On the Vrbo Partner connection, an inquiry is a message a guest sends to ask you a question about your listing. Unlike Airbnb, a Vrbo inquiry does not include specific dates and is not a booking request. This article explains how to handle inquiries in Hospitable and what to expect.
ℹ️ Vrbo inquiries are messages only. They contain no dates, no guest count, and no reservation to accept or decline. They do not block your calendar.
How Vrbo Inquiries Work
When a guest opens your Vrbo listing and sends a message before booking, Vrbo creates an inquiry thread. Hospitable receives this thread in your inbox so you can reply from Hospitable.
A Vrbo inquiry is different from:
A Vrbo Request to Book, which includes specific dates and requires you to accept or decline in Hospitable. See Vrbo Partner: Request to Book.
An Airbnb inquiry, which is tied to a specific date range and can be pre-approved.
Replying to a Vrbo Inquiry
You reply to a Vrbo inquiry the same way you reply to any other Hospitable conversation — type your message in the inbox and send. Message rules can also send automated replies to inquiries, following your usual setup.
🚨 Note: A "New inquiry" messaging rule cannot be sent to Vrbo inquiries if the rule has the "Automatically pre-approve guest" setting enabled.
See more here: New Inquiry Messaging Rule
Pre-Approval Is Not Supported on Vrbo Partner
💡 You cannot pre-approve a guest from a Vrbo inquiry. Vrbo's Partner API does not support pre-approval or sending a payment request from an inquiry thread. This applies to every Vrbo Partner connection, regardless of your Hospitable plan.
On Airbnb, hosts can pre-approve a guest from an inquiry so the guest can book without further review. Vrbo does not offer this capability through their Partner API, and there are no plans to add it.
If a guest asks to be pre-approved or asks you to "send a quote" from the inquiry, the guest needs to complete a booking through your listing's normal booking flow instead.
What to Tell the Guest
Guests who want to book after inquiring need to go back to your Vrbo listing and complete the booking themselves:
If your listing uses Instant Book, the guest can book immediately from your listing page on Vrbo.
If your listing uses Request to Book, the guest submits a booking request, which you then accept or decline from your Hospitable inbox.
💡 A suggested reply template:
Thanks for reaching out! To confirm your stay, please go ahead and complete the booking through my Vrbo listing. If you have any other questions before booking, I'm happy to help here.
Inquiries and Your Calendar
A Vrbo inquiry does not block dates on your calendar, on either Hospitable or Vrbo. Dates only become unavailable once a guest completes a booking (Instant Book) or you accept a Request to Book.
If you see dates blocked in Hospitable that you believe came from an inquiry, that is not the cause — check for a confirmed reservation or a manual block on those dates. See Troubleshooting Availability Sync Issues.
Vrbo Legacy vs Vrbo Partner
This article covers inquiries on the Vrbo Partner connection. If your Vrbo account is connected through the Vrbo Legacy connection (Chrome extension), inquiry handling on Vrbo works differently and pre-approval may be available directly in your Vrbo Owner Dashboard. See Vrbo's own help article: Pre-approve travelers and reply to inquiries with a quote.
Not sure which connection you have? On the Channel connections page, a green Vrbo Partner badge means you are on the Partner connection; a dark grey Vrbo Legacy badge means you are on Legacy.
FAQs
Can I pre-approve a Vrbo guest from Hospitable?
Can I pre-approve a Vrbo guest from Hospitable?
Not on the Vrbo Partner connection. Vrbo's API does not support pre-approvals, so no property management software — including Hospitable — can offer this on the official Vrbo Partner connection. The guest needs to complete the booking or booking request through your Vrbo listing.
Can I send a payment request or a custom quote from a Vrbo inquiry?
Can I send a payment request or a custom quote from a Vrbo inquiry?
No. Custom quotes and payment requests from an inquiry are not supported by Vrbo's Partner API.
Does replying to an inquiry hold the dates for the guest?
Does replying to an inquiry hold the dates for the guest?
No. Inquiries do not block your calendar. Dates become unavailable only after a confirmed booking or an accepted Request to Book.
Why does the guest see a "pre-approve" or "quote" option in Vrbo, but I don't have one in Hospitable?
Why does the guest see a "pre-approve" or "quote" option in Vrbo, but I don't have one in Hospitable?
Some guest-facing Vrbo flows still reference pre-approval, but the action is only available to hosts who manage their listing directly on Vrbo, without a property management software. Once your account is connected to Hospitable through the Vrbo Partner connection, those flows are not available.
Can I turn an inquiry into a reservation myself?
Can I turn an inquiry into a reservation myself?
No. Only the guest can complete a booking on your Vrbo listing. You cannot create a Vrbo reservation from a Hospitable inbox thread.