How to Use the Inbox to Communicate with Guests

What Is the Inbox?

The inbox is your unified messaging hub — every guest conversation from every connected channel (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Airbnb, Booking.com, and direct messages) lands here. Instead of switching between apps, you can read, reply, and manage all guest communication from a single screen.

Think of it like a shared email inbox, but designed specifically for guest conversations with built-in AI assistance.

How to Open the Inbox

Click Messages in the sidebar.

You’ll see the inbox with three main areas:

Left panel — your conversation list with filter buttons and search
Center panel — the active conversation thread
Right panel — a context panel with Guest, Quotations, and Bookings tabs

When no conversation is selected, you’ll see an Overview panel showing stats: Unread, Awaiting, Open, and Resolved counts, plus Recent activity and Quick tips.

Filtering Conversations

Use the filter buttons above the conversation list to narrow what’s shown:

All — every conversation
Unread — conversations with unread messages
Resolved — conversations you’ve marked as resolved
Starred — conversations you’ve starred for quick access

You can also filter by Status and Tags using the sidebar filter sections.

How to Reply to a Guest

Click on a conversation in the list to open it.
Type your message in the compose bar at the bottom (where it says “Type a message…”).
Click Send.

Your reply is sent through whichever channel the guest originally used — if they messaged you on WhatsApp, your reply goes back to WhatsApp.

💡 Tip: Click the Compose button at the top to start a new conversation with a guest.

How to Use AI-Assisted Responses

SympleHost can suggest replies based on the conversation context and your listing details. This is especially helpful for common questions like check-in instructions or property details.

Open a conversation.
Click the sparkles icon (✨) in the compose bar to request an AI suggestion.
A Suggested Reply card appears with the AI-generated response. You have four options:
- Edit — modify the suggestion before sending
- Preview — see how the message will look
- Send Now — send the suggestion as-is
- Dismiss — discard the suggestion

If a suggestion requires your input before it can be sent, you’ll see a “Needs Human Action” label.

💡 Tip: You can also configure Autopilot at the account level under Settings → Autopilot to set up auto-responses for common message categories like booking inquiries, check-in instructions, and local recommendations.

Autopilot Modes

Each conversation has an Autopilot toggle in the header. You can set it to:

Off — no AI involvement, you handle everything manually
On — AI sends responses automatically based on your configured message categories
Default — uses your account-level Autopilot setting

How to Use Auto-Translate

If you host international guests, the auto-translate feature helps bridge the language gap.

Open a conversation.
Click the languages icon in the compose bar to toggle Auto-translate on.

When enabled, you’ll see “Auto-translating to guest language” below the compose bar. Your replies are translated to the guest’s language before sending.

For individual messages, you can also click Translate on any message bubble to see a translation. Click “Show original” to switch back. Translated messages show a note: “Translated from [language]”.

How to Assign a Conversation

If you work with a team (co-hosts, property managers, cleaners), you can assign conversations to specific people.

Open the conversation.
Use the assignment area to pick a team member. You can search by name using the “Search team members…” field.
To quickly take ownership yourself, click Assign to me.
To remove the assignment, click Unassign.

The assigned team member will see the conversation in their inbox and can take over the communication. Unassigned conversations show as “Unassigned”.

How to Resolve a Conversation

When a guest’s question has been answered or their issue is resolved:

Open the conversation.
Click the Resolve button (labeled “Mark as resolved”).

The button changes to “Resolved”. To reopen a resolved conversation, click it again — the label changes to “Reopen conversation”.

You can also click Mark done in the compose bar to close a conversation.

The Guest Context Panel

When viewing a conversation, the right panel shows guest context with three tabs:

Guest Tab

Guest name, email, phone, and location
“Guest since [year]” indicator
Lifetime Value and Total Bookings metrics
Tags section (click ”+ Add Tag” to organize guests)
Guest Notes section for internal notes
AI Summary — click Generate Summary to get an AI-generated overview of the guest, or Regenerate summary to refresh it

Bookings Tab

Shows the guest’s current and past bookings with check-in/check-out dates, nights, and status
“Currently Staying” card appears when a guest is actively checked in, with alerts like “Guest checking out today” or “Guest checking out tomorrow”

Quotations Tab

Shows any quotes associated with this guest

Searching Conversations

Use the search bar at the top of the conversation list (“Search conversations…”) to find specific conversations by guest name, message content, or listing name.

Troubleshooting

I’m not seeing new messages

Check that your messaging channels (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook) are connected under Settings → Integrations. If a channel is disconnected, messages from that platform won’t appear in the inbox.

AI suggestions aren’t appearing

Make sure Autopilot is enabled at the account level (Settings → Autopilot). Also check that the conversation’s Autopilot toggle is set to On or Default, not Off.

A conversation reopened after I resolved it

This happens when the guest sends a new message. SympleHost automatically reopens the conversation so you don’t miss their follow-up.

Auto-translate isn’t working

Auto-translate requires the conversation to have messages in a detectable language. Very short messages (one or two words) may not trigger translation. If translation fails, SympleHost sends the original message instead.

Connecting WhatsApp, Instagram & Facebook Messenger
How to Manage Bookings & Your Calendar
How to Add Team Members & Assign Roles
Adding a Listing Manually