We include a messaging rule template which can be used specifically for automatically pre-approving inquiries!
🚨 Note: We cannot automatically pre-approve inquiries from Vrbo Legacy or Booking.com.
See more below.
New Inquiry messaging rule
You can pre-approve inquiries automatically by using a New booking inquiry messaging rule. This allows you to give the green light to your potential guests without having to intervene yourself.
This messaging rule is available for Legacy, Host, Professional, and Mogul subscription plans. It is not included for the Essentials subscription plan.
We already include a New booking inquiry template in your messaging rules (found in Guest experience) which you are free to edit as you see fit. We'll use this guide to explain how to edit the existing rule - you can check this article to learn how to create a new rule from scratch.
Please note: Hospitable can only pre-approve Airbnb and Vrbo Partner inquiries. We cannot extend pre-approvals, nor can we pre-approve Vrbo Legacy inquiries.
New inquiry messaging rule template
Head to Guest experience > Messaging rules to find your list of rules. Select the New booking inquiry template from the list:
The rule already includes a passage of text that we've created for you, utilizing short codes to automatically populate things like names and dates. Feel free to adjust this message to suit your own tone!
The template is set to send immediately after an inquiry is received.
You can delay the message by up to 60 minutes or opt to prepare (but never send) the message. This allows you to review the request yourself and reply manually if needed.
"Automatically pre-approve inquiries" setting
Automatically pre-approve inquiries is the setting you want to enable to pre-approve any inquiries. This will automatically send the pre-approval to your guest, allowing them 24 hours to complete their reservation.
With this setting enabled, we won't send the "New pre-approval" messaging rule, if you have one set up and enabled to avoid sending repetitive messages to your guests.
Vrbo Legacy exception
💡 When your Vrbo listing is connected to Hospitable on the Vrbo Legacy connection, you must respond to all inquiries directly in the Vrbo dashboard.
Hospitable cannot pre-approve Vrbo inquiries. This is because Vrbo heavily restricts direct quote-editing and pre-approvals through its API to prevent offline bookings — guests must officially submit a request to book, or use Instant Book, via the Vrbo platform itself.
Vrbo inquiries that flow into Hospitable are simply reservation questions from guests. They will appear in your Hospitable inbox, but the guest must go to Vrbo directly and submit a booking request to proceed. Only once a booking request is submitted will you be able to accept or decline it in Hospitable.
Offering a discounted price to a Vrbo Legacy inquiry guest
If a guest has inquired and you want to offer them a custom rate or special adjustment:
Go to your Calendar in Hospitable and update the nightly rate for the dates in question to reflect the custom price.
Reply to the guest's inquiry and let them know you've updated the pricing for their dates.
Ask them to go to Vrbo and submit a booking request, they'll see the updated price when they book.
Responding promptly matters
Vrbo tracks your response time to inquiries. Always reply within 24–48 hours to maintain your listing rank on Vrbo, even if your full answer is just acknowledging the inquiry while you sort out the details.
Booking.com exception
If you have "Review and approve" enabled for your Booking.com listing on Hospitable, guest requests may, in some cases, be processed as an "Inquiry" instead of a "Request to book".
If that is the case, you will need to set up a "New inquiry" messaging rule.
Hospitable cannot automatically pre-approve inquiries from Booking.com.