Sending Messages
You can send messages to guests directly from the hejGuide inbox. Depending on how the booking was made, your message is delivered through the appropriate channel -- email for direct bookings, or through the OTA platform for Booking.com and Airbnb guests.
How to send a message
- Go to Messages in the sidebar and open the conversation you want to reply to.
- Type your message in the text field at the bottom of the conversation thread.
- Click Send.
Your message is delivered immediately and appears in the conversation thread.
Where does the message go?
hejGuide automatically routes your message through the correct channel:
- Direct bookings -- Your message is sent as an email to the guest's email address on file.
- Booking.com bookings -- Your message is sent through Booking.com's messaging system so it appears in the guest's Booking.com inbox.
- Airbnb bookings -- Your message is sent through Airbnb's messaging system so it appears in the guest's Airbnb inbox.
TIP
You do not need to choose the channel manually. hejGuide detects how the booking was made and sends the message through the right platform automatically.
Sending a message from the booking page
You can also start a conversation from a booking's detail page:
- Open the booking from the Calendar or Bookings list.
- Look for the Messages section or the message icon.
- Type your message and click Send.
This creates a new conversation in the inbox linked to that booking.
Scheduling messages for later
If you want to send a message at a specific time (for example, check-in instructions the morning of arrival), you can schedule it:
- Compose your message in the conversation thread.
- Instead of clicking Send, click the Schedule option.
- Choose the date and time you want the message to be delivered.
- Confirm the scheduled send.
Scheduled messages can be viewed and cancelled before they are sent.
WARNING
Scheduled messages are separate from Automated Emails. If you have automations set up for check-in instructions or other guest journey steps, be careful not to send duplicate messages by also scheduling a manual one.
The "needs reply" flag
You can toggle a Needs Reply flag on any conversation to mark it as requiring follow-up. This is useful when you read a message but cannot respond right away -- the flag ensures you come back to it later.
- To set the flag, open the conversation and click the Needs Reply toggle.
- To clear it, click the toggle again after you have replied.
For Booking.com conversations, there is also a No Reply Needed button. Clicking this tells Booking.com that the conversation does not require a response, which can help your response metrics on the platform.
Related
- Inbox Overview -- Navigating and filtering your inbox
- Attachments -- Attaching files to your messages
- OTA Messages -- How messaging works for Booking.com and Airbnb
- Automated Emails -- Set up messages that send automatically