Integration of Messaging API from Airbnb and Booking.com

The messaging feature is one of the most used feature in Smoobu. It makes it easier for you to automatically communicate with your guests and ultimately saves a lot of time. We got a lot of feedback from you and rebuilt many points. Mainly it is about the following aspects.

1. Booking.com and Airbnb have created new interfaces to direct message integration. We have now implemented these in Smoobu.
2. We analyze the language of the guests and you can now write different messages depending on the language automatically.

In the following we describe the changes in detail. Please take some time to read about them as they also have implications on pre-existing messages.

1) Integration of Messaging API from Airbnb and Booking.com

Basically, we have been using the email addresses in the bookings, if available. This is changing for Booking.com and Airbnb. Messages for bookings of these portals are now integrated via the interface directly into the chat history there. This has many advantages:

• The messages are visible in the chat history
• Your answers will have a positive impact on your ranking on the pages, as they will be registered there as an activity
• Predefined answer options (especially on Booking.com) can be answered directly from Smoobu
• Delivery is more reliable and messages can not end up in spam
• Messages are imported into Smoobu without having to write an outgoing mail
• All messages can also be retroactively assigned to a booking
• You’ll never have to log in to Airbnb or Booking.com to check your mailbox
• Booking.com: Since a recent change to their messaging API, to see messages from Booking.com, it is necessary to go to the booking details page in Smoobu to have the new message imported from Booking.com into Smoobu conversation history.

Other implications

Format

We recommend not to format mails. HTML code is deleted or not accepted by Airbnb and Booking.com (not by Smoobu), images are sent as links. In particular, for these portals, it is therefore advisable to dispense with a lot of “bells and whistles”. For all other bookings mails will continue to be sent. Airbnb and Booking.com are currently the only ones with this technical option to do so for non-agency accounts.

API messaging feature activation

• At Booking.com the API messaging feature will be automatically live a few days after connection. 
• At Airbnb API messaging is automatically enabled starting from the time of connection, except for users who connected to Smoobu before May 28 2020.  If you are using Airbnb in connection with Smoobu since May 27 2020 or before, you need to give Smoobu access to this feature if you want to use it. To do this, click Settings – Booking Portals – Edit Airbnb. Click on “Add new account”. Then confirm the additional connection for access to messaging after login. If you have more than one Airbnb account associated with Smoobu, repeat this process (make sure you first log out of the first account on Airbnb.

Notifications

Smoobu will not send you email or push notifications (mobile) for Airbnb or Booking.com, as both portals already send you notifications whenever you receive a new message.

2) Send messages based on guest language

All you need to do is create a messaging template and use the translation function. By default the first message (template on the very top without a language option) is sent every time the guest's language is not translated. This first message we will consider your main language or default language. 

You can also add translations to your message templates. Whenever portals informs Smoobu from a guest's preferred language we will send communications considering the guest's preferred language. Whenever Smoobu does not have information about a  guest's language or you don't have a translation for it, the system will use your main language by default.

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