Customer story · VacayStay
How VacayStay boosts bookings 58% with Chatref
VacayStay trained a Chatref chatbot on 380 properties, house rules, and local guides so travelers get instant answers – and 83% of inquiries resolve without a guest services agent.
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VacayStay is a vacation rental manager that operates 380 premium beach and mountain properties and hosts 28,000 guests every year. After deploying Chatref – an AI chatbot trained on property descriptions, house rules, check-in procedures, local guides, and thousands of past guest questions – across its website, mobile app, and SMS channel in 2026, VacayStay grew bookings by 58%, automated 83% of guest inquiries, lifted last-minute bookings by 72%, grew five-star reviews by 49%, and reached 94% guest satisfaction while saving $69k every month. Chatref uses pay-as-you-go pricing with $50 free credit on signup, so VacayStay pays only for conversations that drive revenue, with unlimited chatbots and unlimited team seats included and no subscription or per-seat fees.
Customer story · Hospitality
At a glance
VacayStay in a nutshell.
+58%
More bookings
83%
Queries automated
94%
Guest satisfaction
$69k
Monthly savings
- VacayStay trained a Chatref chatbot on 380 property descriptions, house rules, check-in procedures, local guides, and thousands of past guest questions so travelers get instant answers around the clock.
- Real-time availability and instant booking on the website, mobile app, and SMS captured evening and weekend inquiries that previously went unanswered, lifting last-minute bookings by 72%.
- Pay-as-you-go billing with $50 free credit meant VacayStay only paid for conversations that drove real reservations – no subscription, no per-seat fees, unlimited chatbots and team seats included.
The story
How it played out.
The challenge
VacayStay manages 380 vacation rentals across beach and mountain destinations and hosts 28,000 guests every year. Its seventeen-person guest services team was buried under the same questions on repeat: availability, pricing, amenities, pet policies, check-in instructions, WiFi passwords, and local recommendations. During peak booking seasons, response times stretched past ten hours and prospective guests jumped to competitors with instant online booking.
Seasonal hiring was expensive and inconsistent, and generic live-chat scripts could not reason over 380 unique property listings. VacayStay needed an assistant that could check real-time availability, answer property-specific questions accurately, support guests on arrival, and operate around the clock without seasonal staffing.
The Chatref setup
VacayStay uploaded property descriptions, house rules, check-in procedures, local guides, and thousands of past guest questions into a Chatref chatbot. The bot was trained in about a day and embedded on the VacayStay website, mobile app, and SMS channel. Chatref answers only from VacayStay content – so when a guest asks about a 4-bedroom beachfront with a hot tub and pet policies, the bot returns the exact property, shows real availability, and completes the booking end-to-end.
Urgent maintenance issues are routed to on-call staff with the full chat history attached. The bot also recommends restaurants, activities, and attractions tailored to each property's location, giving guests a concierge-style experience on arrival.
The outcome
In the first quarter of 2026, VacayStay grew bookings by 58% as prospective guests got instant responses during their research phase. Last-minute bookings rose 72% because the bot captured evening and weekend inquiries that previously went unanswered. The bot handled 83% of guest questions end-to-end, five-star reviews grew 49%, and guest satisfaction reached 94%.
Automating support saved $69k every month, paying back the investment in roughly six weeks. Because Chatref uses pay-as-you-go credit, VacayStay paid only for conversations that drove reservations, with unlimited chatbots and unlimited seats already included in the $50 starter credit every new account receives.
Explore
More customer stories.
What does VacayStay do?
VacayStay is a vacation rental manager that operates 380 premium beach and mountain properties and hosts 28,000 guests every year.
What problem did VacayStay solve with Chatref?
Real-time availability and instant booking on the website, mobile app, and SMS captured evening and weekend inquiries that previously went unanswered, lifting last-minute bookings by 72%.
What results did VacayStay see?
VacayStay reached +58% more bookings, with 83% queries automated. Pay-as-you-go billing with $50 free credit meant VacayStay only paid for conversations that drove real reservations – no subscription, no per-seat fees, unlimited chatbots and team seats included.
How long did it take VacayStay to go live?
VacayStay launched quickly and started seeing results within the first weeks. Chatref trains on your existing content, so most teams go live in days, not months.
How much does Chatref cost?
Chatref is pay-as-you-go. You start with $50 of free credit, then pay only for what you use. There is no subscription, no per-seat fee, and every feature is included.
Can I get results like VacayStay?
Yes. Train a chatbot on your own docs, FAQs, and past tickets, deploy it on your website and other channels, and let it answer the routine questions. Start free with $50 of credit.
Convert more vacation rental bookings
Train a Chatref chatbot on your properties, policies, and local guides in minutes. $50 free credit, no subscription.
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