Lodgify's messaging integration allows you to set up messages and automatic responses per channel (= booking source) that are sent when certain conditions are triggered, for example when a guest makes a booking.
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Set up automatic responses per channel and recipient
Automatic responses save you a lot of time and involves all parties (guest, rental owner, and account holder) to keep them informed. Follow the steps below to learn how to specifically set up automatic responses for every booking source and create your recipient logic.
- Go to your Main Menu in the top left corner and select Settings. Now, click Automatic Responses.
- At the top of the page, you will find a drop-down menu with the three possible recipients:
- Guest
- Rental contact (person set up in the rental's contact information)
- Account contact (person set up in the account's contact information)
💡 Note: You will need to set up your automatic responses for all recipients. If you only have one rental, the rental contact and the account contact are usually the same, you can then deactivate them for one of the roles.
- When entering one of the recipients, you can select the following:
- For which booking source you want to set up the automatic response (Manual & website, Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, Booking.com)
💡 Note: Each channel might need a slightly different automatic response setup. - Which messages to activate or deactivate.
💡 Note: Use the toggle next to the automatic response to activate or deactivate it for a certain recipient/channel. - To edit the automatic response's default content, click on the little pencil icon next to it.
- For which booking source you want to set up the automatic response (Manual & website, Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, Booking.com)
How to edit the automatic response's default content
Once you click on the little pencil icon next to an automatic response, you can start editing its default content and adapt it to each recipient and booking source/channel. You will be able to do the following:
| Use | Notes |
| Name of the automatic response and channel | Here you can see which automatic response you are currently editing for which channel and how this message will be sent (e.g. for manual & website bookings via Email, for Airbnb bookings via API Messaging, etc.) |
| Language |
Use the drop-down menu to select the Language. 💡 Note: You should set up the message in all the languages you offer on your website. Please note that currently only some of them have fully translated text by default. |
| Subject line | Define a subject 💡 Note: You can use {{Placeholders}} to insert booking/rental-specific information. The software recognizes placeholders and automatically fills them with booking information or rental details. Find here a list of placeholders and their use. 🔎 Example: "Thanks for your booking at {{HouseName}}" automatically becomes "Thanks for your booking at The Seven Sisters Cottage" |
| Text body |
Here you can edit the main content of the message using the rich text editor where you can insert pictures, hyperlinks, add attachments, etc., or choose to edit the automatic response in HTML. Here you can also use {{Placeholders}} to insert booking/rental-specific information. 🔎 Example: Hello {{GuestName}} automatically becomes Hello Adam Smith. |
| Send test email | If you click on the three dots in the top-right corner of the editor, you can select to send a test email. This generates an example of what your email looks like when sent out to a guest. The test email will be sent to the account owner's email address. |
| Restore default | If you are not happy with your changes and prefer to restore the default automatic response, you can do so. Just click on the three dots in the top-right corner of the editor and select Restore default. |
Once you are finished editing your automatic response, don't forget to save your changes.
Which emails can be sent for OTA bookings
When you are connected to an OTA (Airbnb, Booking.com, etc.) via our API Channel Manager connection, you can decide to send some of Lodgify's automatic responses. Which emails can be sent to your guest, depends on each channel. In the following table, you will find the list of emails that can be configured for each.
| OTA | Emails sent from Lodgify |
| Airbnb |
💡 Note: If the Reservation started out as an Inquiry, the following Automatic Responses will not be sent to the guest:
Learn about how messages synchronize with Airbnb. |
| Booking.com |
💡 Note: If the functionality Charge Booking.com reservations inside Lodgify is activated, the following messages can be sent as well:
Learn about how messages synchronize with Booking.com. |
| Expedia |
💡 Note: If the functionality Charge Expedia reservations inside Lodgify is activated, the following emails can be sent as well:
Learn about how messages synchronize with Expedia. |
| HomeAway/VRBO |
Learn about how messages synchronize with VRBO. |
Messaging recommendations per channel
OTA messaging systems are all different. So, to ensure that your messages are received in full and with the right formats on all the channels you're connected to, certain precautions can be taken when constructing your messages.
- Messages exchanged before a reservation is created are not imported into Lodgify.
Airbnb:
- Neither attachments nor Hyperlinks are sent. But direct links will be shown.
- Photos need to be sent in the body of the message, and will be displayed as a URL link to the guest. Photos can be sent and received, but they won't be shown in Lodgify.
- Conversations between you and the guest will not be removed if the host account is disconnected from Lodgify.
- Airbnb does not support the HTML markup, so bolded/strong styles are not supported.
Booking.com:
- Messages sent from Booking.com by your guest as a special request will not be imported into Lodgify.
- Neither attachments nor Hyperlinks are sent.
Expedia
- Only messages sent from Lodgify will be visible in your Lodgify inbox.
- Messages exchanged with the guest from your Expedia Partner Central Account are not shared with Lodgify.
- Messages sent by the guests will not be visible on Lodgify, unless they respond to the automatic messages "2 days before check-in" and "review request 2 days after stay".
VRBO
- You can add photos as attachments (no pdf, or doc or xls files) to your VRBO guests.
- As for Expedia, only messages sent from Lodgify will be visible in your Lodgify inbox.
- Messages exchanged with the guest from your VRBO Account are not shared with Lodgify.
- Messages sent by the guests will not be visible on Lodgify.
- Messages sent via Lodgify will only be visible in Lodgify, not in your VRBO dashboard.
- For confirmed bookings, messages sent from Lodgify will go to the guest's email inbox, and not the VRBO messages section of their account.
