Message automations

A message automation (also called a rule) ties a template to a booking event so the right message goes out at the right moment, hands-off. You configure five things: a trigger, a delay, a channel, optional conditions, and the target properties.

Open the page

Automations → Message automations. The page offers two display modes:

• Timeline view (default) — your rules are grouped into three phases: Reservation (at booking creation), Check-in (around arrival), Check-out (around departure). Each card shows rule name, trigger, delay, channels, and active/inactive status.
• Table view — the same list as a paginated table.

The toggle at the top switches between the two views.

Create a rule

Button Create automation. The form asks for:

1. The trigger (event)

Five triggers available:

• Booking created — when a booking is recorded in ZenHost (regardless of channel).
• Booking status change — when a booking moves to a new status (cancelled, confirmed).
• Check-in time — relative to the stay's arrival time.
• Check-out time — relative to the stay's departure time.
• Manual schedule — used by ZenHost for the one-off sends you schedule by hand from a booking.

2. The delay

Three units: minutes, hours, days. Two types: before or after the trigger.

Examples:

• 1 day before Check-in time → sent 24 h before check-in.
• 2 hours after Check-out time → sent shortly after check-out.
• 0 minutes after Booking created → instant on creation.

Not all triggers allow both directions; ZenHost shows you which direction is valid for the chosen event.

3. The channel(s)

Three possible channels: Email, SMS, Platform (Airbnb / Booking.com via the original messaging thread). You can pick several — ZenHost selects the relevant one based on what's available for the guest.

4. Optional conditions

You can require one (or several) condition(s) on the booking state at the moment the send should fire:

• Booking payment successful
• Booking payment failed
• Deposit successful
• Deposit failed

If the condition isn't met when the trigger fires, the message is not sent (status Conditions not met).

5. Target properties

You can scope the rule to specific properties. Empty field = the rule applies to all properties in your workspace.

6. The template to use

Message template selector: pick from your existing templates (see the previous page).

7. Active / inactive

The Active toggle: an inactive rule is preserved but sends nothing. Useful to pause an automation without deleting it.

Edit or delete a rule

From the list, each rule's action menu offers Edit and Delete. Deletion is permanent; already-scheduled sends stemming from the rule can be cancelled from the Scheduled messages section.

Scheduled messages

Below the rules list, ZenHost surfaces scheduled messages: concrete instances of your rules computed for each upcoming booking. Possible statuses:

• Pending — computed, waiting for send time.
• Sent — already gone out.
• Failed — send didn't go through (unreachable channel, etc.).
• Cancelled — manually cancelled before send.
• Conditions not met — the rule's conditions weren't satisfied at send time.

For a Pending message, you can:

• Cancel — it won't fire.
• Edit — convert the instance into a one-off manual send to tweak subject, content, channel, or date before it goes out. ZenHost warns you that the change applies only to this instance; the rule itself stays unchanged.

Limits to know about

A few features are scaffolded but not yet active. Triggers and conditions related to signed contracts, guest arrival forms, ad-hoc online payments, and cleaning checklists are listed in the labels but not operational. If you need any of them, flag it to ZenHost support.