Airbnb automated messages: five templates to schedule, and the messages you shouldn't automate
Set up Airbnb scheduled messages under Messages > Manage quick replies, copy five templates, see how response rate is counted, and fix missing notifications.
Airbnb's own automation lives in the Messages tab: tap the settings icon, open Manage quick replies, and any quick reply you save there can be scheduled to send itself before or after a trip event such as a new reservation or a checkout.
That handles the welcome note, the door code and the checkout reminder well. It can't notice that a guest just wrote "there's no hot water" at 2am, and nothing inside Airbnb will ring your phone about it. Getting a call for that needs another app; on iPhone, watching the Airbnb app takes extra hardware, though Airbnb's emails in Gmail don't.
How do I set up automated messages on Airbnb?
A scheduled message on Airbnb is a quick reply with a trigger attached. Quick replies aren't scheduled by default; you add the timing yourself.
- In the Airbnb app, open the Messages tab and tap the settings icon at the top of the screen. On a computer it's Messages > Settings.
- Tap Manage quick replies, then Create.
- Write the message and insert details where the guest's information belongs: guest first name, check-in date, address, wifi name, wifi password, house rules, confirmation code. Airbnb fills them in for each reservation.
- Schedule it: choose the trigger (a new reservation, check-in, checkout) and how long before or after it the message goes out.
- Before you save, decide on the Send for last minute bookings and short stays toggle.
That toggle matters more than it looks.
For last-minute bookings and short stays, Airbnb skips some messages by default. Switch it on and a message scheduled before check-in is sent at booking time if its slot has already passed. Turn it on for your check-in message at least. Someone who books at 4pm for tonight needs the door code more than any other guest you'll have.
Every reservation gets a timeline of what has been sent and what's coming. From there you can skip a message, send it now or edit it for that one guest, and the template stays as it was. Be careful with deleting a template, though: it removes all future unsent scheduled quick replies for every listing.
Plain quick replies, the unscheduled kind, are for the questions you answer every week. In a chat, tap the plus sign by Write a message, choose Send quick reply and pick one. Parking, early check-in, where the spare towels are. You still have to see the message first.
Airbnb message templates that read like a person wrote them
Airbnb's Resource Center suggests five moments: when the booking is confirmed, 24 to 48 hours before check-in, after the first night, the evening before checkout, and 24 to 48 hours after the guest leaves. Here is one for each. Square brackets mean insert the detail; everything else is yours to change. Keep them short, because guests read these on a phone in the back of a taxi.
Booking confirmation (the welcome message)
Hi [guest first name], thanks for booking! You're all set for [check-in date]. I'll send directions and the door code two days before you arrive. Any questions before then, ask here.
Check-in, two days before
Hi [guest first name], see you on [check-in date]. The address is [address]. Wifi is [wifi name], password [wifi password]. Park in the spot with the 4 painted on it. If the lock gives you any trouble, call me instead of messaging. I'll pick up.
Mid-stay, after the first night
Morning [guest first name]! Just checking everything's working. The shower takes a minute to heat up, that's normal. If anything's missing, tell me and I'll sort it today.
This is the one hosts skip, and the one that catches problems while you can still fix them, rather than in the review.
Checkout, the evening before
Hi [guest first name], hope it's been a good stay. Checkout is 11am tomorrow. No need to strip the beds. Dishes in the dishwasher and the key back in the lockbox is plenty. Safe travels.
Review request, a day or two after
Thanks for looking after the place, [guest first name]. If you have a minute, a review really helps a small host. I'll leave one for you too. And if something wasn't right, I'd rather hear it from you so I can fix it before the next guest.
How is Airbnb response rate calculated?
Airbnb defines it as the percentage of new inquiries and reservation requests you responded to within 24 hours in the past 30 days. Accepting, pre-approving, declining, sending a message and sending a special offer all count as a response. Letting a reservation request expire counts as no response and pulls the rate down. Follow-up messages in a thread don't affect it, so you don't need the last word. Response time is a separate number: the average time it took you to respond to all new messages in the past 30 days. A reply after 24 hours is late and hurts both.
Superhost counts differently. The requirement is to respond to 90% of new messages, and accept or decline new reservation requests, within 24 hours. For that purpose Airbnb looks at your first reply to each new message thread over the past 12 months, and assesses it every three months (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1).
Scheduling doesn't protect this number much. Scheduled quick replies fire off reservation events, while a lot of what counts toward response rate comes from people who haven't booked yet: an inquiry about pets, a request to book for next month. Airbnb's help page doesn't say whether an automated message counts as a response, so don't plan around it. What keeps the rate up is seeing new inquiries the same day, and that comes down to notifications.
Why am I not getting Airbnb notifications?
Airbnb stops texting you about messages once push works. Its help page says that if your push notifications are enabled and working, notifications about reservation acceptance and messages skip SMS. That explains a lot of "my texts stopped" complaints. So once the app is installed and allowed to notify you, the app's banner is the alert. If that banner is hidden on your phone, you are left waiting for the email. In Airbnb itself, on the website go to Menu > Account settings > Notifications. The Account section covers activity, reminders and messages; Offers and updates is travel tips and Airbnb news, which you can switch off. Airbnb can reach you by phone call, text, push notification or email.
Then the phone. Airbnb points you to your device's app settings for push, so open Settings, search for "Notifications", find Airbnb and make sure it's allowed, with sound. On iPhone, also check Settings > Focus > your Focus > Apps, because a Sleep Focus that doesn't list Airbnb will silence it overnight. On newer Android phones the same thing lives under Settings > Modes > a mode > Notification filters, though the path varies by phone.
Email is the backup, and the slowest one. Search your inbox for "Airbnb" or "reservation", empty Airbnb out of spam, and add automated@airbnb.com, express@airbnb.com and response@airbnb.com to your contacts. Airbnb warns that its emails can take several hours to arrive depending on your provider. Against a 24-hour clock, that's a big slice.
Getting a call when a guest message can't wait
Automate the routine messages and never automate the urgent ones. A guest locked out at 11pm doesn't want a template, they want a person who answers. OLL.E watches the Airbnb app's notifications on Android (on iPhone through PinG, a Bluetooth keyring that relays your notifications and rings on its own speaker) and Airbnb's emails if they go to Gmail, which works the same on iPhone. You type the watch as a sentence. When a guest message sounds urgent, "locked out", "no hot water", a leak under the sink, or a booking request arrives, it calls you and sends a summary of what the guest wrote.
It doesn't reply inside Airbnb. You open the thread and answer there, while scheduled messages and quick replies keep handling the routine ones. Messages that don't match go to the Shortlist, which stays quiet. If what you want is automatic replies to WhatsApp clients, that's a different setup, on our auto-reply page.
| What sets it off | Who writes the words | Reaches you at 11pm? | On iPhone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbnb scheduled messages | A trip event: new reservation, check-in, checkout | You, once, as a template | No, it messages the guest | Yes |
| Airbnb quick replies | You, tapping + in a chat | You, saved in advance | Only if you've already seen the message | Yes |
| OLL.E | An Airbnb notification or email that matches your watch | You, replying in Airbnb after it calls | Yes, it phones you | Gmail works; app notifications need PinG |
If your listing's messages are mostly routine, Airbnb's scheduler is enough and costs nothing. If you're the one who drives over when the lock fails, set one OLL.E watch for the messages that can't wait. On Android it watches the Airbnb notification; on iPhone, point it at Airbnb's emails in Gmail, or add PinG for the app itself. It calls you, sends the summary, and leaves the reply to you, in Airbnb. One urgent watch fits on the free plan, no card needed.
Questions people ask
How do I set up automated messages on Airbnb?
Open the Messages tab, tap the settings icon, choose Manage quick replies and create a message, then schedule it before or after a trigger such as a new reservation, check-in or checkout. You can insert details like the guest's first name, check-in date and wifi password, and Airbnb fills them in per reservation. Turn on Send for last minute bookings and short stays if you don't want messages skipped for late bookings.
How is Airbnb response rate calculated?
It is the percentage of new inquiries and reservation requests you responded to within 24 hours in the past 30 days. Accepting, pre-approving, declining, messaging or sending a special offer all count, and letting a request expire counts as no response. For Superhost, Airbnb looks at your first reply to each new thread over the past 12 months and asks for 90% within 24 hours.
Why am I not getting Airbnb notifications?
Usually the Airbnb app's notifications are off or silenced on the phone, and Airbnb skips SMS for messages once push is enabled. Check Menu > Account settings > Notifications in Airbnb, then allow Airbnb in your phone's notification settings and in any Focus or Do Not Disturb mode. For email, check spam and add automated@airbnb.com, express@airbnb.com and response@airbnb.com to your contacts.
What should I say in an Airbnb welcome message?
Thank the guest by name, confirm the check-in date, and say when the directions and door code will arrive. Keep it to two or three sentences, for example: "Hi [guest first name], thanks for booking! You're all set for June 4. I'll send directions and the door code two days before you arrive." Save the house details for the check-in message.