From time to time I try to highlight an aspect of Barefoot’s Vacation Rental Software solution when I think that I can make a good case that we are different in what we can bring to our customers. In this blog, I would like to focus on how we are different when it comes to a successful implementation.
Most vacation rental management companies will experience some level of dread when it comes time to looking at implementing a new vacation rental management system. This is because it requires a certain level of focused effort for the entire team. For some suggestions about how to Successfully Navigate Change in your organization, please find our whitepaper here with some suggestions.
Barefoot’s implementation methodology is one of the best in the market. The first reason for this is that we begin our partnership by managing expectations on both sides of the relationship. The tool that we have to do this is our proprietary business rules matrix. This living document is the place where we work with you to outline all of the policies and procedures that you use currently in your business. It is also going to be an opportunity for you to ask yourselves “are we doing this because there is a software restraint, because we’ve always done it this way… and is there a better process that we could put into place or automate”. Many people see the benefit of this process as similar to working through a business plan. It gives both you and Barefoot a strong place to start the relationship. Most importantly, this document is included as part of our contract with you.
The second thing that happens in our process is we turn the business rules matrix over the development team. When you begin your training and implementation process you are working inside of a database that has been tailored to your business. So even though you will be learning “Barefoot” you will be working with rules that are particular to your business.
We begin the training and implementation process with a kick off call. This is where we again identify key aspects of your implementation, including the best timeline, what is going to be data ported, what will be entered, key partner integrations, additional modules that you will take advantage of and most importantly the end goals that you are trying to achieve by moving software. Again, this is how we continually communicate to manage expectations on both sides of the partnership.
Data porting is one of our strengths. We have ported data from almost every system in the market, including Escapia, V12, Property Plus, Entech, VRM and others. We have a documented methodology that allows you to pull certain information through data porting or all of your information. Data porting everything, including pictures, is often the choice for large companies. Even with automation, time will be required for verification of the data port and maybe even some time on the front end to “scrub” data so that you’ll be dealing with your best database.Over the course of the training process, you and your team will be empowered to learn about the Barefoot tool set which is very comprehensive. One of our recent implementation team leaders, Sean Montgomery of Collins Vacation Rentals commented:
“So what is the main difference? The first thing that came to my mind is flexibility/customizable and I didn’t realize this or truly understand this until we’ve went through the install process. You don’t know how customizable Barefoot is without understanding what you really need from it. Once you’ve been through the process you start to see all of the many positive impacts Barefoot provides to your business.”
The training process is held one on one with your team and allows you find the best way to take your tailoring of Barefoot even further to support your unique business needs. Each of these sessions are recorded for your future use.
Finally, Barefoot works with each of our customers to ensure that partner integrations are up and running, whether that is your website provider, credit card processor, your insurance partner, keyless entry and other automation or marketing portals before you go live. We have one of the most expansive partner programs in the industry because we want our partners to have choices. See a list of our partners here.
With your successful “go live” date behind you, we realize that the first several months are going to be filled with questions or “ah-ha” moments and our support team is there to help you as you continue to gain confidence in your system and its ability to automate your processes. That is when you may choose to go a bit further in getting some customization to fulfill a need or to get additional training now that everyone is invested. Barefoot is agile enough to be able to deliver on those needs in a timely manner without being added to a lengthy work order queue.
We think we offer some of the best implementations in the business. We won’t guarantee that they are pain free, because change can be painful. But what we do promise you is that we will be right there with you making sure that you get the best possible results.
To learn more about Barefoot’s implementation process, please contact sales@barefoot.com.
