Pre-arrival messages for guests
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- You run a hotel, guesthouse, serviced apartments or short-lets, and guests often ask the same arrival questions.
- Your reservations are in a Google Sheet or Excel file, or your front desk can type them into a short form.
- You want fewer "where are you?" calls on arrival day.
Where the data comes from
Section titled “Where the data comes from”| How | What |
|---|---|
| A Google Sheet or Excel file, synced | Your reservations sheet, synced every hour as People: guest phone, email, check-in date, check-out date and room or unit. |
| A form your staff fill in | Or the Reservation form this playbook creates, which the front desk or host fills in for each booking (matched by phone). |
What it sets up
Section titled “What it sets up”| Kind | Name | What it does | Lands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Front desk | Prepares the room the day before a guest arrives. | Empty |
| Form | New reservation | Staff form to record a reservation, matched to the guest by phone. Skip it if you sync a sheet. | Draft, not published |
| Segment | Arriving tomorrow | Check-in within the next day. | Ready |
| Segment | Arriving today | Check-in date that started in the last day (today). | Ready |
| Template | Arriving tomorrow (SMS) | Day-before SMS with directions, check-in time and the host's number. | Ready |
| Template | Arriving today (SMS) | Short arrival-day SMS. | Ready |
| Template | Arriving tomorrow (WhatsApp) | Day-before WhatsApp message (needs Meta approval). | Ready |
| Template | Arriving today (WhatsApp) | Arrival-day WhatsApp message (needs Meta approval). | Ready |
| Follow-up | Pre-arrival: the day before | Daily run over "arriving tomorrow": directions and check-in details, plus an optional room-prep task. | Off |
| Follow-up | Pre-arrival: the morning of check-in | Daily run over "arriving today": a short "we're ready for you". | Off |
The questions it asks
Section titled “The questions it asks”| # | Question | Default | Fills in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What should messages call your property? | none, must answer | org_name |
| 2 | When does check-in start? (as guests should read it) | none, must answer | checkin_time |
| 3 | Which number should guests call or message on arrival day? | ‹workspace phone› | host_phone |
| 4 | What link gives directions to the property? (a map link or a page with a short guide) | none, must answer | directions_url |
| 5 | Should these messages go by WhatsApp instead of SMS? Needs a connected WhatsApp Business number and Meta-approved templates. | No | use_whatsapp |
Other settings
Section titled “Other settings”These have defaults. Change any that don’t fit.
| Setting | Default | Key |
|---|---|---|
| Give the host a task to prepare the room the day before | No | prepare_task |
| Team that prepares rooms (when the task is on) | Front desk | host_team |
| Time of the day-before message | 10:00 | day_before_time |
| Time of the arrival-day message | 08:00 | arrival_time |
| Default phone country on the form | ‹workspace country› | default_country |
| Time zone for the daily runs | ‹workspace timezone› | timezone |
| Greeting when a first name is missing | there | greeting_fallback |
Timings
Section titled “Timings”- At 10:00 the day before check-in (the run is daily, in ‹workspace timezone›), each arriving guest gets directions, the check-in time and your number.
- At 08:00 on the day of check-in, a short "we're ready for you".
- If the preparation task is on, the host team gets it at the same time as the day-before message, due in 12 hours.
Channels
Section titled “Channels”| Channel | Needed for | Before it can send |
|---|---|---|
| sms | The day-before and arrival-day messages | An SMS provider, or Origamy managed SMS after business verification (KYC). |
| The same two messages, if you answer yes to WhatsApp | A connected WhatsApp Business number, and both templates approved by Meta. |
What you need to do
Section titled “What you need to do”- Keep the check-in date (a date like 2026-12-01), the check-out date and the room or unit on each guest, either as columns in your synced sheet named check_in_date, check_out_date and unit, or through the Reservation form. For a cancelled stay, clear the check-in date so the guest gets nothing.
- Publish the Reservation form and bookmark it on the front-desk phone or computer (skip this if you use a sheet).
- If you chose WhatsApp: connect your WhatsApp Business number and submit the two templates (pre_arrival_directions and pre_arrival_ready) for Meta approval before switching the follow-ups on.
- Add people to the Front desk team if you switch the room preparation task on. If you host alone, put yourself in it.
- Connect an SMS provider or finish business verification, switch the follow-ups on and test with your own phone and a reservation for tomorrow.
- Do not put door codes, Wi-Fi passwords or the exact room in any message. Share those when the guest arrives.
- Use a map link guests can open in one tap, and test it from outside the property. In cities where taxi drivers navigate by landmark, add a line to the link’s page such as “opposite the pharmacy, green gate”.
- Door codes, Wi-Fi passwords and the exact room stay out of messages: SMS and WhatsApp threads get forwarded and read over shoulders. Share them at check-in, or in a message from the host after the guest has arrived.
- If you take bookings on Airbnb or Booking.com, copy the guest’s phone number and dates into your sheet on the day you confirm the booking. Check that the platform’s rules allow you to message guests directly, and use the platform’s own chat for anything it requires.
- Short-let hosts with one unit can switch on the room preparation task and put themselves in the team: it becomes a reminder the day before to get the place ready.
This playbook is synthesized: no customer has run it with us yet. If you build it, tell us what you changed, and we’ll replace it with the real version.
Copilot eval
Section titled “Copilot eval”The request used to test the copilot on this playbook (a live eval):
We run a guesthouse. The day before a guest checks in, text them directions, our check-in time and our number, and on the morning of check-in send a short message that we're ready for them. The check-in date is in check_in_date on each guest. Don't put any Wi-Fi password or door code in the messages.
It passes when every piece is a valid draft and everything lands off, with at least: segment, workflow, message_template. It must never use: password, door code.