When should I send each Airbnb guest message?

Most of a stay's messages are the same every time, and the rest are replies to a handful of predictable requests. Knowing which message belongs to which moment means nothing is forgotten and nothing is sent twice. This timeline lists every template on the site in stay order, with the usual timing and a link to fill each one in with your own details.

The basics

There are two kinds of guest messages:

• Scheduled messages go to every guest at the same point in the stay: the booking confirmation, check-in instructions, arrival day message, welcome, checkout reminder and review request. They're good candidates for your platform's scheduling tools.
• Replies are sent when something happens: a guest asks for an early check-in, wants to bring a pet, reports a problem or asks for a refund. These need a person to read the request and decide.

The timings below are common practice among hosts, not platform rules, unless a platform deadline is named and linked. Adjust them to your guests and your area.

The full timeline

Before booking

The first reply often decides whether the guest books, so speed matters more than length. Answer the actual question in the inquiry reply, and handle price questions with the discount request reply. Pet questions get a clear yes or no from the pet request reply, based on what your listing already says. If a guest asks to pay or talk outside the platform, the off-platform request reply declines politely. Airbnb's Pricing and payment transparency (opens in a new tab) policy says all communication before booking must be on Airbnb. Your house rules belong on the listing before anyone books.

Booking and before arrival

Confirm the booking within a few hours with the booking confirmation, and send your cleaner the dates with the cleaner turnover message. Requests can arrive at any point between booking and arrival: a refund or cancellation question (refund request reply), more people than the listing allows (extra guests reply) or an earlier arrival (early check-in reply). Send the check-in instructions 24 to 48 hours before arrival, close enough that guests still have them to hand but early enough to ask questions.

Arrival day and the first night

A short arrival day message in the morning confirms the time and the way in. The welcome message goes out an hour or two after check-in time, once guests have had a chance to settle. A first-night check-in that evening catches small problems, such as a missing towel or a confusing remote, while they're still easy to fix.

During the stay

For stays of four nights or more, a mid-stay check-in is a light touch. Everything else in this stage is a reply: an issue apology when something goes wrong, a noise complaint when neighbors or monitors flag noise, a maintenance visit notice before anyone enters and replies to requests to extend the stay or check out late.

Checkout and after

Send the checkout reminder the evening before, so guests can plan their morning. After checkout, the review request goes out within a day. Write your own guest review inside the 14-day window: Airbnb's Reviews for homes (opens in a new tab) article says both sides have 14 days after checkout, and reviews are posted once both have submitted or the window closes.

Some after-stay messages only happen when something comes up. Use the lost item found message the same day you find something. If the cleaner finds damage, the damage claim message has a deadline: Airbnb's Host damage protection (opens in a new tab) article says to file a reimbursement request in the Resolution Center within 14 days of the guest's checkout. If a critical review appears, take a day, then post a calm negative review response.

Which messages to schedule

Scheduled messages suit anything that's the same for every guest and tied to a date: the booking confirmation, check-in instructions, arrival day, welcome, checkout reminder and review request. Airbnb's scheduled quick replies (opens in a new tab) can send automatically around a new reservation, check-in or checkout, are sent in the listing's time zone and can pull in details such as the guest's first name and the Wi-Fi name and password. You can skip, send early or edit an upcoming one for a single reservation.

Keep replies manual. A refund request, a damage claim or a review response depends on what actually happened, and an automatic answer can make things worse. For more on what the platforms' own tools already cover, see when built-in platform messaging is enough.