Overview
Scheduled messages on Airbnb are a godsend! Unlike quick replies, automating your communication allows you to get the right information to your guests at the right time. The main scheduled messages I use are a booking confirmation, pre-arrival, departure, and a review request. Not all of them will apply to your listing, but they will help you save a ton of time.
Does your listing accept same-day bookings? Or is your booking window further out? Are you renting an easy to operate condo near a domestic airport? Or a complicated home in another country? Those questions will determine what information gets relayed to your guests at a specific time in the booking cycle.
Common scheduled messages
Booking confirmation (welcome)
The booking confirmation is hands down the most important message to have automated. Your guests likely spent hours of time researching the perfect place and they decided on your listing for their travels. The least you can do is send them a prompt welcome message with important information regarding your rental. It assures them that you’re taking their booking seriously and sets the tone on what to expect during their stay. Check out my booking confirmation template here.
Pre-arrival (reminder)
A pre-arrival message may not be necessary for your listing, but I always use them as a reminder to guests. It’s a chance to highlight any important information that may have already been provided, or an opportunity to give a lengthy overview of your expectations. See my pre-arrival template here. I always travel with a portable speaker, so it’s awesome when a host lets me know that they have one included in their pre-arrival message. I recommend this JBL Bluetooth Speaker as an amenity for your guests.
Checkout
A checkout message is a useful reminder for more complicated listings, or when you have specific expectations for the departure process. You can remind guests of your cleaning requirements but try not to go overboard with what you ask them to do. Read more about setting your cleaning fees here. This isn’t for listings that have a low minimum stay requirement. Guests staying for a single night shouldn’t need to be reminded how to check out the same day they arrived.
Review request
Some hosts are scared to ask for a review and I’m not sure why. Unless you’ve provided a horrible experience, use this as an opportunity to get some great public praise for your rental. Guest reviews are extremely important in building trust with potential future guests. See my review request template here.
Recap
Those are the messages that I use throughout our listings. In addition to guests appreciating the communication, automated messages greatly reduce the amount of time I spent communicating with guests throughout the day. Not all messages are needed for every listing but choose the ones that work for you and hone them to perfection through trial and error.
Are you being asked a certain question over and over? Incorporate it into your scheduled messages or make it a quick reply. Using merge tags makes it easy to fire out the same message to multiple guests without adjusting each one manually.
