Urgent situations sometimes arise, requiring notification of all current guests. This message could inform guests about unplanned building maintenance, emergency storm notifications, or any changes that could affect multiple guests, even at a specific property. Using the Broadcast feature in the Inbox lets you quickly and easily notify current and near-future guests (up to 20 bookings per property) via channel or SMS (no email).
Since Broadcast messages are sent via channel and SMS messaging only, users without the SMS premium feature enabled can configure an email template and trigger to send emails manually for direct bookings by following the instructions in our Notify All Current Guests About an Urgent Situation Template and Trigger support article.
Select Bookings
To select which guests to send your Broadcast message to, navigate to the Inbox and click on the Broadcast button.
In the Select Booking to Message, you can filter bookings by the following.
- Range of Stay Dates
- Properties
- Travel Party Size
- Listing Channel
- Assigned Tags
- Booking Stages (e.g., Pre-arrival, Mid-stay, Post-departure)
- Status (e.g., Confirmed, Pending, Canceled)
Based on your selections in the Select Booking to Message pop-up, Matching Bookings are displayed, allowing you to select which bookings to send your Broadcast message to, and you can select all or only specific bookings. Click Select number of Bookings.
New Broadcast
After you select which bookings to send your broadcast to, the New Broadcast plain text message will appear directly in the Inbox, where you can add your message.
You can change the selected bookings by clicking the filter icon on the right side of the To field, and you can use field codes to customize your message by clicking the Insert Field Code icon at the bottom.
You can preview the Broadcast message before sending by clicking the Preview button next to Send. Preview individual Broadcast messages by using the Preview For dropdown list at the top or by clicking the numbered Next Booking at the bottom left.
When users verify that they want to send a Broadcast message, a pop-up appears that displays summary details about the listing channel messages and SMS messages. Click Send Broadcast.
After you click Send Broadcast, the Sending Broadcast Name of your Broadcast pop-up will confirm that your message has been sent.
After you click View Messages, you'll be taken back to the Inbox, where you'll be able to view all of the Broadcast messages sent. Individual filtered Broadcast messages will appear in the Inbox. Click the small X next to your Broadcast Name filter to clear it.
Or click the Filter icon, then click Clear All at the bottom to clear the filter.
SMS
If you have the OwnerRez SMS premium feature enabled, you can send a channel and an additional Broadcast message via SMS to direct bookings by checking the Send additional copy via SMS checkbox. If the guest is reachable only via SMS, a single Broadcast message will be sent to the same phone number only once.
When you click Send, the Send Broadcast pop-up window will appear with channel and SMS message details. Click Send Broadcast.