Unified inbox for hospitality guest messaging

One guest. One thread. Not four apps and a sticky note.

Texts, email, calls, chat and guest portal messages land in one conversation per guest, and OTA messages in the same inbox. Their stays sit beside it, so whoever answers doesn’t start from scratch.

The unified inbox, one guest in one threadInbox

The unified inbox, following one guest, Rosa Delgado, through a week. On Monday she emails asking whether the dock can take a rented pontoon. On Tuesday she writes through an OTA, booked via Airbnb, asking for a pack-and-play; that appears as its own conversation, a separate row in the same inbox list with an OTA badge. On Wednesday she calls, and Dana Brooks answers; the four-minute call sits in the same thread as her email. On Friday she texts the Loon Lake line, (207) 555-0188, to say she’s running an hour behind. The email, the call and the text land in one conversation, in order. Beside it, her upcoming stay at Loon Lake House, Friday October 16 to Monday October 19, marked arriving today, and a recent stay at Birch Cove Cabin in July, one click from the reservation. Dana replies that the porch light is on a timer and the kayaks are down by the dock. The reply goes out from the same number Rosa texted, shows Sending, then Delivered.

Guest messaging software for vacation rentals, RV parks, hotels and marinas

Faster answers. Fewer repeated questions. Nobody starting over.

Every channel. One thread. Finally.

SMS, email, calls, chatbot and guest portal messages all land in one conversation per guest. Text a different one of your numbers, and it’s still the same conversation.

  • Threaded by guest, not by channel
  • Calls sit beside the texts
  • Replies go out from the right number

The inbox, with one guest, Mateo Ruiz. He texts the Reservations number, (207) 555-0142, asking about the weekend of the 23rd; then calls, and a six-minute call answered by Dana Brooks sits in the thread; then emails that he booked; then texts a different number, the Loon Lake line, (207) 555-0188, asking where the kayak paddles are. Each text shows the number it came in on. It is all one conversation. Dana replies that the paddles are in the boathouse, and the reply goes out from the Loon Lake line, the number he last texted: Sending, then Delivered.

The easy questions answer themselves. Carefully.

Turn on Autodrive and ApexOS answers routine questions from your own knowledgebase when its confidence clears your bar. Below it, the draft waits as an internal note for your team.

  • Answers from your own policies
  • A confidence bar you set
  • Unsure replies wait for a person

A photo of a guest on her phone on the deck of a wooden cabin. Over it, a text from a guest at Juniper Ridge Cabin asking whether there is a coffee grinder. Autodrive answers at 92% confidence: there is one in the cabinet above the coffee maker. A line says the answer came from the knowledgebase, above the 85% bar. The guest then asks to check out at 3 on Sunday because her flight moved. Nothing is sent: an internal note, only visible to the team, says Autodrive didn’t send at 58% confidence, below the 85% bar, and holds its draft for a person. A note reads: The easy one answered. The hard one waited for a person.

It already knows who it’s talking to.

The guest’s upcoming and recent stays sit beside the conversation, one click from the reservation. Whoever answers sees which unit, which dates, and what was said last time.

  • Their stays beside the thread
  • Nothing to sync, no second login
  • Internal notes guests never see

A conversation with Nora Bishop, with her stays beside it: an upcoming stay at Birch Cove Cabin, October 23 to 25, and a recent stay at the same cabin, June 12 to 15, with a link to open the reservation. Above her new message sits what she said last time, in June: she loved the screened porch. She asks for the same cabin as last time. Dana Brooks switches the composer to Internal note and posts: returning guest, Birch Cove is already on her October booking. Guests never see it. Then she replies in one line: already done, Birch Cove again, October 23 to 25, welcome back.

Nothing falls through. Not even at shift change.

Assign a conversation with a handoff note, snooze it until morning, or filter to who’s arriving today. Needs Reply and Unassigned show what’s still waiting.

  • Assign with a handoff note
  • Snooze it until it matters
  • Arriving, in house, departing

A photo of two teammates at one laptop, one leaning over to hand over to the other. Over it, the inbox counts: Needs Reply 4, Unassigned 2, Snoozed 1. Theo Park’s text conversation goes from Unassigned to assigned to Priya Shah, and Unassigned drops to 1. A handoff note from Dana Brooks says late checkout on Sunday is fine until 1 PM, just confirm it with him. Priya replies that he’s set for a 1 PM checkout, and Needs Reply drops to 3. Lena Ortiz’s email about the firewood drop-off is snoozed until 8:00 AM, when the supplier opens, and Snoozed rises to 2. A note reads: Handed off, not dropped.

Unified inbox features for hospitality guest communication

One inbox. Noticeably fewer tabs.

SMS, calls, email, chatbot and guest portal messages in one conversation per contact, in order, with OTA messages in the same inbox. Files a guest sends are listed on the message and download from the inbox.

One thread per guest

Unified inbox FAQs

Reasonable questions.

What is a unified inbox?

A unified inbox brings every channel a guest uses into one thread, organized around the guest instead of the app. In ApexOS that’s SMS, calls, email, chatbot and guest portal messages in one conversation per contact, with their stays beside it, and OTA messages in the same inbox.

What software gives vacation rental managers one inbox for all guest messages?

ApexOS by Staylist. Its unified inbox puts SMS, calls, email, chatbot and guest portal messages in one conversation per guest, with OTA messages in the same inbox, so your team stops switching between apps. A text to any of your numbers lands there too, and Needs Reply and Unassigned show what’s still waiting.

How do urgent guest messages reach the right person?

Assign the conversation to a teammate with a handoff note, or let an Apex agent do it. An agent can run on every new guest message, inside rules you write in plain English, and escalate to the people you name: a staff user, an email address or a phone number, by in-app message, email or SMS.

Does the AI answer guests without us seeing it?

Only as far as you allow. Autodrive answers only the topics you switch on, and sends only when its confidence clears your bar, 85 out of 100 by default. Below that, it leaves its draft as an internal note for a person. Start with the bar high and lower it once you’ve watched it work.

Can we manage Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com messages in one inbox?

Yes. Messages from Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com arrive as OTA messages, in the same inbox, views and filters as your texts, emails and calls, answered by the same team. A guest who booked on a channel is answered the same way as one who booked direct.

What happens when a guest texts STOP?

They’re opted out of text marketing. STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END or QUIT opts them out and START opts them back in. The text still shows in the thread, and Autodrive never answers it.

How is the unified inbox different from the CRM and internal communications?

The inbox is where each guest conversation happens. The CRM is what you know about a guest and the programs you run to reach them: lists, sequences, broadcasts and surveys. Internal communications is for your staff talking to each other. All three read the same guest record, so nothing gets copied between them.

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Your guest is having one conversation. Now so are you.