When you buy or sell a property that uses ThinkReservations, there are a few steps we need to follow in order to formally transfer ownership of the property's ThinkReservations account. We appreciate as much advance notice as you are able to give as it enables us to facilitate a smooth transfer. We recommend beginning this process at least 2-3 weeks prior to the date the property is due to legally change hands. Although a Customer Success Representative will be assigned to guide you through the process, below is an overview for your reference.
Whether you are the seller or the buyer, to initiate the account transfer process, please click the button below to fill out our Transfer of Ownership Form
Seller/Current Account Owner Process Overview
Step One: Complete the Transfer of Ownership Form
Within one business day of receiving your completed Transfer of Ownership Form, one of our Customer Success Representatives will reach out to both the Seller and the Buyer with detailed instructions on how to move forward with the transfer process. Please note this step can be completed by either the seller or buyer, but only needs to be completed once.
Step Two: Authorization of Transfer
We are committed to maintaining the privacy and protection of our customers' data. To proceed with the transfer of your account, ThinkReservations requires written authorization.
Action Items:
Send us the formal authorization letter. You can copy and paste the letter below, fill out the missing information in brackets, and email it to your Customer Success Representative.
Authorization Letter Template
Property Name: [enter property name]
Account Owner: [enter your name]
New Owner: [enter new owner's name(s)]
New Owner Contact Information: [enter email & phone number]
Hello,
I, [Account Owner - Enter Name], am writing to authorize the transfer of my account to [New Owner - Enter Name] on [Enter Date of Sale/Closing]. As part of the transfer, I authorize ThinkReservations to:
Transfer ownership of the account to the new owner.
Switch over credit card processing connection.
Delete all user accounts associated with former employees and prior owners.
Update billing information with the new account owner's payment method.
I understand that by providing this authorization letter, I am transferring my account to the new owners as of the transfer date indicated above. I acknowledge that I may lose access to the account on that date unless arrangements are made directly with the buyers.
Sincerely,
[Account Owner - Enter Name]
Step Three: Transfer Prep
During this phase, we will prepare for the transfer of your ThinkReservations account. Your Customer Success Representative will reach out to the prospective new owner to provide guidance on what they should expect during the transfer process and what they need to complete before the transfer date. They will also be happy to answer any questions that you may have about the process.
Action Items:
Create a user for the new owner in your ThinkReservations account. You can access this under Settings > User Management. The new user should have full admin permissions.
Your Customer Success Representative will provide suggested temporary login credentials to use.
You should provide these login credentials directly to the new owner on or before the transfer date.
Let us know how you would like us to proceed in the event the new owners do not have a Payment Processor by the time we are transferring the account:
Option 1: Leave your payment processor active and allow the new owner to process payments through your account. Note that you will need to make arrangements to transfer any payments taken after the sale of the property directly with the new owner in this instance.
Option 2: Deactivate your payment processor. Note that the new owner will not be able to take any online reservations or process any payments in this instance.
Print or export any reports that you may need for your records and tax reporting.
Determine whether the new owners would like to stay connected to OTAs via the Channel Manager. If so, we suggest beginning the transfer of ownership process with those accounts ASAP.
A Note About Airbnb: Airbnb does not currently allow an account transfer. If the new owner would like to stay connected to Airbnb, they will have to open their own account and recreate the listings. If you have any future reservations made through Airbnb, you should consult with Airbnb to determine the best process for handling the transition.
Step Four: Account Transfer
With appropriate advance notice, we will have already scheduled a Transfer meeting with the new owners by the time we reach this step. Typically, this meeting occurs on the date of transfer after the ownership of the property has legally changed hands. During this meeting, your Customer Success Representative will aim to walk the new owners through their account settings, update our billing records, switch the payment processor, and answer any questions they have about ThinkReservations. There are no action items for you during this phase! Once the transfer has been completed, your Customer Success Representative will send you an email to confirm.
Buyer/New Account Owner Process Overview
Step One: Complete the Transfer of Ownership Form
Within one business day of receiving your completed Transfer of Ownership Form, one of our Customer Success Representatives will reach out to both the Seller and the Buyer with detailed instructions on how to move forward with the transfer process. Please note this step can be completed by either the seller or buyer, but only needs to be completed once.
Step Two: Authorization of Transfer
We are committed to maintaining the privacy and protection of our customers' data. To proceed with the account transfer, ThinkReservations requires written authorization from the seller/current account owner. There are no action items for you during this phase! Our team will reach out to confirm once we receive the authorization letter. In the meantime, you can begin working on Step Three.
Step Three: Transfer Prep
During this phase, we will prepare to transfer ownership of the ThinkReservations account to you. There are a few things you need to complete before the date of transfer. Please begin working on the action items below right away. If you have any questions or need further guidance, feel free to reach out to your Customer Success Representative.
Action Items:
Schedule the official Transfer of Ownership Meeting with your Customer Success Representative.
Choose a Payment Processor that you will use to process credit card payments.
You must choose a processor from the list of established connections. You can find that list in our Support Center, along with additional information about each: Setting Up Your Payment Processor.
It's crucial to start this process right away because the application approval process can take some time. If your account is not active by the transfer date, it may impact your ability to accept online reservations.
Please Note: When we switch the connected payment processor to your account, you will lose access to any retained credit card data. This is because the credit card data is stored with the processor and not in ThinkReservations.
Decide if you would like to connect to any OTAs via our Channel Manager. We recommend reviewing this support article for more information: Channel Manager Overview.
If you would like to utilize the OTAs, I recommend coordinating a transfer of ownership of those accounts with the current owner.
A note about Airbnb: Airbnb does not currently allow an account transfer. If you want to stay connected to Airbnb, you will need to open your own account and recreate the listings. If any future reservations were made through the current owner's Airbnb account, we recommend consulting with Airbnb to determine the best process for handling the transition.
Watch the ThinkReservations Training Videos and make a note of any questions you have.
Step Four: Account Transfer
On the official transfer date (or the date you have selected), you will have the official Transfer of Ownership Meeting with your Customer Success Representative. At that meeting, we will aim to complete the following:
Review your account billing and update our records
Update the payment method on file
Switch the Payment Processor
Walk through your account settings, and identify any that need to be updated
Discuss OTA connections via our Channel Manager
Address any questions you have
Step Five: Follow-up & Transfer to Support
Approximately a week after our official transfer meeting, we will schedule a follow-up meeting. At this meeting, your Customer Success Representative will answer any additional questions you have after having had some time to get acclimated to the system. After this meeting, the transfer will be considered complete, and our support team will replace your Customer Success Representative as your point of contact moving forward.
ThinkReservations offers self-help here in this support center in the form of videos, written articles, and webinars. We also offer Chat support here. If you would like to reach support by phone, call (877) 736-4195 x2 8am to 7pm EST Monday- Friday. Send an email to support@thinkreservations.com for any feedback, questions, or issues. Our team is happy to help you!