Learn how Vrbo inquiries work in Hostaway, what happens when a guest sends an inquiry, and how inquiries differ from booking requests or confirmed reservations.
How do Vrbo inquiries work?
An inquiry is a question from a guest who would like to book the property. You can either decide to accept it or not by replying to the message. The inquiry will be displayed in both the inbox section and the reservation section in Hostaway.
You can read more here about Quotehold reservations, which is a different type of inquiry for non-instant book listings that require host approval.
It is not currently possible to change a quote from an inquiry; it's necessary to complete the booking and then modify the pricing from Hostaway once this is an active reservation.
Can I accept Vrbo inquiries in Hostaway?
Yes, you can! Please make sure that you do have the content API activated and that there is an email address available in the reservation details to reply to the guest.
Once a guest sends in their inquiries via “Ask Manager A Question”, you will need to answer the guest from Hostaway. A reply to the guest will automatically approve the request, and the guest will receive in their email inbox along with buttons to either “Reply” or “Book Now”: once the guest clicks on “Book Now”, the inquiry will then turn into a reservation.
You can see this in a more visual way below:
Does Hostaway support messages for Vrbo inquiries?
We have the full support of messaging for Vrbo inquiries.
Inquiry messaging flow:
Hostaway shows the inquiry in the reservation section and the inbox section
You can reply to the inquiry using the Hostaway inbox, and the response will be displayed in the Vrbo dashboard of the guest
Guest can reply from their Vrbo dashboard
Hostaway will receive the reply as an email message from Vrbo and will show it in the Hostaway reservation and inbox thread