• Getting Started
  
• Your Account - how to set up and manage your account
  
• Your Property Listing - how to set up and manage your individual property listings
  
• Enquiries and Bookings - how to respond to enquiries and manage bookings
  
• Fees and Online Payment System - how our fees and our Online Payment System work
  
• Gift Vouchers - how to handle gift vouchers

Getting Started

How do I log in?
Go to www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm and enter your username and password.

You will then be able to edit your account details and add and edit information about your properties, and view and edit bookings and enquiries.

I've forgotten my password - what do I do?
Click here. Then enter your email address in the last (third) box, click on 'Get Password', and your login details will automatically be emailed to you.

If you use more than one email address please ensure you enter the email address you used when you created your TakeABreak account information.

What if I don't have an account?
Creating an account on TakeABreak is a simple process and is the first step if you want to list your property on TakeABreak.
Click here and you will be taken to the account creation page.

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Your Account

How do I create an account?
If you don't already have an account set up with TakeABreak® you can register for free.
1. Go to www.TakeABreak.com.au
2. At the top of the screen click on the third blue tab ‘Add property’.

The screen now displays a range of helpful information about how TakeABreak works, and describes some of the options.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and complete the contact details in the online form.

Please ensure you make a record of your account name and password for future reference.

4. Click Next.
5. Complete the details on this page.
6. Click Finish.

You have now created your account with TakeABreak. You can list as many properties as you wish under this account.

How do I access my account?
1. Click here or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm
2. Type in your Account Name and Password.
3. Click Login.

Do I need a separate account for each property I list?
No. It is usually easier to manage multiple properties if you list them together under one account.
It is also easier to manage as each account must have its own individual email address.

Your Property Listing

At the top left of the page it will say ‘Changes posted’ in red. This means you have successfully created a new property. Remember you can go back anytime and make changes or additions to the information you have provided.

After creating a property you will receive an email asking for verification details so that we can activate your listing on TakeABreak.com.au. Your property will not be displayed on TakeABreak.com.au until these verification details have been sent and processed.

What is ‘verification’?
After you create a property you will receive an email asking you for verification details so that we can activate your listing on TakeABreak.com.au.

How do I attach photos?
1. Click here to log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Select your property.
3. Go to the purple “Images” tab.
4. Click on the ‘Browse’ button.
A dialogue box will appear listing the files on your computer.
5. Find and double click on the file you wish to attach.
If you want to attach more than one attachment you will need to attach them one at a time.
6. In the Caption box type in a brief description of what the image shows (eg view from verandah, main bedroom).
7. Click on Add image.
A thumbnail of the image will display on the left side of the page.
8. When you’ve attached all the images you want, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click OK.

You can only use images of the following types: .gif or .jpg or .jpeg.
If your image is of another type you will need to open it in a graphics package such as Windows Paint or Photoshop and save it as one of the types above.

How do I attach a location map?
1. Click here to log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Select your property.
3. Go to the purple “Details” tab.
4. Scroll down (almost to the bottom of the screen) and locate the Location Map field.
5. Click on the ‘Browse’ button.
A dialogue box will appear listing the files on your computer.
6. Find and double click on the file you wish to attach.
7. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click OK.

What if I have more than one property?
You can add as many properties as you wish under one account.

If you have multiple similar properties you may wish to create one listing and then copy it so you don’t need to retype all of the information.

1. Click here to log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Click on the yellow 'Properties' tab and select the property you wish to copy.
3. Click Copy.
4. Click OK to confirm the copy.
You will see you property listing again with an entry with the same name as the copied one with the word ‘copy’ at the end. (eg The Grand Hotel copy).
The new listing will retain the properties of the original listing including the status (eg suspended, active).
5. Click on the new listing (the one ending with ‘copy’) and click Edit.
6. Make the changes required to differentiate this new listing form the copied listing.
Ensure you change the name in the purple Details tab.
7. Click OK at the bottom of the screen.

How do I make changes to a property listing?
1. Click here to log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Click on the yellow ‘Properties’ tab.
3. Click on the property you wish to change.
4. Go to each purple tab and change the information as appropriate.
Be sure to click OK at the bottom of the page if you make any changes.

Why is my property 'suspended'?
There are several reasons why your property might be suspended. Being suspended is not meant to be a "penalty".

The easiest thing to do is contact us on (02) 6100 7709 (Canberra) or (07) 3102 3759 (Brisbane) or (08) 9467 4392 (Perth) and we can check your account and advise you on what needs to be done to reactivate your listing.

How do I update my calendar?
Where your property will be unavailable for any reason (repairs, bookings from other sources, you're on holiday etc) you can ‘block out’ your calendar. You will then receive no enquiries for the dates you block out.

Keeping your calendar up to date ensures you get the highest possible ranking on the TakeABreak.com.au site. Feedback from guests also shows that there is nothing more frustrating than making an enquiry only to find out that the dates they requested are not available.

1. Click here to log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Select your property.
3. Go to the purple “Calendar & Enquiries” tab.
4. Using your mouse, highlight those dates you wish to block out.
5. Click ‘No vacancies’.
The dates you selected will be coloured red.
6. To unblock dates just select the dates again and click 'Unblock dates'.

You can also update your calendar each time you respond to an enquiry. After you respond to the enquiry, the next page will show your calendar. Just select the dates and click 'no vacancies' to block the selected dates or 'unblock dates' to unblock them.

Why can’t I find my property?
The quickest way to find your property on www.takeabreak.com.au is to enter your property name in the keywords box on the left and click 'GO'.

If you are unable to find your property on TakeABreak.com.au site it may mean your listing has been suspended.

The easiest thing to do is contact us on (02) 6100 7709 (Canberra), (07) 3102 3759 (Brisbane), (08) 9467 4392 (Perth) and we can check your account and advise you on what needs to be done to reactivate your listing.

How to delete a property listing

Enquiries and Bookings

How do I respond to an enquiry?
When a visitor to TakeABreak.com.au makes an enquiry about booking accommodation at your property, you will receive an email (SMS and fax options also available) advising you of their enquiry. You can then choose whether or not to offer them accommodation.

It is a condition of listing your property on the TakeABreak.com.au website that all accommodation enquiries must be responded to, if only to state the lack of availability of accommodation or to apologise for failure to respond in a timely fashion.

1. Enquiry arrives - Select your response
You will get notification of the booking enquiry by email. Do not reply to this email. The enquiry email shows details of the enquiry such as dates, number of persons, enquirer's name and address as well as any additional questions or comments. It then offers you the following response options:

Available - to confirm availability and pricing
Not Available - if you cannot accommodate this request
Offer alternative dates - if you can offer similar dates but not exactly those requested
Request more information - if you need to ask questions to finalise your quote
Respond by phone - if you prefer to call the enquirer
Duplicate enquiry, no need to respond - if the enquiry is a duplicate or for some other reason it is not appropriate to respond

Click on the link next to the appropriate response for this enquiry.

If the link doesn't open a new web page you can copy the link from the email and paste it into the address area on your browser and hit enter or click "Go".

If you don't have the email you can log in to your TakeABreak account, click on the property name and then click on the "pending requests" tab.

2. Complete your response
Depending on which response you selected a different screen will appear to assist you with finalising the response.

If you selected Respond by phone you will now see the enquirer's phone and other contact details so you can call them straight away.

If you selected another response the system will open a response template which already includes most of the basics of your response. You then simply need to fill in the blanks.

For the other responses you will need to include some additional information specific to the enquiry.

You can then add any additional text to your response in the white Enter your comments section that forms the middle section of your email response. This could include any extra charges (eg linen, breakfast if optional, etc), answering any specific questions the enquirer asked, or adding any additional comments you wish to personalise your response to the enquirer's specific requirements and dates.

Once you've completed the response template, you can just click send. You will get a copy of the email you have sent to the enquirer, and you can see on the screen exactly what it will say.

You must select one of the options in the email otherwise we will not know you have responded. In this case you will receive a reminder email and your listing may be temporarily suspended.

3. Arrange payment with guest or follow-up enquiry response
You can now correspond directly with the enquirer to finalise your booking, or send a ‘Request deposit’ email from the link that appears in your confirmation email. You may wish to follow up by phone if you have not had a response to your email within 24 hours (sometimes email is blocked by spam filters or the email address may be incorrect).

Any transaction entered into between you and the TakeABreak.com.au enquirer is at your own discretion and is your responsibility.

How do I tailor my response templates?
The TakeABreak system will automatically use the standard response templates. However, you can add your own templates for some or all response types (available, not available, etc). You can even set up more than one template for each response type and choose which one to use when responding.

To set up custom response templates

1. Click here and log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Click on the yellow Response templates tab.
3. Select a standard response from the drop-down list as a template for your tailored response.
4. Click New.
5. Enter an individual description for your tailored response.
6. Select which property this particular response will be used for. (To select more than one property hold down the SHIFT key as you click each property using your mouse).
7. In the box titled Header text includes a suggested introduction to your response. The information between the $$ $$ is information related to the specific enquiry. These fields are called ‘tokens’. Specific instructions for completing this box are provided on-screen in the blue area.
8. After the standard text you can add any other information relevant to their enquiry.
9. Scroll down to the box titled Footer text.
This box includes similar suggested text and tokens.
10. Update the standard response information and add any other information relevant to their enquiry.
11. Scroll down to the Attachment box.
You an attach your terms and conditions, or a PDF document with detailed property information. If you don’t want to add an attachment, go to step 13.
12. To add an attachment, click "Browse".
A dialogue box will appear listing the files on your computer.
13. Find and double click on the file you wish to attach.
If you want to attach more than one attachment you will need to attach them one at a time.
14. Click "Upload".
15. Scroll down and click on Preview to see how your response will look to the enquirer.
16. If you are satisfied with the response go back to the template and click OK.

The template will be saved for you to select when responding to future enquiries.

How do I view and edit bookings or enquiries?
Click on “availability and enquiries” to view, edit and add owner bookings, or to confirm tentative bookings. To see the details for a booking or enquiry, click on the booking reference.

1. Click here and log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Select your property.
3. Click on the purple “Calendar and enquiries” tab.
Your calendar will be displayed as will any enquiries you have received.
4. Locate the enquiry or booking you wish to view or edit and, click on the booking reference number.

What are response times?
When you create your property listing you can identify a response time which indicates the time expect a response to any enquiry. The default response time in 24 hours but you can change this under the 'Details' tab of your property listing..

If you do not respond within the response time that you have specified our system will send you a reminder email. If you still do not respond, your property listing will be temporarily suspended and an apology for the failure to respond will be sent by us to the enquirer.

Your average response time will be shown on your property listing so it's in your interest to respond as quickly as practical. Sometimes enquiries are made very late at night and obviously these will need to wait until the next morning to answer.

Please note that if your property listing is suspended this is not meant to be a "penalty". We understand there can be many reasons which lead to a failure to respond. We are simply taking the listing offline until we hear from you to let us know you'll be able to respond to future enquiries. This is to prevent further potential guests making enquiries which can't be answered in a timely fashion.

Email bounces
Sometimes when you email a response to the enquirer, the email will "bounce". This means the email is not delivered to the enquirer. When this happens the system will email you to let you know.

Usual reasons for a bounce are typos or non-working email addresses. In these cases your best action is to phone the enquirer (our bounce email will include their phone number for your convenience).

Please note that due to the nature of the Internet there will be cases where the email doesn't get through that are not detected by our system.

Fees and Online Payment System

How does TakeABreak® charge?
Our success-based advertising fee offers two fee options:

• $11 per booking per night plus GST per confirmed booking ; or
• 10% per booking per night plus GST per confirmed booking.

Once you log into our system or have otherwise actively agreed to our terms and conditions (http://www.takeabreak.com.au/TermsofUse.htm) there is a real or implied contract with us, and there is an obligation for you to pay our advertising fee once a visitor who was referred from TakeABreak.com.au stays with you.

How are my fees calculated?
We understand that some enquiries do not result in bookings and we will only invoice you when visitors referred through our system have actually stayed in your property. We do this by sending you an email at the start of each month regarding the enquiries you received through our system for stays in the previous month.

This Confirmation of Stays email enables you to correct the information we send and indicate which enquiries actually turned into bookings, and how many nights the guests actually stayed. You then generate your own invoice.

We trust that the vast majority of operators will report accurately and will be happy to pay what amounts to quite a small advertising fee. We utilise mystery shoppers in addition to surveying visitors on a regular basis to get feedback on quality and check whether the stay happened.

You also have the option of signing up for our Online payment system which enables you to take deposits through the TakeABreak system (see below).

How do I process a Confirmation of Stays request?
You an access the Confirmation of Stays form by clicking on the link in the email, or alternatively:

1. Click here to log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Click on your property.
3. Click on the purple 'Invoices' tab.
4. Click on Click here to review outstanding bookings and generate an invoice for this property only.

When the form has opened it will display all the enquiries you received through our system for stays in the previous month.

1. In the boxes on the right-hand side, change the number so it correctly reflects the stay. If the guest did not stay, enter a zero.
2. Click on the button at the bottom of the guest list to select your preferred payment option - BPAY, credit card or cheque.
Your confirmed stays will then be summarised for you to check.
3. If the stays are correct, click on ‘Generate Invoice’ and the system will automatically email you an invoice detailing the full amount owing and listing payment instructions.

What is the Online Payment System?
TakeABreak's Online Payment System makes it easy for you to take credit card deposit payments. This can dramatically improve your booking rate and you don't need any special bank account.

When you sign up for the Online Payment System, you’ll get an extra option in your enquiry response templates. Simply use this Request Deposit template as your initial response to customers when you have availability, or as a follow up response after you've confirmed they are interested. The enquirer will be able to click on a link in the email you send them and they can pay immediately!

Standard booking conditions apply. Read these carefully – and if you need to apply additional conditions, you can add these as an attachment to the deposit request.

We collect the deposit payment using our uses a secure credit card facility, and hold the funds in our trust fund until the month after the stay when it is transferred to your bank account (less our 10% fee).

For more detailed information about the Online Payment System click here.

How do I sign up for the Online Payment System?
1. Click here to log in to your TakeABreak account or go to http://www.takeabreak.com.au/ologin.htm.
2. Click on the orange ‘Online Payments’ tab.
3. Click on Sign up.
Some of the fields will already be completed based on the information you have previously entered. You need to check these to ensure they are still correct.
4. Complete the remaining details.
5. Click on View booking conditions and read the full document.
6. Click on View TakeABreak Online Payment System contract and print the full contract.
7. Read through the contract carefully, and then complete and sign the final page.
8. Fax the final page only to TakeABreak at (02) 6166 0274.

When we receive this signed page we will activate the Online Payment System for your account. This information will apply to all properties connected to the one account.

Gift Vouchers

TakeABreak® Gift Vouchers are a payment system like a cheque, except that the payment is honoured by TakeABreak.

Processing a Gift Voucher is actually quite simple:

1. When a visitor makes a booking enquiry through TakeABreak and indicates they will pay by Gift Voucher you need to contact us and we can confirm the validity of the voucher. This should be done at least seven days in advance of the stay. You can also ask the guest to mail the Gift Voucher to you in advance to secure the booking.
   
2. You then need to email us the gift voucher number and expiry date, the amount of the booking, and your booking reference.
   You also need to include either your bank account BSB, account number and account name,
   OR your full credit card number, BPAY biller code of your credit card (this is listed on the back of your statement), and any BPAY payment reference you have (on the back of your statement).
   
3. We will then transfer the booking amount directly into your bank account. You should then follow your normal procedures for bond, cancellation etc. Payment of all or part of your tariff by a TakeABreak Gift Voucher does not change any other conditions that you place on the booking; these are still determined by each individual property.

Terms and Conditions for Gift Vouchers are available at www.takeabreak.com.au/giftvouchers.htm and are also printed on the reverse of each voucher.

TakeABreak does not take any additional commission from Gift Vouchers, and standard charges for advertising fees still apply.

Where Gift Vouchers expire before they are redeemed, we donate the full amount of the Gift Voucher to charity. Some organisations we have supported in this way include Fit-for-dreams, Spastic Centre of NSW, Paraquad, Keep Australia Beautiful and Eco Voice.

For further information on the TakeABreak Gift Voucher system, or if you have any difficulties or problems, please contact us directly on support@takeabreak.com.au