Offer Cascade

When a new task is ready, Vanio doesn't blast it to everyone at once. Instead, it offers the job to the best-fit person first, gives them a short window to accept, then moves on if they pass. This is called the offer cascade — it keeps your best staff busy without overwhelming anyone.

How it works

1. A task becomes ready (a reservation ends, a maintenance request is filed, etc.)
2. Vanio picks the top-priority person for that property and role
3. That person gets an SMS and push notification
4. They have a set window (default 10 minutes) to accept or decline
5. If they accept, the task is theirs. If they decline or don't respond, it passes to the next person
6. The cascade continues until someone accepts or the list is exhausted

If no one on your internal team accepts, the task can optionally fall through to the marketplace (see Marketplace Fallback).

Note: Some properties are set up to route tasks directly to a dedicated team member — for example, a concierge who manages all requests for a specific property. When a property has this kind of direct routing configured, the offer cascade is bypassed entirely: the task is assigned immediately and that person is notified through their in-app inbox, not via SMS. If you expect cascade behavior for a property but aren't seeing it, check whether a direct routing rule is in place for that property (see Direct routing below).

Maintenance requests and external vendors

When a guest files a maintenance report — for example, a broken AC, a plumbing issue, or an appliance failure — Vanio immediately sends an SMS to the assigned external vendor for that property, even if your account's general SMS offer cascade is turned off.

This applies to all maintenance and repair task types, including:

• General maintenance and repairs
• Plumbing
• HVAC
• Electrical
• Handyman work
• Appliance issues

The SMS the vendor receives includes the property address, a description of the issue, the urgency level, and the exact unit name — so they know precisely where to go without any follow-up call. For example, a vendor will receive the specific unit identifier (such as "Signature 18604") rather than a generic reference to "the property."

What counts as an external vendor? External vendors are companies or contractors who don't have a Vanio app account — they can only be reached by text message. This is typical for third-party service businesses (like a plumbing company or an HVAC contractor) that you've added to your vendor list. Internal staff members who log in to the Vanio app work differently: for maintenance tasks assigned to them, the task appears in their in-app inbox as usual, without an SMS offer.

This does not affect routine cleaning or internal staff scheduling. The immediate SMS dispatch applies only to maintenance and repair tasks going to external vendors. Cleaning tasks and tasks assigned to your internal team continue to work exactly as before.

[Screenshot: An example vendor SMS showing the exact unit name (e.g. "Signature 18604"), issue description, and urgency level]

Maintenance tasks from guest conversations

When a maintenance task is created through an AI-assisted guest conversation, it automatically appears on the correct conversation thread in your dashboard — the one you were working in when the task was created. This means you can open any guest conversation, create a maintenance task from it, and immediately see that task on the same thread without having to search for it elsewhere.

This works correctly even when a guest has multiple reservations or when the conversation thread is linked to a different unit than the one originally reported.

[Screenshot: A conversation thread showing a maintenance task surfaced directly on the dashboard item where it was created]

Setting priority order

1. Open a property
2. Go to Assigned Staff
3. Drag staff into your preferred order
4. Save

The person at the top gets first offer. You can set different orders per role (cleaner, maintenance, etc.) and per day of the week.

Adjusting the response window

Default is 10 minutes, but you can tighten or loosen it:

1. Go to Settings → Task Offers
2. Change Offer Window (1-60 minutes)
3. Save

Shorter windows fill tasks faster but give staff less time to respond. Longer windows are gentler but slow down scheduling on busy days.

Same-time offers

For urgent situations, you can switch a property to Broadcast Mode — the task goes to everyone at once and the first to accept wins. Use this sparingly; it can feel like a race.

Direct routing

Some properties are assigned a dedicated internal team member — such as a concierge — who handles all tasks for that property. When this is configured:

• The offer cascade does not run for that property. There is no SMS offer sequence.
• The task is assigned directly and the team member sees it in their in-app inbox instead.
• This applies to whichever task types the rule covers — maintenance, cleaning, or both.
• Your guests are still kept informed as normal.

This setup is ideal when a specific person is always the right contact for a property and you don't need the cascade to evaluate other candidates first.

If you're unsure whether a property has direct routing configured, contact your Vanio account team.

Common questions

What if everyone declines? The task is flagged as unassigned and you get an alert. You can manually assign, extend the cascade, or push to the marketplace.

Can I see who's been offered? Yes — open the task and look at the Offer History timeline. You'll see every person it went to, when, and how they responded.

Do declines hurt a staff member's score? No. Declining is normal and expected. Only no-shows and late cancellations affect reliability.

I expected the cascade to run for a property, but it didn't — why? If a property has a direct routing rule set up, the cascade is skipped and the task goes straight to the assigned team member. Check the task's assignment history to see how it was routed, or reach out to your Vanio account team to review the property's routing settings.

My general SMS cascade is turned off — will maintenance vendors still get texted? Yes. External vendors assigned to maintenance and repair tasks always receive an immediate SMS when a maintenance report is filed, regardless of your account's global cascade setting. This is separate from the standard offer cascade and only affects those specific task types going to vendors without a Vanio app account. Routine cleaning tasks and internal staff are not affected.

Will my vendor's SMS always show the specific unit? Yes. Every maintenance offer SMS now includes the exact unit name — for example, "Signature 18604" — so your vendor knows precisely which unit to go to. If for any reason the unit name isn't included in the message body, Vanio automatically appends it before the SMS is sent.

I created a maintenance task from a guest conversation but can't find it on that thread — what happened? Maintenance tasks created from guest conversations now always appear on the conversation thread where you opened them. If you created a task before this was fixed and it isn't showing up, try opening the task directly from the Tasks view and checking its linked reservation there.

The cascade is what makes Vanio feel automatic. Set it up once and tasks route themselves.