Message Handling

Q: How can hosts send an SMS message?

1. Go to the Unified Inbox
2. Select the guest conversation
3. Type a message (within the 160-character limit)
4. Choose SMS as the send method
5. Hit Send

Q: What if my message exceeds 160 characters?
You’ll be prompted to shorten it before sending. If you’re using a saved message template, you can preview and edit it to reduce the length.

Q: What if guests exceed the 160-character limit in replies?
All messages will be combined and shown in the Unified Inbox.

Q: Why use SMS, if there’s a character limit?
It’s ideal for urgent, time-sensitive communication. Guests are more likely to read texts immediately, even with shorter content. The character limit is a technical restriction from this technology.

Q: Can hosts use saved message templates for SMS?
Yes, saved templates can be imported and edited for SMS, but they must be manually sent (no automatic SMS rules available yet).

Q: Are links/files/images supported via SMS?
No, SMS supports text-only. Use email or OTA for rich content.

Q: How can hosts see what method a message was sent through?
Each message in the unified inbox includes a label indicating the method used: “via SMS”, “via Email”, “via Airbnb”, etc.

Q: Will messages be split across threads if hosts use different communication channels/methods?
No. All messages from all channels will appear in a single thread per guest, making it easy to track full conversation history.

Q: Can hosts see if an SMS was delivered?
Yes, SMS messages will be marked as “Delivered” or “Failed”.

Q: Can hosts see if an SMS was read?
No, there will be no indication on whether an SMS has been read by the guest.