The Complete Automated Guest Journey
As your property count grows, so does the number of times you type the same Wi-Fi password, check-in instructions, and parking directions. Each message is small, but together they take hours, and the one you forget is the one a guest needed.
This guide shows what manual guest communication costs you, what automation changes for you and your guests, and how to set up the full guest journey in Smoobu, step by step.
To stay on top of incoming events, see our list of booking notifications every host should set up.
Key Takeaways:
- An automated guest journey sends the right information at each stage of a stay: after booking, before arrival, during the stay, and after departure.
- In Smoobu, you write each message template once, choose its trigger and timing, and Smoobu sends it to every matching booking, including existing ones.
- The Guest Guide, online check-in, and Smart Devices door codes reach guests through placeholders in those same messages.
The Hidden Cost of Manual Guest Communication
Many hosts start with a single property and answer every guest by hand. At that stage, it feels personal and manageable, and many hosts enjoy the conversations. As you add more properties, that same approach becomes a bottleneck.
Time Lost on Repetitive Tasks
You rewrite welcome messages, check-out instructions, and arrival times for every booking. Think of how often you have explained the heating or the hidden driveway. That time could go into your listings, your pricing, or simply your evening.
Delayed Replies and Their Effect on Reviews
Guests expect clear answers, especially when they arrive in a new place after a long journey. If a guest asks for the door code while you are asleep or driving, the wait causes stress.
Guests rate communication after a stay, so slow replies can show up in your reviews.
Host Fatigue
Remembering whether you sent the check-in details, or whether the cleaner knows about the late check-out, is tiring. Many hosts end up checking their phone all day. Handing the routine messages to software is one of the most direct ways to get that time back.
What Automation Changes for You and Your Guests
An automated guest journey gives every guest the same reliable information, from the moment they book until after they leave. You decide the content and timing once, and it applies to every booking.
Consistent Information for Every Guest
When software sends the routine messages, every guest gets the same details at the right moment, whether you host one apartment or fifty. Nothing depends on you remembering it on a busy day.
Guests Who Can Find Answers on Their Own
Many travelers prefer to look something up rather than wait for a reply. When the house rules, Wi-Fi details, and local tips are in one place, guests can find what they need on their own schedule. You get fewer routine questions, and they get a smoother stay.
How to Set Up the Automated Guest Journey in Smoobu
You don't need technical skills for this. In Smoobu, the guest journey has four parts that work together: message templates, the Guest Guide, online check-in, and, if you use smart locks, Smart Devices.
1. Create Your Automated Messages
The core of the journey is a set of message templates. With the Smoobu automated guest communication tools, you write a template once, choose the event it follows and when it goes out, and Smoobu sends it for every matching booking. You find them under Experience > Communication.
Each template follows one trigger: a new booking, the arrival date, the departure date, a cancellation, a completed online check-in, or an extra bought in the Guest Guide. For arrival and departure, you choose how many days before or after the date the message goes out.
A typical sequence looks like this:
| Message | Trigger and timing | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Booking confirmation | New booking, sent right away | Thanks, the dates, and when the check-in details will follow |
| Pre-arrival information | A few days before arrival | Address, directions, and the link to the Guest Guide and online check-in |
| Check-in details | Arrival, with the timing set for the door code | Door code, key box, and parking instructions |
| Mid-stay check | The day after arrival | A short question: is everything fine, do they need anything? |
| Check-out reminder | The day before departure | Check-out time and what to do before leaving |
| Thank-you message | Shortly after departure | Thanks for the stay and an invitation to share honest feedback |
Placeholders make each message personal. Insert [firstGuestName], [arrivalDate], or [apartment], and Smoobu fills in the details of each booking when the message is sent. A new template also applies to existing bookings, as long as the send time is still ahead.
Smoobu Pro Tip: Write templates for Airbnb and Booking.com in plain text, because both remove formatting. Airbnb blocks links in messages sent more than 48 hours after check-out, so send your thank-you message within two days of departure. Test each template first with a booking under your own email address.
For every setting, see the help center article on setting up automated messages.
2. Set Up the Guest Guide
The Smoobu Guest Guide is a digital welcome book that Smoobu creates for every booking. Each guest opens their own link on their phone and sees directions and a map, house rules, Wi-Fi details, local recommendations, and extras they can book.
You switch it on under Experience > Guest Guide, choose its features, and add your own content blocks, for example, for parking or the coffee machine. Each block can show before arrival, during the stay, after checkout, or at several of these stages.
To send the guide automatically, add the [guestAppLink] placeholder to your booking confirmation or pre-arrival message. The Help Center explains how to set up the Guest Guide in detail.
3. Add Online Check-In
With Smoobu Online Check-in, guests enter their details before they arrive instead of filling in paperwork at the door. You choose the fields once for your whole account, and the data lands on the booking in Smoobu.
The link goes out through your messages: add the [onlineCheckInLink] placeholder to a template, or show the form inside the Guest Guide. You can also send a message only after a guest completes online check-in, for example, the one with the door code.
4. Connect Your Smart Locks
With Smoobu Smart Devices, you connect supported smart locks, and Smoobu creates a door code for each new booking. The [seamAccessCode] placeholder puts that code into your check-in message, so guests receive it without you copying anything.
Smart Devices creates the code within 72 hours before arrival, so schedule the message with the code for less than three days before arrival. It is a paid add-on at €4 per connected lock per month, with a 14-day free trial that starts when you connect your first lock.
What Hosts and Guests Get Out of It
Once the journey runs on its own, it shows up in your week, your guests' stays, and the questions you receive.
Time for the Rest of Your Business
Routine messages no longer need you, so you can get back to your properties, your pricing, or a day off. You spend less time working in the business and more time working on it.
A Better Basis for Good Reviews
Guests who get timely instructions, an easy check-in, and a guide with answers have fewer reasons to be frustrated. That doesn't guarantee a good review, but it removes some of the most common causes of a bad one.
If you host on Airbnb, Smoobu can also review your guests for you: with automated reviews switched on, it posts a review two days after check-out from a template you choose.
Fewer Problems During the Stay
Many guest problems start with missing or hard-to-find information: where to park, how the heating works, when to check out. When answers arrive before questions, you settle small issues before they become a message to you.
Beyond Messaging: What Else Smoobu Automates
The guest journey is one part of what Smoobu does. The Smoobu Channel Manager keeps your calendars and prices in sync across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, and other channels, which helps you prevent double bookings.
With the Smoobu Website Builder, you can build your own website with a booking engine for direct bookings, and publish it on a paid plan.
Smoobu Dynamic Pricing, a paid add-on with a free trial, sets your nightly prices and sends them to your connected channels, so you stop adjusting rates by hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
For more ways to save time beyond guest messages, see our guide to vacation rental automation tools.
Yes, if the channel is connected with a full connection. Smoobu then sends your templates through Airbnb or Booking.com messaging, where guests expect them. Write these templates in plain text, because both channels remove formatting. Channels connected by iCal only exchange calendar data, not messages.
With Smoobu Smart Devices, the door code is created within 72 hours before arrival. Schedule the message that carries the code for less than three days before arrival, for example, two days before, so the code is ready when the message is sent.
No. Reviews that guests leave in the Guest Guide are private feedback for you. Smoobu keeps them on the booking and never publishes them. Reviews on Airbnb and Booking.com stay on those platforms and work as always.
Conclusion: Let Smoobu Handle the Routine
An automated guest journey sends the right information to every guest at the right time, while you stay free to step in personally when it matters. Set up your messages, Guest Guide, online check-in, and door codes once, and they work for every booking that follows.
See how it fits your properties: Start your 14-day free trial of Smoobu today.
