When you are connected to Vrbo by API, you might occasionally need to cancel a guest reservation. While this is not recommended to be used often in your Hostaway account, you can find this function under the reservations detailed page in the top right corner.
When you click on the cancellation button, a pop-up will be displayed to provide a reason for being cancelled:
Once the cancellation has been confirmed in your Hostaway dashboard, it will automatically be translated as canceled in Vrbo. This process can take a few hours until the next Vrbo sync takes place.
The most common reasons are
- Owner - The property is unavailable and can not be rebooked in another unit. Often due to last-moment maintenance or in some cases a booking mistake
- Owner - The rate was incorrect. Only to use when the day rates by accident were set too low or financial details were missing
- Traveler - not able to make travel arrangements. Often used when the Guest doesn't comply with house rules or can not accommodate other needs requested for the booking
- Traveler - minimum age rule. When the Guest is underage or under the age you have set as a minimum to allow for booking
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Traveler - no payment received. Guests where the payment for the reservations repeatedly failed or could not be completed
Guest Initiated Cancellation Process
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Guest requests cancellation via Vrbo Dashboard
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The Host receives a notification/message about the request
- There is no "Approve" button or direct action in the message
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The Host must manually cancel the reservation in the Hostaway Dashboard
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Go to the reservation details in Hostaway
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In the upper right corner, click on the red button "Cancel reservation"
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Select "Traveler" as the reason for cancellation (this is crucial to avoid Vrbo penalties)
- Confirm the cancellation
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Select the reservation > Scroll down > Payments > Invoices & charges > Refund
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We send an update to Vrbo, or Vrbo fetches it via the API
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The guest receives an email confirming the cancellation
Avoiding Penalties for Cancellations
- When canceling a reservation, be sure to select 'Traveler' as the reason to avoid any repercussions or penalties from Vrbo
- Canceling reservations may impact your Vrbo property rating and could potentially cause "penalties" on your account. When you are not sure if you can cancel the reservation from your end, please contact your Vrbo Account Manager to ask for advice