Are you opening a short-term rental business or expanding your operations to include more platforms? Good for you! If you’re about to list your home on Vrbo, there are a few essential items you need to keep in mind. This post provides the ultimate Vrbo checklist for hosts who are about to list their property on the platform.
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
Why follow a Vrbo checklist?
Frankly, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to listing a home on Vrbo. With so many tasks all up in the air at once, something can easily be overlooked. To prevent this from happening, we’ve created a Vrbo checklist that, when followed, covers all of your bases extraordinarily well.
Pre-booking
- Confirm all the information on your listing is accurate and up-to-date
- If you haven’t already integrated your account with Host Tools, you’ll need to make sure you don’t have any double bookings.
- Check that you’ve priced your nightly rate competitively with other rentals in your area that offer similar amenities.
- Have professional photography (The Airbnb Pro Photography program can help with this).
- Review upcoming reservations and potential scheduling conflicts.
- Create an updated list of amenities you offer.
- Make sure your calendar is properly synced across all of your booking platforms.
- Have a minimum-stay requirement set.
Pre-arrival
- Send an automated message to the guest reminding them of their upcoming stay.
- Include check-in information like times and smart lock codes.
- Automate your cleaning crew so you know that the property will be spotless before the next check-in.
- Do a check on your inventory to ensure all toiletries, soaps, and other essentials are well-stocked.
- Do a once-over for any property damage from the previous guests and double-check appliances for any maintenance issues.
During a guest’s stay
- Utilize Host Tools’ AI auto-replies to answer guest questions ASAP.
- Be responsive to any messages that may require you to answer directly.
- Be open to coordinating any upsells during their stay (extra income for you!).
Checkout
- Send a reminder for check-out the night before. Include check-out time and any “chores” like taking out the trash.
- Be sure your cleaning crew is scheduled for check-out.
- Confirm the guest has checked out
- Do another once-over for any new issues with the property.
- Thank the guest for coming and kindly ask them to leave a review of their experience.
Turnover
Your cleaning crew should have a thorough cleaning checklist that you’ve provided, but a few basics to remember:
- Wash and change linens
- Take out trash and repalce trash bags
- Clean everything
- Empty dishwasher
- Check outdoor areas
- Make sure all the appliances and amenities are working.
Final thoughts
It’s important to have a solid Vrbo checklist in place to ensure nothing gets left behind. After a few times, following this Vrbo checklist will feel like second-nature.
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
