Messages

Easily communicate with your guests before, during, and after their stay.

Best for:

All properties

Used for:

Consistent communication with guests

Benefits:

Increase guest satisfaction, exceed expectations

Overview

An exceptional guest experience requires proactive and clear guest communication. Provide the personalized experience today’s travelers expect by communicating directly with your guests through our Messages tool.

Messages helps you be your best from the start by:

  • Reducing the risk of mismatched expectations and disappointed guests
  • Increasing opportunities to delight guests
  • Fostering repeat business and a positive online reputation

Already a partner?

Sign in to access Messages in Guest relations

How it works

Once a booking is made, either party can start a conversation in Messages, and both will be alerted when new messages arrive.

With Messages, you can:

  • Create standard messages and templates to reuse
  • Add multiple attachments, including images, to share important details about your property
  • Schedule messages at specific times (at booking, after check-in, before checkout)
  • Filter and flag messages by status (unread/unanswered) and stay dates to ensure guests receive timely responses
  • Handle and track cancellation waiver requests

Already a partner?

Sign in to access Messages in Guest relations

 

87% of guests said it would be helpful to receive information from their hotel prior to check-in.

 

Expedia Group, What Travelers Want in 2021

 

Partners that respond to special guest requests via Messages show a 17% reduction in cancellations, compared to those who do not respond.

 

Expedia Group, 2019

How to get the most from Messages

From making a great first impression to following through on requests, Messages helps you build relationships with your guests.

With Messages, you'll be able to:

  • Answer questions and resolve issues
  • Welcome guests when they book, give instructions, and share local recommendations
  • Confirm requests, on-property reservations, and travel arrangements
  • Request information to streamline check-in and personalize stays
  • Suggest additional services and amenities guests can pre-book
  • Request reviews after checkout

“Partner Central scheduled messages have ensured we don’t miss a single opportunity to improve our guests' travel and stay experiences. [It] allows our guests to receive one comprehensive e-mail prior to their arrival with everything they need to know, in a timely fashion.”

Rebecca P.

Director of Front Office/Guest Services Operations, USA

FAQs

Check out this great overview video on how guest reviews work on the Expedia Group sites. Reviews will appear first on the booking website, e.g., Hotels.com or Expedia.com, and, after 90 days, they’ll display across all the sites in our marketplace.

Absolutely. Tips for acknowledging guest concerns during their stay and for responding to poor reviews are both available. In-house Feedback is always private while post-stay reviews, once vetted, will be available to other travelers. Graciously acknowledging less-than-glowing feedback and perhaps sharing how you’ve remedied the issue will help you actively manage your online reputation.

 

Yes! Discover more about Guest Insights in this article. You’ll learn about identifying potential revenue growth opportunities from specific countries and how you can target travelers from that location with TravelAds or promotions. 

We would love that. Use these step-by-step instructions to download and use our Guest Review Widget on your site.

Our easy-to-use platform, Partner Central, will be the primary location for managing reservations, loading inventory, changing rates, and keeping your listing up to date. Many partners opt to use a connectivity provider to link our systems and automatically perform daily tasks. They log in to Partner Central to leverage our more advanced tools including competitive set analysis, real-time market pricing, and other marketing programs. If you have any problems, our local teams are ready to help.

Yes. Expedia Group partners have access to a suite of tools and data insights that help you develop and execute a profitable revenue management strategy. We're constantly innovating and publishing best-practice guidance to support your success.

An online travel agency (OTA) is a key part of your distribution strategy. If your goal is to reach more travelers and attract those who will be happiest at your property, an OTA can help.

At Expedia Group the breadth of our travel supply attracts travelers who are researching, planning, and booking travel. They often plan far in advance, stay longer at your property, and spend more. In addition to helping you fill your rooms, we provide tools and market insights to help you provide outstanding guest experiences and grow your business.

We're one of the world’s leading travel marketplaces, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes both globally recognized and locally relevant travel brands, including Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, and more. Learn more in our About Us section.

No. To keep your workload to a minimum, we automatically email the guest to confirm the reservation.

You can easily cancel a reservation on behalf of a guest in Partner Central. If a cancellation fee applies, you can charge the linked Expedia Virtual Card on the cancellation date.

Yes. The Messages tool in Partner Central allows communication with guests before they arrive and we're happy to include check-in instructions with your property listing. 

As an Expedia Group partner, you choose how you want to accept guest payments. Options include leveraging our secure payment processing to have travelers pay online when they book and charging an Expedia Group issued virtual credit card for payment at checkout. You can also have guests pay you directly at check-out and compensate Expedia Group.

To appeal to the broadest number of travelers, you can choose to offer both options and let the guests decide what's best for them.

It isn't a problem if your property doesn't accept credit cards. We'll make sure your listing communicates how you accept payment (cash, check, credit card, etc.) so travelers are prepared when they arrive. We'll confirm with you in a call to welcome you to the Expedia Group family.

In addition to providing an easy-to-use and secure experience for travelers to book your rooms, Expedia Group invests heavily in advertising, digital marketing, and social media promotion to attract consumers from around the world to your market and individual property.

We're constantly mining our data for insights and emerging travel trends so we can both innovate and develop the best set of free and robust tools that enable you to grow your business. We also operate traveler and partner support centers to help solve the sticky logistical issues that inevitably arise when people set out to explore the world.