Publishing a listing to an existing Vrbo account

Once your Vrbo account is connected, you can publish your listings on Vrbo directly from Guesty. This guide explains the steps required to ensure your listing is properly set up and connected. 

Listings that are listed in Vrbo are not automatically imported or synced with Guesty. Listings must be created in Guesty and published to Vrbo, one listing at a time. There is no need to recreate the same listing in Vrbo.

Follow the instructions below to publish a listing to Vrbo.

Before publishing your listings to Vrbo, confirm that you’ve completed the following tasks.

Account setup
Listing configuration
  • Create your listing in Guesty before attempting to publish to Vrbo.
  • Set the listing to listed. Only listed listings can be published.
  • Complete all property details including:
    • Basic property information
    • At least 5 amenities, required by Vrbo
    • Guest capacity
    • Correct number of bedrooms and bathrooms
    • Pricing and availability
Address requirements
  • Complete, updated and valid address:
    • Street name
    • Building/street number

      Important:

      Missing street numbers are the number one reason for failed Vrbo connections. Always include the building/street number in your address.

    • Postal/zip code, formatted for your region
    • City, and state/province
    • Country
    • Longitude and latitude coordinates
Photo requirements
  • At least one exterior photo of the property
  • At least 5 total photos. It is recommended to have 15-20 for better listing performance
  • Photo orientation: Use horizontal (landscape) orientation for better visibility
  • High-quality images: minimum 1024x683 pixels
  • Maximum file size: 20MB
  • Supported formats: JPG, PNG
  • These types of images will fail moderation and be excluded from listings:
    • Contain watermarks, logos, copyright marks, text, or arrows
    • Contain people
    • In black-and-white or sepia tone
    • Rotated, blurry, out of focus, pixelated, over-sharpened, or enlarged
    • Close-up shots of plants or flowers
    • Showing illegal paraphernalia per federal law
    • Illustrations, animations, maps beyond the property, 3D renderings, or crude floor plans
    • Too dark / insufficient light
    • Collages or combined images
Financial setup
  • Match the currency of your rates and fees to the Vrbo master brand.
  • Configure auto payment settings to align with Vrbo’s supported payment methods, including credit and debit cards, and specific limitations based on the region of your account’s settings. 
Content requirements

Publish a listing

Follow the instructions below to publish a listing to Vrbo.

Step by step:

  1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
  2. In the top navigation bar, click the mode selector and select Growth mode.
  3. Click Distribution and then HomeAway/Vrbo thumbnail.
  4. Click the relevant account.
  5. In the top-right corner, click Publish listing
  6. Define the listing settings:

    • To use Vrbo's default settings, the Use same as Vrbo's default settings box is checked by default. Review the settings and click Next.
    • To configure the settings, uncheck the Use same as Vrbo's default settings box.
    Listing settings explained

    Booking settings

    Select instant or quote and hold from the dropdown menu. 

    Choose if you would like guests to make reservations instantly, or if they need to make a quote and hold. This setting can be edited at any time. Vrbo does not allow same-day reservations. 

    Select a cancellation policy 

    Select Use a template or Create custom.

    Select a cancellation policy from the options provided, or create a custom policy as the default for your Vrbo account. This setting can later be edited on the listing level.

    Payment method

    Check the Collect payments automatically or Collect payments manually box.

    Choose whether to collect payments in Guesty using a payment processor and auto payment rules, or to collect payments outside of Guesty and document the transactions in Guesty. If you are located in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Vrbo requires that you collect payments via Guesty. If you choose to collect payments outside of Guesty, select which payment options to accept. These settings can later be edited on the listing level.

  7. Click Next.
  8. Click Select properties. It may take a few minutes for your listings to load. 
  9. Select the listing(s) you wish to publish to Vrbo.
    Take note of the following:
    • Existing published listings or listing published to a different account will not appear in the list of available listings. 
    • Refer to the publish queue for non-eligible listings that require resolution before attempting to republish them.
  10. Click Save to proceed.
  11. Click Next.
  12. Review listing requirements. Listings that meet Vrbo’s requirements are published immediately. Listings that require further action are labeled as “not eligible”. You can resolve these issues at any time. Refer to the publish queue to fix them later, or follow the steps below to address them now.
    • Click the expand icon under the "Action" column for listings that require action to be redirected to the relevant page to make the required change.
    • For listings that require more than one change, you will be redirected to a pop-up with a list of required changes. Click the expand icon to be redirected the relevant page to make the required change. When all required changes are made, click Done.
  13. Return to the listings summary page and click Publish listings.

Vrbo advertisement plans

Your listing's visibility depends on your selected advertisement plan.

Plan type Description Action required
Pay Per Booking (PPB) Commission-based model Listings go live automatically after approval
Pay Per Subscription (PPS) Annual subscription fee Purchase a subscription for the listing to go live
No default plan Undecided payment model Listing remains in "Preview" status until converted to PPB or PPS

If your listing remains in "Preview" status, log in to your Vrbo dashboard and select an advertisement plan to make it live.

Fix publishing issues from the publish queue

Listings not eligible for publishing are pending resolution on the "Publish queue" where you can search for listings by name, filter by city, property type, and tag, and fix publishing issues.

Follow the instructions below to view listings that are not eligible and resolve pending issues. 

Step by step:

  1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
  2. In the top navigation bar, click the mode selector and select Growth mode.
  3. Click Distribution and then HomeAway/Vrbo thumbnail.
  4. Click the relevant account.
  5. In the top-right corner, click Publish queue.
  6. Clickthe expand icon under the "Action" column. You will redirected to the relevant page to make the required change.
  7. Make the necessary fixes and click Done.

    For listings that require more than one change, you will be redirected to a pop-up with a list of required changes. Click the expand icon to be redirected the relevant page to make the required change. When all required changes are made, click Done.

  8. When you are ready to proceed, click Publish eligible listings.
  9. If you want to publish a listing to a different account, hover over the listing and click X remove the listing assignment.
  10. Click Publish.

Listings will be in "pending" status until published. Listing will become "connected" and bookable within 24 hours. Once published, listings are removed from the publish queue and added to the Vrbo integration page in Guesty.

Monitor the connection status

Once the connection process begins, listings transition through several status phases. The following table outlines these statuses and any actions required:

Status

Description

Duration

Action required

Vrbo received the connection request and is reviewing the listing for compliance. 24-72 hours

If the status persists beyond 72 hours:

  • Ensure all listing details are complete.
  • Check for any error messages on the Vrbo integration page in Guesty.

Listing successfully published on Vrbo. Not applicable No action required. The listing is live.

Vrbo rejected the connection attempt. Not applicable Refer to our Vrbo publishing errors guide.

Troubleshooting publishing issues

If you encounter issues while attempting to publish a listing, follow the steps below to resolve it:

  1. Is the listing status "Pending"?
    • Yes, for less than 72 hours: No action needed. When Vrbo approves the listing the listing status will change to "Connected" in Guesty.
    • Yes, for more than 72 hours: Proceed to step 2.
    • No, shows as "Failed": Skip to step 4.
  2. Are there any error messages on the integration page?
    • Yes: Address the error message as indicated.
    • No: Proceed to step 3.
  3. Is the listings status "Pending" for more than 72 hours?
    • Ensure your Vrbo account is active and in good standing.
    • Ensure the listing is active on Vrbo.
    • Contact us for further investigation and resolution.
  4. Is the listing status "Failed"?
    • Review the error message displayed for the relevant listing.
    • Refer to our Vrbo publishing errors guide and follow the provided steps for resolution.
    • Make any necessary corrections to the listing details.
    • Click "Retry" to attempt publication again.

Common error messages and solutions

Read below how to solve the three most common publishing errors.

Address formatting errors

Error

Solution

"Invalid address" or "StreetDigit"
  • Format the address according to local standards.
  • Ensure the street name number are included in the address field. 
    For listings without street names, use “Unnamed Road” as a placeholder.
  • The street number must be followed by the street name in the address field (e.g., 123 Main Street) and republish.
  • Verify the postal/ZIP code is correctly formatted. If it contains a dash after the first five digits, remove it and any following digits.

Missing required information

Error

Solution

Missing required fields" or "Incomplete listing"

Check that all required fields are completed:

  • Property details
  • Guest occupancy
  • Amenities (minimum 5)
  • Photos (properly sized, no watermarks)
  • Rates and availability
  • Registration/license numbers (if applicable)

Photo compliance issues

Error

Solution

Photos do not meet requirements

Check that uploaded photos meet the requirements:

  • Ensure photos are high resolution (minimum 1024x683 pixels)
  • Remove any watermarks, logos, or text overlays
  • Avoid uploading duplicate images
  • Upload at least 5 total photos

If the issue persists contact us with a screenshot of any error messages and a list of steps you’ve already taken.

Once submitted, a listing may take up to 72 hours for Vrbo to approve. Once approved, its status will change to "Connected" on the Vrbo integration page within 48 hours. Learn now to verify a Vrbo listing is connected.

Tip:

To enhance your listing’s visibility and attract more guests, learn how to boost a Vrbo listing's ranking in search results

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