How to Set Up Automated Messages on Vrbo (Step by Step)

To set up automated messages on Vrbo, go to Inbox, click Templates, and then Create a new template. Name it, write your message, and pick when it sends, like 1 day before check-in. Then tick your properties and click Save. Vrbo then sends it to every guest on its own. It takes about three minutes.

• On Vrbo, automated messages are templates with a schedule. You find them in Inbox, under Templates.
• Each template has three parts: the message, when it sends, and the properties it's for.
• Tags, like the guest's first name, fill themselves in for each guest.
• Vrbo only sends these to guests who booked on Vrbo. To send the same messages to guests from Airbnb, Booking.com and your own website, you can use Host Port (Steps 5 to 7).

Prefer to watch? Here's the whole guide as a video.

1. On Vrbo, click Inbox in the left menu.

   

2. At the top right, click Templates.

   

3. This is where your templates live. Click Create a new template.

   

1. Give the template a name, like Check-in details. Guests never see the name. It's just for you.

   

2. Type your message into the Message box. Then click Personalize under it.

   

3. Tags fill themselves in for each guest. Under Commonly used, click Guest first name.

   

4. Close the box with the cross at the top.

   

5. Your message now starts with a blue tag. It turns into the guest's real name when it sends. Click Next at the bottom right.

   

1. Choose when it sends, like 1 day before check-in at 10:00 AM. For a different time, pick Custom schedule. Then click Next.

   

1. Tick each property that should send this message. Then click Next.

   

2. Review template sums it all up: the message, when it sends, and the properties. Check it, then click Save. Your template is now live.

   

Vrbo's message templates only reach guests who booked on Vrbo. If you also take bookings on Airbnb, Booking.com or your own website, those guests get nothing. You'd have to set up the same messages again on every site.

With Host Port, you set your messages up once. They go to every guest, wherever they booked. Here's how.

1. In Host Port, go to Listings and click your listing.

   

2. On the left, scroll down to Messaging and click Messages & reviews.

   

1. Host Port sends each message through the site the guest booked on. Direct bookings get an email. Under Send on these channels, choose which sites should send messages. Vrbo and Agoda need a one-off messaging address set up on their side first.

   

2. If you keep your Vrbo templates, switch Vrbo off here. That way guests don't get the same message twice.

   

1. Scroll down. The Show these in the message thread switch shows you what each guest is about to get, right in their chat. Only you see this. Guests never do.

2. Under Add a message, choose a ready made message or Custom message. Here we'll pick Check-in details.

   

3. Set When (for example, before check-in). Use - and + to set the number of days, and pick the time on the right.

4. Change the wording to suit you. Click a tag under the message, like guest_name, to add a booking detail.

5. The switch next to the message name turns that message on or off. Host Port saves as you go, so there's no save button to press.

   

That's it. Every guest now gets your check-in details at the right time, whether they booked on Vrbo, Airbnb, Booking.com or your own website.