Managing guest messages across Airbnb, WhatsApp, SMS, and other channels can feel like a never-ending juggling act for property managers. Critical inquiries slip through the cracks when conversations are scattered across different apps. A missed or delayed response not only frustrates guests but can even hurt your ratings. In fact, properties that respond quickly on all channels see up to 42% higher guest satisfaction. Our new Avantio Unified Inbox integration tackles this challenge head-on by funneling every guest message into one central dashboard on UpMarket. The result? Faster responses, less app-switching, and a more consistent guest experience for every stay.
This integration isn’t just about convenience, it’s a strategic upgrade that positions UpMarket as more than a PMS add-on. By leveraging Avantio as a connectivity partner, we’ve transformed UpMarket services into the hero of your guest communication workflow. You can now view and respond to Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, WhatsApp, and more all from one place within UpMarket. Even better, you can enable our AI-powered automation to assist or even automate guest messaging on these channels, drastically reducing your team’s workload. In short, Avantio provides the messaging channels, but UpMarket delivers the unified, intelligent communication hub that elevates your service.
Introducing the Avantio Unified Inbox Integration
Avantio’s property management system includes a powerful unified inbox that consolidates messages from top booking channels. With our new integration, UpMarket taps directly into Avantio’s messaging hub, meaning you can send and receive guest messages on any of those platforms without ever leaving UpMarket’s interface.
What does this mean for you? Essentially, all your guest conversations are unified into a single thread, regardless of where they started. If a guest sends a question via their Airbnb reservation chat, you’ll see it in UpMarket and can reply instantly from the same screen. Later, if that same guest messages you on WhatsApp, the WhatsApp chat will appear in the very same conversation thread in UpMarket as well. No matter if a message originates from an OTA inbox, an SMS text, or a WhatsApp chat, it gets funneled into one combined and seamless view.
This centralized Communications Hub spares you from juggling multiple apps or devices. You won’t need to log in and out of different accounts or constantly switch between browser tabs. All guest interactions are accessible centrally, in real time, and your replies go out via the correct channel automatically. No more fragmented conversations or delayed responses – everything is at your fingertips in a unified inbox within UpMarket!
Key Features of the Unified Inbox
- Multi-Channel Visibility in One Feed: See messages from Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, WhatsApp, SMS and more, all aggregated in a single inbox view. Each message is labeled with the appropriate platform icon for instant context, so you always know where the guest’s message came from with a simple glance.
- Real-Time Sync Across Platforms: Conversations stay perfectly in sync. If a guest switches from one channel to another, UpMarket will alert you of the channel change and still display the new message in the same unified thread. You’ll maintain a continuous history without interruption even if the medium changes, ensuring no context is lost when guests jump platforms.
- Smart Reply Routing (“Channel Director”): When you reply, the system automatically chooses the correct channel by default – responding via whatever platform the guest last used. For example, if the guest’s most recent message came through Airbnb, your reply will send through Airbnb. You remain free to override this by selecting a different channel from a dropdown, but the smart default means you won’t accidentally respond on the wrong platform. Guests get your reply where they expect it, every time.
- AI Automation with Virtual Concierge: Every message in the unified inbox can be instantly handled by our AI-powered Virtual Concierge (if you choose to enable it). Routine inquiries receive immediate, personalized answers, providing 24/7 service to guests on any channel, at anytime. This Avantio AI automation capability ensures common questions are resolved without waiting on a human, enabling true guest messaging automation while your team stays available to focus on more complex or high-value interactions.
How to Activate the Avantio Unified Inbox
Getting started with the unified inbox is straightforward. If you already use Avantio as your PMS and have it connected to our platform, enabling this new messaging integration only takes a minute:
1. Navigate to the Connect PMS Settings: In our application, go to your Connect to your PMS page where your Avantio account is linked. (Make sure you have an active Avantio integration first – if not, connect your Avantio account to our platform to sync your properties and bookings.)
2. Edit Your Integration: Locate the Avantio integration on your integrations list. Click the options menu (the three dots ⋮ icon) next to Avantio and click on the “Edit button”
3. Enable Conversation Import: Look for the setting labeled “Import conversations”, and activate this option.
This setting allows our system to import and synchronize all your guest messages from Avantio’s Unified Inbox.
4. Save Changes: After enabling the import of conversations, click Save Changes to confirm the new setting. Our platform will then initiate syncing. Within a short time, your Communications module (or inbox page) will populate with your recent guest conversations from Avantio.
5. View and Reply to Messages: Once activated, navigate to the Communications Hub section in our app. You should now see all incoming messages from various channels aggregated in one list. Click on any conversation to view the full message history across channels. From there, you can type your reply as usual. The system will automatically send your message via the appropriate channel (and you’ll see the channel icon confirming whether it’s going out as an Airbnb message, a WhatsApp message, etc.).
Tip: If you want to respond via a different channel than the default, simply select your preferred platform from the reply options before hitting send.
That’s it – the unified inbox is now at your service! The setup only needs to be done once. Going forward, every new message from your guests on connected channels will appear in the unified inbox, and you can manage the entire conversation from our platform, worry-free.
Benefits for Teams & Guests Alike
- Faster Responses, Happier Guests: With all messages centralized (and even AI auto-replies handling FAQs), you can respond to guests much more quickly. No time is lost switching apps or checking multiple inboxes. Faster replies make guests feel cared for and boost your response-rate metrics on OTA platforms. Studies show this kind of multi-channel responsiveness can significantly increase guest satisfaction.
- Greater Team Efficiency: Your staff no longer need to monitor five different apps or log into multiple accounts. Everyone works from one dashboard, reducing confusion and duplicate effort. This streamlined workflow cuts down on training time and human error, letting your team focus on higher-value tasks instead of chasing messages.
- Consistent, High-Quality Service: A unified inbox ensures no guest message falls through the cracks. Whether a guest contacts you via Airbnb, WhatsApp, or email, they’ll get a timely, informed reply. This consistency builds trust and leads to better reviews and more repeat bookings. Even if a guest uses multiple channels, you’ll maintain context and continuity in your responses, providing a professional experience throughout.
- Centralized Conversation History: Every interaction is stored centrally, tied to the guest’s reservation. If any disputes or questions arise later, you have the entire message history at your fingertips. This complete record makes it easy to resolve issues and helps with staff training – new team members can review past conversations to learn how various scenarios were handled, all within a single inbox!
These benefits highlight why a unified inbox approach is becoming standard in modern vacation rental and management: It provides the ability to streamline operations and enhance guest satisfaction simultaneously, a win-win scenario for any host or property manager. Through direct integration with Avantio’s system, we deliver these benefits effortlessly with an immediate, seamless enhancement to your workflow.
Not Yet a Customer?
Experience how effortlessly UpMarket can transform your guest communications. For example, you can quickly connect your own WhatsApp number to our platform – putting your brand on every chat, earning instant guest trust, and kick-starting automated conversations in minutes. Our innovative AI technology not only elevates guest satisfaction through personalized, 24/7 interactions, but also handles the vast majority of routine messages automatically. In fact, UpMarket’s AI can handle about 91% of guest inquiries on its own, massively reducing your team’s workload and response times.
Try Our Live Demo: See the Virtual Concierge in action and discover how easy it is to integrate these features into your daily operations. Don’t miss the opportunity to lead in hospitality innovation and instead embrace the future of guest communication with UpMarket, where cutting-edge automation meets true hospitality.
