Managing automated messages for guests, owners and team members

This article explains how to create message automations that automatically send the right message to the right recipient at the perfect time. The process involves selecting and configuring a message automation timeline that best suits your reservation lifecycle, and setting up the relevant automated messages within it.

Terminology

• Message automation

  A message automation, sometimes referred to as a workflow, is the visual framework you can use to set up automated guest communication based on their journey through a reservation lifecycle.

• Automated message

  Automated messages are the dynamic, customizable templates you set up within a message automation, which are triggered by specific events along the automation timeline. 

Understand message scheduling and expiration

Message automations are added to reservations upon confirmation. If a reservation is confirmed after a message's scheduled time, the message sends immediately upon confirmation.

Automated messages sent to users, contacts, or cleaners don't display in the Inbox. You can track all updates to your message automations in the activity log.

Message scheduling

Automated messages are scheduled using the listing’s default check-in and check-out times. If a reservation’s arrival or departure time changes, Guesty automatically reschedules automated messages based on the new times.

Automated messages are still sent to reservations booked before connecting to Guesty. Message automations created or updated after their send time don't affect existing reservations.

Message expiration

If you disable an automated message before its scheduled sending time, it expires once that time passes. You can view expired messages in the Inbox automated messages widget under "History".

Create a message automation

Follow the instructions to create, edit, or delete a message automation.

Step by step:

1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click the mode selector and select Operations mode.
3. Click Automations and then select Messages.
4. In the top-right corner, click Add message automation.
5. Choose how to create your automation:

   • To use a message automation template, click Use template next to the relevant automation.

     

   • To create a new message automation template, click Create custom in the top-right corner and select the relevant option.
   • Select New inquiry is created to create an automation exclusively for new inquiries. This helps speed up engagement and convert inquiries into confirmed reservations.
6. In the top-left corner, click to change the message automation's name. You can rename it at any time.

7. Under "Reservation conditions", define the reservation conditions that will trigger the message automation. 

   

8. To create a message, under "Messaging schedule", click + Add message.

   • To edit a message, click the relevant message.

     

   • To delete a message, hover over the relevant message on the messaging schedule and click . In the pop-up, click Remove.

     

9. Set up your message.
10. Click Save.
11. Save the message automation accordingly:
    • For a new message automation, click Save and activate if it is ready, or click Save as draft to activate later.
    • For an active message automation that was edited, click Save to reactivate it automatically, or De-activate to return it to draft status.
    • For a deactivated message automation that was edited, click Save and activate to activate it, or Save to keep as a draft and activate it later.
12. In the pop-up, confirm the action.

Set up your automated messages

Create multiple automated messages within a message automation. Define when each message is sent, who receives it, and how it's delivered.

Message name

The name of the message is for internal use only. It will appear in the automation timeline and in the Inbox auto messages widget.

When should this be sent

Define the trigger for the message. For example, set it for the time of booking confirmation, or 1 day before check-in.

Important:

Automated messages for confirmed reservations can't be sent before the reservation is confirmed. Create a custom message automation for inquiries instead.

Pilot: Add message scheduling

Use message scheduling to set up automated messages that send on a specific day or certain days of the week.

These messages are sent starting from the higher hierarchy. For example, the messages are sent every Monday and Wednesday starting from 1 day after check-in.

Keep the following in mind when using message scheduling:

• Scheduled messages stop sending at check-out.
• Message scheduling is not available for messages sent at booking confirmation or after check out.

Step by step:

1. Decide how to schedule your message:
   • Based on day of the week: Set the message to send on a constant day for all reservations that trigger this automation flow. You can choose one or multiple days. For example, notify guests on Friday night that response time will be longer during the weekend.

   • Based on custom variable: Set the message based on the value of one or many custom variables. This allows different listings to have different values, so reservations in different listings receive the message on different days. For example, use one message for two listings where one has trash pickup on Monday and the other on Wednesday.

     Important:

     • Use the "day of the week" variable, as this is the only type of variable you can use here. These variables can also be updated in bulk. If a listing doesn't include a day variable you have added, the message won't send for that reservation.
2. Set the time these messages will be sent during the day.
3. Set how often they repeat (once a week or once a month).

Add conditions

Set the message conditions that a reservation must meet to receive the message. 

For example, add a condition that triggers the message only if the reservation has been fully paid.

Who will receive it

Recipients can include guests, owners, contacts, or team members. You can also create custom fields for recipients.

How will it be sent

Choose how to send a message: via booking channel, email, or SMS. 

• If you choose email, include an email subject line.
• Ensure the guest has a valid email address or phone number in the contact details if the automated messages are set to be sent via email or SMS.

Non-guest recipiants

Replies to automated messages from non-guest recipients aren't displayed in the Guesty Inbox. To receive replies to automated messages from non-guest recipients:

Step by step:

1. Under "Who will receive it", select the relevant recipient group and recipient name from the dropdown menus.
2. Under "How will it be sent", select Email.

3. Add the email address to which you would like to receive the recipient’s reply in the provided field.

   

Message content

Add the content of the message here.

• Messages can include variables to ensure personalized communication throughout the reservation timeline.
• Messages sent via email offer additional options, such as adding images, attachments, and HTML.
• Message formatting, such as bolding and italics, is only supported for messages sent via email.
• Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and Expedia users can include up to 5 images in automated messages. The total size of all photos attached to a message is limited to 25MB.
  1. Click .
  2. Drag and drop the images you want to send into the pop-up. Alternatively, click Browse, select the images from your computer, and then click Done. Images are automatically removed if sent to an unsupported booking channel.

Important:

Be sure to click Save once your message is set up.

Create an automated message for owners

To create an automated message for owners within your guest message automation, fill in the following for the relevant message:

• Who will receive it: Select Owner from the dropdown menu. This automatically assigns the message to the owner of the listing where the reservation was made.
• How it will be sent: When you select how the message will be sent, the relevant information is pulled from the owner's profile. Ensure the correct contact details are saved.

Activate or deactivate a message automation

Once you've created a message automation with at least one message, it must be activated.

To activate or deactivate a message automation, switch on the relevant automation and confirm the action in the pop-up window.

An activated message automation, along with its messages, will be added to all existing and future relevant reservations. A deactivated message automation, along with any messages that have not yet been sent, will be removed from all relevant reservations.

Edit a message automation

Follow the steps below to edit an existing automation.

Step by step:

1. Next to the message automation you want to edit, click and select Edit from the dropdown menu.

   

2. Select the relevant automated message from the messaging schedule.
3. In the right side panel, make the necessary changes to your message setup.
4. At the bottom-right, click Save.
5. When you're finished editing your automation, click Save and select the relevant option from the pop-up.
   • If the automation is active, click Apply changes.

Changes will still apply to messages for reservations that are already mid-stay.

If the changes were implemented before their scheduled sending time, they will apply to all existing and future reservations matching the reservation conditions.

Messages that have passed their scheduling time will not be triggered.

Changes to inactive message automations will apply to all existing and future reservations matching the reservation conditions.

Duplicate a message automation

Duplicate message automations to quickly set up new ones that mirror existing automations, including conditions and messages. This ensures consistency and accuracy across your communications without starting from scratch. You can duplicate a message automation as many times as needed.

To duplicate an automation,  click  to the right of the relevant automation and select Duplicate from the dropdown menu. You can edit the message automation as required, then click Save and activate if it's ready. To save it as a draft, click Save and activate it when it's ready.

Notify guests about reservation alterations

Only the first alteration to a reservation triggers the message. Subsequent changes won't trigger additional messages. Create a template and schedule it to send automatically when a reservation is altered.

The following reservation changes will trigger the automated message:

• Reservation status
• Number of nights
• Number of guests
• Assigned listing
• Check-in or check-out date or time

How reservation alterations affect automated messages

When a guest's reservation details are modified (such as check-in or check-out dates), the system handles automated messages differently depending on whether they have already been sent.

• Already sent messages: Messages that have already been sent will not be sent again, even if the new reservation details would typically trigger them again.

  You'll need to manually send any relevant messages again if needed.

  For example:   If checkout instructions were automatically sent for the original checkout date and the guest later extends their stay, those checkout instructions won't be automatically resent for the new checkout date.

• Scheduled messages: Messages that haven't been sent yet will automatically reschedule based on the new reservation details.

Message statuses

Status	Explanation
	The message automation was created and activated.
	This status is caused by one of the following: An existing message automation was changed and activated. A deactivated message automation was activated. A draft message automation was deactivated.