech support is great. They respond quickly and are very knowledgable.

Cons
The biggest complaint I have isn't about Escapia, but about HomeAway. When HomeAway switched to secure messaging, it made it more difficult to deal with inquiries in Escapia. Also, there are of course some minor changes I'd like them to make to Escapia, but they are constantly improving it.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Easy to use. Good owner statement and reporting features. Grid based inventory. Support questions are immediately addressed.

Cons
We need the ability to send correspondence from multiple email addresses. There should be a separate email address drop down menu box for each office, or for each unit somewhere in the set up. It's an odd feature to be missing, because everything else about every unit and office is customizable (the correspondence documents, the booking modules, the rate plans and the unit setup. It would be so great if each unit could be assigned to a "send from" email address so that confirmations and statements came from that email, or from the reservations agent in charge of managing that property.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Easy of use and Customer Support

Cons
I can'tell think of anything I don't like.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
There is a lot to learn at first and there was good training classes. Most beneficial is knowing there is customer support to support you with any issues and you can get that support right away. They are also helpful in customizing to meet our needs. It also becomes intuitive as time goes on. I love how it's integrated with HA/VRBO and Glad as well as other network partners, it makes my life easier.

Cons
Some limitations within correspondence templates. I wish there were ways to make the templates more professional, there are a lot of moving pieces within templates and I haven't found out how to lock in a template design.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Easy to use, constant updates with details/advanced notice and how-tos, many....MANY reports from which to choose. Great marketing API feeds for listing sites/software to help you succeed in the vacation rental space, color-coded reservation grid for easy filtering and tracking.

Cons
The ability for Homeaway/VRBO brand to match back reservations on source - I pay for a secure software. The last thing I want is my data being stored, shared, and who knows what else by marketing platforms. While the reports are fantastic, sometimes it'd be nice to have the ability to make your own report that didn't cost an arm and a leg for information that's already in the system.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Yield managment, training, uservoice, automatic payments

Cons
Still think there's room for improvement on the service order side.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
The software is easy to use and has met the needs of our small rental office. We enjoy the self paced online tutorials for training new staff members. We are glad they have streamlined the Glad to Have you product directly into Escapia. They are always working to make the program better & more efficient.

Cons
These are very few but are mainly with the support staff. Recently called in and received 3 different answers on how to fix an accounting issue. When it comes to more complex accounting issues, a possible suggestion would be to send callers to more experienced staff verses having them speak to the "new" person.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It is very secure with passwords needing to be changed often and security questions. The new automatic payments tool is a great feature. Very user friendly and make it easy to navigate. Great for managing many homes and never having a double book problem.

Cons
Having to custom build some reports to be run

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
Ease of use, housekeeping and maintenance portals

Cons
A few minor glitches occasionally, but they are always on top of it!

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
This software makes it super easy to manage properties from adding them onto a program to renting the units on a weekly basis. It is very user friendly once you have everything set up. It puts the reservation process, owner management, and accounting into one system to make it easy to manage.

Cons
The training was my least favorite thing about Escapia. It was difficult to get everything set up and going and learning how to manage everything, but the trainers worked with us for hours on the phone to get everything set up correctly. The support staff was always willing to assist.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Escapia is never happy with the status quo. They listen to clients and make sure the software grows with our needs.

Cons
Check in! It's not functional. We go off-book and use a Google Spreadsheet. It has a long way to go.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Lots of functionalities and seamless integration with crucial partner sites such as homeaway, vrbo, GTHY and point central

Cons
some parts of it could use updating

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The reach that Homeaway /Escapia has is undeniably huge. I like that they have established a bridge or portal with my software company, so I only have to enter the listing info once.

Cons
I really dislike the way they have changed their business platform from a marketing platform to a booking platform.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 6/10

Pros
I like the features that it provides and the customer support (rep) that we receive. I like the maintenance app, the housekeeping dashboard, new owner portal, online university and dynamic pricing model that is in process (beta currently).

Cons
At our size, some of the more customizable items that we want are not able to be created. the housekeeping app (shared with maintenance), is not as user friendly as the dashboard, however, the dashboard can be accessed online via a website.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10