All About Guest Messaging

HelloShift's Guest Messaging module enables seamless communication with guests across multiple channels—SMS, Email, WhatsApp, Web Widget, and Facebook Messenger. From pre-arrival to post-checkout, you can automate outreach, respond to inquiries, and manage all conversations from a unified inbox.

Overview

Messaging Channels

HelloShift supports multiple communication channels:

Channel Configuration

Configure channels at Admin > Settings > Guest > Messaging :

1. Enable desired channels

2. Configure credentials for each channel

3. Set default channel for outbound messages

4. Configure channel-specific settings (signatures, auto-replies)

Unified Inbox Setup

Bring messages from OTA platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and Expedia into one streamlined workflow.

How to Connect External Site Messages

1. Navigate to Admin > Site Info in HelloShift

2. Copy your Site Email Address

3. Paste it into the relevant OTA platform (see instructions below)

Platform-Specific Instructions

Airbnb

1. Go to Account > Personal Info

2. Click Edit beside your email

3. Replace with your Site Email Address

4. Click Save

Tip: To avoid changing your Airbnb login, set up email forwarding instead.

VRBO

1. Go to My Account > Account Settings > Account Information

2. Enter Site Email Address in the Email 2 field

3. Add this address to the Contacts section of each listing

Booking.com

1. Go to Extranet > Account > Contacts/Notifications

2. Insert Site Email Address under Reservations in Contacts section

Expedia

1. Access Email Notification Settings

2. Add your Site Email Address

3. Choose which notifications to send there

4. Contact Expedia support if needed

Why This Matters

Forwarding messages from OTA platforms centralizes guest communication. This unified workflow ensures no inquiry is missed and simplifies staff response across channels.

Guest Directory

The Guest Directory shows all guests with their stay information and messaging status.

Accessing the Directory

1. Go to Guest Directory

2. You'll see a list of guests with their stay details

Filtering Guests

Filter the directory by stay status to target specific guest segments:

Additional filters:

• Unresolved - Guests with pending message threads

• VIP - Guests tagged as VIP

• By Room - Filter by room number

• By Booking Source - Filter by OTA or booking channel

Guest Profile Information

Each guest profile displays:

• Guest name and contact info

• Stay dates (arrival → departure)

• Room number(s)

• Confirmation number

• Guest type/tags (VIP, Loyalty, etc.)

• Message status indicator

• Check-in status

Adding a New Guest to an Existing Reservation

To add a guest (such as a companion) to an existing reservation:

1. Go to Guest Directory

2. Search for the primary guest

3. Click on the guest's name to open their profile

4. Find the reservation on the right side

5. Click the three dots (⋮) next to the reservation

6. Select Edit

7. Click Add Guest

8. Enter the new guest's name, phone number, and email (optional)

9. Click Update Reservation

The new guest will be added to the same reservation and room number.

Merging Duplicate Guests

When the same guest appears as two records — because a PMS sent duplicates, a guest texted from a new number, or staff created a manual record before the PMS sync caught up — you can merge the duplicate into the canonical record. All notes, messages, tasks, stays, and history move to the keeper; the duplicate is removed.

Permissions: Merge is admin-only. Operator and Staff roles do not see the menu option.

How to Merge Two Guest Records

1. Open the profile of the guest record you want to delete — the duplicate. (You're going to merge this record into the canonical one.)

2. Open the actions menu at the top of the profile and click merge into another guest…

3. On the merge page, search by name, phone, email, or confirmation number for the keeper — the canonical record you want to survive — and click Select on the matching candidate

4. Review the side-by-side comparison: the Source — will be deleted column (red) is the profile you opened, and the Keeper — will survive column (green) is the candidate you picked. Confirm the right pair, then check which fields will be filled on the keeper from the source.

5. Click Merge into [keeper name] and confirm the dialog

What Moves and What Survives

Recovering from a Wrong Merge

Every merge is logged with the user who performed it, the keeper, and the source. If you merge the wrong pair, contact support@helloshift.com with the keeper's guest name — our team can reconstruct the original records from the merge log.

Best Practices

• Start from the duplicate, pick the canonical record as the keeper. The page header reads "Merge [this guest] into another guest" — the guest whose profile you opened is the one that goes away.

• Open both profiles in separate tabs first and skim recent activity to confirm they're the same person before merging.

• Standardize at the source when the same guest keeps coming back as a duplicate from a PMS — fixing the guest's phone or email upstream prevents the duplicate from reappearing on the next sync.

Inbox

The Inbox is your central hub for all guest conversations.

Accessing the Inbox

1. Go to Guest Messaging (or click the inbox icon)

2. Conversations are listed on the left, message thread on the right

Inbox Filters

Filter conversations using the dropdown (defaults to Recent):

Tip: The badge count shows unresolved message count.

How Resolution Works

• Unresolved threads are conversations where the guest sent a message and staff hasn't responded yet

• When you reply to an unresolved thread, it automatically becomes resolved

• Use the Resolve button to manually mark a conversation as resolved without replying

• Guests can reopen threads by sending new messages

Message Thread Features

Within a conversation thread:

Notification Settings

Configure who receives notifications for new guest messages:

1. Go to Admin > Settings > Guest > Messaging

2. Set Guest Alert User - choose:

   • Everyone (all staff receive notifications)

   • Only Front Desk (only that Front Desk receives guest notifications)

3. Individual users can configure their notification preferences in their profile

Direct Outreach

Send a direct message to any guest from the directory.

Sending a Direct Message

1. Go to Guest Directory

2. Find the guest you want to message

3. Click Message (or the message icon)

4. Compose your message or select a snippet

5. Choose the channel (SMS, Email, WhatsApp)

6. Click Send or Schedule for later

Available Actions on Guest Profile

Blocking Guests

Block a guest to silently drop all their inbound messages across every channel (SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger, web widget). Blocked guests receive no error or auto-reply—messages simply stop arriving in your inbox.

How to Block a Guest

1. Open the guest's profile from the Guest Directory or Inbox

2. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) at the top of the profile

3. Select Block Guest

4. Confirm the dialog: "Block this guest? All future messages will be silently dropped."

What Happens When a Guest is Blocked

Unblocking a Guest

1. Search for the guest by name, phone, or email in the Guest Directory

2. Open their profile

3. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) and select Unblock Guest

Note: After unblocking, outbound messaging ("Stop texting") remains off. A staff member must separately re-enable texting if needed.

Bulk Blocking

Block multiple guests at once from the Guest Directory:

1. Select guests using the checkboxes

2. Open the bulk action dropdown

3. Select Block

Use cases: Silence repeated prank or spam senders, block OTA relay numbers that generate noise.

Broadcast Messaging

Send messages to multiple guests simultaneously with Broadcast Messaging.

Creating a Broadcast

1. Go to Guest Directory

2. Apply filters to select your target audience (e.g., "Arriving Today")

3. Multi-select guests using checkboxes

4. Click Send Message to Selected

5. Compose your message or select a snippet/template

6. Review recipients

7. Choose: Send Now or Schedule for later

8. Click Send

Broadcast Workflow

Filter → Multi-select → Compose/Template → Schedule (optional) → Send

Broadcast Use Cases

Scheduling Broadcasts

To schedule a broadcast for later:

1. Complete steps 1-5 above

2. Click Schedule instead of Send Now

3. Select date and time

4. Click Schedule

Scheduled broadcasts appear in Guest > Scheduled Messages where you can edit or cancel them.

Snippets & Templates

Snippets are reusable message templates with dynamic variables.

What Are Snippets?

Snippets let you:

• Save frequently used messages

• Personalize with variables (e.g., {{firstName}})

• Ensure consistent messaging

• Speed up response time

Creating a Snippet

1. Go to Guest > Snippets

2. Click New Snippet

3. Enter a Name (for easy reference)

4. Select the Channel (Text, Email, WhatsApp, FAQ, Agreement)

5. Write the Body with variables

6. Click Save

Variables

Use these variables to personalize messages:

Example Snippet

Name: Pre-Arrival Welcome

Body:

Hi {{firstName}}!We're excited to welcome you to our hotel on {{arrivalDate}}.Check-in starts at 3 PM. Complete your check-in now: {{checkinUrl}}Your room: {{roomNumber}}Questions? Reply to this message!

Snippet Types

Using Snippets

When composing a message:

1. Click Use Snippet (or the template icon)

2. Search or browse snippets

3. Click to insert

4. Variables are automatically replaced with guest data

5. Edit if needed, then send

Conditional Content with Liquid

For advanced use cases, use Liquid syntax for conditional content:

{% if guest_stay.guest_type contains 'VIP' %}As a VIP guest, enjoy complimentary late checkout!{% else %}Checkout is at 11 AM.{% endif %}

See Snippets & Templates for detailed template documentation.

Message Automations

Automate message delivery based on guest lifecycle events or schedules.

Types of Automations

Accessing Automations

1. Go to Automations

2. View existing automations

3. Click New to create an automation

Creating a Scheduled Automation

1. Click New Automation

2. Select Audience (who receives the message):

   • Arriving Today

   • Arriving Tomorrow

   • In-House

   • Departing Today

   • Departing Tomorrow

   • Custom condition

3. Choose Action (which snippet to send)

4. Set Send Time (e.g., 2:00 PM)

5. Set Schedule (daily, specific days)

6. Add Condition (optional filter)

7. Enable and save

Common Automation Examples

Custom Conditions

Add conditions to target specific guests:

{% if guest_stay.guest_type contains 'VIP' %}true{% else %}false{% endif %}

{% assign nights = guest_stay.nights | plus: 0 %}{% if nights > 3 %}true{% else %}false{% endif %}

Delay Feature

For event-based triggers, add a delay:

See Guest Automations for detailed automation configuration.

FAQ & AI Assistant

Train HelloShift's AI to automatically respond to common guest questions.

How AI Assistant Works

1. Guest sends a message

2. AI analyzes the message against trained FAQs

3. If confident match found → auto-responds with FAQ answer

4. If no match → routes to staff inbox

Setting Up FAQs

1. Go to Guest > Snippets > FAQ

2. Review default FAQ snippets

3. Create new FAQ snippets for common questions

4. Test with sample messages

Creating FAQ Snippets

1. Click New Snippet

2. Select FAQ as the channel type

3. Enter the Name (the question pattern)

4. Enter the Body (the answer)

5. Save

Example FAQs

Training Best Practices

1. Add variations - Include different ways guests ask the same question

2. Be specific - More detail in answers reduces follow-up questions

3. Use variables - Personalize when possible

4. Review regularly - Check unresolved threads for new FAQ opportunities

5. Test thoroughly - Send test messages to verify AI responses

See AI Assistant Configuration for advanced AI settings.

Pausing AI for a Guest

When you are handling a guest conversation and want to prevent the AI from responding:

1. Open the guest conversation

2. Click the pause AI button (robot icon) in the guest toolbar

3. The AI will not respond to this guest until you click resume AI

This is useful when a staff member is actively managing a complex request — the AI will not interrupt or send conflicting responses. Other guests continue to receive AI responses as normal.

Scheduling Messages

Schedule messages for future delivery instead of sending immediately.

How to Schedule a Message

1. Compose your message (direct or broadcast)

2. Click Schedule instead of Send

3. Select date and time

4. Click Schedule Message

Viewing Scheduled Messages

1. Go to Guest > Scheduled

2. See all pending scheduled messages

3. Click to edit or cancel

Schedule Use Cases

Sending Files & Images

Attach files and images to guest messages.

Supported Channels for Attachments

Sending an Attachment

1. Open message composer

2. Click the Attach icon (paperclip)

3. Select file from your device

4. Preview attachment

5. Add message text if desired

6. Send

Common Attachment Use Cases

• Room photos for pre-arrival

• Property maps

• Event flyers

• Menu PDFs

• Check-in instructions documents

Best Practices

Personalization

• Always use variables for guest names

• Reference specific stay details (room, dates)

• Acknowledge guest type (VIP, loyalty members)

Segmentation

• Create automations for each guest lifecycle stage

• Use different messaging for OTA vs direct bookings

• Customize content for VIP guests

Timing

• Pre-arrival: 24-48 hours before check-in

• Welcome: Within 30 minutes of check-in

• Mid-stay check: Day 2 of multi-night stays

• Pre-checkout: Evening before or morning of departure

• Post-stay: 24 hours after checkout

Response Management

• Aim for <5 minute response time during business hours

• Set up FAQ auto-responses for after hours

• Use the "Resolve" button to keep inbox clean

• Assign complex issues to specific team members

Channel Selection

Troubleshooting

Messages not sending

• Verify channel is configured correctly

• Check guest has valid phone/email

• Confirm Twilio credentials are valid

• Review any error messages in the thread

Guest not receiving messages

• Verify contact info is correct

• Check if guest opted out (do not send flag)

• Review carrier/spam filtering

• Try alternate channel

Automation not firing

• Confirm automation is enabled (Active)

• Verify audience filter matches guests

• Check schedule time and timezone

• Review any conditions that might block

AI not responding correctly

• Review FAQ snippets for accuracy

• Add more question variations

• Adjust confidence thresholds

• Check for conflicting FAQ patterns

Related Articles

• Snippets & Templates - Detailed template documentation

• Guest Automations - Automation configuration guide

• AI Assistant Configuration - AI assistant settings

• Twilio Setup - SMS/Voice configuration

• WhatsApp & Messenger Setup - WhatsApp Business API