Sending a message

The input area at the bottom of a conversation is your composer. A few features to know to get the most out of the screen.

Pick the outbound channel

Before you type, pick the channel under Send via:. The options shown depend on the booking's context:

• {Platform} messaging — to reply through Airbnb or Booking.com on the original thread.
• Email — if the guest has an email address. A Subject field appears, pre-filled (e.g. [IMPORTANT] John Smith – Message about your booking #1234). It's editable. If the conversation already contains emails, the subject is prefixed with Re:.
• SMS — if the guest has a phone number.
• WhatsApp — always available. Note: clicking it opens wa.me in a new tab and the message goes through your usual WhatsApp app. It is not archived in the ZenHost thread.

Insert shortcodes

Type {{ in the subject or body to insert a shortcode (e.g. {{guest_name}}, {{booking_arrival_date}}, {{property_title}}). On send, ZenHost replaces the shortcode with the value matching the booking, guest, or property in context.

The full list of shortcodes is managed from Automations → Shortcodes (see the Shortcodes page).

Preview the rendering

Before sending, click the eye icon to open the Message preview. ZenHost renders the shortcodes in subject and body with real values. You see exactly what the guest will receive.

Apply a template

The template icon opens the list of your message templates (managed from Automations → Templates). On selection:

• The subject (for email) and the body are injected into the composer.
• Content matches the guest's preferred language if it exists for that template, otherwise English, otherwise the first available language.
• You can then edit freely before sending.

AI assistance

The lightning / sparkle icon opens the AI assistance menu:

• Empty composer — one option: Generate response, which drafts a reply from the conversation's context.
• Composer with content — six options: Improve, Fix grammar, Make friendlier, Make shorter, Make longer, Translate to… (language picker), Custom prompt (you describe what you want).

Text is generated as a stream; you can stop generation at any time. A daily usage limit applies — when reached, ZenHost shows "AI usage limit reached. Please try again in 24 hours."

The AI assistance only appears if your role / plan grants access to it.

Translate an incoming message

On any received message bubble, the translate icon opens a language dialog (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, plus all others in a dropdown). On selection, the translation appears in a blue box below the original message. You see both versions side by side to reply in the right language.

If the guest has a saved language preference, that's the language proposed by default.

Send

The Send button confirms the message. ZenHost adds it to the conversation immediately (optimistic display), then confirms through the chosen channel in the background. A "Message sent successfully!" notification confirms. On failure, the message disappears from the conversation and the content is restored to the input box so you don't have to retype.