How to Create and Send a Quote on Houfy (Custom Booking Offer)

Sending quotes to potential guests is a key feature on Houfy that helps vacation rental hosts secure bookings quickly. This guide walks you through the entire process of creating and sending quotes on Houfy, ensuring you can customize pricing, add discounts, and share links effortlessly.

Who This Is For

Hosts who want to send a guest a custom booking offer or price before confirming a reservation.

Before You Start

Make sure your listing is published on Houfy.

If you don’t have a listing, go to Create → Vacation rental listing to add your property.

Have the guest’s first name, last name, and email address ready.

Step-by-Step: How to Create and Send a Quote

Creating a quote is a five-step wizard. You can move between steps with Back and Continue, or click any step name at the top to jump to it.

1. Log in to your Houfy account.

2. Click the + button in the top right and choose Create a quote.

3. Leave the switch at the top set to Create a Quote (Add a Booking is for a stay you have already agreed).

4. LISTING - pick the property you are quoting for, then Continue.

5. DATES - choose your check-in and check-out dates on the calendar; crossed-out days are already booked or blocked. Set the number of guests. Still on this step, answer Block these dates on your calendar:

   • No - the dates stay bookable by anyone else until your guest pays.

   • Yes - the dates are held, and a Quote status dropdown appears: Tentative Booking holds them on your Houfy calendar only; Confirmed Booking blocks them on Houfy and pushes the block to every connected calendar (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com and so on).

   If this listing offers HoufyProtect you will also see the HoufyProtect buttons here. Add HoufyProtect is selected for you - click Remove if you do not want damage protection on this quote (see the FAQ below). Then Continue.

6. PRICING - adjust the nightly rate, discounts and taxes, add any extra charge with Add New Fee, and check the refundable security deposit. Then Continue.

7. GUEST - enter the guest’s First name, Last name and Email address (phone is optional). Write your Message to the guest - this is required: Continue stays greyed out until you have written something, and it is sent with the quote. Set Quote Validity: Always valid, or expires in 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks or 1 month. Then Continue.

8. PREVIEW - check everything, use the Edit buttons to go back to any step, then click Create a quote.

Your guest gets an email with a private link to the quote. Tell your guest to open the email and follow the link to review and book directly.

Guest Experience:

Accepting the Quote Clicking the link shows a detailed quote page with: Itemized costs. Property photo and description. Guests enter basic details (name, email, phone) to proceed.

If "Not registered" appears, prompt your guest to complete their basic details — it's required for inquiries or bookings.

Seamless Transition to Booking After submitting details, guests are redirected to the full booking page where they can pay securely and message you.

Benefits of Using Houfy Quotes for Vacation Rentals

• SEO Boost: Quotes include your property link, driving traffic to your Houfy listing.

• Sync Calendars: Automatic ICS export keeps Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com and others in sync.

• Higher Conversion: Customizable and shareable quotes close deals faster than generic inquiries.

Troubleshooting: If quotes aren't sending, check guest email spelling or your Houfy notifications.

Master sending quotes on Houfy today to fill your vacation rental calendar.

Troubleshooting common quote issues

• Can’t find your property? Check that your listing is published.

• Quote not sending? Make sure you’ve clicked Save before creating the quote.

• Guest didn’t get the email? Ask them to check their junk or spam folder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit or resend a quote?
Yes. Open the quote, find the guest’s card and click Resend Quote Email. To change a quote that has not been paid for yet, scroll to Reservation Actions, click Change reservation, update the dates, pricing, discounts or fees, then confirm.