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 a trigger, a delay, one or more delivery channels, optional conditions, the target properties, the booking sales channels, and the template.

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, delivery channels, booking sales 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)

Four triggers available:

• Booking created — when a booking is recorded in ZenHost and matches the rule's target properties and booking sales channels.
• 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.

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 delivery channel(s)

Three channels: Email, SMS, Platform (Airbnb, Booking.com or Expedia, depending on the available connection and thread). Selecting several channels can produce several deliveries: SMS + platform, or SMS + email. For a platform booking with Platform selected, email is skipped; SMS remains independent. Check the required contact details and the result of each delivery.

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. Target booking sales channels

Choose All Sales Channels to cover every booking origin, or Specific Sales Channels to limit the rule to origins such as Manual Direct, Direct Website, Airbnb, or Booking.com. This controls where the booking came from, independently of the delivery channels used to send the message.

7. The template to use

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

8. 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

Use Edit or Delete from the list. Deleting a rule removes its linked scheduled messages and their planned deliveries. Deletion may be refused while delivery has already started. Disable the rule to retain its configuration.

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.

Scope, recalculation and one-off messages

The booking channel is the stay's source; the delivery channel is how the message is sent. A specific list of booking channels stays unchanged when you connect a new channel. All also covers newly connected channels.

Rule or booking changes can recalculate future pending deliveries. They do not systematically replay past events. For some late bookings or date changes, an arrival/departure message whose due time has passed can be caught up while the stay has not ended. Check scheduled messages after a significant change.

Manual scheduling creates a one-off message from a booking; it is not a fifth trigger in this form. Editing a pending instance detaches it from its rule: subsequent rule changes no longer control that instance.

Template photos are resolved at send time and restricted to compatible platform channels. See Templates and Photo sets.