Guests can cancel their reservations directly through their Vrbo account. This applies to both refundable and non‑refundable bookings.

If a guest contacts you to cancel, direct them to cancel from their account first. If they cannot self‑service the cancellation, it will appear in your Inbox as a Cancellation Requested status.

Note for Integrated Property Managers (IPMs): IPMs cannot accept cancellations or change reservation statuses on the Vrbo dashboard. Once a booking is canceled in your channel manager, allow up to 24 hours for the cancellation to appear on Vrbo.

 

Guests eligible for a 100% refund

For IPMs: To accept a guest’s cancellation, update the reservation status to Canceled in your channel manager. If prompted, select Canceled by the traveler as the reason. You must also process the refund through the channel manager.

 

Guests not eligible for a 100% refund

  • Guests who are not eligible for a full refund can still cancel from their account. Any refund or penalty will follow the rules of your cancellation policy.
  • Guests may submit a cancellation request if they booked before you had a cancellation policy in place.

After you receive the cancellation request email:

  1. Process the cancellation in your account as soon as possible (ideally within 24 hours).
  2. Issue any refund that applies under your cancellation policy.

 

Impact on Ranking Metrics

  • Guest‑initiated cancellations or requests do not affect your Ranking Metrics.
  • Partner‑initiated cancellations do affect your Ranking Metrics, regardless of the reason.

For IPMs: When a guest requests to cancel, select Canceled by traveler in your channel manager to avoid penalties. If the incorrect reason is selected, the cancellation is treated as host‑initiated, resulting in a fee. A cancellation waiver may be required.

 

Date changes   

If the guest updates their stay dates, the cancellation policy automatically adjusts to the new stay dates.