Systems and methods for automated rental management

Abstract

Systems and methods for automated vacation rental management via a website configured to allow property owners to be able to list their home or unit and information about the home or unit on the site for users to view and book rentals. The system allows the home or unit owners to be able to administer their own pages that are listing their homes, e.g. by editing their profile, rates, etc. Users are able to search by location and book times to stay at the vacation home, without interaction with the owner. The system enables automated management of the vacation property, via online payment of deposits and rental fees, automated updating of booking calendars, and automated communication between renters, cleaners, owners and any other entities associated with the process.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for automatic updating of a rental property listing, comprising:
 a server comprising a database configured to store one or more data fields relating to the property listing;   software executable on said server for carrying out the steps of:
 providing a graphical user interface for the property listing, the graphical user interface containing data populated from one or more data fields in said database; 
 wherein the graphical user interface comprises a calendar represented by a plurality of visual entities, each of said visual entities corresponding to a date on said calendar; 
 automatically receiving notification regarding a payment received for booking a rental date with respect to at least one of said visual entities; and 
 automatically updating a characteristic of said visual entity based on said notification; 
 wherein said characteristic indicates that the property listing is unavailable for future booking on a date related to said visual entity. 
   
     
     
         2 . A system as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises:
 providing a plurality of graphical user interfaces relating to individual property listings, each property listing being owned by distinct separate owners;   wherein each of said graphical user interfaces comprises said calendar;   said calendar relating individually to each individual listing;   wherein server is coupled to a network such that a plurality of users may view said property listings;   and wherein a user may select one or more of said visual entities for booking one or more dates associated with a selected property listing;   securing payment from said user with respect to said one or more dates;   receiving notification with respect to confirmation of said payment;   correlating said notification to the selected property listing; and   automatically updating a characteristic of said visual entity of the selected property listing;   wherein said characteristic indicates that the selected property listing is unavailable for future   
     
     
         3 . A system as recited in  claim 2 , wherein securing payment from said user comprises: sending payment data to a payment gateway;
 requesting approval for said payment data; and   wherein receiving notification comprises receiving a notification of confirmation of said payment from said payment gateway.   
     
     
         4 . A system as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing fields for an owner to upload data relating to said property listing; and   correlating said uploaded data to said one or more visual entities.   
     
     
         5 . A system as recited in  claim 4 , wherein said data comprises a rental rate associated with said listing. 
     
     
         6 . A system as recited in  claim 5 , wherein said data is visually represented on at least one of said plurality of visual entities. 
     
     
         7 . A system as recited in  claim 6 , said data comprises one or more of said description of property, pictures, and contact data to website. 
     
     
         8 . A system as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 automatically sending an email to one or more recipients based on said notification.   
     
     
         9 . A system as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 automatically sending an email to user based on said notification;   said email comprising a lease agreement related to said listing.   
     
     
         10 . A method for automatic updating of a rental property listing, comprising:
 executing software on a server comprising a database configured to store one or more data fields relating to the property listing;   wherein executing the software comprises carrying out the steps of:
 providing a graphical user interface for the property listing, the graphical user interface containing data populated from one or more data fields in said database; 
 wherein the graphical user interface comprises a calendar represented by a plurality of visual entities, each of said visual entities corresponding to a date on said calendar; 
 automatically receiving notification regarding a payment received for booking a rental date with respect to at least one of said visual entities; and 
 automatically updating a characteristic of said visual entity based on said notification; 
 wherein said characteristic indicates that the property listing is unavailable for future booking on a date related to said visual entity. 
   
     
     
         11 . A method as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the system further comprises:
 providing a plurality of graphical user interfaces relating to individual property listings, each property listing being owned by distinct separate owners;   wherein each of said graphical user interfaces comprises said calendar;   said calendar relating individually to each individual listing;   wherein server is coupled to a network such that a plurality of users may view said property listings;   and wherein a user may select one or more of said visual entities for booking one or more dates associated with a selected property listing;   securing payment from said user with respect to said one or more dates;   receiving notification with respect to confirmation of said payment;   correlating said notification to the selected property listing; and   automatically updating a characteristic of said visual entity of the selected property listing;   wherein said characteristic indicates that the selected property listing is unavailable for future   
     
     
         12 . A method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein securing payment from said user comprises: sending payment data to a payment gateway;
 requesting approval for said payment data; and   wherein receiving notification comprises receiving a notification of confirmation of said payment from said payment gateway.   
     
     
         13 . A method as recited in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 providing fields for an owner to upload data relating to said property listing; and   correlating said uploaded data to said one or more visual entities.   
     
     
         14 . A method as recited in  claim 13 , wherein said data comprises a rental rate associated with said listing. 
     
     
         15 . A method as recited in  claim 14 , wherein said data is visually represented on at least one of said plurality of visual entities. 
     
     
         16 . A method as recited in  claim 15 , said data comprises one or more of said description of property, pictures, and contact data to website. 
     
     
         17 . A method as recited in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 automatically sending an email to one or more recipients based on said notification.   
     
     
         18 . A method as recited in  claim 10 , further comprising:
 automatically sending an email to user based on said notification;   said email comprising a lease agreement related to said listing.   
     
     
         19 . A system for automated management of a rental property listing, comprising:
 a server comprising a database configured to store one or more data fields relating to the property listing;   software executable on said server for carrying out the steps of:
 providing a graphical user interface for the property listing, the graphical user interface containing data populated from one or more data fields in said database; 
 wherein the graphical user interface comprises a calendar represented by a plurality of visual entities, each of said visual entities corresponding to a date on said calendar; 
 providing fields for an owner to upload data relating to said property listing; 
   correlating said uploaded data to said one or more visual entities.
 wherein said data comprises a rental rate associated with said date of said listing; and 
 searching said database with respect to said rental rate and said date. 
   
     
     
         20 . A system as recited in  claim 19 , wherein said data is visually represented on at least one of said plurality of visual entities.