Channel Manager | Vrbo Integration Guide
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Requirements for VRBO Integration

To get started with the VRBO Integration, ensure you meet the following prerequisites:

Payment Method Setup: Direct integration enables you to receive bookings directly from VRBO, including guest credit card details. As the merchant, you’re responsible for processing payments, offering you the flexibility to manage transactions directly with your guests.

Pay-Per-Booking Commission: VRBO issues a monthly invoice detailing the commissions for bookings received. Payment is automated through the credit card (CC) linked to your account, provided during the onboarding process.

VAT Number: A valid VAT number is mandatory for integration.

Post-Integration Process

Index

Introduction

VRBO Reservations

Collecting Payments

Without Integrated Gateway or Advanced Payment Management

With Integrated Payment Method and Advanced Payment Management

Declined Payments

Additional Information

Supported Currencies

VRBO Same-Day Bookings

Managing Booking Requests

Troubleshooting Issues with VRBO

VRBO Guest Chat

Introduction

Here we will see what happens after the Vrbo connection is established. We will see:

  • What needs to be considered,
  • how Vrbo reservations will look,
  • and what happens regarding reservation payments.

In 365Villas:

  • The integration allows you to synchronize:
    • Rates
    • Availability
    • Property content
  • It is possible to markup your pricing for the Vrbo commission and/or the card payment fees.

In Vrbo:

  • You become the merchant of record. The Vrbo reservation will contain the guest’s Credit/Debit card details, which you must use to charge them for the stay.
  • Vrbo will send you a monthly invoice with all their booking commission. From this moment, you will be placed on a pay-per-booking scheme.
  • Instant bookings will be automatically switched on in your Vrbo listing.

Vrbo reservations

All reservations received after the connection is established will look as follows.

The title of the first message will be External Confirm Request From Vrbo – HomeAway, and it will contain the general reservation details, encrypted CC details, and cancellation policy.

The reservation details in 365Villas will reflect the information received from Vrbo, plus the payment policies and damage deposit set in 365Villas.

The 365Villas Grand Total will be the Total Price received from Vrbo, and the rest of the information will be recreated by the system based on the taxes and services information set up in the property. The remaining will be the rental amount.

Collecting payments

Being the Merchant of Record means you’ll charge guests using the credit/debit card details provided by VRBO. This section guides you through payment processing, whether you’re using an external PDQ machine or 365Villas’ integrated payment gateway, highlighting the steps for manual and automated payment management.

No integrated gateway or no Advance Payment Management option:

Once the Vrbo reservation is in your account, go to the Manage Payments section of your booking, click on View Card, and use the CC details onscreen to process the payment outside the system.

Then, record the funds collected in the transaction by clicking on Manually Record Payments and Proceed.

Finally, introduce the payment details on the pop-up and confirm. This will update the funds received information on the 365Villas booking.

Integrated payment method and Advance Payment Management:

In this case, you can proceed with the payment through 365Villas without using a PDQ machine or login into your payment gateway dashboard. First, ensure you have enabled the Advanced Payment Management option in the Payments area.

Then, go to the Manage Payments section of your booking, click View Card, and use the CC details onscreen to process the payment through 365Villas by clicking on Collect and following the instructions onscreen.

When the payment is processed successfully, the reservation will display the payment confirmation, and the funds received will get updated automatically.

If you are automating the payments, ensure you have selected this option in your settings.

When bookings are received, the system will attempt to charge them automatically based on the payment schedule you set in the Policies area and set up an automated payment for the remaining partial payment, if any.

You can view the Automated Payments waiting to be executed in the Automated Payments Record report and follow their status for any possible error that occurred.

Declined payments

Given that your automated payment could not be processed successfully, the payment status on the reservation will change to ‘payment due’, indicating the due date of the payment has passed, but funds have not been received. In this case, you will need to follow up with the guest to either ensure the card has sufficient funds or request payment with a different card, which can be done by sending a payment link via email.

The payment icons are visible in the Reservation Manager, Reminders Dashboard, Payment Manager report, Booking report, and Dynamic Report Builder.

Important: ensure you follow the payment execution to ensure all payments have been collected successfully.

Additional information

Supported currencies

Independently of the 365Villas system currency, the one that will apply to your Vrbo account is the one you selected in the Vrbo settings page, as those are the only currencies supported by the channel.

If the currency you choose in the Vrbo settings does not match the one you have in 365Villas, you can use our Multiple Currencies module to set a conversion rate.

Vrbo same-day bookings

The Vrbo sales channel does not allow same-day bookings. Guests will be able to book stays starting from the following day.

Manage your booking requests

If you have chosen Instant Booking OFF, as your booking type, travelers can submit a booking request and you will have 24 hours to accept or decline in 365Villas.

We ensure you stay informed by sending email notifications whenever you receive a booking request.

Once a traveler submits a booking request, a hold is placed on your calendar, and you won’t receive other requests for those dates.

  • If you accept the booking, the request is moved to your reservation list and the status updates to Confirmed. If you have the automated payment set up, then the system will use the guest’s credit card and charge according to your policies.
  • If you decide to decline it, the hold is removed, and your calendar is open for other requests.
  • If you don’t respond within 24 hours, the request is automatically accepted.

Guests are less likely to cancel their reservation and more likely to leave a positive review when you respond quickly to their inquiries.

Troubleshooting issues with Vrbo

365Villas is always here to assist you with any help you need. However, there might be occasions when you need to contact the Vrbo support team directly to see the problem with a listing or your account. You can find their contact information here.

Vrbo guest chat

This feature enables you to seamlessly send and receive messages in 365Villas within Vrbo messenger.

Messages initiated from 365Villas will be visible within your Vrbo messages. Similarly, if you choose to reply through the Vrbo platform, the response will be received back into your 365Villas interface.