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Vrbo Listing Settings

Eddie
Updated

This article will explain how to setup the listing settings for each Vrbo listing before you publish the listing to Vrbo. Any of the same settings that are available in your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings can be overridden here on a listing level (excluding Features and Safety Features).

These settings can be accessed as per the following steps:

  • Click Booking Engine > Listings from the Homhero side menu
  • Select a listing by clicking the 'grey' Vrbo Icon visible under the Web/OTA column

Prior to accessing your VRBO settings, your listing will need to have at least 7 images uploaded.

Details

  1. VRBO account - Select the Vrbo Account that you wish to use for this listing
    Note: You can only have 1x Vrbo Account setup per Homhero database

  2. Headline - The name of your listing will automatically feed from your main listing settings if you have used the 'Copy Fields to OTA' tool, however you can also override the listing name here manually. This will be the Property Name that will display in Booking.com searches



  3. Short Description - This will be quick introduction to your property. Maximum 400 Characters, only 80 characters shown on listing indexes

  4. Description - Please enter a detailed description about your property. Minimum 400 Characters. Do not include any pricing or fee related information. Any descriptions about rooms and bedding config should match the listing setup.

  5. Listing story (Optional) - Add a story describing how the owner came to own the property and the role the property has played in his/her life. Max length 2000

  6. Unique Benefits (Optional) - Add a description to explain the unique benefits offered by this property over other similar properties. Max Length 2000

  7. Why purchased (Optional) - Add a description explaining why the owner purchased this particular property. Max Length 2000

  8. Year Purchased (Optional) - What year was the property bought? Max Length 4

  9. Features - Set any Features that apply to this listing
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

    Note: You can have values set on both the global and listing level, which means the individual OTA listing Features will not override the Default Vrbo Setting Features. We will merge them together to form a complete list before we send this information to Vrbo.

  10. Property type - Select the property type from dropdown

  11. Property Amenities - Set any Property Amenities that apply to this listing

    Guests typically choose 8 filters when searching for properties on Vrbo. The top searched amenities are Pool, Beachfront, Private Pool, Hot Tub, Oceanfront, Kitchen, Internet, Outdoor Spaces, Waterfront, Air Conditioning, and Parking.

    Listings with 30 to 50 amenities appear in search results 23% more often than those with 20 amenities, while listings with 50 or more amenities show up 62% more frequently.

    Properties with 30 to 50 amenities are booked 15% more often than those with 20 amenities, and listings with 50 or more amenities are booked 30% more often.

    Adding more amenities increases the likelihood of your listing being viewed and booked.

  12. Safety Features - Add all details of safety equipment in the listing. Safety features must be accompanied with a description of where the features are located in the property
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

    Note: You can have values set on both the global and listing level, which means the individual OTA listing Safety Features will not override the Default Vrbo Setting Safety Features. We will merge them together to form a complete list before we send this information to Vrbo.


Booking Settings

  1. Cancellation Policy - Select a default Cancellation Policy to apply to this listing.
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing 

    Vrbo recommends the Relaxed or Moderate cancellation policy as this allows IPMs to show up in search filters and have higher conversion rate.

    Guests are booking properties with a Relaxed (42%) or Moderate (28%) cancellation policy about 70% of the time.

    Listings with the Firm (13%) Strict (11%) or No refund (6%) are booked at a much lower rate.

    No refund policy's should be a thing of the past. You also have the ability to create a Custom Cancellation Policy instead.

  2. Booking policy - Select a Booking Policy as per below:
     Instant: This will make all Vrbo listings by default as 'Instant book' for Vrbo only
     Quote: This will make all Vrbo listings by default as 'Request to book' for Vrbo only
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

  3. Events Allowed (Optional) - Are Events allowed for all Vrbo listings? Yes or No.
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

  4. Minimum Guest Age (Optional) - Select a minimum age that a guest can be in order to book. If you leave this field blank, the minimum age will default as 18.
    Note: You can only enter ages 18 years and above.
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

Pricing

  1. Rate to use - Select the rate that you wish to use for sending to Vrbo for this listing

  2. Rate lift - This is where you will need to setup a Rate Lift to cover any commission charged from Vrbo
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

    Click here for our article on How to setup your Vrbo Commission

    Click here for our article on How to Calculate the Right Rate Lift for your OTA Rates

Availability

  1. Length Of Stay - Select the maximum Length of Stay that prices are calculated out to:
    - 31 nights (default)
    - 45 nights
    - 60 nights
    - 75 nights
    - 90 nights
    - 180 nights

    1. Minimum Advanced Booking Days Lead Time [minPriorNotifyDefault] - The minimum number of days in advance that the room can be booked. This is also known as your Booking Lead Time
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

    If your minPriorNotifyDefault for Vrbo is set to 1 day, it's currently possbile to receive bookings within 24 hours of checkin. This is due to the differences in timezones between Homhero and Vrbo and it is a known issue that has not been resolved yet.

    The simplest way to work around this is to add an extra day to your lead time. In this case, we recommend setting the minPriorNotifyDefault to 2 days.
  3. Maximum Advanced Booking Days (Optional) - The maximum number of days in advance that the room can be booked
    *Updating this setting will override your DEFAULT Vrbo Settings for this listing

Additional Settings

  1. Cancel - Allows you to cancel any recent changes you have made in the current Vrbo Settings
  2. Unlist - If a property is already listed on Vrbo, this will unlist the property, making it unavailable online
  3. Relist - If a property is unlisted, this button will appear under Options. Click Relist to list the property on Vrbo
  4. View on Vrbo- This will allow you to view the Vrbo listing as it appears on Vrbo
  5. View log - Click Options > View Log to access the API Logs for this listing
  6. Save - The drop-down menu has two options, Save or Save & Publish:
    • Save: Once your listing is live, you can save all changes made to your settings, without updating Vrbo
    • Save & Publish: This will create a new listing on Vrbo. Once your listing is live, clicking this will save all changes made to your settings, and push them directly to Vrbo

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