Airbnb guest message templates: the automated sequence from booking to review
Eight messages that cover a stay from booking to review, when to schedule each one on Airbnb and Booking.com, what to leave to AI replies, and what you are not allowed to send.
Sources listed, last checked
Most guest questions arrive at the same moments: right after booking, a few days before arrival, on check-in day and before checkout. A sequence of eight messages, most of them scheduled, answers those questions before guests have to ask. On Airbnb you set them up as scheduled quick replies, and since the May 2026 release Airbnb’s AI can also answer common questions from your listing, which only helps if the listing is complete.13
Key takeaways
- Eight messages cover almost every stay, from booking confirmation to review request.
- Schedule the predictable ones once per listing; Airbnb and Booking.com both allow it.
- Airbnb’s AI replies draw on your amenities, description and house manual, so gaps in the listing become gaps in the answers.
- Before a booking, never ask a guest to move to WhatsApp, email or payment outside the platform; Airbnb’s policy forbids it.
- A review request can ask, but it must never pressure, reward or threaten.
In this guide
Why a sequence beats replying fast
If a guest has to ask where the key is at 22:40, the message that should have told them never went out. A sequence moves the answer to the moment before the question.
Airbnb’s own advice is to create templates for the questions you get again and again and to schedule messages for the fixed moments of a stay: the booking confirmation, 24 to 48 hours before check-in, after the first night, the evening before checkout and 24 to 48 hours after departure.2
For a co-host or manager there is a third reason: consistency across units. Every owner’s guests get the same clear information, and nothing depends on who happens to be on duty. One catch: on Airbnb, quick reply templates are not shared between hosts and co-hosts. A co-host can see the scheduled message history and skip or edit upcoming scheduled messages, and can create their own templates for the listing, but cannot view or edit the host’s templates.3 Agree with the owner whose templates run on the listing, and who changes them.
The eight messages
In the templates, words in bold are placeholders. On Airbnb these are “details” that fill in from the listing and the reservation, such as the guest’s first name, check-in date, address, wifi name and confirmation code.3 On Booking.com, templates offer similar placeholders for guest name, check-in time and property name.7
The sequence at a glance, with suggested timing
| # | Message | Suggested timing | Main job |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booking confirmation | Minutes after booking | Reassure, set expectations |
| 2 | Arrival details | 3 days before arrival | Let guests plan the journey |
| 3 | Check-in instructions | Morning of arrival day | Get guests through the door |
| 4 | First-morning check | Morning after the first night | Catch problems early |
| 5 | Mid-stay check | Halfway, stays of a week or more | Offer a clean or restock |
| 6 | Checkout instructions | Evening before departure | Make the turnover easy |
| 7 | Thank you and review | 1 day after checkout | Close the stay, ask once |
| 8 | Something went wrong | Sent by hand, same day | Acknowledge and fix |
The timings are our suggestion, built on the moments Airbnb recommends.2 On Airbnb, messages 1 to 4, 6 and 7 can run on a schedule. Message 5 depends on the length of the stay, so send it by hand, and message 8 should never be scheduled.
1. Booking confirmation
Send it a few minutes after the booking comes in. Airbnb’s example schedules include a message 5 minutes after booking.2 Confirm the dates and say what happens next. Leave out the door code: the guest does not need it for weeks.
Worked example: Message 1 template
Hi guest first name, thank you for booking listing name. You’re all set for check-in date to checkout date.
Three days before you arrive, I’ll send the address details and directions. On the morning of your arrival you’ll get the check-in instructions. If you already know roughly what time you’ll arrive, just reply here so I can have everything ready.
Illustrative template.
2. Arrival details, three days before
Three days out, guests plan trains and parking. Answer those questions now, including any quirk of the building.
Worked example: Message 2 template
Hi guest first name, your stay at listing name starts on check-in date. Here’s what helps with planning:
- Address: address
- Check-in from check-in time
- Parking: parking instructions
- From the station: public transport directions
Your check-in instructions follow on the morning of arrival. Safe travels.
Illustrative template.
3. Check-in instructions, on the day
This message prevents the late-night call. With self check-in, be precise: which door, which floor, where the key box is, and what to do if the code fails. If the code fails or a battery dies, the guest needs a second way in; self check-in and smart locks shows how to set up a backup before the first stay.
Worked example: Message 3 template
Good morning guest first name, today is the day.
- The entrance is entrance description.
- The key box is key box location. Your code is door code.
- Your apartment is on floor floor, door door number.
- Wifi: wifi name, password wifi password.
The house manual in the app covers heating and bins. If something doesn’t work, message me here.
Illustrative template.
4. First-morning check
A short message after the first night catches a missing towel while you can still fix it. Ask one open question, not a survey.
Worked example: Message 4 template
Hi guest first name, I hope you slept well. Is everything working as it should? If anything is missing or not right, tell me here and I’ll sort it out today.
Illustrative template.
5. Mid-stay check, for longer stays
For stays of a week or more, a halfway message offers fresh linen or a short clean. Give the guest the choice.
Worked example: Message 5 template
Hi guest first name, you’re halfway through your stay. Would fresh towels and bed linen be useful? We can drop them off or do a short clean on proposed day between time window. Reply with what suits you, or ignore this if you’d rather not be disturbed.
Illustrative template.
6. Checkout instructions, the evening before
Airbnb suggests the evening before checkout for this message.2 Keep the list short. Ask only for the few things that genuinely speed up your turnover, and make sure they match the house rules the guest agreed to when booking.
Worked example: Message 6 template
Hi guest first name, a quick note for tomorrow. Checkout is at checkout time. Before you go:
- Put used towels in the bathroom.
- Leave the key in the key box and scramble the code.
- Close the windows and switch off the heating.
That’s all. If you need a later checkout, ask me tonight and I’ll check whether the next booking allows it.
Illustrative template.
7. Thank you and review request, after checkout
Airbnb suggests sending this 24 to 48 hours after departure.2 Thank the guest and ask for a review once, plainly. The rules section below covers what you may not say, and how to earn good reviews has its own guide.
Worked example: Message 7 template
Hi guest first name, thank you for staying at listing name. I hope you had a good trip home.
If you have a moment, a review helps future guests know what to expect. And if anything could have been better, I’d rather hear it from you directly so I can fix it.
Illustrative template.
8. When something went wrong
Never schedule this one. A broken shower or a cleaning miss needs a message written by a person, the same day. Acknowledge the problem without arguing, say what you will do and by when, and follow up. Handle any refund through the platform. If the guest caused damage instead, message them in the platform before you file anything; the damage guide explains that process.
Worked example: Message 8 template
Hi guest first name, I’m sorry the problem isn’t working. That’s not the stay you booked. Name will come by today between time window to fix it. I’ll message you as soon as it’s done, and if it can’t be fixed today I’ll tell you what we’ll do instead.
Illustrative template.
Worked example: One four-night stay, scheduled
A guest books a Ghent apartment on 2 March for 20 to 24 March, with checkout at 10:00. With the sequence scheduled, the guest receives:
- 2 March, 5 minutes after booking: message 1.
- 17 March: message 2, arrival details.
- 20 March, 09:00: message 3, check-in instructions.
- 21 March, 10:00: message 4, first-morning check.
- No message 5, because the stay is shorter than a week.
- 23 March, 19:00: message 6, checkout instructions.
- 25 March: message 7, thank you and review request.
Six messages, none typed by hand; the host still answers every reply. The dates and times are an illustration, not real booking data.
Setting up scheduled messages and quick replies on Airbnb
Airbnb calls its templates quick replies. A quick reply is a saved message you can send by hand from a conversation, or schedule so it goes out automatically.4 The steps below are the desktop menu names as Airbnb documents them on 15 September 2026.3
- Open Messages and click the settings icon.
- Choose Quick replies, then Create.
- If you have more than one listing, choose the hosting type for the template.
- Name the template, write the message, add details such as the guest’s first name or check-in date, and choose what the reply applies to.
- Set the scheduling: the trigger (a new reservation, check-in or checkout) and when to send, before or after that event.
- Save.
To send one by hand, open the conversation, tap the plus button and choose to send a quick reply.2 Airbnb also suggests one of your quick replies when a guest’s message seems to match it; only you see that suggestion.2
A few limits to know. An Airbnb message, including a quick reply, can be at most 4,000 characters, so split long texts.4 A detail only fills in if the matching information is completed in your listing; otherwise it shows as unavailable.4 Scheduled messages go out in the listing’s time zone, and for last-minute bookings and short stays some are skipped by default unless you switch on the toggle to send them anyway.3 A scheduled message also shows as a reminder in the conversation, where you can adjust or skip it for one guest.2
AI replies on Airbnb: what changed in May 2026
Airbnb’s release of 20 May 2026 added three messaging features.1
- Auto-replies. Guests receive AI-powered answers to common questions, drawn from your amenities, listing description and house manual. The reply shows Airbnb as the sender, both of you see it, and you can delete it and send a different response.
- Suggested actions. Airbnb suggests actions such as changing a reservation or sending a special offer, inside the conversation.
- Priority messages. Time-sensitive messages, such as booking inquiries and requests for help while checking in, move to the top of the inbox.
Airbnb said the upgrades would roll out “in the coming months”, so check your own inbox rather than assuming you have them.1 The AI can only answer from what you wrote: if the house manual doesn’t say where the bins go, neither will the reply. Treat a complete listing and house manual as part of your messaging setup.
Messaging on Booking.com
Booking.com has its own template scheduler in the Extranet and the Pulse app. Only users with admin rights can add or edit templates.7 The path is Property, then Messaging preferences, then the Message templates tab to create a template, and the Template scheduler tab to schedule it.7
Where the eight messages fit on each platform
| # | Message | Airbnb | Booking.com scheduler |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booking confirmation | Scheduled after a new reservation | When a guest makes a booking |
| 2 | Arrival details | Scheduled days before check-in | 3 days before arrival |
| 3 | Check-in instructions | Scheduled on check-in day | On the day of arrival |
| 4 | First-morning check | Scheduled after check-in | Send by hand |
| 5 | Mid-stay check | By hand | Send by hand |
| 6 | Checkout instructions | Scheduled before checkout | One day before departure |
| 7 | Thank you | Scheduled after checkout | Send by hand |
| 8 | Something went wrong | By hand | By hand |
Booking.com lists six moments: when a guest books, one week before arrival, 3 days before, one day before, the day of arrival and one day before departure.7 None of them falls during the stay or after checkout, so on Booking.com messages 4, 5 and 7 are manual unless your channel manager or other software sends them. You can message a Booking.com guest until seven days after checkout, so send message 7 within that window.8 If you run both platforms, keep one master text per message, or the versions drift apart.
Two Booking.com details catch people out. Any link in a template, such as an online check-in page, must be allowed in the security settings under Message preferences, and a template with a QR code attachment cannot be saved.7 Booking.com also has an AI “Help me reply” feature that suggests a template or a written reply for you to review before sending, but on 15 September 2026 it was only available to partners using the Extranet in English or located in the UK, the US, Australia or New Zealand.8
Guests who don’t speak English
On Airbnb, messages, including quick replies, are auto-translated into the guest’s language when they view them; a template’s language setting only affects how its details are translated.4 One plain template covers most guests.
On Booking.com, you can add language versions of a template. Give them the same template name, and Booking.com matches the guest’s preferred language; when no version exists in that language, the default goes out. Booking.com recommends English as the default unless most of your guests speak another language.7 The Extranet also has a translation function for messages from guests.8
Machine translation handles short, literal sentences better than idioms, so write one instruction per sentence, give times as 15:00 rather than “mid-afternoon”, and skip slang and abbreviations.
What you can’t put in a message
Off-platform contact and payment. It is against Airbnb’s policy for hosts to ask guests to take a booking off Airbnb, or to communicate outside the platform through WhatsApp, Facebook, text or any other service, prior to booking. A guest who pays outside Airbnb loses the AirCover protection that comes with the booking, and Airbnb blocks potentially dangerous messages with words or numbers that might include contact information or references to other sites, including external links.5 In practice that means no phone numbers, email addresses or “book direct next time” links in your templates, and no payment requests by bank transfer. On Booking.com, guests and properties see anonymous email aliases rather than each other’s private addresses.8
Review pressure. Under Airbnb’s review policy, reviews may not be provided or withheld in exchange for something of value, such as a discount, a refund or a reciprocal positive review, or for a promise not to take negative action. Hosts may not manipulate, extort, incentivise or pressure guests to influence a review, or threaten a negative review to obtain compensation or a refund.6 “If you give us five stars, we’ll refund the cleaning fee” breaks the policy. So does “we’ll only return your deposit after you review”. Ask once, in message 7, and leave it there.
More personal data than you need. Under the GDPR, personal data must be “adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary” for the purpose it is processed for.9 Don’t ask guests by message for passport photos, dates of birth or the names of every travelling companion unless you have a specific legal reason, such as a local guest registration duty, and you know how you will store and delete it.
Tone: short, specific, warm
- Short. If a message needs scrolling on a phone, split it or move the detail to the house manual.
- Specific. “The key box is to the left of the green door” beats “the key is near the entrance”.
- Warm, not gushing. Use the first name and say thank you once.
- One job per message. A check-in message that also asks for a review gets skimmed.
Review your templates each season. An automated message with an outdated code or parking instruction is worse than none, because the guest trusts it.
Questions people ask
What should I send guests before check-in?
Send two messages. A few days before arrival, send the address, the arrival window and how to reach the building, so guests can plan their journey. On the day of arrival, send the door code or key location, the wifi details and a line on how to get help. Airbnb suggests following up 24 to 48 hours before check-in.2
Can I share my phone number with Airbnb guests?
Not to move the conversation off Airbnb before a booking. Airbnb’s policy says hosts may not ask guests to communicate outside the platform, through WhatsApp, text or any other service, prior to booking, and it blocks potentially dangerous messages that might include contact information or external links.5 Keep the conversation in the Airbnb inbox, which is also your record if something goes wrong.
How do I set up automated messages on Airbnb?
Create a quick reply in your message settings, then give it a schedule based on a trigger such as a new reservation, check-in or checkout. On desktop the path is Messages, then Settings, then Quick replies, then Create.3 Airbnb then sends the message on schedule and shows it in the conversation.
Does Airbnb’s AI reply to guests for me?
Partly. Since the May 2026 release, Airbnb can send guests AI-powered answers to common questions using your amenities, listing description and house manual. You and the guest both see the reply, and you can delete it and send a different answer. Airbnb said these upgrades would roll out over the following months, so you may not have them yet.1
Sources
All sources checked .
- Airbnb Resource Center, “Respond faster in the Messages tab”, 20 May 2026
- Airbnb Resource Center, “Using quick replies to save time”, 8 December 2025
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Create scheduled quick replies and send them to guests automatically”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Create and send quick replies to guests”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Paying and communicating through Airbnb”
- Airbnb Help Centre, “Authentic and trustworthy reviews”, Airbnb’s review policy
- Booking.com for Partners, “Setting up templates, automatic replies, and message notifications”
- Booking.com for Partners, “Contacting guests”
- GDPR-Info, “Art. 5 GDPR: Principles relating to processing of personal data”, Article 5(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, unofficial reproduction
We check every figure against the sources above. Spotted something out of date? Email systemen@hostproacademy.com with the guide title.
About HostPro Academy
The team behind this guide
These guides are written by the team behind HostPro Academy, a training programme for building a short-term rental management business. The guests and reviews part of that programme is covered in levels 10 and 12.