diff --git a/contrib/inventory/softlayer.py b/contrib/inventory/softlayer.py
index 4d78f58b26e..b1e915f74a3 100755
--- a/contrib/inventory/softlayer.py
+++ b/contrib/inventory/softlayer.py
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ class SoftLayerInventory(object):
         'primaryIpAddress',
         'datacenter',
         'tagReferences.tag.name',
+        'userData.value',
     ]
 
     vs_items = [
@@ -137,6 +138,8 @@ class SoftLayerInventory(object):
         if 'primaryIpAddress' not in instance:
             return
 
+        instance['userData'] = instance['userData'][0]['value'] if instance['userData'] else ''
+
         dest = instance['primaryIpAddress']
 
         self.inventory["_meta"]["hostvars"][dest] = instance