Cloudbeds Guest Experience Messaging Services FAQ

When Link Shortening is enabled in Cloudbeds Guest Experience, every URL included in a Cloudbeds Guest Experience message is automatically converted into a shortened link.

This includes:

• Guest Portal links inserted using the Guest Portal Link merge tag in automated messages
• Any full URL typed directly into a message template
• Links sent in automated or manual messages

By default, links are shortened using the cb.whstl.io domain. If you configure a custom sub-domain in the settings, the system will use your custom short link instead.

The original URL remains unchanged in your message template. The link is automatically shortened at the time the message is sent.

This applies across supported messaging channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, and email, helping keep messages concise and easier for guests to read.

How to enable Link Shortening

1. Go to Company > Messaging Services.
2. Turn on the Link Shortening toggle.
3. Optional: Click Edit settings to configure a custom sub-domain that you own.
4. Click Save.

Once enabled, no additional setup is required inside your message templates or automations. All URLs will be shortened automatically when messages are delivered.

Note: If Link Shortening is turned off, messages will send using the original full URL. Turning the feature on does not retroactively change previously sent messages. Best practice: Cloudbeds recommends using the built-in Link Shortening feature instead of third-party shorteners because it improves deliverability and allows links to be managed directly within the platform.

Adding hyperlinks is a common request, but it is not possible to add hyperlinks to a text message (SMS) as it is to an email.

You can add link(s) to a text (SMS), and Cloudbeds Guest Experience will automatically turn the URL into a link that allows the recipient of the message to click and access the linked page.

Workarounds:

• Save the links/shorten links as Company Variables to be utilized by your team at another time.
• Use a link shortener (not very recommended to prevent spam blocks)—use shorteners such as Bitly to reduce the URL length. This allows you to send the message with a shortened link, allowing you to extend your message beyond the character limits.

All SMS sent from Cloudbeds Guest Experience will contain a link to cb.whstl.io. This link is ours and legitimate, so do not be concerned about phishing attempts.

Important: Sending links in Guest Experience messages (Error 5100)

For security reasons, Cloudbeds Guest Experience may block messages that contain external links. When this happens, the message may fail to send with Error 5100.

This approval requirement can also affect external content used in email messages, such as hosted images. If you are adding a logo or banner to an automated email, make sure the image URL uses an approved domain before testing the message.

If you encounter Error 5100, contact Cloudbeds Support or your Onboarding Coach and share the link you are trying to send.

Our team will review the request and assist you with the next steps.

Yes. Automated messages sent by email can use HTML formatting, so you can add an external image such as a hotel logo.

Important:

• This applies to email messages only. SMS and WhatsApp do not render inline HTML images.
• The image must be hosted on a secure HTTPS URL.
• Before the image will render in Guest Experience emails, the image-hosting domain must be approved.
• If the domain is not yet approved, contact Cloudbeds Support or your CSM and share the image URL or domain so it can be reviewed.
• Some email clients block remote images by default, so recipients may need to click Show images or Load images before the logo appears.

Best practice:

• Use a publicly accessible HTTPS image URL.
• Add alt text to the image.
• Send a test email to yourself before enabling the automation for guests.

Booking.com has implemented this security measure to proactively prevent cybercriminals from exploiting its messaging platform to impersonate customers and send fraudulent payment links to guests.

In Booking.com's Messaging security section of the extranet, customers can select which email addresses and links can reach their guests.

These messaging security settings allow you to:

• Specify which email addresses you use to communicate with your guests. Emails sent from unregistered addresses will not reach your guests.
• Specify which approved links can be shared with your guests in messages. You can also choose to block all links from reaching your guests completely. We’ll remove any unregistered links in messages sent to your guests.

These settings are available to those with admin access rights to their extranet account.

To fix this issue, follow the next steps:

1. Sign in to the extranet
2. Click Property and then click Messaging preferences
3. Click Security settings
4. Complete two-factor authentication
5. Click Add a link and enter either a specific URL (such as www.example.com/xyz.html) or an entire domain (such as example.com)
6. To add more links, click +
7. Click Add domain

Whitelist on this page the following links:

Cloudbeds Guest Experience Links:

• https://cb.whstl.io/
• https://link.cloudbeds.com/

Note: Cloudbeds previously used the domain link.cloudbeds.com. Guest Experience links now use links.cloudbeds.com.

If you use URL shortening, also whitelist:

• [subdomain].[hotel].com (replace the brackets with your actual subdomain name in your link-shortening settings).

Troubleshooting message errors

If a message fails with Error 5100 before it reaches Booking.com, the link was blocked internally by Cloudbeds because the domain is not included in the property's Approved Links list.

If you see Error 5100 and the message does not reach Booking.com, verify that the required domains are whitelisted. If the issue continues, contact Cloudbeds Support for assistance.

1. Access the Company page
2. Go to Messaging Services
3. Switch the toggle on next to the Link Shortening banner
4. Click to edit settings
5. Add your custom domain
6. Click to update

Link-shortening domains must also be approved

If you use a link shortener (e.g., bit.ly, t.ly, rebrand.ly), ensure the root domain is added to Approved Links.

Shortened URLs often redirect through additional domains, which can trigger Error 5100 if any domain in the redirect chain is not approved.

To prevent failures, ensure any domains used in shortened links are permitted. If messages fail to send and you see Error 5100, contact Cloudbeds Support for assistance.

Each Cloudbeds Guest Experience account (property) has its own unique system-generated inbound email address (…@whistle.cloudbeds.com). When a property sets up forwarding rules from its public mailbox to this address, all guest messages are delivered into that specific property’s Cloudbeds Guest Experience account.

Guest replies are sent back to the same “From” email address they received (the property’s unique Cloudbeds Guest Experience address). This ensures that replies are routed only to the correct property account.

No. Guest conversations remain fully separated by property. There is no automatic sharing or consolidation of messages between properties.

In that non-standard setup, all conversations would merge into a single account. This is not recommended. Each property should use its own Cloudbeds Guest Experience email address to keep communication properly segregated.

To improve inbox placement for Hotmail/Outlook emails, properties should follow these best practices:

Send from an authenticated domain

• Use a Cloudbeds-hosted domain (e.g., noreply@yourhotel.com) as the Send-From address.
• Place the Hotmail address in the Reply-To field so guests see it when replying. 

Publish authentication records: Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are configured to prevent spam filtering.

Maintain clean email lists: Include only opted-in contacts and remove hard bounces or inactive addresses regularly.

Avoid spam-trigger content: Avoid ALL-CAPS, overly promotional language, or URL shorteners in subject lines and body text.

Test campaigns before sending: Send test messages to Hotmail/Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail accounts to check for junk folder placement.

Monitor delivery logs: Review the Email Delivery Log to quickly identify messages marked as spam or blocked.

Optional Interim Solution: If full migration to a branded domain isn’t possible, send emails from ...@whistle.cloudbeds.com with the Hotmail address in Reply-To.

To set this up:

• Go to Company Settings → Email tab → Send-From = authenticated domain → Reply-To = Hotmail address → Save → Verify Hotmail inbox.

These steps ensure emails are sent via a trusted domain while guests can reply to their familiar Hotmail address, reducing the likelihood of emails going to junk folders.

No. Emails sent from Cloudbeds Guest Experience are delivered using Cloudbeds Guest Experience’s mail service, either from a verified custom outbound email or the property’s inbound email address. Because these messages are sent outside of Gmail or Outlook, they do not automatically appear in your inbox or Sent folder. Only emails that reach Cloudbeds Guest Experience’s inbound email address are turned into Guest Chats.

If you want a copy of your sent messages in Gmail or Outlook, you must manually BCC yourself when replying in Cloudbeds Guest Experience.

To centralize guest communications in Cloudbeds Guest Experience, you need to forward emails from your property’s regular mailbox (e.g., Gmail, Outlook) to Cloudbeds Guest Experience’s inbound email address. Here’s how:

1. Find your Cloudbeds Guest Experience inbound email address: Sign in to Cloudbeds Guest Experience, go to Email / Messaging Services, and copy the inbound email (e.g., property-123@inbound.whistle.cloudbeds.com).
2. Set up email forwarding: In your regular mailbox, create a ruleto forward all or selected incoming messages to the Cloudbeds Guest Experience inbound email, then activate the rule.
3. Verify forwarding if required: Some email providers may send a confirmation code or link to Cloudbeds Guest Experience; follow the instructions to complete verification.
4. Test the setup: Send a test email to your property’s main address and confirm it appears in Cloudbeds Guest Experience as a Guest Chat.

Note limitations: Only emails that reach Cloudbeds Guest Experience’s inbound address appear in Guest Chat. Filters, spam rules, or delays in your mail provider may affect delivery.

This setup ensures all guest messages from multiple channels are accessible in one unified inbox within Cloudbeds Guest Experience, helping your team respond promptly and stay organized.