diff --git a/roles/beaker/virthost/tasks/main.yml b/roles/beaker/virthost/tasks/main.yml
index 4d0fdb42c9..ef1c6471d0 100644
--- a/roles/beaker/virthost/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/beaker/virthost/tasks/main.yml
@@ -21,5 +21,5 @@
   template:
     src: client-libvirt.xml.j2
     dest: /root/{{ item }}.libvirt.xml
-    vmdata: item
+    vmdata: "{{ item }}"
   with_items: clients