Inbox Folder Management
A busy property management operation can generate dozens of guest conversations per day across WhatsApp, email, SMS, and your website chat widget. Argonautas organizes these conversations into folders so your team always knows where to look and what needs attention.
How the Inbox Organizes Conversations
Every conversation in the inbox has a status that determines which folder it appears in. When a guest sends a new message, the conversation moves to the appropriate folder automatically. Your team can also move conversations manually by changing their status.
The folder list appears in the left sidebar of the inbox. Each folder displays a count badge showing how many conversations it contains. Unread counts are highlighted so you can spot new activity at a glance.
Default Folders
Argonautas ships with four built-in folders that cover the core workflow for most teams:
| Folder | What It Contains | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| All | Every conversation regardless of status. | Quick overview or when searching across the entire inbox. |
| Needs Reply | Conversations where the guest sent the last message and is waiting for a response. | This is your primary working folder -- check it first. |
| Waiting | Conversations where your team sent the last message and you are waiting for the guest to respond. | Monitor for overdue responses or follow-up on stale conversations. |
| Resolved | Conversations that have been marked as complete. | Reference past conversations or reopen them if a guest reaches out again. |
The Needs Reply folder is the most important. When you open the inbox each morning, start here. Every conversation in this folder represents a guest who is actively waiting for your response.
How Conversations Move Between Default Folders
Conversations move between folders based on message activity:
- A guest sends a message -- the conversation moves to Needs Reply.
- A team member replies -- the conversation moves to Waiting.
- A team member resolves the conversation -- it moves to Resolved.
- A guest sends a new message to a resolved conversation -- it automatically reopens and returns to Needs Reply.
This cycle repeats for the life of the conversation. You do not need to move conversations manually in most cases -- the system tracks message flow and updates the status for you.
Starred Conversations
You can star important conversations to keep them easy to find. Click the star icon next to any conversation in the list. Starred conversations are marked with a visible indicator across all folders, and you can filter the conversation list to show only starred items.
Use stars for conversations that need special attention -- VIP guests, unresolved issues, or bookings with complex requests. Stars are personal to your user account and do not affect what other team members see.
Snoozed Conversations
Sometimes a conversation does not need attention right now but will later. Instead of leaving it in your active folders (where it adds noise), snooze it:
- Open the conversation thread.
- Click the snooze action in the thread header.
- Choose when you want the conversation to reappear: later today, tomorrow morning, next week, or a custom date and time.
- The conversation disappears from your active folders.
When the snooze timer expires, the conversation returns to the inbox with a visual indicator showing it was snoozed. If the guest sends a new message before the snooze expires, the conversation immediately unsnoozes and moves to Needs Reply.
Snoozing is useful for:
- Pre-arrival questions from guests whose check-in is weeks away.
- Conversations waiting on a third party (vendor, maintenance team) before you can respond.
- Follow-up reminders -- snooze until the day you want to check back in.
Archived Conversations
Archiving removes a conversation from the active inbox without resolving it. Archived conversations do not appear in any default folder unless you explicitly open the archive. This is different from resolving, which keeps the conversation visible in the Resolved folder.
To archive a conversation, use the archive action in the thread header or the conversation list context menu. To view archived conversations, select the Archived filter in the folder sidebar.
Archived conversations automatically unarchive if a new inbound message arrives.
Folder-Based Workflows for Teams
Folders become especially powerful when your team establishes a shared workflow. Here are patterns that work well for vacation rental operations:
The Morning Triage Routine
- Open the Needs Reply folder.
- Work through each conversation from top to bottom.
- Reply to straightforward questions immediately.
- Star conversations that need investigation or a colleague's input.
- Snooze conversations that are not actionable today.
By the end of triage, Needs Reply should be at zero (or close to it). Throughout the day, monitor the badge count on this folder for new arrivals.
Assignment-Based Routing
If your team has multiple roles (reservations, concierge, maintenance), use conversation assignment with folders:
- A reservations manager handles the inbox during business hours.
- When a conversation requires concierge action, they assign it to the concierge team member and add a note.
- The concierge team member filters the inbox to show conversations assigned to them.
- Once the concierge handles the request, they reassign or resolve the conversation.
Combining assignments with the Needs Reply folder ensures nothing falls through the cracks -- every conversation has an owner and a clear status.
End-of-Day Review
Before signing off:
- Check Needs Reply for any conversations that arrived late in the day. Reply if possible, or snooze until tomorrow morning.
- Review Waiting for conversations that have been waiting more than 24 hours. Consider sending a follow-up.
- Resolve any conversations that are genuinely complete.
Searching Within Folders
The search bar at the top of the conversation list searches across participant names, phone numbers, email addresses, and message content. Search results respect the currently selected folder, so you can narrow your results:
- Search in All to find any conversation in the entire inbox.
- Search in Needs Reply to find a specific unanswered conversation.
- Search in Resolved to look up past conversations by guest name or topic.
Search Tips
- Search by guest name to find all conversations with a specific person.
- Search by property name to find conversations mentioning a particular villa.
- Search by phone number (with or without country code) to find conversations on a specific line.
- Search by booking code to find conversations linked to a reservation.
Search results update in real time as you type. Clear the search field to return to the full folder view.
Combining Folders with Filters
Folders can be combined with the channel and conversation type filters for precise results:
| Scenario | Folder | Filter |
|---|---|---|
| Unanswered WhatsApp messages | Needs Reply | Channel: WhatsApp |
| All resolved email conversations | Resolved | Channel: Email |
| Guest conversations waiting for response | Waiting | Type: Guest |
| Starred items needing follow-up | All (starred filter) | -- |
This layered filtering lets each team member build a view tailored to their responsibilities without affecting anyone else's inbox.
Key Concepts
- Status -- Every conversation has a status (Needs Reply, Waiting, Snoozed, Resolved) that determines its folder placement.
- Star -- A personal bookmark on a conversation. Visible only to you. Does not change the conversation's status or folder.
- Snooze -- Temporarily hides a conversation until a specified time. Useful for deferring non-urgent items.
- Archive -- Removes a conversation from the active inbox entirely. Unarchives automatically on new inbound messages.
- Badge count -- The number displayed on each folder showing how many conversations it contains. Unread counts appear in bold.
Common Questions
Do all team members see the same folders? Yes. The default folders (All, Needs Reply, Waiting, Resolved) are shared across your team. Each team member sees the same conversations in the same folders. Stars, however, are personal.
What happens if two team members reply to the same conversation? Both replies appear in the thread with the sender's name displayed. The conversation moves to Waiting after the first reply. Use the assignment feature to coordinate who is responsible.
Can I create rules to auto-assign conversations to folders? Conversations are automatically placed in folders based on their status, which updates with message activity. For routing conversations to specific team members, use the assignment feature in combination with the existing folders.
How do I handle conversations that span multiple topics? Keep the conversation in a single thread. Use internal notes (visible only to your team) to flag topic changes. If a guest raises a truly separate issue, you can start a new conversation from the compose view.
Related
- Messaging Guide -- Full inbox overview including the three-pane layout and channel support.
- Message Templates -- Save time with reusable templates inserted directly into conversations.
- Guest Communication Guide -- Best practices for messaging guests across all channels.