We hope the year’s off to a good start for you and your business! But however this blog finds you, we have something to make your day a little brighter: Lodgify product updates.
This month brings some exciting news to share as well as simple but impactful updates that will help you take your operations to the next level. We won’t keep you in suspense—keep reading to learn more!
Celebrate our Vrbo Elite Connectivity Partner status with us!
First, we’re excited to announce that we’ve earned Vrbo’s Elite Connectivity Partner status again for 2025!
This is the highest partnership status that Vrbo awards to their connectivity partners, and it demonstrates our commitment to excellence and outstanding customer service, while confirming our place as a leader in vacation rental management software. And equally importantly, it comes with benefits and resources we get to pass along to our users.
A big thank you to Vrbo for this recognition!
Read more about our Vrbo Elite Connectivity Partner status here.
Personalize your communications with our GuestFirstName placeholder
You’ve probably already taken advantage of our GuestLastName and GuestFullName placeholders in messages. Now, you can also use our new GuestFirstName placeholder to address guests by their first name and create more personal communications.
Here’s what to expect:
- Default automatic responses now use GuestFirstName for a friendlier tone (unless previously edited).
- For future bookings, first and last names will be stored separately and seamlessly populate placeholders.
- First and last names can now be entered separately when creating manual bookings, improving personalization.
- For past bookings, the GuestFirstName placeholder will display the full name unless details are updated manually in the reservation.
Whether you prefer a formal or casual tone, you now have the options you need to tailor your messages and ensure they feel natural and welcoming.
Generate invoices instantly for new reservations
Good news: With our latest update to our Guest Invoices feature, you can now create invoices as soon as a reservation is booked to help streamline your workflows! Before this update, you had to wait until the day after checkout to generate invoices.
To get started, simply go to the reservation details in the Reservations module.
Note that this update applies only to manual invoice generation for now, but we’re working on bringing it to automatic generation in future iterations.
We’ve also made an update to improve the user experience of our Guest Invoices feature: Line items in invoices are now properly ordered according to the following sequence: room rates, fees, taxes, add-ons, and promotions.
Check out the Rentals Overview page’s new makeover
We’ve been hard at work updating the design of all the pages in the Rentals section of your Lodgify account. And now, after revamping the Location and Contact pages, we’re excited to announce that we’ve finished the Overview page as well!
The Overview page now follows the latest design system patterns, with key improvements such as a new side sheet to make it simpler for you to navigate through the other pages of the Rentals section.
We hope these edits make it even easier to set up and update your rentals!
Take advantage of our new website builder updates
We’re excited to announce that we have not one, not two, but three new updates to our website builder! Specifically, we’ve implemented the following changes:
- Improved font selection: Font selection is now faster and easier thanks to a new search bar and alphabetical ordering.
- Always-visible menu: The three-dot menu will now be visible at all times to simplify the page editing experience.
- Rental unassigning details: You’ll now see detailed consequences of unassigning rentals, helping you to decide whether to take this action.
The goal of these updates? To make our website builder even more intuitive so you can get your website up, running, and driving direct bookings in no time.
Comply with Vrbo’s new communication policy
If you list on Vrbo, you may have heard that Vrbo’s new communication policy requires hosts to inform guests of when and how they’ll receive property access instructions at least 72 hours before check-in. However, our trigger for automatic responses for Vrbo bookings has historically been to notify guests just two days before arrival.
So, we’ve updated this trigger to notify guests three days before arrival to ensure compliance with Vrbo’s new policy, prevent potential penalizations from Vrbo, and avoid guest complaints.
FYI: We’ve updated our local tax calculation for direct bookings
We’ve also updated how local taxes are calculated for direct bookings to better align with best practices and ensure accuracy. Specifically, this update impacts bookings where VAT was set up as inclusive and local taxes were configured, so it won’t affect all Lodgify users.So, what’s changed? Moving forward, local taxes will always be applied to the net room rate (excluding VAT) rather than the gross amount. As a result, affected bookings may have a slightly lower quote amount.
This update is applied automatically, so no action is required on your part. However, you can modify your room rates to reflect this change if you choose.
Make the most of our new marketplace integrations
Automate check-ins, upsells, and more with Happy Guest
Wish that guest check-in and upselling were easier? Happy Guest is the answer.
A digital guidebook solution, Happy Guest enables your guests to sign your rental agreement, purchase upsells, and check out local restaurants and things to do—all in one place. It automates check-in, helps you drive additional revenue, and gives your guests all the information they want and need at their fingertips.
Read more about our integration with Happy Guest here.
Streamline guest screening with Authenticate
Guest screening is an essential part of protecting your property and investment. And Authenticate is the essential solution for guest screening.
Using Authenticate, you can quickly:
- Screen guests against national and international databases.
- Verify over 7,500 types of government IDs in under 30 seconds.
- Complete real-time criminal background checks (only for users in the U.S.).
As a result, you help protect your property against problematic guests, prevent identity fraud, and gather the evidence necessary to fight chargebacks.
Read more about our integration with Authenticate here.
Try Lodgify today
It’s not too late to start the new year off on the right foot—head over to your Lodgify account to begin putting these features to work!
And if you don’t have Lodgify yet, make it your New Year’s resolution to give us a try. We offer a commitment-free seven-day trial as well as a demo call and account so you can explore our features on your own terms. Get started today to maximize your business’s potential!