Hotel Booking Messaging

The Hotel Booking Messaging add-on lets you send SMS updates to guests and administrators about bookings and payments made with the Hotel Booking plugin. Create automatic notifications for booking events, payment completion, or a chosen time before or after check-in or check-out. You can also send a notification manually from a booking or payment in your WordPress dashboard.

The add-on requires the Hotel Booking plugin version 5.2.0 or higher.

Installation

1. Download the Hotel Booking Messaging add-on ZIP archive.
2. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin.
3. Choose the ZIP archive, click Install Now, then activate the add-on.

Connect the SMS service

1. In WordPress, go to Accommodation → Settings → Extensions → Messaging.
2. In the SMS Service section, click Connect and enter your email address. Follow the confirmation link sent to your inbox. No separate account with the underlying SMS provider is required.
3. Return to the Messaging settings. You can optionally set an Admin Phone Number in international format, for example +14155552671. This number receives test messages and any notifications addressed to the admin; it is not used as the sender number.
4. Use Buy Credits to add SMS credits to your account. The available balance is shown in the same settings section.

Credit use varies by destination country, sender type, carrier fees, and message length. See SMS Pricing & Availability for supported destinations and pricing details. Test and failed messages may still consume credits.

If the connection is shown as disconnected after you migrate the website or change its WordPress security keys, reconnect the SMS service from the Messaging settings.

Create an SMS notification

1. Go to Bookings → SMS Notifications and click Add New.
2. Enter a title to identify the notification in your dashboard. The title is for administration and is not included in the SMS.
3. In Settings, choose whether the notification is automatic or manual.
4. Choose the event, accommodation types, and recipients as described below.
5. Write the message in the Message box. You can insert the available tags to personalize it with booking, guest, payment, or accommodation information.
6. Set the notification status to Active to enable it, then click Create or Update.

Choose when to send a notification

For an automatic notification, select one of these events:

• Booking Placed – when a guest submits a booking. Depending on your Hotel Booking confirmation settings, the booking may be awaiting email confirmation, admin confirmation, or payment.
• Booking Confirmed – when the booking is confirmed. The confirmation method depends on your Hotel Booking settings.
• Booking Canceled – when a booking is canceled.
• Payment Completed – when an instant online payment is completed. Offline methods such as bank transfer or payment on arrival do not trigger this event.
• Before or After Check-in / Check-out – schedule a message a chosen number of days before or after check-in or check-out.

For a scheduled notification, set the period, whether it is before or after the selected date, and whether to use check-in or check-out. You can also choose to skip the notification for reservations made later than the configured time frame.

Use Accommodations to limit the notification to specific accommodation types, or leave All selected to apply it to every type.

When you select a manual trigger, the notification is available to send from the dashboard and is not sent automatically.

Choose notification recipients

Select either or both recipient types:

• Admin Phone Number – the number saved in the Messaging settings.
• Customer Phone Number – the phone number supplied with the booking.

Customer SMS messages are sent only when the guest has agreed to receive booking updates using the optional SMS consent checkbox at checkout. The add-on displays the guest’s consent status in the booking’s Customer Information panel.

Write the SMS message

Type your message in the Message box. Include your business name so recipients recognize who sent the SMS. Keep the message concise: special characters and long messages may use additional SMS segments and credits. You can check an estimated segment count with the SMS Segment Calculator.

Insert tags by copying them from the SMS Tags reference displayed below the message field. Tags are written with percent signs, for example %customer_first_name%.

To add accommodation-specific SMS text, edit an accommodation type and fill in SMS Notice 1 or SMS Notice 2. You can then insert the corresponding accommodation notice tag in a message.

Test and send notifications

To test a notification, open it for editing and use Send Test SMS. The add-on saves the notification and sends a test message to the admin phone number. Set that number in the Messaging settings first.

To send a notification manually for a specific record, edit a booking or payment, select an active notification in its SMS Notification panel, and click Send SMS Notification. Booking records list booking notifications; payment records list payment notifications.

Check SMS history and credits

Open Accommodation → Settings → Extensions → Messaging. The settings show your available credits and provide access to SMS History. For each message, the history records the send time, delivery status, destination country and phone number, message content, and credits charged. Booking and payment records also include SMS notes with the sending result.

SMS delivery is not guaranteed. Keep your Hotel Booking email notifications enabled as a backup.

FAQ

What sender name will guests see?

By default, messages use the free “BookingInfo” sender name where it is supported. Local carriers and country-specific regulations may replace or modify the displayed sender information.

To use a custom hotel name, vacation rental brand, company name, you may need to complete business verification. Custom sender names or numbers may involve additional setup fees, recurring charges, or country-specific requirements. Contact us if you need to use a custom sender name.

Why did a customer not receive an SMS?

Customer notifications require the customer recipient to be selected, a phone number on the booking, and the guest’s SMS consent at checkout. Also check that the notification is active, the SMS account is connected, and the account has available credits. You can review SMS History and the booking’s SMS notes for more information.

Where do I change the admin phone number?

Go to Accommodation → Settings → Extensions → Messaging and update Admin Phone Number. Use international format, such as +14155552671.

Can I send an SMS without an automatic trigger?

Yes. Set the notification trigger to Manual. You can then select it in the SMS Notification panel when editing a booking or payment.