Set up and edit custom automatic responses

Use Lodgify's Custom Automatic Responses to create custom messages and configure for each message when it should be sent and to whom. For example, you can configure a message that will automatically be sent 5 days before arrival to all guests who booked via Airbnb. 
Custom automatic responses can be sent via email, platform inboxes and SMS.

✨ Feature exclusive to the Professional and Ultimate Plan!

💡 Note: If you want to request information such as guest details, check-in time, and legal ID, you can also use the online check-in form.

Read about:

• Creating custom automatic responses
• Editing custom automatic responses
• Sending custom automatic responses via SMS
• Disabling custom automatic responses
• Custom automatic response languages

⚠ Important: Custom automatic responses are always sent out in the timezone of the associated rental property and may take a few minutes to reach your guests.

Creating custom automatic responses

To create a custom automatic response, follow these steps:

1. Go to your left-hand menu and select Settings.
2. In the sidebar menu, click on Custom automatic responses.
3. Click on the green Create custom automatic responses button.
   💡 Note: The button is in the top right corner of your screen if you have already created custom responses.
   
4. You will now see an empty response template. Start by adding a Name, so that you can always easily identify this custom automatic response, should you want to edit or review it later. 
5. Set the Schedule for when the response should be sent, by choosing the number of days before / after the guest's arrival / departure / booking confirmation, and the time when you would like the response to arrive. 
6. Create the message content using the rich text editor where you can insert pictures, hyperlinks, etc.. Here you can also use {{Messaging placeholders}} to insert booking/rental-specific information. Find here a list of placeholders and their use.
7. You can then click the button send 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.
8. Then define the sending conditions of the custom automatic response:
   • Choose the Recipients:
     • the Guest;
     • the Rental Contact (the contact information set in the rental's Contact section);
     • the Account Contact (the information set in your My Account section).
   • Choose the Booking channels (= booking source) for which the automatic response should be sent. (For example, Airbnb and VRBO.)
      
   • Choose the Rentals.

💡 Notes:

• To send the same message to multiple recipients, you will need to configure the automatic response separately for each. For example, to send the same message to guests who booked through two different channels, create the automatic response twice, using the same Recipient and Content, but varying Channels.
• Adding a custom automatic response does not override existing automatic responses.

Editing custom automatic responses

Once you have created a custom automatic response, you can always edit it. To edit a response:

1. Go to your left-hand menu and select Settings.
2. In the sidebar menu, you will see a section Messaging, here you need to click on Custom automatic responses.
3. Locate the custom automatic response you want to edit, click the three dots on the right and then Edit.
   

Sending custom automatic responses via SMS

You can send an SMS at the same time the automatic email response is sent. This feature is available free of charge on your Ultimate plan.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to your left-hand menu and select Settings.
2. In the sidebar menu, you will see a section Messaging, here you need to click on Custom automatic responses.
3. Find the automatic response you want to link to an SMS message, or create a new one.
4. Scroll down to the SMS section and tick the box to enable it.
   
5. The SMS will be sent at the same time as the email, but you can enter a different message. You can also use placeholders in your SMS content.

⚠️ Important:

• The guest's phone number must be included in their contact details. If not, the SMS cannot be sent and an error message will appear in your inbox.
• It is your responsibility to obtain the guest’s consent before sending them SMS messages.

Disabling custom automatic responses

Newly created custom automatic responses are by default enabled (= turned on). If you do not want a custom automatic response to be sent out, you can disable it by switching the lever to the left. You can always turn the automatic response back on again by switching the lever back to the right.

Custom automatic response languages

If your website supports multiple languages, it’s important to create custom automatic responses for each language you offer. This ensures that guests receive messages in their preferred language whenever possible.
Each language version must be created and edited individually, as messages are not automatically translated languages.

To add a new language version of a custom automatic response:

1. Save the content of your response in one language.
2. In the same response template, select the next language from the Languages drop-down menu.
3. Repeat this process for each language you want to offer.

How guest language preferences are handled:

• If a guest’s preferred language matches an available custom response, they will receive that version.
• If a custom response is not available in the guest’s language, the system defaults to the account’s main language.
• If you only create a response in English, all guests will receive it in English, regardless of their language preference.