Guest inbox — Booking.com, Airbnb & WhatsApp

Updated on 2026-07-17

When a guest sends you a message via Booking.com or Airbnb (the chat in their app), or replies to one of your WhatsApp messages, it all arrives in BedFlow. You see and answer all those conversations in one place: Daily → Messages.

Your reply to an OTA message goes straight to the Booking.com or Airbnb chat — via the Channex Messages API. The guest simply reads it in their own app, as if you had replied from the OTA dashboard.

What does it look like?

On desktop you see three columns:

• Left: the list of conversations
• Middle: the selected conversation with the full message history and an input field
• Right: the booking context — check-in, check-out, number of nights, room, the guest's email and phone, plus an Open booking button

On your phone the inbox works like a real chat app: you see either the list or the conversation full-screen — with a back button in the top left to return to the list.

The list reads itself

• Everything still awaiting a reply sits at the top in the red Needs reply section (with a counter), freshest first — whether the guest is already checked in or yet to arrive. Below that come the Other conversations, also newest first.
• Every guest gets a coloured status dot on their avatar: green = checked in, amber = upcoming, red = checked out, grey = no booking.
• Next to the name you see a channel badge (Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia or WhatsApp), the room 🛏 and the booking number.
• Below the name is a preview line with the latest message — so you can scan the list without opening every conversation.
• A red dot on the right means: reply needed.

At the top you filter on Active, Closed or All, and search by name or message content.

Quick actions on every conversation

Hover over a conversation in the list and up to three buttons appear:

• ✅ No reply needed — for "thanks, see you soon" messages from any channel. The conversation stays in the list but leaves the red section. For Booking.com the marker is also passed on to Booking.com, so the message doesn't count as unanswered for your response rate.
• 📥 Archive — handled: the conversation disappears from Active (still findable under Closed). If the guest sends something again later, the conversation automatically reappears in your list.
• 🔇 Private — hide permanently (WhatsApp only) — for personal contacts on your linked WhatsApp number who aren't guests. New messages are still stored, but don't reopen the conversation and no longer notify you.

Replying to a message

1. Click a conversation in the list on the left
2. Read the history — the guest is on the left, your replies on the right (in BedFlow blue)
3. Want a quick start? Above the input field there are three rows of helpers (see below): ✨ Suggestions, templates and variables
4. Type (or adjust) and click Send — or use Cmd/Ctrl+Enter
5. Booking.com and Airbnb messages land in the guest's chat within seconds; WhatsApp conversations go straight to the guest's phone

💡 Booking.com tip: does a message not need an answer (e.g. "thanks, see you then!")? Click No reply needed. BedFlow passes that on to Booking.com, so your response rate doesn't drop because of unanswered thank-yous.

Automatic translation

Does a guest write in another language (say Portuguese on your Booking.com chat)? BedFlow automatically adds a translation below the bubble, with a language badge like 🌐 PT → EN. Translation happens via DeepL when you open the conversation and is stored per message — your quota is only used once per message. Messages already in your language simply stay untranslated.

Templates, variables and suggestions

The compose bar works the same on every channel — WhatsApp, Booking.com chat or Airbnb chat — and always fills in the right booking details:

• ✨ Suggestions — BedFlow reads the guest's latest message and the stage of the stay and puts the most likely replies at the top: if the guest asks about wifi, the wifi template is ready to go; if the guest hasn't arrived yet, the check-in info.
• Templates (canned replies) — one click and the reply is filled in, ready to send. Via ⚙️ Manage templates you create your own buttons per property (e.g. 🍳 Breakfast times, 🅿️ Charging station), with variables that are rendered per booking.
• Variables — small buttons that insert a variable at your cursor position. Available: first name, name, arrival/departure date, check-in/check-out time (per booked unit), room, address of the booked property, wifi name and password, phone number and {{gastenpagina_link}} — a short link to the personal guest page of this booking (where the guest also arranges wellness, breakfast and payments). Variables are filled in with the real data when you insert a template and when you send.

WhatsApp in the same inbox

When you check a guest in via the calendar, BedFlow sends the welcome message via WhatsApp — and it immediately appears as a conversation in the guest inbox. If the guest replies, their reply lands in that same conversation. That way your current guests always show up in the inbox, even if they haven't sent anything themselves yet.

Replies to WhatsApp conversations are sent straight from the inbox; they go through your connected provider (TextMeFlow or TextMeBot).

Your emails reach the OTA chat too

If you send an email to a guest with a Booking.com, Airbnb or Expedia booking (e.g. a confirmation or check-in instructions), BedFlow automatically mirrors that email to the OTA chat. Handy, because many OTA guests never read their masked email alias — but they do see your message in their app's chat.

Closing conversations — manually and automatically

• Manually: click Close thread at the top of the conversation (with confirmation). For Booking.com and Airbnb, the conversation is also closed on their side.
• Automatically: BedFlow tidies up every night. Conversations of guests who checked out more than 2 days ago with no recent activity are moved to Closed automatically. Loose conversations without a booking (old thank-yous, inquiries) are cleaned up too.
• Safety valve: if a guest still sends something after checkout, that conversation stays open. Checked-in and upcoming guests are never closed automatically.

Closed conversations don't disappear — you find them under the Closed filter.

Notifications

For a new message you get:

• A Telegram push to your admin bot
• Optionally: WhatsApp via your configured provider — TextMeFlow (free from Starter) or TextMeBot
• A badge on Messages in the sidebar with the number of conversations waiting for a reply

The read status is personal: when you open a conversation, it counts as read for you — your colleagues keep their own unread marker.

Frequently asked questions

What if Channex is offline? Messages are queued at Channex itself and delivered once the connection is restored. You don't lose anything.

Can I reply via Telegram? No — the reply flow always goes through BedFlow so we also log your answer. Telegram is a read-only notification.

Which channels work here? Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia (via Channex, depending on what you have enabled) plus WhatsApp via your connected provider. Direct bookings go through regular email — not through this inbox.

I reply, but my message doesn't arrive on Booking.com? The Booking.com chat requires a special "Messages app" on your Channex connection. BedFlow activates it by default when connecting. If you get an error when sending, contact support — we'll enable that app for your property.

Why did a conversation suddenly move to Closed? That's the nightly clean-up: the guest checked out more than 2 days ago and there was no more activity. The conversation remains readable under the Closed filter.

What does the red dot next to a conversation mean? That guest is waiting for a reply. The dot disappears as soon as you answer — or, for Booking.com, also via No reply needed.

Related

• Channex connection — how to sync Booking.com and Airbnb
• WhatsApp via TextMeFlow — connecting your WhatsApp number
• Communication Log — see all outgoing communication