Guest Messaging Guide and FAQ

Guest Messaging brings every conversation with your guests into one place — across all your booking channels — and uses an AI Assistant to take routine questions off your plate. This comprehensive guide explains how the feature works, what it includes, and answers the questions hosts ask most often.

What is Guest Messaging?

Guest Messaging is a unified communication platform that consolidates all guest conversations from multiple booking channels into a single inbox. The feature includes three main components that work together to streamline your guest communication:

• Inbox — Messages from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, and direct bookings in one centralized location
• AI Assistant — Automatically answers common guest questions 24/7, informed by your property's local context
• Scheduled Messages — Check-in details, access codes, and arrival information sent automatically for every booking

Where to Find Guest Messaging

Accessing Guest Messaging is straightforward. Open the Holidu web app and navigate to the left menu. Click Messages and then select Inbox to view all your guest conversations in one place.

Understanding Your Inbox

How to Access Your Inbox

To access your Guest Messaging Inbox, open the Holidu web app and follow these steps:

1. Click Messages in the left navigation menu
2. Select Inbox
3. View all your guest conversations from every booking channel in one unified space

How to Use Your Inbox

Your inbox displays conversations organized by booking, regardless of which channel the guest booked through. Here's how to use it effectively:

1. Locate the relevant conversation thread — each booking appears as a single thread, whether from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, or direct booking
2. Type your response in the message box and click Send to reply to a guest
3. View scheduled messages — such as check-in instructions and access codes — which appear automatically in the thread for full visibility
4. Use the automatic translation feature by composing your message in your preferred language; it will appear to your guest in theirs where possible
5. Monitor AI Assistant responses on topics you've assigned to it
6. Receive notifications for every new message, including those sent by the AI Assistant on your behalf

Key Inbox Features

Your unified inbox includes several important features:

• Channel Integration — Messages from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, and direct bookings all appear in one location
• Message History — View messages for upcoming, current, and past bookings for a limited period after checkout
• Automatic Translation — Messages are translated automatically, appearing in your guest's preferred language
• Notifications — Receive real-time notifications for every new message, just like WhatsApp or text messages

Understanding the AI Assistant

What Does the AI Assistant Do?

The AI Assistant automatically answers common guest questions 24/7, informed by the local context of your property. It handles routine inquiries about check-in procedures, WiFi access, directions, local recommendations, and other frequently asked topics — freeing up your time to focus on more complex guest needs.

Configuring Your AI Assistant

You have complete control over which topics the AI Assistant handles. To manage these settings:

1. Open Manage settings (the gear icon in your Messages header)
2. Review the 8 available topics: property information questions, points of interest, guest arrival, online check-in/guest registration, property issues and how-tos, special requests, check-out and departures, and invoices, fees, deposits and local taxes
3. Set each topic to either AI Assistant or Host
4. Use Set all to AI Assistant or Set all to host for quick configuration

Your choices apply to all conversations — existing and new — so you only need to set them once.

Topics the AI Assistant Never Handles

Certain sensitive matters always go directly to Holidu for consistency and security. The AI Assistant does not handle:

• Bookings, payments, and disputes
• Complaints
• Safety and legal matters
• Platform, account, and pre-booking questions

What Happens If the AI Can't Answer?

If the AI Assistant receives a question on a topic you've assigned to it but cannot provide an adequate answer, it automatically hands the conversation over to you. This ensures nothing gets stuck and you maintain control when needed.

Scheduled Messages

Scheduled messages allow you to automate important information delivery to your guests. These include check-in instructions, access codes, and arrival information that are sent automatically for every booking. To access and configure scheduled messages, go to the left menu in the Holidu host portal and select Messages > Scheduled Messages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

How do I access the Guest Messaging Inbox?

Go to the left menu in the Holidu host portal and select Messages > Inbox.

How do I access and configure scheduled messages?

Go to the left menu in the Holidu host portal and select Messages > Scheduled Messages.

Is Guest Messaging included in my account?

Yes — Guest Messaging is included for all hosts at no additional cost.

Inbox Features

Which channels are supported?

Conversations with guests from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, and direct bookings are all supported and unified in your inbox.

AI Assistant

Can I choose which questions the AI Assistant answers?

Yes. Open Manage settings (the gear icon in your Messages header) to set each of the 8 topics to AI Assistant or Host. Your choice applies to all conversations, so you only need to set it once.

Can I change my settings by chatting with the AI Assistant?

Yes. Simply tell the AI what you want — for example, "stop the AI from answering property issues" or "turn off the AI everywhere" — and it will update your settings and confirm the changes.

Notifications

How will I know about new messages, including ones the AI Assistant sends?

You receive a notification for every new message in your conversations — the same way you'd get a WhatsApp message — including messages the AI Assistant sends on your behalf. This ensures you always know what's been said in your name and can step in at any time.

Collaboration and Access

How do I enable access for collaborators?

Collaborators are not included automatically. To give a collaborator access, go to the specific property in Holidu, go to "collaborators" to adjust that person's access, and enable access to guest conversations. This needs to be done separately for each individual property.

Support

What if a message needs Customer Service support?

The Holidu Customer Happiness team can join the conversation when needed for further assistance. Click the support button at the bottom right corner to reach out.

Limitations

Can I message guests for manual calendar blocks?

No — messaging is only available for actual bookings.

Will every guest message appear in Holidu?

All channel-based messages are synced automatically. Guests may still contact you outside Holidu through email or phone, but these won't appear in your Holidu inbox.

Key Takeaways

Guest Messaging consolidates your communication into one powerful platform:

• Unified inbox for all booking channels (Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, and direct bookings)
• AI Assistant handles routine questions 24/7, freeing up your time
• Scheduled messaging and automatic translation included
• Real-time notifications keep you informed of every message
• You control which topics the AI Assistant handles
• Collaborators can be granted access to guest conversations at the property level
• The Customer Happiness team is available when you need human support

For further questions or support, contact Holidu Customer Happiness.