This article provides a guide for handling cancellations on Vrbo, including guest-initiated and host-initiated cancellations, sync timeframes, troubleshooting steps, and how cancellations affect your Premier Host status.
Declined vs. canceled reservations
It is important to understand the difference between a declined reservation and a canceled reservation, as outlined below. Be aware that both options can harm your Premier Host status and lead to penalties from Vrbo.
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Declined reservations occur when you decline a booking request before it’s confirmed, displayed as "Canceled" in Vrbo.
- Canceled reservations occur when you cancel a confirmed reservation, which can negatively impact your cancellation rate. These are displayed as "Canceled" in both Vrbo and Guesty.
Understanding Guesty's auto-decline feature
Guesty's auto-decline feature helps protect your response rate, a key factor for maintaining Premier Host status.
Quote and hold requests (othrwise referred to as "request to book") are assigned a "Reserved" status, which you must approve or decline within 42 hours. If no action is taken, Guesty will automatically decline the request, changing its status to "Expired". The guest will be notified that the request was not accepted.
Learn more about reservation statuses.
Guest-initiated cancellations
Guests are allowed to cancel even after check-in, as long as the check-out date is still in the future. When a guest cancels a reservation on Vrbo, expect the following implications:
- Automatic sync: The cancellation syncs automatically to Guesty, which may take up to 24 hours.
- Notification sent: You’ll receive a cancellation notification in your Guesty Inbox.
- Reservation status change: The reservation status in Guesty will change to "Canceled."
- Refund processing: You're responsible for processing any refunds according to your cancellation policy.
- Ranking metrics: Guest-initiated cancellations or cancellation requests do not impact your ranking metrics on Vrbo.
Cancellations typically sync to Guesty within 1 to 24 hours. During high-traffic periods (e.g., holidays), syncing may take up to 24 hours. If a cancellation doesn't sync to Guesty after 24 hours, check if the reservation was imported into Guesty correctly. If the cancellation sync fails due to an import issue, cancel the reservation in Guesty manually.
Host-initiated cancellations
If you as the host cancel a reservation, be aware of the following:
- Recorded in Vrbo: A manual cancellation in Guesty is recorded as "canceled by host" in Vrbo.
- Impact on Premier Host status: A host-initiated cancellation may negatively affect your Premier Host status on Vrbo.
- Cancellation rate: This cancellation will count in your cancellation rate.
- Listing suspension: Vrbo suspends listings with a high cancellation rate.
Preventing penalties for cancelled reservations
To maintain a good standing with Vrbo and avoid cancellation penalties, consider the following actions:
- Opt for Instant Booking: Enable Instant Booking to avoid the risk of cancellations due to delays in approval.
- Use Quote and Hold wisely: If your listing is set to Quote and Hold be sure to approve or decline booking requests within 42 hours to avoid triggering the auto-decline feature.
- Submit a waiver request: If you need to cancel a reservation for an unavoidable reason, submit a waiver request to Vrbo. For more details, refer to the Vrbo Partner Cancellation Fee Policy.