Tips for messaging guests: Save time & set expectations

[Airbnb]

If you’re feeling a dose of deja vu whenever you open a message from a guest, you’re not alone. There are some topics hosts are asked about again and again, such as exceptions for pets, wi-fi codes, directions, best places to eat, and more. Well, there’s an Airbnb template feature that can help: saved messages.  

“I love [saved messages] and use them all the time,” said host Sally, of Snoqualmie, Washington. “Templates save me a lot of time—I was able to answer four guest inquiries in less than 10 minutes! [They also] prevent me from forgetting some key bit of information, and allow me the time to create a well-crafted response—one that has been well proofread, is crystal clear, and, if appropriate, is especially sensitive to our guest's needs.”

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use the saved messages feature, along with some great responses Sally and other hosts always have on hand.

How to create a saved message

On the web:

1. Go to a message thread you have with a guest
2. Click "Use a Saved Message" in the message box. If you don't have any saved messages yet, you'll be prompted to create your first one
3. Create a title, write your message, and then click “Save”
4. Your saved messages will appear when you click “Use a Saved Message.” Simply choose the message you’d like to send and click “Send message”

On mobile:

1. Go to a message thread you have with a guest
2. Tap the “Document Icon” next to the message box. If you don't have any saved responses yet, you'll be prompted to create your first one
3. Tap "Write a new response" and create a title
4. Tap "Write response,” write your message, and then tap “Save” and “Done”
5. Your saved responses will appear when you tap the “Document Icon” next to the message box. Simply choose the response you’d like to send, tap it, and then click “Send”

8 message suggestions from hosts

1. Thank you for booking

An immediate “thank you” lets guests know you received their request. John, of Westcliffe, Colorado, says, “I usually edit the first few sentences to personalize it a bit. So far, all guests have reacted well and seem to like having all the info upfront.” Emily, of Italy, shares this example:

Dear [guest name],

Thank you for confirming your reservation.

Do you happen to know what time you will arrive?

If you need directions to reach my home or some advice about [home city] do not hesitate to ask me. I will do my best to help you.

Have a nice day, see you in [month of stay].

—Emily

2. So sorry we can’t accommodate

As much as hosts want to accommodate everyone, sometimes you can’t. And that’s okay. Still, “these responses have to be worded delicately, respectfully, and clearly,” Sally said. “So when someone asks you to make an exception for them, you don't have to think about it or feel guilty—you just click.” She also offered up a few of her saved messages:

Hi [guest name],

I am sorry. For the well being of your child, we are unable to host young families.

—Sally

Hi [guest name],

I am sorry. Our dog is male, and we do not want there to be any problems between our dog and another guest’s dog.

—Sally

Hi [guest name],

We are so sorry we have had to cancel your reservation. We hope that you will have an opportunity to visit us another time.

—Sally

3. How to get to the listing

A couple of days before guests arrive, you might want to send directions. (Airbnb automatically sends directions to guests, too, so you can keep your message short.) Ionnis, of Artemida, Greece, offers this example:

Hello [guest name].

We’re looking forward to hosting you. Here are directions to our home via…  

Google maps: [link]

Other GPS systems: [link]

Driving directions:

Public transportation directions:

Any other transportation options:

We have plenty of suggestions in the “Getting around” section of our listing and we encourage you to read it and make the most of your trip.

The weather during [stay dates] is expected to be [weather forecast].

Before you arrive, please feel free to send us your flight details, ship name and port arrival times, transportation decisions (taxi, public transport, own car). And let us know if you’re using cellular roaming and your preferred method of communication when you arrive (voice calls, SMS text message, Viber, WhatsApp).

—Ionnis

4. Welcome message and kit

“In my pre-arrival message, I send the door code, wi-fi code, detailed directions and reiterate my rules and policies one more time as a gentle reminder,” said John. (Airbnb also has check-in instructions, so you have another way remind guests of details.) John offered up some more particulars:

Dear [guest name],

By now you’ve received directions to our home. Here are a few more things you’ll need for a great stay:

Contacts: [phone numbers or user handles]

Meeting place: [at the house, port, airport, or other meeting points]
Door code: [entry code, or last for digits of your cell phone number]

Wifi: [password]

House manual: [link or instructions]

—John

5. Things to do

When it comes to activities, hosts have local knowledge no travel guide can rival. Heather of Stowe, Vermont suggests having a list of “Rainy day activities” and “Popular reservations” at the ready. Sally injects some humor into her recommendations, advising, “Send what sounds like this chatty description you have given off the cuff”:

Gee, [guest name], I think you would love one of these activities:

[Great hikes in the area]

[Easy hikes]

[Hikes for the more ambitious]

[Good places to eat, on the way]

[What Marathon Runners want to know]

[Wedding guest activities]

—Sally

6. Did you sleep well?

After the first night, hosts recommend sending another welcome message asking if everything is okay. “Very important,” Ioannis said. “If they stay longer, I repeat this every two to three days”:

Good morning, [guest name],

Did you sleep well? We hope you are having a comfortable stay. Please let us know if everything is okay and if you need anything.

—Ionnis

p.s. Here’s a link to the closest beach to our house.

7. Checking out

“One [saved message] I have found quite helpful is the one I send the day before departure to remind my guests of the checkout time,” said Kate Mary, of Kiev, Ukraine. Here are more details she suggests reminding guests of:

Hi [guest name],

Is it that time already? We hate to see you go. Just a friendly reminder about check out:

Checkout time: Tomorrow at [checkout time]

Directions: [to the airport, port, or other transportation confirmation numbers]

Please remember to lock the door. Thank you for staying and we look forward to hosting you again!

—Kate Mary

8. Thanks for being a great guest

“Sometimes I wonder whether guests worry they are receiving a bad review if I leave one too quickly after they leave,” Heather said. “Hopefully [a thank you message like this] alleviates that concern and encourages them to leave one in return”:

Dear [guest name],

Thank you for choosing our home during your trip to [city]. We hope you had a five-star stay and safe journey home. When you get settled, please review your stay.

—Heather

Dear [guest name],

Just a friendly reminder to review your stay with us. Thank you again for choosing our home. We hope you had a safe journey home.

—Heather

[Magda1]

Hi ! thanks for the  helpful templates. I wanted to know if a word file , which is my Athens Guide, can be saved as a tempalte and sent to my guests after booking, through the platform.

[Bryce13]

@Magda1 - I would recommend the removal of formatting for Word documents by using the Windows Notepad program as an intermediate step. That means typing and editing the text in Word, but then copying (select-all or Ctrl+A on windows, then copy or Ctrl+C on windows), and pasting (left-click in Notepad, then paste or Ctrl+V) into Notepad.

The notepad program does not retain any of the formatting, but that also cleans off any code garbage inherited from Word.

Repeat the procedure of select-all and copy from Notepad, and then paste the contents into Airbnb into the message template form. That is done by left-clicking into the text box and then right-clicking and then selecting paste, or using the Ctrl+V keyboard shortcut.

There is no place to put variable codes for the guest's first name, so you might place that wording somewhere that can't be missed, such as at the beginning of the template.

[Adria0]

I wish that AirBnB would revert the saved messages to show the title and a brief line or two on the app rather than causing me to scroll through every single entire message!

[Michelle0]

Ohhhhh. Same theory as my colleague @Evelyn0's templates. I think she offers a more comprehensive package. 

.. my only concern is are these too awkward? I wouldn't want someone my senior getting a message that says "I hope you've slept well!" It's too informal!

[Diane143]

I’m so glad to see an article about this. I love this feature and have a question. I have a few saved templates that I’d like to delete. I know how to edit them. I want to delete them entirely.  I have tried all kinds of ways to do it without success.

Can anyone one help Please? 

[Valerie152]

Once you click on "Use A Saved Message", scroll ALL the way down to the bottom.

Then click on "Edit Saved Messages at the bottom, highlighted in green on my screen.

Once you click in that section, you have the option to click on "Edit" or "Delete" for each individual Saved Message that you have previously saved.

[Lizzie]

Thanks @Valerie249 for sharing how to delete a saved message. 

@Diane143, just checking, if you have seen Valerie's reply here? It would be great to hear if this works for you. 

Lizzie

[Diane143]

Not sure if it makes a difference, but my “edit “ button is at the top of the page 

i have tried this many, many, many times. And I just tried it again. If I delete all the content in a saved message, I get a pop up that tells me I have to have add content in order to save the ... now blank ... message. 

I haven’t ever seen a separate way to delete the whole saved message. 

Thanks for your attention to this. It has been frustrating. I even called customer service several months ago. I was told that this was not a feature on the AirBnB platform. Instead he suggested it was my browser. Tried another browser .... nope. 

[Diane143]

Even scrolling ALL the way down to the bottom of the page. 

[Paul-and-Emily0]

Sending my guests messages their first day and any days after that asking them how they slept, just seems unneccessary and annoying. When I'm on vacation staying at an Airbnb, the last thing I want is to be on my phone and bothered by messages that I have to reply to. 

This is a great article! I've been using the saved messages since I started and find them very useful especially when specific information needs to be given. It would be wonderful to have auto messaging or messages where you can select the time/date to be sent to that guest. I would appreciate that especially at check-out time. 🙂

[Steve558]

I agreee with you about messaging guests the next day. It seems intrusive and unnecessary. I just leave a note in the apartment with my phone number, and wishing them an enjoyable stay, and telling them if they need anything at all to please message me. 

[Sarah1349]

Agreed!! Completely. I get annoyed when I get messages like that. I send my guests all their check in information and remind them what time check out will be at the end of their stay and to let me know if they need anything, along with all my contact information and a back up contact. If I have stays longer than 6 or 7 days I might send them a message before check out, but definitely not for short stays. One time I got 6 messages during a one night stay.. it was so off-putting and has influenced my hosting style. 

[Bryce13]

While I was hoping for news of some improvements that have happened to the message templates, here are two suggestions:

1) Let us rearrange the message template order.  The newest messages are at the bottom and the oldest are at the top. That's probably because they're sorted in the unique row number of the database. Just add an arrangement variable to the mix, so we can customize it later.

2) Start using variables, like HomeAway/VRBO does.  Since I usually use my cell phone to do the canned messages, I need to scroll up to the top of the message draft just to put in the first name.  Since the cell phone app only shows three lines at a time when editing a message, it can be very tricky.

[Lizzie]

It's always great to hear ideas, thanks for sharing these @Bryce13. 

Do you use this feature quite a bit?

[Bryce13]

If you are asking whether I use the saved messages feature quite a bit, then yes, I use it all the time.