2023 Breezeway Recap

As 2023 comes to a close, we reflect on the year’s events and look forward to what 2024 has in store. This was an incredible year in the travel industry, with many operators finding new efficiencies and creative ways to meet guest expectations. Breezeway is proud to be at the forefront of this innovation and provide an extensive platform of solutions for hospitality professionals.

This year the industry faced new challenges as demand for travel returned to pre-pandemic levels against a backdrop of inflation, new regulations, and shorter booking windows. In response, vacation rental companies have focused on optimizing operations, seeking ways to do more with less.

We’re excited to share how Breezeway adapted to these industry challenges as a growing company working hard to develop new product features and drive strategic partnerships to deliver on our mission to elevate the experience at every property.

Innovation at Breezeway in 2023

Innovation at Breezeway starts with our client’s needs and is driven by client insights. This past year we focused on adding powerful functionality to our operations platform - including automated workflows, innovative reporting tools, the addition of drag and drop to our property scheduler, and much more.

Additionally, we've rolled out new Guest Experience products, Guide and Assist, and integrated AI functionality into our Messaging product. Each of these are seamlessly integrated with the Breezeway operations platform, which means your back-end and guest-facing operations are always in sync.

New Breezeway Features and Functionality

We are committed to delivering the best service to our Breezeway clients, and as a result, launched countless improvements to our core Operations and Messaging products in 2023. From time-saving functionalities to elevated guest experiences, here are just a few of the exciting updates we’ve shared with our clients this year!

• Breezeway Operations Improvements
  • Tasks in the Past - Breezeway users can now create tasks with a scheduled date in the past!
  • Drag and Drop Property Schedule - This highly anticipated improvement makes scheduling a breeze and improves the experience of changing dates on tasks.
  • Subdepartments - This new feature allows you to further categorize the work being done within existing departments, resulting in better scheduling, tracking and reporting.
  • Localization - Breezeway’s mobile app is now available in 10 languages.
  • In-App Property Status - Administrators and Supervisors using the mobile app will see real-time property status information in the dashboard.
  • Repeating Workflows - Effortlessly create repeating tasks across multiple properties without the need for an end date.
• Breezeway Messaging Improvements
  • AI Suggested Replies - Breezeway automates responses based on the incoming message, property and reservation data and shows the suggested reply so you can send as-is or customize before sending.
  • Messaging Inbox Improvements - We updated the messaging inbox experience on desktop to make searching for conversations easier. Our Messaging App got better too - now you can create a new conversation to send to one or multiple phone numbers from the mobile app!

New Product Launches

In addition to important Operations and Messaging updates, our Product and Engineering teams have also been busy working on three completely new products to add to Breezeway’s platform. Breezeway Assist, Guide, and Insights all launched in 2023 and we have been thrilled by the responses from our clients and the industry. We plan to continue this level of innovation in 2024!

• Assist - your 24/7/365 guest communication solution! Assist is a team of Breezeway-trained hospitality professionals available around the clock to respond to guest texts and phone calls. This means you can focus on other aspects of your business while leaving after-hours communication (or any hour you choose) in the capable hands of the Breezeway Assist team.

“Breezeway Assist has been a lifesaver for our company. Having professional staff ready to answer guest questions and concerns via text and phone during non-business hours has improved our guest and owner experience. Breezeway's professional staff is quick to communicate with us, and the support from Breezeway is top-notch. Working with Breezeway has genuinely been a breeze!” - Ian Vogt, Property Manager, Destin Pointe Vacation Rentals

• Guide - a mobile-first Welcome Book designed to delight and support guests throughout their entire stay. Guide integrates seamlessly with our messaging and operations tools so you can easily text your guests a link to their personalized guidebook, and they can see all the info they need at exactly the right time!

• Insights - the brand-new reporting tool! Insights is designed to drive operational efficiency through powerful data on staff performance and property care. Breezeway clients can currently access four reports, with more exciting additions on the horizon.
  • Operations Dashboard - Get an in-depth look at your company operations and performance with data on tasks, reported issues, staff performance, and more.
  • Messaging Dashboard - Get insight into your guest communication with reports on when you receive most guest messages, for which properties, and how many automated vs manual messages are sent.
  • Assist Dashboard - Breezeway will aggregate your guest interactions and segment the data to identify the issues the Assist team responds to from your vacation rental guests, increasing your team’s efficiency while driving the best experiences for your guests.
  • Airbnb Review Dashboard - This view compiles data from your Airbnb reviews including number of reviews, average review score, average cleanliness score, and average communication score to help identify trends in your guests' experiences.

“I just wanted to say I love the new insight reports, these are great and very much needed! Please tell your teams great job on the new features!!” -Leslie Adcock, Director of Operational Excellence, Cabins for You

New Marketplace Integrations

An integrated tech stack tailored to your business needs is non-negotiable in the hospitality industry. There is no one-size-fits-all all solution, so having tools that work seamlessly together is essential for our clients. We are thrilled to work with 40+ incredible technology partners in the industry and will continue to expand our partnerships into the new year to provide more connected solutions. Here are a few of the new partners added to our marketplace in 2023.

• Airbnb

Breezeway has officially become an Airbnb software partner. With this partnership, our clients can seamlessly connect to Airbnb, gaining immediate access to properties and reservations. Using Airbnb’s review API, Breezeway enables hosts and property managers to connect Airbnb guest reviews with individual tasks and specific property workflows, providing invaluable insights from review data. We've also integrated Breezeway Messaging for Airbnb communication, making staying in touch with your guests even easier.

• Quickbooks

Quickbooks Push Tasks to Bills allows clients to connect Breezeway to Quickbooks, and easily push their tasks and itemized costs into a Quickbooks Bill.

• Apaleo, OwnerRez, and Resly users can now connect to Breezeway!

This year, Breezeway took a leap forward with strategic integrations, enhancing your property management experience. Experience a streamlined flow of information between Breezeway and our latest partners. Breezeway pulls reservation and property data so you can streamline your daily operations. Automate your daily schedules, tasks, and workflows based on check-ins, checkouts, and reservation changes.

These integrations signify Breezeway's commitment to providing a connected and efficient property management ecosystem. Stay ahead in the dynamic hospitality industry with our seamless integrations.

Value Delivered to Breezeway Clients in 2023

Software is not just about the technology—it's about the support we provide. In the hospitality industry, where operations are round-the-clock, support must be fast. Our support team’s response time was under 10 minutes last month, and our client satisfaction rating currently stands at an impressive 95.7%. We’ve reimagined our Account Management team to help support you at every step - from onboarding to adoption to training your new staff members.

"It's obvious that the customer experience is of great concern (at Breezeway). As a company that cares about customer experience, it's important that our software providers mirror that value." - Capterra reviewer, Caleb H.

"We have nothing but great feedback for Breezeway. They are the entire package - strong support team, a consistent product, and continually striving to improve and make the product stronger." - Capterra reviewer, Leah R F.

“Great experience from start to finish. Knowledgeable sales staff, best onboarding and support in the industry, good development pace, and strong integrations with other software." - Capterra reviewer, Adam N.

Breezeway Clients Get Work Done!

Breezeway’s biggest achievement of 2023 is all of the work our amazing clients accomplished. Our clients were able to work more efficiently, get more tasks done, resolve issues faster, and deliver more exceptional services to guests. We are incredibly proud to work with so many leading, professional operators in the industry and are honored that you trust us with your business. It’s invaluable to learn from your experience, hear what your challenges and goals are, and help make your jobs easier. Here are just a few of the collective accomplishments from this year.

• 120K Assist interactions

• 5.5 Million guest messages sent

• 2+ Hours of cleaning time gained with automated checkout reminder SMS messages

• 12 Million tasks completed

Inside Breezeway HQ

The Breezeway team continues to grow to meet our clients needs. Our team spans across the entire United States - from Maine to Florida, Texas, and California - and we are growing internationally!

• 30 new Breezeway team members joined in 2023

• Represented across 25 US states and in 6 countries globally

This year, we added incredible talent to our Marketing, Sales, Client Success, Product, and Engineering teams as we continue focusing on expanding our service offering and delivering more value to clients.

• An incredible offsite

With so many new faces, we gather as a company annually to learn more about each other and our industry. In 2023, we had the incredible opportunity to stay in our clients' vacation rentals on the beautiful beaches of 30A in Florida’s Panhandle.

Breezeway Creating Buzz

At Breezeway, we aim to be a resource for vacation rental operators looking to professionalize their business. That’s why we publish educational content, attend industry events, and host our own monthly ELEVATE webinars to share insights and create conversations around operational excellence.

• Featured on 16 podcasts

• Launched 9 new case studies

• Posted 50 new blogs

• Introduced 5 new checklists

• Press mentions in PhocusWire, Skift, TravelDailyNews, Short Term Rentalz and more

• Attended 45 in-person events

• ELEVATE recap
  
  • Hosted 7 ELEVATE Webinars (June-December)
  • More than 3,100 professional operators registered to attend
  • Set a new record: Nearly 700 operators registered for our November webinar!

Safety Program Highlights

Breezeway’s Head of Safety & Certification, Justin Ford, has been all over the world this year spreading the word about vacation rental safety. We are on a mission to make vacation rental safety a top priority in the industry and not just an afterthought. Our Safety Program helps train hospitality operators and field staff on proactive safety measures to ensure your homes are safe to welcome guests. Breezeway’s platform makes it easier for operators to implement these learnings by automatically scheduling routine safety inspections and maintenance checks that help protect your guests and homes. This prevents accidents, reduces liability, and saves lives.

• More than 700 Safety Program sign-ups

• 13 In-Market Trainings

• Justin Spoke on Safety on 36 Podcast Episodes

• 20 In-Person Safety Presentations

• 34 Safety Webinars

• 26 Lives Saved (and that’s just what we know of)

• 3,000+ injuries prevented

“I was ecstatic when I came across Breezeway's safety program. The course afforded me the opportunity to educate and support owners in protecting their investment, and assurance that our guests have safe experiences. I just can't say enough positive things about Breezeway's safety program and my experience with the entire Breezeway team.” - Jody Moscrip, Rental Manager, Sand Dollar Real Estate

Thank you to all of our clients and partners who helped make 2023 the best year yet!