If you are on reservation request on VRBO, you can choose to accept or decline reservation requests on VRBO. Whenever a guest clicks on ‘Contact Host’ in VRBO, you will receive this inquiry both in your Lodgify Reservations section and your VRBO dashboard. The following article will detail how to manage a VRBO inquiry in Lodgify.
Turning a VRBO inquiry into a booking
⚠ Important: Any communication with the inquirer will need to take place via the VRBO dashboard as this feature is not yet supported in Lodgify. We are working diligently to improve this in the near future.
To turn a VRBO inquiry into a booking, follow the procedure below:
- Reply to the inquiry via the VRBO Messaging Dashboard.
Come to an agreement with the inquirer about the details of the booking. (Discounts or date changes.) - You then have two options to action the agreement:
- Conversely, you can direct the inquirer to first book your listing. Once the booking has been imported into Lodgify, you can apply any discounts or Add-Ons to match the agreement you had with the inquirer.
- If necessary, adjust the booking settings of your rental in Lodgify. These settings should match the agreed-upon details. Once the settings/rates have been changed, ask the inquirer to book your listing via the VRBO website.
- Once the booking has been paid/confirmed by the guest on VRBO, the reservation will appear in your Lodgify Reservations inbox.
- The VRBO Inquiry in Lodgify that originally started the booking process can be dismissed - no actions need to be taken on it.
💡 Notes:
- Please don't confirm the Inquiry from Lodgify as it can cause issues for the guest when trying to book your property via VRBO.
- Be aware that any changes to your rental will be published to VRBO, which means that another guest could also book the rental with the adjusted booking settings. Ensure that the inquirer knows that they should book immediately to avoid any scheduling conflicts.
-
Avoid directing VRBO guests to book directly through your website, as this can prompt VRBO to block your conversation with the guest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a VRBO inquiry block the Lodgify calendar?
No, dates in Lodgify will only be blocked once the guest finalizes the booking.
For how long will the VRBO inquiry be valid?
VRBO inquiries do not expire.
Why can't I communicate with the inquirer via Lodgify?
VRBO's API does not support the ability for us to synchronize an inquirer's contact details such as their email or phone number. For this reason, we kindly instruct you to communicate with the inquirer via your VRBO dashboard. This communication limitation only applies to VRBO inquiries.