Cloudbeds Guest Experience Messaging - Everything You Need to Know

Lorena Pamplona

Updated October 30, 2026 15:15

Cloudbeds Guest Experience Messaging Services lets you communicate with guests through supported channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and email. This guide explains how to enable messaging services, connect channels, and understand their limitations.

Cloudbeds Guest Experience Cloudbeds offers solutions for lodging businesses of different sizes and needs. Contact our dedicated team to learn about available packages, or visit our Pricing Guide.

Enable a new messaging service in your account

Follow these steps to enable a supported messaging channel in Cloudbeds Guest Experience.

Access the Company page.
Go to Messaging Services.
Search for the channel you want to enable.
Switch the toggle on.
Click Edit settings.
Add the required account, email address, page, or phone number.
If the channel requires email verification, open your email account and confirm the connection.
Follow the authorization instructions to allow Cloudbeds Guest Experience to access the channel. Review the channel-specific instructions and limitations below.

Before enabling OTA messaging

OTA channels: Your property must be fully connected and mapped in Distribution before enabling the channel in Cloudbeds Guest Experience.
Agoda: Use the email address registered in YCS. Contact agoda.chain.support@agoda.com to request obfuscated emails for Cloudbeds.
Agoda and Email Messaging: These services must use different custom email addresses.

Messaging Services configuration

Once the channel is connected and configured, it is ready to use in your chats.

Guest Experience chats

Supported channels

Outbound message security screening

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

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

What to expect

Messages without links or attachments 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 additional setup is required.

If suspicious or malicious content is detected, the message is not delivered. The Cloudbeds Security team is notified, and the account may be flagged for further investigation. Staff may see statuses such as Under Security Review or Blocked in the conversation.

Blocked messages are retained for 14 days for review. When appropriate, messages may be released, or the property may be switched to a non-blocking mode.

Third-party channel manager connections

Cloudbeds Guest Experience Messaging for Airbnb and Expedia is available when using a non-Cloudbeds channel manager (partner distribution).

Booking.com messaging is not currently supported with third-party channel managers.

Reputation Management

Widgets

Channel details and limitations

Expand the sections below to review connection instructions, supported functionality, and channel-specific limitations.

Connect Booking.com

Confirm Booking.com is connected and mapped in Cloudbeds PMS Distribution.
In Guest Experience, go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Booking.com, and select Edit settings.
Follow the authorization prompts.
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

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

Do not include off-platform contact information in Airbnb messages. Review the Airbnb limitations below for messaging restrictions, image attachment requirements, and guest phone number availability.

Airbnb guest contact information

Starting the week of October 26, 2026, Airbnb limits the guest phone numbers shared through API reservations. Depending on reservation eligibility, Airbnb may provide a temporary number or no phone number.

This is an Airbnb privacy and security policy, not a Cloudbeds Guest Experience messaging error. For details, see How temporary phone numbers work - Airbnb Help Center.

Connect Expedia

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

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

Connect Agoda

Confirm Agoda is connected and mapped in Cloudbeds PMS Distribution.
Go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Agoda, and select Edit settings.
Add the email address registered in Agoda YCS. It must differ from your custom Email Messaging address.
Email agoda.chain.support@agoda.com and request that obfuscated emails be enabled for Cloudbeds.
Test after Agoda confirms enablement.

Connect VRBO

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

Review VRBO details and limitations below for attachment support, redacted content, and message expiration.

Connect Email Messaging

Go to Company > Messaging Services, enable Email, and select Edit settings.
Add a custom outbound address using a domain you control. Do not use a free email address or the default Guest Experience inbound address.
Within 3 days, configure and verify the required DKIM, SPF, and DMARC DNS records.
Forward replies from the custom outbound mailbox to the default Guest Experience inbound address.
Test sending and receiving messages.

Email Messaging: Custom outbound address and deliverability

You can configure a custom outbound email address for messages sent through Cloudbeds Guest Experience. The address must belong to a domain your property controls.

Do not use a free email address, such as Gmail or Yahoo, or 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 configure the required DKIM, SPF, and DMARC DNS records. Coordinate with your domain administrator.

DKIM: Add the required record and complete verification.
SPF: Maintain only one SPF record per domain. If another provider, such as SendGrid or Brevo, already uses SPF, combine the required mechanisms into the existing record.
DMARC: Maintain only one DMARC record per domain. Update the existing record instead of adding a duplicate.

DKIM verification failed or changing the outbound address? Remove the custom outbound address, add it again or add the replacement address, and repeat verification.

Forward guest replies to Guest Experience

Configure forwarding from your custom outbound mailbox to the default Guest Experience inbound email address. This default address is the forwarding destination, not your custom outbound sender.

Using Email Messaging alongside Agoda

Agoda and Email Messaging cannot share the same custom email address. For Agoda, use the address registered in YCS and contact agoda.chain.support@agoda.com to request obfuscated emails.

Booking.com and Airbnb limitations

Automated messages: Create separate automated messages specifically for Booking.com and Airbnb guests.
Airbnb Off-Platform Policy: Airbnb aims to keep reservation communication within its platform. Messages sent through Cloudbeds Guest Experience should not include website links, phone numbers, or email addresses.
Booking.com links: Booking.com may block or remove links. Follow these instructions to review the channel's security settings.
Booking.com structured requests: The Messaging API does not currently support structured requests such as check-in or check-out times, date changes, cancellation requests, parking, bed preferences, cribs, or extra beds. These requests will not appear in Guest Experience.
Supported message types:
- 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 due to Booking.com policies. Contact information may become available closer to check-in through the Booking.com Extranet.

Airbnb guest phone number availability (October 2026)

Starting the week of October 26, 2026, Airbnb limits guest phone numbers shared through API reservations to protect personal information and reduce phishing attempts.

Airbnb may provide a temporary phone number instead of the guest's actual phone number, but only when all of the following conditions are met:

The reservation was accepted on or after October 26, 2026.
The Airbnb listing is located in the United States or Canada.
Both the host and guest have a phone number.
Both the host and guest have their country of residence in the same country, either the United States or Canada.

For all other reservations, Airbnb does not send the guest's actual phone number or a temporary phone number through the API. This includes reservations:

Accepted before October 26, 2026.
For listings outside the United States and Canada.
Where the host and guest reside in different countries.
That do not meet the remaining eligibility conditions.

What this means for guest communication

If a guest phone number is missing from an Airbnb reservation in Cloudbeds PMS, this may be expected behavior under Airbnb's privacy policy rather than an integration issue.

Use the available Airbnb messaging tools, including supported Airbnb conversations in Cloudbeds Guest Experience, to communicate with guests. Do not assume a phone number will be available for SMS or other direct phone-based messaging.

Airbnb also states that the last four digits of a guest's actual phone number remain available on its reservation details page for certain workflows, such as door codes. This does not mean the full phone number or those digits are supplied through the API.

For more information, see How temporary phone numbers work - Airbnb Help Center .

Airbnb image attachment requirements

Airbnb supports these image formats in messages:

JPEG
JPG
GIF
PNG

Each image can be up to 5 MB.

Sending multiple images through automations

If an automation combines images into a message that exceeds Airbnb's limits, Airbnb may reject delivery even when Guest Experience sends the message. Send one image per message to avoid combined attachment-size issues.

Expedia limitations

Message review: Expedia reviews messages internally. Messages may initially appear as pending. Review can take 1 to 24 hours.
Affiliate reservations: Some reservations originate from Expedia affiliates whose point of sale does not support messaging. API requests may fail validation.
Guest phone numbers: Expedia previously restricted guest phone numbers in API reservation data for security reasons. According to an October 2026 update, Expedia began providing traveler phone numbers 14 days before check-in, effective October 15, 2026, for eligible properties. The rollout was intended to cover most properties, but some exceptions may apply.
Links appear as plain text: Expedia does not make URLs clickable, including Guest Portal links. Guests must copy and paste URLs into a browser. The same limitation applies to Trip.com.

Expedia phone number availability in Cloudbeds

Although Expedia has resumed sharing phone numbers for certain reservations, their availability in Cloudbeds PMS is not yet confirmed. Phone numbers may still be missing from imported reservations.

If the phone number is unavailable, use the supported Expedia messaging tools, including Expedia Partner Central, to contact the guest.

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 may occur when a reservation appears to originate from Expedia in Cloudbeds PMS but was made through an Expedia B2B partner.

To troubleshoot:

Check the reservation Origin in Cloudbeds PMS.
Check the reservation origin in Expedia.
Determine whether the booking originated from a B2B partner or unsupported point of sale.
If messaging is unsupported, use another available communication channel.

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

Trip.com limitations

Maximum of 10,000 characters per message.
Maximum image size of 25 MB.
Only 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

Separate email addresses: Agoda and Email Messaging must use different custom email addresses. Use the address registered in Agoda YCS.
Obfuscated emails: Contact agoda.chain.support@agoda.com to enable obfuscated emails for Cloudbeds.
URLs: Agoda replaces shared links with the message: [The shared link has been masked by Agoda for your online safety].
Attachments: Agoda does not support image or video uploads through its interface on the guest or hotel side.

VRBO details and limitations

Attachments

Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Maximum size: 5 MB per attachment.
Multiple attachments per message are supported.
Messages may contain both text and attachments.

Redacted information

Before booking, VRBO redacts the following information from messages:

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

Message inactivity

Threads become inactive three years after creation or one year after reservation checkout, whichever is later. Inactive threads cannot be replied to.

Opt-in Engine

The Opt-in Engine sends an automated consent request to guests before allowing certain messages through Cloudbeds Guest Experience.

If you message a guest who has not opted in, your original message enters a Pending state, and a consent message is sent first.
If the guest opts out or does not respond, the original message is not sent, and future messages are blocked.
If a guest replies STOP by SMS, they receive confirmation of their unsubscription.
- Further SMS attempts fail with Failed. (User Opt-out).
- To opt in again, the guest must send or reply START.
Outbound messages remain pending for up to 72 hours. Messages attempted during that period may be delivered once the guest opts in.
A maximum of 15 messages can be pending.
WhatsApp opt-in requirements can be disabled. If disabled, new templates must include opt-out wording. Review the WhatsApp messaging guide for template information.

Built-in SMS compliance

Cloudbeds Booking Engine Plus Terms and Conditions include SMS and text messaging disclosures. When guests provide phone numbers during booking, consent for operational messaging is obtained automatically.

Operational updates: Check-in instructions and room readiness notifications.
Simple opt-out: Guests can reply STOP to unsubscribe.
Privacy assurance: Disclosures address mobile data privacy and marketing or promotional sharing.

Comments

2 comments

Front Desk ONTO AO
March 08, 2025 09:03

messages are not send to the recipient

0
Juss Reyes
March 10, 2025 14:13

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!

0