Guesty For Hosts Frustrations

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Guesty For Hosts Frustrations

Staton Jobe
Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 2 votes

Listed our first STR property last month and started using Guesty for Hosts as my management software to consolidate across platforms. Everything was fine when just using Airbnb (though you could argue against needing 3rd party software for one platform) but have been very frustrated since integrating VRBO. A couple of my frustrations:

1. Once you integrate VRBO, you can no longer edit your listing on the platform and have to email customer support to make any changes to it.

2. 10-15min delay in messaging

3. Have 3 VRBO bookings so far and only 1 has successfully synched across all platforms, which had me almost double book dates on Airbnb...still can't block those dates b/c I have to do it on Guesty and they're blocked on there but it's not synching w/ Airbnb. One booking from 2 days ago shows on my Guesty calendar but is still not fully registered with the software as no automated messages have been sent to the guests.

4. Have to use 3rd party payment software which allowed a customer to book with an expired credit card. Also, by having to do this VRBO no longer remits my local taxes. So each month I will have to calculate out what was successfully remitted via Airbnb and what I'll need to do myself from my VRBO bookings.

5. Still have not found out how to speak with customer service on the phone...everything has had to been done via email...a big reason why I'm now venting on bigger pockets

I paid for the annual subscription for the year so I guess I'm stuck with it for now but unless they smooth out these integration issues I will probably switch. I'm using 3rd party software to try and automate as much as my operation as possible, but I find myself troubleshooting way more than if I were using no management software at all. Was considering putting my listing on Booking.com but I'm honestly terrified now to integrate another platform. 

Is anyone else having similar issues with Guesty? Anyone extremely pleased with the software they're currently using?

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Mark S.
Real Estate Investor · Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2017 · 543 posts · 474 votes
3y

@John Underwood I agree. I use the automated messaging for most of my communications but if a guest adds personal info or comments to their booking I always add a personal response.

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  • Jeremy DeGrasse
    Real Estate Agent · Glenville · Member since 2019 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    3y

    Hey Staton,

    I use Guesty for Hosts and can't say I've had as many problems.  Although I get very few booking from VRBO.  I did have one booking that didn't populate across calendars that I had to cancel.  I have been considering upgrading to Guesty for Pros but not being able to reach customer service gives me pause.

    1Reply
  • Zambricki Li
    Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles CA + Lake Tahoe, NV and CA · Member since 2021 · 180 posts · 158 votes
    3y

    Not a fan of Guesty. They should be upfront how they take over your account. They change pricing for all future dates with no warning--at sign up. They should at least provide a pop up window warning of the implications for active accounts, if nothing else.  Guesty auto-wipes your settings, pricing, and calendar like a sledgehammer.

     I prefer to use in- house platform messaging for basic messages, and actually write personal messages for anything else. It's quick, its better customer service than having all these bot-like features.

    You don't need pricelabs either just check your area, be a little better than the other options. Raise your prices on weekends and holidays, just check the comps in your area now and then for a baseline.

    0Reply
  • Ken Boone
    Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    So I use Guesty for Hosts and I will concur that their customer service is TERRIBLE.  No doubt without question.  However, I have been using Airbnb and VRBO through that system for several years now.

    1)  Once integrated with AirBnb you cannot edit your listing on Airbnb website, you have to do it through Guesty with Hosts.  I have not had any problem doing that, updating pics, updating listing info, etc.. VRBO is not API connected like AirBNB is, so if you want to edit your listing on VRBO, you need to use VRBO.  We have never had a problem doing that.  you should not be prevented from doing that.

    2) There is a delay on messaging sometimes, but generally its pretty good has been my experience

    3) So since VRBO is not API connected like AirBnb, I do see issues every now and there with things syncing and yes it can be a hassle to get it fixed.  Normally our issues revolve around changing a price.  What I have learned to do to help things is that when you get a VRBO booking, go into Guesty for Hosts and hit sync reservations right away.  That seems to help.

    4) VRBO handles our payments like they always have, using whoever they use to process it and they handle remitting our taxes just as AirBnb does.  

    5) Impossible to speak to customer service on the phone.  I mean impossible.  I finally got to talk to a Guesty person by setting up a conf call as a new interested customer on the main Guesty platform, not Guesty for hosts.  When I got them on the call, I explained my tech support issue that has been going on for over a month, with no resolve and this was the only way I could talk to someone.  I still never got a call, but I did get a little more detail in my email responses from them after that.   This is where I say their support is TERRIBLE.

    So bottom line for me is when it is working it works great - which is most of the time.. When there is a problem.. they suck and they suck bad.

    My problem is that I spent an extensive amount of time researching other PMS packages while I was having major problems and I have additional automations built off of the system.  I didn't find anything that I liked better that would make it worth it for me to change my workflow.  Instead I learned how to deal with the issues that happen from time to time.

    0Reply
  • Staton Jobe
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 2 votes
    3y

    @Ken Boone That's interesting - after doing a little more research it sounds like you have the "Standard" connection to VRBO and I have the "Upgraded". Guesty seems to steer users toward the upgraded connection but I wonder if the standard results in less issues...does anyone out there have experience using both? 

    0Reply
  • Sarah KensingerPro Member
    Real Estate Consultant · OH · Member since 2023 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Zambricki Li:

    Not a fan of Guesty. They should be upfront how they take over your account. They change pricing for all future dates with no warning--at sign up. They should at least provide a pop up window warning of the implications for active accounts, if nothing else.  Guesty auto-wipes your settings, pricing, and calendar like a sledgehammer.

     I prefer to use in- house platform messaging for basic messages, and actually write personal messages for anything else. It's quick, its better customer service than having all these bot-like features.

    You don't need pricelabs either just check your area, be a little better than the other options. Raise your prices on weekends and holidays, just check the comps in your area now and then for a baseline.

    This must take a lot of time! I have to have pretty much everything automated! 
    [email protected]330-557-3021
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  • Kristi Miller
    Member since 2023 · 57 posts · 30 votes
    3y

    I use iGMS to manage my STRs and really like them.  Customer Support is fine.  They usually respond within an hour or two, but I rarely have questions for them.  I can still edit my properties on each separate channel (VRBO, Airbnb, Booking).  Their calendar view is really nice and immediately syncs with the channels.

    I can easily message guests from the app regardless of where they booked. I also have workflows set up to automate the messaging through iGMS.  Pretty happy with them and I also use Pricelabs.

    Use easefuldesigns.com for all of your welcome books and printable content.

    0Reply
  • Staton Jobe
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 2 votes
    3y

    @Kristi Miller With iGMS - for VRBO, do you have to use a 3rd party payment software to collect payments or does it still go through VRBO?

    One problem I'm running into is that I have to use Stripe for my payment collection for VRBO bookings so it does not automatically collect and remit taxes...trying to set it up to do this through Stripe but it's not as straightforward as one would think 

    0Reply
  • Kristi Miller
    Member since 2023 · 57 posts · 30 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Staton Jobe:

    @Kristi Miller With iGMS - for VRBO, do you have to use a 3rd party payment software to collect payments or does it still go through VRBO?

    One problem I'm running into is that I have to use Stripe for my payment collection for VRBO bookings so it does not automatically collect and remit taxes...trying to set it up to do this through Stripe but it's not as straightforward as one would think 


     Nope, iGMS just lets you use the normal VRBO or Airbnb payment methods.  You just manage the calendar, messaging, etc from iGMS.  You can also set up a direct booking site via iGMS.

    0Reply
  • Mark S.
    Real Estate Investor · Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2017 · 543 posts · 474 votes
    3y

    @Staton Jobe i’ve been on Guesty For Hosts for three years. Their customer service is very poor, as others have said. If you submit enough tickets and complain, long enough and loud enough, you will eventually get a phone call. But that honestly doesn’t get you anywhere either.

    All that being said, when the system works it is pretty intuitive and easy to use. There seem to be fewer issues now than there were in the past. I have not switched to their “upgraded“ API, integrated platform with VRBO yet because I want to make sure they have worked the bugs out of it. As I understand it, the payment process on that platform is similar to platforms like OwnerRez, where you use stripe or some other third-party processing system for payments. And yes, that requires you to collect and pay taxes but if you use Avalara/MyLodgeTax it’s really pretty easy to do. 

    0Reply
  • Staton Jobe
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 2 votes
    3y

    @Mark S. Thanks for the info. Seems like I need to integrate yet another piece of third party software!

    0Reply
  • Ke Nan Wang
    Developer · St. Augustine, FL · Member since 2018 · 311 posts · 384 votes
    3y

    I'm also using Guesty for Host right now and it do have issues with both VRBO and Booking.com. Airbnb is pretty good so far and 90% of my bookings come from Airbnb.  Feel like I'm using Guesty just to manage Airbnb. I think the best alternative out there is Hostaway but will need inputs from other members in this forum and see how is Hostaway working out. 

    I think the reason I'm using Guesty is because it can be integrated with pricelab. 

    My issue with VRBO is that ever since I switched to Guesty, I have zero bookings from VRBO. Before the switch, I had about 10% of my bookings from VRBO. Not sure what's wrong. 

    My biggest problem is with Booking.com. It's not very clear how the price is calculated. Even I have cleaning fee setup in Guesty, when I sync Guesty with Booking.com, Guesty zero out my cleaning fee. I only found out when one booking came in for one night that's lower than my cleaning fee. WTF! Gotta eat that mistake. Also when I synced Guesty with booking.com, all the old bookings were only marked as BLOCKED on the Guesty Calendar. So if a guest cancels the booking, you have to manually reopen the calendar. This doesn't happen to bookings made after the Guesty integration. It cost us 4 nights of booking. Also Booking.com somehow doesn't accept credit card anymore after the integration and right now I just found out a guest is checking in on Wednesday and he's paying cash. 

    I have heard Guesty for Pro is much better but also more expensive. I'm considering as we continue to expand our STR portfolio and try out Guesty for Pro and see if it's better.

    0Reply
  • Ken Boone
    Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Staton Jobe:

    @Ken Boone That's interesting - after doing a little more research it sounds like you have the "Standard" connection to VRBO and I have the "Upgraded". Guesty seems to steer users toward the upgraded connection but I wonder if the standard results in less issues...does anyone out there have experience using both? 


     Man.. many times over the last year GFH told us once we get our API solution with VRBO it will be better.... we asked when.. they said dunno.  Well now looking back I guess they did.  Yes we are still on the standard connection so that is why we have so much differences.  Having to use Stripe with the direct bookings we do can be a hassle if you have to give a refund or follow up on additional nights etc.. It is real easy with VRBO.  So I am not really thrilled about moving 90% of my bookings over to Stripe for processing instead of VRBO when they force me to move to the upgraded connection.  Maybe its just a  learning curve.

    0Reply
  • Zambricki Li
    Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles CA + Lake Tahoe, NV and CA · Member since 2021 · 180 posts · 158 votes
    3y
    No, it doesn't take me that much time to respond to a question.   Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:
    Quote from @Zambricki Li:

    Not a fan of Guesty. They should be upfront how they take over your account. They change pricing for all future dates with no warning--at sign up. They should at least provide a pop up window warning of the implications for active accounts, if nothing else.  Guesty auto-wipes your settings, pricing, and calendar like a sledgehammer.

     I prefer to use in- house platform messaging for basic messages, and actually write personal messages for anything else. It's quick, its better customer service than having all these bot-like features.

    You don't need pricelabs either just check your area, be a little better than the other options. Raise your prices on weekends and holidays, just check the comps in your area now and then for a baseline.

    This must take a lot of time! I have to have pretty much everything automated! 

    0Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Zambricki Li:
    No, it doesn't take me that much time to respond to a question.   Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:
    Quote from @Zambricki Li:

    Not a fan of Guesty. They should be upfront how they take over your account. They change pricing for all future dates with no warning--at sign up. They should at least provide a pop up window warning of the implications for active accounts, if nothing else.  Guesty auto-wipes your settings, pricing, and calendar like a sledgehammer.

     I prefer to use in- house platform messaging for basic messages, and actually write personal messages for anything else. It's quick, its better customer service than having all these bot-like features.

    You don't need pricelabs either just check your area, be a little better than the other options. Raise your prices on weekends and holidays, just check the comps in your area now and then for a baseline.

    This must take a lot of time! I have to have pretty much everything automated! 


     It doesn't take much time to write a personal message. I also use the Vrbo tools and it provides all the automation I need and I'm not spending money on a bunch of extra software 

    0Reply
  • Mark S.
    Real Estate Investor · Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2017 · 543 posts · 474 votes
    3y

    @John Underwood I agree. I use the automated messaging for most of my communications but if a guest adds personal info or comments to their booking I always add a personal response.

    1Reply
  • Zambricki Li
    Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles CA + Lake Tahoe, NV and CA · Member since 2021 · 180 posts · 158 votes
    3y

    @John Underwood

    Yeah man! Exactly.  I have 3-4 automated message(bots)s with <guest name> inserted. Send direct from main platform.

    1) Time of booking

    2) 5 days before: Preliminary check-in/out info and check-in time reminder  

    3) Day before departure at 3 pm, with checkout instructions/time reiterated

    If a host is getting more questions than that-- the listing or instructions are not clear. If something like a wrong code... or someone is lost.. you actually do want to respond and help them. Last thing someone wants when they have an issue- is a freakin' bot. 

    1Reply
  • Staton Jobe
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 2 votes
    3y

    @John Underwood @Zambricki Li

    For those of you who do not use third party management software, are you able to have Airbnb/VRBO automatically alert your cleaners of new reservations or at least share a calendar with them? 

    And what about auto-reviewing guests? I this something you can set up through Airbnb/VRBO? Those are really the only remaining things I can think of that the third party software does for me...

    0Reply
  • Ken Boone
    Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Staton Jobe Well actually it does more than that. It gives you one pane of glass to see everything on both platforms, one place for messaging and then all the other stuff. For one STR you don't need it and quite honestly I recommend folks not to use PMS when starting out. The OTAs are your bread and butter it's good to learn them and then learn all of the intricacies of managing an STR and once you are comfortable that you got this, then look into PMS if you feel like it will help you. For one property it is not needed. When you get more properties it becomes especially helpful.

    0Reply
  • Zambricki Li
    Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles CA + Lake Tahoe, NV and CA · Member since 2021 · 180 posts · 158 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Staton Jobe:

    @John Underwood @Zambricki Li

    For those of you who do not use third party management software, are you able to have Airbnb/VRBO automatically alert your cleaners of new reservations or at least share a calendar with them? 

    And what about auto-reviewing guests? I this something you can set up through Airbnb/VRBO? Those are really the only remaining things I can think of that the third party software does for me.

    Yes, you can share calendar. Or screenshot it and text it, if you want to keep housekeepers focused and not getting random messages when it books. I have friends who's housekeepers starting tracking host profit $ off of guesty..

     I don't review every guest. This is a bit of psychology though...sometimes guests make mistakes(show up early, fail to communicate back) and when you auto-review them right after they leave, they preemptively think you are giving them a bad review so THEY give YOU a weird review. Message great guests who had an excellent experience and make sure they realize it will be mutual five stars ***** before you write the review and they will glow you up. This pre-review verbiage can be pre written and casual in nature- it's just not auto sent by a 3rd party-it's kept on platform.

    0Reply
  • Preston Forsberg
    Member since 2023 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    3y

    We just opened up our calendar and have gotten things all set up through Guesty for hosts, Airbnb and finally got VRBO integrated. 

    I concur with all your complaints about the connection and about Guesty for hosts customer service.  I’ve had about 10 emails (they won’t give a number either) where I go around with them. VRBO won’t collect and remit taxes they (Vrbo) say with the upgraded connection, and Guesty for hosts doesn’t have an option to set up taxes manually. They say it follows your setting for Airbnb which is set to automatically collect taxes.  Nobody there seems to see how this doesn’t make any sense. Am I smoking crack? Luckily(?) I haven’t had any bookings on VRBO yet but it’s only a matter of time and I’m sure it won’t collect taxes. The only option I can see is to set the Stripe (payment processed) account to collect taxes somehow or switch my Airbnb to manual tax calculation and collection/remittance. If anyone else knows anything about that please let me know how you have approached it. 

    Besides that the connection to VRBO is dumb. I didn’t use the standard connection so I don’t know what those problems were, but seems like you should be able to opt out of certain parts from syncing.  Amenities for instance… Vrbo has unique amenities than Guesty or AirBNB. If you try to check the box on Vrbo it just gets erased the next time it syncs.  I haven’t done much else for updating except that but I’m sure I’ll find more quirky things.

    0Reply
  • Staton Jobe
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 18 posts · 2 votes
    3y

    @Preston Forsberg I finally got on a video call with customer service from Guesty which was helpful. The solution is to email customer service and have them add the appropriate % tax onto your VRBO listing.  This will show up as a line item in the final price for customers.  They were finally able to do this for me as of today and it is now showing up when I go through the process of booking my property on VRBO. 

    If they don't do this initially, keep on them. I was initially told that this was not possible but then another rep was able to do it.  

    Hope this helps

    0Reply
  • Kathryn Espinosa
    Member since 2023 · 1 post · 0 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Preston Forsberg:

    We just opened up our calendar and have gotten things all set up through Guesty for hosts, Airbnb and finally got VRBO integrated. 

    I concur with all your complaints about the connection and about Guesty for hosts customer service.  I’ve had about 10 emails (they won’t give a number either) where I go around with them. VRBO won’t collect and remit taxes they (Vrbo) say with the upgraded connection, and Guesty for hosts doesn’t have an option to set up taxes manually. They say it follows your setting for Airbnb which is set to automatically collect taxes.  Nobody there seems to see how this doesn’t make any sense. Am I smoking crack? Luckily(?) I haven’t had any bookings on VRBO yet but it’s only a matter of time and I’m sure it won’t collect taxes. The only option I can see is to set the Stripe (payment processed) account to collect taxes somehow or switch my Airbnb to manual tax calculation and collection/remittance. If anyone else knows anything about that please let me know how you have approached it. 

    Besides that the connection to VRBO is dumb. I didn’t use the standard connection so I don’t know what those problems were, but seems like you should be able to opt out of certain parts from syncing.  Amenities for instance… Vrbo has unique amenities than Guesty or AirBNB. If you try to check the box on Vrbo it just gets erased the next time it syncs.  I haven’t done much else for updating except that but I’m sure I’ll find more quirky things.

    The other thing is I don’t believe the insurance  protection is included in the upgrade..I was reading that had to purchase separate damage insurance from Guesty??  Luckily at the moment I am on the standard connection but with all of this..I’m going to be looking elsewhere.  The standard connection worked fine with minor syncing bug every now and then but the whole purpose is to make this an easier process..so now with Vrbo we will now be responsible for collecting and submitting state tax, damage insurance for the what if situations( which from the plans seen can be like $60 per listing), collecting payments..ya I don’t think so.   and I wonder if eventually they will move Airbnb this direction which will 100% lose my service.  Why even pay Vrbo 5% fee if not even insurance is provided??  Again I read that on the Guesty Vrbo connection faq. 
    0Reply
  • Sean O'Brien
    Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 10 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Ke Nan Wang:

    I'm also using Guesty for Host right now and it do have issues with both VRBO and Booking.com. Airbnb is pretty good so far and 90% of my bookings come from Airbnb.  Feel like I'm using Guesty just to manage Airbnb. I think the best alternative out there is Hostaway but will need inputs from other members in this forum and see how is Hostaway working out. 

    I think the reason I'm using Guesty is because it can be integrated with pricelab. 

    My issue with VRBO is that ever since I switched to Guesty, I have zero bookings from VRBO. Before the switch, I had about 10% of my bookings from VRBO. Not sure what's wrong. 

    My biggest problem is with Booking.com. It's not very clear how the price is calculated. Even I have cleaning fee setup in Guesty, when I sync Guesty with Booking.com, Guesty zero out my cleaning fee. I only found out when one booking came in for one night that's lower than my cleaning fee. WTF! Gotta eat that mistake. Also when I synced Guesty with booking.com, all the old bookings were only marked as BLOCKED on the Guesty Calendar. So if a guest cancels the booking, you have to manually reopen the calendar. This doesn't happen to bookings made after the Guesty integration. It cost us 4 nights of booking. Also Booking.com somehow doesn't accept credit card anymore after the integration and right now I just found out a guest is checking in on Wednesday and he's paying cash. 

    I have heard Guesty for Pro is much better but also more expensive. I'm considering as we continue to expand our STR portfolio and try out Guesty for Pro and see if it's better.


     You can adjust prices on booking.com so that they are higher to make up for the larger commission fees. 

    Additionally, for anyone new on booking.com be very careful when you are first setting up your property. You need to enable payments online, the default setting is that people can check into your property without having to pay. 

    You can get some really sketchy guests there if you aren't careful. Once the prepayment is setup it is fine. 

    0Reply
  • Sean O'Brien
    Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 10 votes
    3y

    I've been using guesty for hosts and it is decent, but I'm going to switch to hostaway due to the wider breadth of integrations and i like the look and feel of their direct bookings sites. 

    0Reply
  • Cliff H.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Nashua, NH · Member since 2014 · 587 posts · 477 votes
    3y

    I've had plenty of frustration with GfH as well, but nothing like the messaging delays you call out above. Most of my issues are with failure to sync minimum night stays with Booking.com (apparently that's a manual setting) and repeats failures to properly open rolling availability windows across each of the platforms. 

    That said, for the new pricing I'm seeing off their website, I'm not sure I'd be too pleased either. As the "younger sibling" to Guesty for Pros, it's clear there's less revenue in GfH, which has seen little changes since Guesty acquired YourPorter a couple years back. 

    All that said, the STR platform manager market's pretty terrible in general. Few solutions have truly mobile apps actually built natively for the platform (iOS or Android) they're serving and most force you to choose between reasonable price OR effective user-first design. GfH with its mobile-first design (albeit dated at this point) felt like at least a compromise between these two constraints.

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