Channel Messaging With Guests

Native in-app messaging is available for accounts API-connected to Airbnb, Booking.com (BDC), and Vrbo! Communicating directly with your channel guests in OwnerRez allows you to centralize your guest messaging. With OwnerRez's inbox, conversation view, system alerts, channel templates, and triggers, you can automate more of your messaging to be delivered via the listing channel (or "on the platform").

If you haven't read the Channel Messaging Overview and Channel Message Limitations, support articles yet, be sure to do that first.

Airbnb, Booking.com (BDC), and Vrbo channel messages come into OwnerRez even before a booking is made! So, if the prospective guest has a question about your property, it will appear in OwnerRez. There may be a minute or two delay for it to appear in OwnerRez (i.e., you may see the message come through via an alert from the listing channel). Once it comes into OwnerRez, there are a few different places you can see it, but if it's not yet a booking, the quickest way to get to it will be the Inbox. If you keep your alerts or push notifications enabled, you can click the link on the system alert you receive.

Until a host procures a guest's contact information, hosts must rely on the messaging platforms of those channels.

• Inbox
• Inquiries
• Guest Contact Information
• Conversation View
• Communication History
• Alerts
• Common Issues and Questions

Inbox

Your Inbox is located in-app on the left navigation menu.

Channel messages are listed in the Inbox, where the Via column indicates which listing channel the messages are from.

Clicking on each individual message opens the message in the Conversation View.

In the Conversation View, you can see any comments that your channel guests have added, allowing you to respond directly to your channel guests within OwnerRez.

Inquiries

Channel inquiries appear in the OwnerRez Inquiries section. Note the Via Listing Site column displays which listing channels that these inquiries originated from.

When users view the inquiry, they will see all the information associated with this inquiry. 

Further down on the inquiry page, users can see the following.

• General Info about
  • Date the quote was received
  • Which property
  • Number in party
• Channel information
• Guest information
• Requested Dates calendar view
• Any Comments added by the potential channel guest
• Inquiry Activity

Users can respond to inquiries by clicking on the button.

Guest Contact Information

Listing channel guest platform emails are not passed to OwnerRez from new Airbnb and Booking.com (BDC) bookings. Vrbo still sends guest email addresses to OwnerRez...for now. Is there any way to get the guest's real email address? Yes. OwnerRez recommends that all Airbnb and Booking.com (BDC) API-connected users configure their own channel template and an associated trigger to request guest email addresses and phone numbers directly. 

• To request your guest's contact information and ask them to sign your renter agreement, see the Ask Channel Booking Guest Without Contact Info, to Provide Contact Info and Sign Renter Agreement support article.
• Check out the Trigger Examples support article for more information and ideas for guest messaging.

OwnerRez adds a default channel trigger in your account for all new Airbnb, Booking.com (BDC), and Vrbo bookings so that guests are asked for their contact information as soon as bookings occur. Users will see the new trigger showing alongside the others in your Settings > Triggers list.  If you already had this kind of channel trigger, that trigger will now work for Booking.com, Vrbo, and Airbnb.

Users can verify their current templates by navigating to Settings > Messaging > Templates and current triggers by navigating to Settings > Messaging > Triggers. OwnerRez recommends that users review their messaging templates and triggers to ensure they are sending the correct template to their guests across BDC, Vrbo, and Airbnb. This can be done in place of or to augment other custom messages (e.g., email, SMS) sent on your behalf to the guest.

What happened to the Airbnb, Booking.com (BDC), and Vrbo platform email addresses? The platform email addresses provided were always problematic. They created a lot of duplicate messages, stripped out links and formatting, truncated lines, and caused other mayhem. While the listing channels were providing platform email addresses along with the booking, it was really a terrible way of communicating with guests, so the platform email addresses are no longer being added to bookings in OwnerRez.

Conversation View

When users open the Conversation View either through their Inbox or through the specific Booking > Conversation, they can see any comments that their channel guests have added, allowing them to respond directly to the guest.

Users will see a Message Queued modal pop-up in the upper right side of the screen, letting them know that the message is outgoing.

Back in the Conversation View, users will be able to see their guest conversations. Note that this outgoing message is still in the queue to be sent. Users can open specific sections by clicking on the right side downward facing arrow  to view more information. 

Users can view message details at the top of the message including the following.

• Message sender
• Message recipient
• What Inquiry number the message was sent regarding
• How the message was sent. In the case below the message was sent manually.

Users can click on the green links to return to the Inquiry or All Messages.

Communication History

See the Communication History support article.

Alerts

Channel messaging Alerts (found under the Profile dropdown menu) are enabled by default. You can disable them if you do not want to receive email alerts when a message comes in or fails to send. We recommend you keep them enabled until you know how they assist you in your workflow.

Common Issues and Questions

For all other channel messaging troubleshooting and questions, see the Messaging section of the individual listing channel Common Issues & Questions support article.

• Messaging section of the Airbnb Common Issues & Questions support article.
• Messaging section of the Booking.com Common Issues & Questions support article.
• Messaging section of the Vrbo Common Issues & Questions support article.