Messaging guests from the portal

The messaging center turns the front desk phone into a chat backlog you can scan, prioritize, and assign without missing requests. This article covers how to find conversations, reply, and route a message to the right team member.

Where it lives

Guest module → Messages opens the global center. The same conversations also appear inside individual reservations (Reservation View → Messages tab) when you want context: the room, the stay dates, the folio total are all on screen while you reply.

The conversation list

Each row shows the guest name, room number (if linked to a reservation), the latest message preview, the timestamp, and an unread count. Sorted by most recent activity. Toggle "Unread only" to triage what needs a response — much faster than scrolling through the full list.

Reading and replying

Click a conversation to open the thread on the right. Older messages load above the most recent; scroll up to load more. Type a reply in the composer and hit Send. As soon as you open the conversation, all unread guest messages in it are marked as read on the hotel side — no manual mark-as-read.

Reply tone

Treat each message like a one-line email: greet the guest by name, answer the question, sign off with your initials so the next staff member can pick up the thread mid-stay. Keep it conversational; this isn't where you send formal letters.

Common patterns

• Pre-arrival: airport transfer requests, early check-in, dietary preferences. The guest opens the portal a day or two before arrival; you confirm what's possible.
• In-stay: room issues ("the AC isn't cooling"), restaurant booking requests, checkout time questions. Faster than calling the front desk for both sides.
• Post-stay: forgotten items, lost-and-found, follow-up on an issue. Conversation stays linked to the (now past) reservation.