Step 5 - Set up the unified inbox and automate your messages

What is it for?

The unified inbox centralises all your conversations in one place: guests (Airbnb, Booking, direct), owners and service providers. No more juggling between several apps - you reply to everything from Biloki, with the property and booking context in front of you.

Where does it happen?

Go to the Messaging tab in the sidebar in Biloki. There you will find:

1. On the left - the list of all your conversations, filterable by role (Guest, Owner, Service provider, Manager)
2. In the centre - the current conversation thread
3. On the right (by clicking on the “i”) - the property context panel: WiFi, access code, next mission, current booking, message automations...

The 4 types of conversations:

Guests:

Guest conversations sync automatically with the OTAs (Airbnb, Booking...) and your direct bookings. The guest is always linked to their property and booking - you see at a glance their dates, number of people and practical information.

1. On Airbnb - you receive guest messages even before a booking is confirmed
2. On Booking.com - messages are only synced once a booking is confirmed

⚠️ You receive messages as soon as your properties are connected to Biloki. Messages sent before the connection are not retrieved - so allow some time before you only have up-to-date conversations. If you disconnect a property from a platform, you will no longer receive the messages associated with it.

Owners:

One thread per owner, ideal for sharing reports, purchase requests and approvals. The owner only sees their conversation with you - you are their single point of contact.

Service providers:

One thread per external service provider (cleaning, maintenance...). You can create a mission directly from the conversation if needed.

Managers:

A dedicated thread to exchange with your employees or partners - ideal for coordinating internally without mixing with other conversations.

Create an internal conversation with several people:

Click on Create a conversation, filter by role (Managers, Owners, Service providers), select the participants and give the discussion a name if needed. You can turn on Private discussion mode so that it is only visible to the participants.

How to create and automate your messages?

1. Create a template:

From Messaging, click on Templates, then on Add a template.

You can start from the templates proposed by Biloki:

1. Review request
2. Booking confirmation
3. Check-out
4. Guest guide

To create your own template, fill in:

1. An icon and a name
2. A category
3. The linked properties - by default all your properties, but you can restrict it to specific properties
4. The message content

💡 Linked properties - how it works: when you use a template in a conversation, Biloki automatically identifies the property linked to the booking and replaces the variables with that property’s information. A template linked to “all properties” therefore adapts automatically to each property.

The available variables:

In the content of your template, you can insert dynamic variables that fill in automatically when sent. Click on a variable in the list to insert it into your message.

Available variables: Property name, Country, City, WiFi password, Address, Guest email, WiFi name, Property description, Departure date, Number of adults, Check-in from, Check-in until, Property type, Capacity, Guest first name, Number of children, Arrival date, Guest guide link, Check-out before, Postal code, Guest phone, Guest name, Connected locks.

⚠️ If a variable does not match any data entered on the property or booking, it will appear as raw text in the message (e.g. instead of the real code). Check that all the information is complete in the property record before using your templates.

A TIP: The message templates you configure also serve for quick replies in your conversations. For example, if a guest asks you again for the guest guide link and you have a template configured and linked to the property, you just click in the conversation on the button with the message icon and select the message. If no template is available, you need to create one or link these templates to the properties.

Send the guest guide via messaging:

For each new booking, Biloki automatically generates a dedicated guest interface (the one you configured), personalised with the information of the property and of the booking concerned.

To send this guide to your guest, insert the variable “Guest guide link” into your template. Biloki will automatically send the link to the right interface, with the right booking and property information - without any action on your part.

This is the only way to share the guest guide with your guests from Biloki.

💡 Biloki already offers a ready-to-use “Guest guide” template that you can use as it is or customise. For the link to work properly, the property’s guest guide must be completed beforehand in each property record.

2. Set up automatic sending:

Automatic sending lets you link a template to a trigger, so that it goes out at the right time without any action on your part.

From Messaging, click on the gear icon (to the left of the + button) → Automatic sending → Add a rule → Automatic sending → Add a rule

To configure a rule:

1. Event - choose the trigger: Check-in, Check-out, Booking confirmed
2. Delay - define when to send the message relative to the event:
   1. Amount: the numeric value (e.g. 1, 2, 24...)
   2. Unit: Minutes / Hours / Days / Weeks
   3. When: Before / After
3. Message template - select the template to send
4. Linked properties - define the properties concerned by this rule
5. Click on Create the rule

Concrete example - send the guest guide the day before arrival:

⚠️ Last-minute booking: if a booking is created after the theoretical sending time (e.g. a rule “1 day before check-in” but the booking is made on the day of arrival), the message is not lost - it is sent immediately, as soon as the booking is created. As a result, if several rules are configured (guest guide, confirmation, etc.), all the relevant messages go out on the same day, one after the other.

⚠️ If you had automatic messages configured on Airbnb or Booking.com, remember to turn them off to prevent your guests from receiving the same messages twice.

FAQ :

What happens for a last-minute booking?

A: All messages related to the property are sent at the same time, as soon as the booking is made. The welcome message, the access instructions and the traveler guide are sent together, instead of being spread out according to the usual schedule.

Example: a traveler books on a Thursday at 6 p.m. for an arrival that same evening. They receive all the messages within a minute of booking.