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 guide explains how the feature works and answers the questions hosts ask most often.

What is Guest Messaging?

Guest Messaging is a unified communication platform that centralizes all guest conversations from multiple booking channels. It includes three main components:

• Inbox — Messages from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, and direct bookings in one place
• AI Assistant — Answers common guest questions automatically, informed by your property's local context
• Scheduled Messages — Check-in details, access codes, and arrival info sent automatically for every booking

Where to Find Guest Messaging

To access Guest Messaging:

1. Open the Holidu web app
2. In the left navigation menu, click Messages
3. Select Inbox to view all conversations

Understanding Your Inbox

How to Access the Inbox

Your Inbox is your central hub for all guest communications. Every booking appears as a single thread, regardless of whether the message came from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, or a direct booking. This unified view makes it easy to manage all conversations in one place without switching between platforms.

How to Use the Inbox

Managing conversations in your Inbox is straightforward:

1. Locate the relevant conversation thread by searching for the guest name or booking reference
2. To send a message, type your response in the message box and click Send
3. Scheduled messages such as check-in instructions and access codes are sent automatically by the system and appear 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. All new messages trigger a notification, so you always know when guests have contacted you

Message History and Availability

You can view messages for upcoming, current, and past bookings for a limited period after checkout. This allows you to reference previous communications and maintain context across your guest relationships.

Using the AI Assistant

What Does the AI Assistant Do?

The AI Assistant automatically answers common guest questions 24/7, such as check-in information, WiFi details, local directions, and property-specific information. It's informed by the local context of your property, making responses relevant and helpful.

Choosing Your AI Assistant Settings

You have complete control over which topics your AI Assistant handles and which stay with you. To manage these settings:

1. Open Manage settings by clicking the gear icon in your Messages header
2. You'll see 8 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. Your choices apply to all conversations — existing and new — so you only need to set preferences once
5. Use Set all to AI Assistant or Set all to Host for quick changes across all topics

Topics the AI Assistant Never Handles

Some topics always require direct handling for security and consistency. The AI Assistant never handles bookings, payments and disputes, complaints, safety and legal matters, or platform/account/pre-booking questions. These sensitive matters are routed directly through Holidu to ensure proper handling.

When 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 so nothing gets stuck.

Changing Settings Conversationally

You can update your AI Assistant settings by chatting directly with it. Simply tell it 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 what changed.

Scheduled Messages

Scheduled messages allow you to automate routine communications with guests. To access and configure scheduled messages:

1. Go to the left menu in the Holidu host portal
2. Select Messages and then Scheduled Messages
3. Set up automated messages for check-in details, access codes, and arrival information

These messages are sent automatically for every booking and appear in the conversation thread for full visibility.

Collaborators and Access Control

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.

Notifications and Real-Time Updates

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

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 then Inbox.

Is Guest Messaging included in my account?

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

Inbox and Channel Support

Which channels are supported in my Inbox?

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

Can I message guests for manual calendar blocks?

No — messaging is only available for actual bookings. You cannot use Guest Messaging for manual calendar blocks.

AI Assistant Questions

Can I choose which questions the AI Assistant answers?

Yes. Open Manage settings in your Messages header to set each of the 8 topics to either AI Assistant or Host. Your choice applies to all your conversations.

What if the AI can't answer a question on a topic I've assigned to it?

It hands the conversation over to you automatically, so nothing gets stuck. You'll be notified and can take over the conversation.

Are there topics the AI Assistant never handles?

Yes — bookings, payments and disputes, complaints, safety and legal matters, and platform/account/pre-booking questions always require direct handling through Holidu for consistency and security.

Collaboration

Can multiple people use Guest Messaging?

Yes — hosts and invited collaborators can access the same Inbox and respond to guest messages. Access is managed by the host through the collaborators settings in Holidu.

Support and Limitations

What if a message needs Customer Service support?

The Holidu Customer Happiness team can join conversations when needed. Click the support button at the bottom right corner of your Messages to reach out.

Will every guest message appear in Holidu?

All channel-based messages from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Holidu, and direct bookings are synced to your Inbox. Guests may still contact you through email or phone outside the platform, but those conversations won't appear in Guest Messaging.

Key Takeaways

• Unified Inbox brings all booking channel messages into one place
• AI Assistant takes routine guest questions off your plate 24/7
• You control which topics the AI handles, with the option to change settings anytime
• Scheduled messaging and automatic translation are included
• Hosts and collaborators can share access to the same Inbox
• Notifications keep you informed of every message, including those sent by the AI Assistant on your behalf
• The Customer Happiness team is available to join conversations when human support is needed

For further questions or assistance, contact Holidu support.