I wouldn't even respond because that's just inviting additional communication. 

My understanding is in agreement with some of the above comments that HomeAway wants to avoid situations where guests find the listing on VRBO but then end up communicating and booking with the owner/manager "off-platform" to save on the booking fees. 

Communicate with your landlord.They don't want YOU, they want someone.

They just want to make sure you have a clear vision for what you plan on doing and how much you're going to net them in their wallets.the rest is being professional and having clear lines of communication.

How do you communicate with your spouse the benefits of investing in rental properties when they are as conservative with money as it comes; like let's sit on $50k cash conservative?

This is not the business where you want to make mistakes or learn from your mistakes as if you get negative publicity upfront, those reviews will be there for a long time, and a huge majority of guests read these reviews before they decide on a property.I would also consider staying at another airbnb, especially by those who have high ratings and super host, to find out how they communicate or deal with their guests. 

If anything, just to gain experience that goes into a full rehab so we know how to communicate what we want with future GC's.

Most of my communication with the manager is via text.  

And I'm guessing that it's probably their lack of proactive communication and response that had you look elsewhere.The issue that muddies the water is that he is your manager and the one who is supposed to be the point of contact with your tenants. 

You were exactly right that she was not a motivated seller but I do still have open contact with her and can still contact an agent that I had only slightly communicated with in the past.