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  4. Cloudbeds Guest Experience - Messaging Services

Cloudbeds Guest Experience Messaging - Everything You Need to Know

Lorena Pamplona
Updated

With Cloudbeds Guest Experience Messaging Services, you can manage and use additional messaging channels like Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS and others. Check in this article everything you need to know to enable messaging channels and communicate with your guests as you prefer.

Cloudbeds believes every lodging business is unique. We offer tools for all sizes and budgets to help you establish and grow your business. Reach out to our dedicated team for more information on each available package. Not yet a Cloudbeds customer? Access our Pricing Guide and schedule a demo.

Enable a new messaging service in your account

  1. Access the Company Company page page.
  2. Go to Messaging Services.
  3. Search for the channel you want to enable on the dashboard.
  4. Switch the toggle on Enable channel toggle to enable this channel.
  5. Click to edit settings.
  6. Click to add account/email/page/number Add account
  7. Some channels will request verification via email. Open your email account and confirm you want to connect.
  8. Follow the instructions to allow Cloudbeds Guest Experience access to the channel.
    • Check the supported channels below for additional setup instructions and limitations.
  • For OTA messaging: Your property must be completely mapped and connected in the Distribution settings to enable the channel in Cloudbeds Guest Experience.
  • For Agoda:
    • Use the email address registered in YCS when adding the custom email address.
    • Contact agoda.chain.support@agoda.com to enable the sending obfuscated emails option for Cloudbeds.
    • Agoda and Email Messaging cannot share the same custom email address. Use separate addresses for each channel.

Messaging Services configuration

The messaging service is ready to be used in your chats.

Guest Experience chats

Supported Channels

Outbound message security screening

Cloudbeds Guest Experience automatically screens outbound messages that contain links or attachments before they are delivered. This security screening applies across Guest Experience messaging channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, email, Guest Portal chat, the Cloudbeds PMS Inbox, and the mobile app.

The screening checks links against Google Safe Browsing, analyzes redirect chains for disguised destinations, scans attachments for malware and malicious QR codes, and evaluates unusual sending patterns that may indicate an account compromise.

 What to expect

  • Messages without links or attachments are delivered immediately and are not delayed by security screening.
  • Most messages containing links or attachments are screened and sent within moments.
  • Suspicious wording alone does not cause a message to be blocked.
  • No setup or configuration is required.

If suspicious or malicious content is detected, the message is not delivered. The Cloudbeds Security team is notified, and the affected account may be flagged for further investigation. In the conversation view, staff may see statuses such as Under Security Review or Blocked, making it clear why the message has not been delivered.

Blocked messages are retained for 14 days so they can be reviewed and released when appropriate. If necessary, a property may also be switched to a non-blocking mode.

Cloudbeds Guest Experience Messaging on Airbnb and Expedia is available if you're using a non-Cloudbeds channel manager (partner distribution).

For the moment, Booking.com messaging is not supported for third-party channel managers.

Reputation Management

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Channel details and limitations

Expand the sections below to review how to connect each messaging channel, its supported functionality, and important limitations.

Connect Booking.com

  1. Confirm Booking.com is connected and mapped in Cloudbeds PMS Distribution.
  2. In Guest Experience, go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Booking.com, and select Edit settings.
  3. Follow the displayed authorization prompts to connect the channel.
  4. Send a test message using an eligible Booking.com reservation.

Booking.com messaging is not supported with third-party channel managers. Booking.com may remove links unless the relevant domains are allowed in its messaging security settings.

Connect Airbnb

  1. Confirm Airbnb is connected and mapped in PMS Distribution.
  2. Go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Airbnb, and select Edit settings.
  3. Follow the displayed account authorization prompts.
  4. Test with an eligible Airbnb conversation.

Do not include off-platform contact information in Airbnb messages. See the Airbnb limitations below for image attachment requirements.

Connect Expedia

  1. Confirm Expedia is connected and mapped in PMS Distribution.
  2. Go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Expedia, and select Edit settings.
  3. Complete any connection or authorization prompts shown.
  4. Test with a reservation whose Expedia point of sale supports messaging.

Some affiliate and B2B reservations do not support messaging. See the Expedia limitations below.

Connect Agoda

  1. Confirm Agoda is connected and mapped in PMS Distribution.
  2. Go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Agoda, and select Edit settings.
  3. Add the email address registered in Agoda YCS. It must be different from your custom Email Messaging address.
  4. Email agoda.chain.support@agoda.com and ask Agoda to enable obfuscated emails for Cloudbeds.
  5. Test the integration after Agoda confirms enablement.

Connect VRBO

  1. Confirm VRBO is connected and mapped in PMS Distribution.
  2. Go to Company > Messaging Services, enable VRBO, and select Edit settings.
  3. Follow any connection or authorization prompts displayed.
  4. Test with an eligible VRBO reservation.

See VRBO details and limitations below for attachment support and redacted content.

Connect Email Messaging

  1. Go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Email, and open Edit settings.
  2. Add a custom outbound address on a domain you control. Do not use a free email address or the default GX inbound address.
  3. Within 3 days, configure and verify the DKIM, SPF, and DMARC DNS records. Maintain only one SPF and one DMARC record per domain.
  4. Set up forwarding from the custom outbound mailbox to the default Guest Experience inbound address so guest replies reach GX.
  5. Test sending and receiving messages.

See the Email Messaging limitations below for DKIM failures and changes to the sender address.

Email Messaging: Custom outbound address and deliverability 

You can configure a custom outbound email address for guest messages sent through Cloudbeds Guest Experience. The address must belong to a domain your property controls so that the required email authentication records can be configured.

  Do not use a free email address (such as Gmail or Yahoo) as your custom outbound address.

Do not use the default Guest Experience inbound email address as your custom outbound address.

Verify your custom outbound email domain

After adding your custom outbound email address, you have 3 days to add the required DKIM, SPF, and DMARC DNS records for the domain. Coordinate with the person who manages your domain's DNS settings.

  • DKIM: Add the required record and complete verification for the outbound address.
  • SPF: A domain must have only one SPF record. If you already use another email provider, such as SendGrid or Brevo, combine the required SPF mechanisms into the existing record rather than creating a second SPF record.
  • DMARC: A domain must have only one DMARC record. If a DMARC record already exists, update that record as needed instead of adding a duplicate.

  DKIM verification failed or changing the outbound address? Remove the custom outbound email address from Guest Experience, add the address again (or add the replacement address), and complete verification again.

Forward guest replies to Guest Experience

To receive guest replies in Guest Experience, configure email forwarding from your custom outbound address to the default Guest Experience inbound email address. The default inbound address is the forwarding destination, not the address to use as your custom outbound sender.

Using Email Messaging alongside Agoda

Agoda and Email Messaging cannot share the same custom email address. Use separate addresses for these channels. For Agoda, use the email address registered in YCS and contact agoda.chain.support@agoda.com to request that obfuscated emails be enabled for Cloudbeds.

Booking.com and Airbnb limitations

  • If you want to automate messages to Booking.com and Airbnb, you will need to create separate automated messages specifically for those channels' guests.
  • Airbnb has an Off-Platform Policy aiming to keep communication about reservations within its platform. This means Airbnb messages via Cloudbeds Guest Experience should not include website links, phone numbers, or email addresses.
  • Customers may encounter blocked or removed links when sending messages through Booking.com. This can be resolved by following these instructions.
  • Currently, the Booking.com Messaging API does not support structured requests. Structured requests such as check-in/out time, date change, cancellation requests, parking, bed preferences, extra cribs, and extra beds will not appear in Guest Experience.
  • Types of messages supported:
    • Airbnb: Inquiry, Special Offer, and Reservation messages.
    • Booking.com: Reservation messages only.
  • Booking.com guest phone numbers: Phone numbers may be unavailable for reservations created more than 14 days before arrival. This is due to Booking.com policies and not a Cloudbeds issue. Contact details become accessible closer to check-in through the Booking.com Extranet.

Airbnb image attachment requirements

Airbnb supports the following image formats in messages:

  • JPEG
  • JPG
  • GIF
  • PNG

Each image can be up to 5 MB.

  Sending multiple images through automations: If an automation bundles images into a message that exceeds Airbnb's limits, Airbnb may reject delivery even if Guest Experience sends the message. Send one image per message to avoid combined attachment-size issues.

Expedia limitations

  • Expedia message review: Expedia has its own internal message review mechanism. Messages may initially be marked as pending while Expedia reviews them. The review process can take 1 to 24 hours.
  • Affiliate reservations: If a request sent to Expedia through the API fails validation, the reservation may originate from an Expedia Affiliate source whose point of sale does not support messaging.
  • Guest phone numbers: Expedia no longer sends guest phone numbers through its reservation API for security reasons. As a result, reservations imported into Cloudbeds may not include a guest phone number. This is expected behavior. To contact the guest, use Expedia's messaging tools in Partner Central.
  • Links appear as plain text: Expedia does not make URLs clickable, including Guest Portal links. This is Expedia's security behavior, not a Guest Experience error. Guests must copy and paste the URL into a browser. The same limitation applies to Trip.com.

Expedia Error 9: Unsupported point of sale

If a message fails with Error 9, the error states:

Message could not be sent because the reservation was made on a point-of-sale that does not support messaging.

This can happen when a reservation appears to originate from Expedia in Cloudbeds PMS but was actually made through an Expedia B2B partner.

To troubleshoot:

  1. Check the reservation Origin in Cloudbeds PMS.
  2. Check the reservation origin in Expedia.
  3. Determine whether the reservation was made through a B2B partner or an unsupported point of sale.
  4. If messaging is unsupported, use another available communication channel to contact the guest.

  Repeatedly resending a message will not resolve an Expedia point-of-sale restriction.

Trip.com limitations

  • 10,000 characters per message.
  • 25 MB limit on picture size.
  • One picture per message.
  • Links: Trip.com displays links as plain text, including Guest Portal links. Guests must copy and paste the URL into a browser.

Agoda limitations

  • Agoda and Email Messaging must use different custom email addresses. When adding Agoda's custom email, use the address registered in YCS.
  • To enable obfuscated emails for Cloudbeds, contact Agoda at agoda.chain.support@agoda.com.
  • URLs do not work with Agoda: The channel automatically replaces shared links with: [The shared link has been masked by Agoda for your online safety].
  • Agoda does not support image or video uploads through its interface on either the guest or hotel side.

VRBO details and limitations

Attachments:

  • Accepted file types include JPEG, PNG, and GIF, with a maximum of 5 MB per attachment.
  • Multiple attachments per message are supported.
  • Messages can contain both text and attachments.

Redacted information:

The following information is redacted in messages before booking:

  • Competitor information
  • Credit card information
  • Bank routing numbers
  • IBAN numbers
  • Phone numbers
  • Email addresses (also redacted after booking)
  • Domain names

Inactivity:

Message threads become inactive three years after their creation date or one year after the reservation checkout date, whichever is later. Inactive message threads cannot be replied to.

Links:

All URLs added to a message are redacted, except for these:

Opt-in Engine

This is an automated message to the guest to allow communication via Cloudbeds Guest Experience.

  • If you attempt to message a guest who has not yet opted in, your original message will be placed in a pending state, and a consent message will be sent to the guest first.
  • If a guest opts out or does not respond, your original message will not be sent, and any future messages from you will be automatically blocked.
  • When a guest opts out by replying "Stop" through SMS, they will receive a message confirming their unsubscription.
    • If you try to SMS a guest who has opted out, the message will fail with a delivery warning: "Failed. (User Opt-out)".
    • If the guest wants to opt in again, they need to reply to or send an SMS saying "Start."
  • Any outbound messages to the guest are placed in a Pending state, not limited to only the initial message. Pending messages are on a 72-hour timer, meaning the guest will receive messages attempted within the last 72 hours once they opt in.
  • There is a limit of 15 messages that can be in the pending state.
  • You can disable WhatsApp's opt-in requirements. If you do, you must include opt-out verbiage within newly created templates. Click here to learn more about WhatsApp templates.

  Built-In SMS Compliance

Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus Terms and Conditions include integrated SMS and text messaging policy disclosures. When a guest provides a phone number during the booking process, consent for operational messaging is obtained automatically. This compliance coverage includes:

  • Operational Updates: Check-in instructions and room readiness notifications.
  • Simple Opt-Out: Instructions for guests to reply "STOP" at any time.
  • Privacy Assurance: Mobile data privacy guarantees regarding marketing and promotional sharing.
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  • Avatar
    Front Desk ONTO AO

    messages are not send to the recipient

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  • Avatar
    Juss Reyes

    Hello, Front Desk ONTO AO!

    Please contact our Support Team for dedicated assistance. Please make sure to add all the corresponding details of this issue for a better investigation. 

    Kind regards!

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