Lifecycle Message Templates
Lifecycle templates are the automated emails Argonautas sends at key points in a booking: the confirmation, payment reminders and receipts, pre-arrival and check-in instructions, the check-out reminder, the review request, and notices to owners. You don't create them from scratch. Every template already exists with default wording, and you edit the words, the timing, and whether it's switched on.
Lifecycle Templates Are Email Only
Every lifecycle template is an email. There is no channel setting, and lifecycle templates are never sent by WhatsApp or SMS.
- Guest templates go to the guest's email address on the booking. Owner templates go to the owner.
- Automated guest emails are only sent when your company has a connected email channel (see Settings).
- Automated guest emails aren't sent for bookings mirrored from another property management system you've imported from. That system handles those guests.
To reply to guests on WhatsApp or SMS with wording you've saved in advance, use saved replies in the inbox. See Saved Replies in the Inbox.
Finding Your Lifecycle Templates
Click Templates in the sidebar to open Communication Templates, then stay on the Lifecycle tab. Templates are grouped by stage of the booking journey: Inquiry, Booking, Pre-Arrival, In-Stay, Post-Stay, and Owner.
Each row shows the template name, when it sends, and whether it is Active or Inactive. Use the filter (All, Active only, Inactive only) and the search box to narrow the list, and click Edit to open a template.
When Each Template Sends
| Template | When it sends |
|---|---|
| Inquiry Acknowledgement | When a guest sends an inquiry, for example from your website. |
| Booking Confirmation | When a booking is created. For bookings made on your booking website, once the first payment goes through. |
| Partner Confirmation (Full Portal), Partner Confirmation (Payments Portal), Partner Confirmation (Full Handoff) | In place of Booking Confirmation for partner bookings, depending on how the partner works with you. |
| Payment Due Reminder | 2 days before a balance payment is due, when the guest has a saved card. |
| Bank Transfer Payment Reminder | 2 days before a balance payment is due, when the guest has no saved card. |
| Payment Received | When a payment is recorded against the booking. |
| Invoice Sent | When you send a concierge invoice. |
| Payment Link | When you send a payment link by email. |
| Security Deposit Notice | A set number of days before arrival (default: 2) when a security deposit is pending. Skipped if Pre-Arrival Instructions has already gone out, since that email covers the deposit. |
| Security Deposit Hold Placed | When a security deposit hold is placed on the guest's card. |
| Security Deposit Released | When a security deposit hold is released. |
| Security Deposit Claimed | When you collect part or all of a security deposit, with the amount and your reason. |
| Pre-Arrival Instructions | Before check-in (default: 7 days before). |
| Arrival Form Request | Before check-in (default: 5 days before). |
| Check-In Instructions | Before check-in (default: 3 days before). |
| Welcome Message | On the check-in day, from 8 AM your company's local time. |
| Mid-Stay Check-In | Halfway through stays of 2 nights or more, from 10 AM. |
| Check-Out Reminder | Before check-out (default: 1 day before), from 8 PM. |
| Review Request | After check-out (default: 1 day after), from 10 AM. |
| Guest Cancellation Notice | When a booking is cancelled. |
| Owner Booking Notification | To each owner with an email address, when a booking at their property is announced to the guest. |
| Owner Cancellation Notification | To each owner with an email address, when a booking at their property is cancelled. |
A few templates on the list (Quote Sent, Quote Follow-Up, Property Unavailable, Rental Agreement Request, Deposit Return, and Owner Statement Notification) can be edited, but aren't sent automatically at the moment.
Pre-arrival, check-in, mid-stay, check-out, and review emails aren't sent for cancelled or no-show bookings. A template marked Inactive is never sent automatically.
To stop a specific email only for bookings from one source (for example, skipping your confirmation on bookings a channel already confirms), use Automated Messages by Source instead of switching the template off.
Editing a Template
Each template is made of sections, for example a subject line, greeting, stay summary, next steps, and footer. The system decides which sections a template has and in what order. You write the words in each one.
- Open Templates, stay on the Lifecycle tab, and click Edit on the template.
- Edit the text in each section. Each section has a formatting toolbar (bold, italic, underline, bulleted and numbered lists, links). Sections marked Required are always included. An optional section that ends up empty is left out of the email.
- To add booking data, click Insert variable on a section and pick a variable, or click a variable in the Variables panel to copy it.
- Changed a section and want the original wording back? Click Reset to default.
- Use the switch at the top to make the template Active or Inactive.
- Click Save.
If you leave with unsaved changes, Argonautas asks you to confirm first.
Source Overrides
Some sections have a different version for bookings from a particular source (for example, Airbnb or Booking.com). These are listed under the section as Source Overrides, and you can remove one with its delete button. When an override is removed, bookings from that source get your normal section text.
Variables
Variables are written in double curly braces, for example {{ guest_first_name }}, and are filled in with real data when the email is sent. Each template has its own set of variables, shown in its Variables panel. Commonly available ones include:
| Variable | What it inserts |
|---|---|
{{ guest_first_name }} | Guest's first name |
{{ guest_last_name }} | Guest's last name |
{{ property_name }} | Property name |
{{ property_address }} | Property address |
{{ check_in_date }} | Check-in date |
{{ check_out_date }} | Check-out date |
{{ total_nights }} | Number of nights |
{{ booking_reference }} | Booking reference |
{{ guests_summary }} | Summary of the guest count |
{{ guest_portal_url }} | Link to the guest portal |
{{ company_name }} | Your company name |
{{ company_phone }} | Your company phone |
Arrival-related templates also offer details such as {{ check_in_time }}, {{ wifi_name }}, {{ wifi_password }}, {{ door_code }}, and {{ parking_info }}, taken from the property.
A variable that has no value for a booking (for example, a door code the property doesn't have) is left blank in the email. Only use variables from the template's own Variables panel. Others are left blank too.
Timing
The Timing panel shows when the template sends and has a Send offset (hours) field: a negative number sends before the event, a positive number after it. The default is shown under the field.
The offset changes the timing of Pre-Arrival Instructions, Arrival Form Request, Check-In Instructions, Check-Out Reminder, and Review Request. For these, it's counted in whole days and the email goes out on that day, so enter multiples of 24 (for example, -72 for three days before check-in). The other templates send when their event happens, as listed in the table above.
Previewing a Template
The Preview panel shows the assembled email (subject and body) filled in with sample data. Choose a booking source under Preview as to see the version for bookings from that source, then click Preview.
Sending a Lifecycle Template by Hand
When you email a guest from a booking with Email Guest, the template picker includes your active guest lifecycle templates under Lifecycle, filled in with that booking's data. See Emailing a Guest From a Booking.
Checking What Was Sent
The Sent tab lists what the automations actually did, newest first. It replaces the old Messages log: links to that page now open this tab.
- Guest & owner emails shows every lifecycle email that went out, and every one that was suppressed (by an automated message source rule or the guest's own notification preferences) with the reason. Filter by All, Sent or Suppressed, pick one template, or search by booking code or subject. Click a row to open the booking; its communications card shows the full email.
- Staff notifications shows the task emails and WhatsApp messages sent to your staff (task assigned, cancelled, rescheduled, and reminders). Filter by channel, or search by name, email or subject. Choose Failed to see only the ones that did not go out, and click a row for the full message and the error.
Each list shows 25 rows per page, with page controls under the table.
Key Concepts
- Lifecycle template: An automated email tied to a booking event. It already exists; you edit its wording, timing, and on/off switch.
- Section: One part of a template's email, such as the greeting or the footer.
- Send offset: How many hours before (negative) or after (positive) the event the email goes out.
- Source override: A section's alternative text for bookings from one source.
Common Questions
Can a lifecycle template be sent by WhatsApp or SMS? No. Lifecycle templates are email only. For WhatsApp or SMS, reply from the inbox. Saved replies let you reuse wording there.
Can I create a new lifecycle template or delete one? No. The list of lifecycle templates is fixed. You can edit any of them and switch any of them off. For your own reusable emails, create a custom template on the Custom tab (see Message Templates).
Do lifecycle templates send for OTA bookings? Yes, as long as the guest has an email address and the email isn't switched off for that source under Automated Messages by Source.
How do I pause a template during low season? Open it, switch it to Inactive, and click Save. Switch it back to Active when you're ready.
Related
- Message Templates: Custom email templates, the Email Guest picker, saved replies, and internal CC copies.
- Automated Messages by Source: Turning specific automated emails off for bookings from one source.
- WhatsApp Setup: How WhatsApp messaging works, including Meta-approved templates.
- Booking Lifecycle: The booking events that trigger lifecycle templates.