Messaging Guide

Argonautas puts your guest and team conversations in one inbox. Whether a message arrives by WhatsApp, email, SMS, an OTA, or your website's live chat, it lands in the same place, where your team can reply, assign it, and track it.

Overview

Click Messages in the sidebar to open the inbox. It has three panes:

• Conversation list (left): search, status tabs, and filters.
• Message thread (center): the conversation, with the reply box at the bottom.
• Details (right): the stay, payment status, internal notes, and contact details.

The inbox updates live. New messages and status changes appear without a page refresh. If the connection drops, the inbox shows Reconnecting... until it is back.

On a phone, the inbox shows one pane at a time. Tap a conversation to open it, and use the back arrow to return to the list. The type, booking, and channel filters sit behind the Filters button.

Supported Channels

Channel	Description
WhatsApp	Two-way messaging with your connected WhatsApp Business number. See WhatsApp Setup.
SMS	Text messages through your connected SMS number.
Email	Inbound and outbound email on your connected email addresses.
Live Chat	Messages from visitors using the chat widget on your website.
Contact Form	Enquiries sent from your website's contact form.
Airbnb	Guest messages from Airbnb reservations and inquiries.
Booking.com	Guest messages from Booking.com reservations.

Each conversation shows its channel icon, so you can see at a glance how the guest is writing to you.

The channel cards in Settings > Messaging are grouped by status: Connected channels first, then Not connected, then the Coming soon channels (Facebook Messenger and Instagram). See Settings: Messaging.

Messages Mirrored From Beds24 or Hostfully

If your company imports its properties from Beds24 or Hostfully (see PMS Integrations), the guest and host messages for those bookings are copied into the inbox about every 15 minutes. Each thread is attached to its booking, labelled with the booking's channel (for example Airbnb), and titled with the guest's name. New guest messages show up as unread and move the thread to Needs Reply, like any other conversation.

These threads are a read-only copy. Argonautas never sends anything to the guest through your PMS, so reply from Beds24, Hostfully, or the OTA itself. A reply typed in the Argonautas reply box won't reach the guest. Argonautas also doesn't send automated guest messages for bookings imported from your PMS.

Finding Conversations

Open and Closed

The switch at the top of the list splits the inbox in two:

• Open has the tabs All, Needs Reply, Waiting, and Snoozed. Needs Reply is selected when you open the inbox.
• Closed has the tabs Resolved and Archived.

Status	Meaning
Needs Reply	The guest or contact wrote last and is waiting for you.
Waiting	You replied and are waiting for the guest.
Snoozed	Hidden until the snooze time, then it returns to Needs Reply.
Resolved	Closed. Still searchable, and you can reopen it.
Archived	Put away. Resolved conversations are archived automatically after 90 days.

The number on a tab is how many unread conversations it holds. See Inbox Folder Management for how conversations move between tabs.

Search and Filters

• Search finds conversations by name, email, phone, or property.
• All Types narrows the list to Guest, Staff, Owner, or Inquiry conversations.
• All bookings can be switched to Confirmed only, which keeps guests with an upcoming or current stay.
• All Channels narrows the list to one channel.

Filters combine with the active tab. For example, you can show only Needs Reply conversations on WhatsApp.

Each row shows the contact, the property, the conversation type, the time of the last message, the assignee, and any labels. Guests who are in the villa or about to arrive carry an In stay or Arriving badge. A live chat visitor who is on your website right now shows LIVE.

Pre-Booking Inquiries (Leads)

Sometimes someone messages you before making a reservation, through an OTA (such as Airbnb), your website's contact form, or the live chat widget. These threads are labelled Inquiry, so they stand out from threads tied to a confirmed booking. OTA inquiries show the property the traveler is asking about, even though no booking exists yet. Use All Types > Inquiry to see only people who haven't booked.

An inquiry is a lead, not a guest. A website or live chat inquiry does not create a guest record. The person's name and email are kept on the conversation, which keeps your Guests list to people who have actually booked. A guest record is created only when a booking is made. At that moment, earlier inquiry threads from the same email are linked to the new guest, so the history joins their guest profile. If the inquiry comes from a past guest whose email is on file, the thread links to that guest right away.

When an inquiry turns into a reservation, the thread changes from Inquiry to a regular Guest conversation automatically.

Airbnb inquiries, booking requests, and change requests show an Airbnb requests card at the top of the thread, with buttons such as Pre-approve, Special offer, Accept, and Decline and the time left to respond. To learn what each button does and who can use it, see Airbnb Requests. For change requests, see also OTA Modifications.

Working a Conversation

The thread header shows the contact, the status, the property, the booking code (click it to open the booking), and the channel. Its buttons are:

Button	What it does
Snooze (hourglass)	Hides the conversation for 1 hour, 4 hours, Tomorrow, 3 days, or 1 week.
Resolve	Closes the conversation and moves it to Resolved.
Reopen (circular arrow)	Shown on resolved and archived conversations. Moves it back to Needs Reply.
No reply needed	Booking.com threads only. Marks the message as handled with Booking.com so your response score isn't affected.
More (three dots)	Assign, Labels, Convert to task, and Archive.

• Assign sets who on your team owns the conversation. Their name shows on the row in the list.
• Labels adds colored labels to the conversation. You can create a new label from the same menu.
• Convert to task creates a task for the conversation's property, with a title, task type, priority, and description. It is offered only when the conversation has a property.
• Archive moves the conversation to Closed > Archived.

Status changes, assignments, label changes, and note edits appear as small lines in the thread, so you can see who did what and when.

The Message Thread

• Messages from the guest are on the left. Your team's messages are on the right.
• Each message you send shows its status: a clock while sending, one check when sent, two checks when delivered. The checks change color when the guest has read it. A warning icon means it failed, and the error appears under the message.
• Images, voice notes, and PDF files show in the thread.
• When a live chat visitor is typing, you see is typing... under the last message.

Replying

Type in the reply box at the bottom and press Enter or click Send. The reply goes out on the conversation's channel.

• Email conversations have a subject line, CC/BCC, and a formatting toolbar (bold, italic, underline, lists, links). The Send later button next to Send schedules the reply for In 2 hours, Tomorrow morning, or Monday morning. Send later is not available when the reply has CC or BCC.
• WhatsApp, SMS, and live chat conversations have Attach file for images, audio, and PDF files.
• WhatsApp and SMS conversations have Record voice note (microphone). Your browser asks for microphone access the first time.
• If a guest has opted out of SMS, the conversation shows SMS opted out — messages may not be delivered.

To insert wording you have saved, click Saved replies (bookmark icon), or type / in a WhatsApp, SMS, or chat reply. Type /property to send a property card instead. See Saved Replies in the Inbox.

The Details Panel

The Details panel on the right shows:

• Stay: check-in, check-out, guests, and where the guest is in the stay (for example Arrives in 5 days or Departed Sep 20). The booking code links to the booking.
• Payment status, for example Unpaid.
• Internal Notes: a private note on the conversation. Notes are only visible to your team.
• Contact: email and phone (click to copy), conversation type, guest, property, and Assigned To.
• Visitor Info for live chat: the page the visitor is on and their page history, with a Claim button to take the chat.

Close the panel with the X. Click Show details (info icon) in the thread header to bring it back.

Composing a New Message

1. Click New message (pen icon) at the top of the conversation list.
2. Choose the channel: Email, WhatsApp, or SMS.
3. In To, search your contacts by name, email, or phone, or type a new email address or phone number.
4. For email, add a Subject. Click CC/BCC to copy someone.
5. If you like, pick a Property.
6. Write the message and click Send Message. Click Save Draft to finish it later.

The new conversation appears in the list right after sending. On WhatsApp, a new conversation is subject to the 24-hour window.

You can also email a guest from a booking with Email Guest, which has CC and BCC too. See Emailing a Guest From a Booking.

Sending Replies From Your Own Mailbox

By default, guest email replies go out through your company's email channel. You can instead send the replies you type in the inbox from your own Google (Gmail or Workspace) mailbox, so they carry your name and land in your own Sent folder.

1. Open your avatar menu (top right) and choose Profile.
2. On the Profile tab of Account Settings, find the Send guest replies from your inbox card.
3. Connect your Google account.

This is a personal setting. Each team member connects their own mailbox and can disconnect it at any time. Automated emails (booking confirmations, payment receipts, lifecycle emails) still go through your company email channel. See Managing Your Own Account.

Notifications and Muting

• When a message arrives in a conversation you are not viewing, the browser tab title shows that you have unread messages.
• Click the speaker button next to New message to mute alerts for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 4 hours. Click it again and choose Unmute to turn them back on early.

Desktop notifications depend on your browser's notification settings.

Saved Replies and Templates

For common answers (check-in instructions, Wi-Fi details, checkout reminders), use Saved replies: click the bookmark button in the reply box, or type / in a WhatsApp, SMS, or chat reply, and pick one. Variables such as the guest's name fill in from the booking. Saved replies are managed in Settings > Messaging under Saved Replies. See Saved Replies in the Inbox.

Templates (in the sidebar) are email templates: the automatic lifecycle emails (booking confirmation, pre-arrival, post-checkout, and so on) and custom emails you send from a booking. They are not used in inbox replies. Its Sent tab lists every automated email that went out or was held back. See Message Templates and Lifecycle Templates.

Key Concepts

• Conversation: a thread of messages with one contact. It has a status, an optional assignee, labels, and an optional linked booking.
• Primary channel: the channel a conversation uses (for example WhatsApp). Replies go out on this channel.
• Needs Reply: the status a conversation gets when a new message arrives. This is the tab to watch.
• Resolve: closing a conversation. A new message from the guest brings it back to Needs Reply.
• Archive: putting a conversation away under Closed > Archived.

Common Questions

Can I reply to an Airbnb guest on WhatsApp? Only if you have the guest's phone number and they have opted in to WhatsApp. OTA conversations stay on the OTA's own messaging.

What happens if I resolve a conversation and the guest writes again? The conversation moves back to Needs Reply.

Can several team members reply to the same conversation? Yes. All replies appear in the same thread with the sender's name. Use Assign to make clear who is responsible.

Do typing indicators work on all channels? No, only on live chat. WhatsApp, email, and SMS don't send typing status.

How do I connect a new messaging channel? Go to Settings > Messaging to connect SMS, email, and live chat. WhatsApp, Airbnb, and Booking.com messaging are set up by the Argonautas team.

Why did my reply to a Beds24 or Hostfully guest fail? Threads copied from your PMS are read-only. Argonautas can't deliver replies through Beds24 or Hostfully, so answer the guest in your PMS or on the OTA. Replies you send from your PMS are copied into this thread too, so the history stays complete.

Related

• Inbox Folder Management: how conversations move between the Open and Closed tabs.
• Message Templates: saved replies, custom email templates, and internal CC copies.
• Lifecycle Message Templates: the automated emails and the Sent log.
• Settings: Messaging: connecting SMS, email, and live chat, and managing saved replies.
• WhatsApp Setup: how WhatsApp is connected and the 24-hour window.
• Airbnb Requests: answering Airbnb inquiries, booking requests, and change requests from the inbox.
• PMS Integrations: importing properties, bookings, and messages from Beds24 or Hostfully.
• Booking Lifecycle: the bookings that conversations link to.