The inbox

The Messages menu brings together stay conversations through compatible platform messaging, email and SMS. WhatsApp is an external shortcut: its exchanges are not archived in ZenHost.

The three-column layout

• Left: the conversations list. Each row corresponds to a booking: guest, property, last message, date, status. On mobile, this column takes the full width and folds away when you open a conversation.
• Center: the active conversation. Messages are shown as bubbles, oldest to newest. The reply box is at the bottom (see Sending a message).
• Right: a contextual panel about the current booking — access codes, guest info, dates, amount, scheduled messages. It only appears when a conversation is selected.

Filter and search

At the top of the left column:

• All / Unread — toggles between every conversation and the ones still open.
• Property filter — combobox to limit conversations to one listing.
• Search — searches inside conversations (guest name, message content, etc.).
• Pagination — 20 conversations per page by default.

On each listed conversation, two quick actions: Mark as read or Mark as unread. A conversation marked as read does not disappear — you find it again under All.

Aggregated channels

When a guest writes to you, ZenHost groups the thread under a single conversation, regardless of channel. When you reply, you can pick the outbound channel:

• Platform messaging (Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia) — depending on the booking source, connection and thread availability.
• Email — available if the guest has an email address.
• SMS — available if the guest has a phone number.
• WhatsApp — always available as a fallback; opens wa.me in a new tab and the message goes through your own WhatsApp app (so it's not archived in the ZenHost thread).

ZenHost picks the most relevant channel by default — usually the booking's source channel — but you can override per message.

The right-side panel (booking)

When you open a conversation, the right-side context panel surfaces operational info without having to leave the inbox:

• Access codes for the stay (if smart locks or manual codes are configured).
• Guest details (name, contact info).
• Dates and property.
• Scheduled messages tied to this booking, if any (sent by automations — see the Automations pillar). Roles allowed to manage team notifications also see them here, marked Team, read-only, with the delivery result for each recipient.
• Direct link to the booking page to go further (edit dates, see payments, start a cancellation).

Permissions and access

Inbox access is gated by your role. You need read permission on messages, bookings, and properties to open the screen. Composing a message requires write permission on messages.

If your role lacks them, the screen shows a "No access" message instead of the inbox. To get permissions, work with the primary owner from Members → Manage Custom Roles.

What the inbox does NOT do (today)

• No assignment of a conversation to a teammate.
• No archive (beyond the open / closed status).
• Photos are available through compatible platform messaging (up to 5, 10 MiB each, JPEG/PNG/WebP). Arbitrary documents and email/SMS photo delivery are not supported. See Send a message.
• No bulk actions (selecting multiple conversations and marking/closing in batch).

If any of these flows is critical to your operation, flag it to ZenHost support — it's a useful signal for the roadmap.