How to Send SMS Directly to Guests
In late 2023 / 2024 it became much more difficult to send SMS directly to guests. The rules are many and long, however we've partnered with Twilio to help our property managers get up and running with SMS as quickly as possible.
At Lodgix, we understand the importance of being able to communicate with your guests. That's why we've partnered with Twilio to make it easier for our property managers to send SMS directly to guests.
What is Twilio?
Twilio is a cloud communications platform that allows businesses to send and receive text messages, phone calls, and other forms of communication through their API. This means that you can easily integrate Twilio into your existing systems and start sending SMS to your guests in no time.
Why is it Difficult to Send SMS Directly to Guests?
In late 2023 / 2024, new regulations were put in place that made it more difficult for businesses to send SMS directly to guests. These regulations were put in place to protect consumers from spam and unwanted messages. As a result, businesses now have to follow strict rules and guidelines when sending SMS to their customers.
How Can Twilio Help?
Twilio has worked closely with these new regulations to ensure that their platform is compliant and makes it easier for businesses to send SMS to their customers. By partnering with Twilio, our property managers can rest assured that their SMS messages are being sent in a compliant and secure manner.
Getting Started with Twilio
If you're a property manager looking to start sending SMS directly to your guests, please visit this support article to learn how to get started:
Conclusion
Once Twilio has been setup and confirgured, within the "Trigger This Action" section of all triggers, will show an additional option for "SMS".
Add an Action
Select SMS
Configure the SMS Message
Enter the body of the text message. There is a limit of 160 characters.
Add Merge Tags as necessary. More details on merge tags below.
Merge Tags
Merge tags allow you to dynamically add information to the message. This includes guest, property, company, and invoice specific information. All available tags are shown in the dropdown.
For example, you could use the [GUESTFIRSTNAME] tag to add the first name of the guest to the message, or the [RCHECKINTIME] tag to add the reservation check in time.
Select the merge tag from the list. Note that due to maximum character restrictions, less merge tags are available to add to SMS messages than emails.
Click the Insert Tag button to add the tag to the body of the message