More than a portal? Rightmove launches online bookings service for viewings
Rightmove says its new 'Book a viewing' service on its website pre-qualifies tenants and prevents annoying no-shows.
Rightmove has released a new tool that enables tenants to booking viewings directly through its website following a pilot last year with a small group of agents.
Called Viewings Manager, the portal is now inviting member agents to sign up to the programme which it claims, following extensive testing, helps agents more easily schedule viewing appointments, cut down on tenant no-shows, pre-qualify applicants and receive feedback on properties.
Available to anyone with a standard membership package for free, there are already over 200 agents using the tool.
Appointments
The tech asks prospective tenants to choose three potential appointment dates and times between 9am and 7pm and identify their employment status, credit history and confirm the minimum household income needed to rent the property.
Once booked, they are sent email and text reminders about the viewing, but are able to use a one-click cancellation button.
East Riding of Yorkshire agent Jon Myers of Quick & Clarke in Yorkshire says the tool has almost halved the number of tenant no-shows, as he says tenants are more likely to cancel if they can just click a button rather than having to call them, saving them time and improving the quality of tenant leads they receive.
Rightmove says the tool can’t integrate yet with estate agency CRM suites but an upgrade due next year will enable it to put bookings into agent’s diaries/calendars.
The system also works in tandem with Rightmove’s referencing service, which comes from Van Mildert, which it acquired in July last year.
Zillow’s pivot in September when it cut agents out of the loop and went for a Zillow agent centric model is as I have been commenting on a warning to all that real estate is changing.
My thoughts on Rightmove and their booking tool is that they have not developed the sophisticated solution that will overcome the multiple agents needs/diaries, and the MVP they have announced is more a sound bite to make them look as though they are evolving their 20 year old one dimensional model than anything else.
Homehere.co with Lou Quinn and John Curley are to quote a celebrity ‘the real deal’ when it comes to a solution that books appointments and has a digital applicant box mentality which can accurately qualify property and rental buyers.
Glad to see that RM has woken up to the need to automate viewing and applicant qualification, we have a much deeper and better solution that agents have been using for some time that allows you to automate engagement, qualification and booking of not only RM, but ZPG, OTM and even you website enquiries!