Managing message automations 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. 

Understanding message scheduling and expiration

Message automations are added to reservations when they are confirmed. If a reservation is confirmed after the scheduled sending time of a message, the message will be sent at the time of confirmation.

Messages are scheduled according to the listing’s default check-in/check-out time. Changes to a reservation's arrival or departure time won't affect the scheduled sending time. If you disable an automated message before its scheduled sending time, it expires after the scheduled time passes. 

You can view expired messages under "History" in the Inbox automated messages widget, marked with a black and white X and "Expired" label when you hover over them. 

Automated messages sent to users, contacts or cleaners aren't displayed in the Inbox. 

Use the activity log to track all updates to your message automations.

Create a message automation

Follow the instructions to create or delete a message automation.

Beta users: Learn how to create a message automation exclusively for owners. 

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. Use a template or create a custom message 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 a message automation exclusively for new inquiries. This is useful to speed up engagement and help 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 "Select workflow conditions", define the reservation conditions that will trigger the message automation. 
   

8. To create a message, click + Add message to add a new message.

   To edit a message, click the relevant message on the reservation timeline.

   

   To delete a message, hover over the relevant message on the reservation timeline and click . In the pop-up, click Remove.

9. Set up your message. Add message conditions: Under "Add conditions", click +Add condition. Click Search to begin typing the condition's name or select it from the dropdown menu. You can add custom fields with a yes/no answer as a message condition.
10. Click Save.
11. Save the message automation accordingly:
    • For new a 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

You can create multiple automated messages within a message automation. You can define when each message will be sent, who will receive it, and how it will be delivered. Message conditions can be applied to individual messages to trigger them. 

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 message be sent

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

Add conditions

Set the message conditions that a reservation must meet to receive the message. Learn more about adding message conditions. For example, add a condition that will trigger the message only if the the reservation was fully paid.

Who will receive it

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

Example: You can assign an automated message to inform yourself or another team member about a newly confirmed reservation: 

1. Set the “When should this message be sent?” section to Booking confirmation.
2. Set the “Who will receive it?” section to User, and choose your name or another team member.

How will it be sent

You can choose how to send a message - via booking channel, email or SMS. Learn more about sending messages via SMS.

• If you choose via 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. 

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.
• Pilot: Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo 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, and once you select the images from your computer, click Done. Images are automatically removed if sent to an unsupported booking channel.

Activate/deactivate a message automation

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

To activate/deactivate a message automation, switch the toggle on or to the right of 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

To edit an existing automation, click next to message automation you want to edit and select Edit from the dropdown menu.

Make the necessary changes:

• Edit the reservation conditions.
• Select the relevant automated message, make the necessary changes to your message set up and click Save.
• For a new message, click +Add message, set up your message and click Save.

When you are 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.

Create an automated message for owners

Follow the instructions to create an automated message within your message automation specifically for owners.

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. Locate for the relevant message automation and click .
5. Select Edit from the dropdown menu.
6. Select an existing automated message, or click + Add message to create a new one. 

7. Fill in relevant information. Customize your message using variables if required.  

   Important:

   • 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 will the message will be sent, the relevant information is pulled from the Owners profile. Ensure the correct contact details are saved. 
8. Click Save.
9. Click Save in the top right to apply changes.

Understanding message statuses

A message automation can't be updated when it has one of the following statuses. You can make changes once the status is gone, which takes up to five minutes.

Duplicate a message automation

You can duplicate message automations, which include conditions and messages, to quickly set up new message automations that mirror existing ones. This feature eliminates the need to start from scratch, ensuring consistency and accuracy across your message automations. You can duplicate a message automation as many times as needed.

To duplicate an automation,  click the ellipsis icon to the right of the relevant automation and select Duplicate from the dropdown menu. The system will redirect you to a copy of the message automation where you can edit the message automation as required. Click Save and activate if it is ready. To save it as a draft, click Save and activate it when it is ready.

Notifying guests about reservation alterations

You can use automated messages to notify guests when a reservation is altered. Only the first alteration to a reservation triggers the message. Subsequent changes won’t trigger additional messages. A canceled reservation triggers the message automation for canceled reservations, but won't affect messages for altered reservations.

Create a template and schedule it to send automatically when a reservation is altered.  

The following reservation changes will trigger the automated message:

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