Increasing Web Revenues and Customer Satisfaction with DocuSign

How did the premier vacation rental firm Twiddy and Company leverage electronic signature to accelerate agreement turnaround and eliminate more than 21,500 pages of paper annually?

Twiddy and Company Profile

In 1978, Twiddy and Company Realtors began selling real estate from a car on site in Ocean Dunes in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In 1979, Twiddy entered the vacation rental market, representing four properties in this 200-mile stretch where the Wright brothers made their first flight. In 2008, Twiddy and Company represented more than 830 vacation rentals in the Outer Banks region, offering premium oceanfront rentals in Carova, Corolla and Duck, NC. Twiddy and Company Realtors has grown to more than 90 employees with two locations.

Twiddy and Company's Business Challenge

Twiddy and Company accepts thousands of vacation reservations through its Web site. Upon receiving each reservation, Twiddy's administrative staff prints two copies of each rental agreement and then mails the rental agreement to guests via traditional mail. Every morning, administrative staff manually:

1. Print
2. Stuff
3. Mail paper vacation rental agreements

Similarly, there was also considerable manual labor involved in processing returned agreements and scanning signed contracts into an electronic filing system. Twiddy needed a less repetitive, less costly and less time consuming solution. The solution though, could not be perceived as an inconvenience to their growing client base.

DocuSign Electronic Signature Provides the Solution

Twiddy chose to integrate the DocuSign electronic signature service into their existing reservation software. With DocuSign's Application Programming Interface (API), Twiddy could employ DocuSign services seamlessly within their legacy reservation software. Additionally, Twiddy and Company added DocuSign custom branding to include the Twiddy logo, color palette and customized instructions to further extend the Twiddy brand.

Twiddy and Company's Results From Using DocuSign Electronic Signature Corporate Edition Enterprise with Custom Branding

Now DocSign's e-signing service automatically sends rental agreements to customers for electronic signature after the online reservations are reviewed and approved. Customers receive an email notification that rental agreements require an electronic signature, with brief customized instructions explaining the DocuSign process. Twiddy now has complete visibility into the contract signing process as associates can easily monitor when agreements are signed and automatically recorded in the company's reservation software.

In addition to rental agreements, Twiddy uses DocuSign for homeowner renewal contracts as well. Each 13 page long contract and two agreements were sent to each homeowner for signature, to be signed and returned.  Because Twiddy represents more than 830 rental properties, this equates to printing more than 21,580 pages each year. Now, Twiddy conducts renewals using the DocuSign e-signature service, saving time, reducing costs and eliminating paper:

We are continually looking for ways to make our processes more efficient and remove unnecessary steps so that we are able to accomplish the same job with fewer resources and in less time. By using DocuSign, we have shortened the time it takes to secure signed vacation rental agreements, making life easier for our customers and employees. Customers love it because they can sign the contract as easily as sending an email— no more stuffing envelopes, running to the post office or incurring postage fees. - Laura Carver, chief technology officer for Twiddy and Company.