Guest Messaging is coming 🎉
We just announced Guest Messaging at Unfold, and we're really excited to finally get this into your hands.
So what is it? Guest Messaging brings all guest conversations from WhatsApp, SMS, OTA messages and the Mews Guest Portal into one unified inbox, linked directly to the right reservation. Your whole team works from a single view, so every guest gets a reply and nothing gets lost.
And it goes further than just a shared inbox. AI suggests replies based on your live reservation data and your own property knowledge base, so your team can respond faster without sacrificing accuracy. It can even detect when a guest is requesting something and automatically create a task for the right staff member.
Need to reach all your guests at once? Broadcast messages let you send a single message to every guest in-house, whether that's a fire alarm test, a happy hour reminder or a last-minute update.
We're rolling this out in phases, and all Advanced Guest Experience customers will have full access by 1st August.
If you have questions or want to share feedback as you get started, this is the place. Check out the FAQs below or drop us a message, we're listening.
Frequently asked questions
How it works
When will it be available? General availability is planned for 1st August 2026.
Can multiple staff members use Guest Messaging at the same time? Yes. Access to the feature is currently tied to the "Receive guest messages" permission, so users without that permission can't use it.
Can I send bulk/broadcast messages to all in-house guests? Yes, Guest Messaging includes a broadcast feature.
Can staff search conversations by guest name, phone number, or reservation ID? Can they filter by channel or date? Yes. Search by first/last name, phone number and reservation ID is planned, along with channel and date filters.
Can I send messages before a guest arrives or after they check out? Two-way messaging is available once the booking is made. After check-out it's mostly unavailable, except for certain OTA channel windows.
How are GDPR data deletion requests handled? GDPR data deletion is done by request via a support ticket.
Will multi-property management be available? It's on the long-term roadmap, alongside CRM-lite features and ordering.
I already use a guest messaging tool, will I be able to migrate my conversation history to Mews? For general availability, migration of conversation history won't be available.
Pricing
Which Mews plan includes Guest Messaging? Guest Messaging is included for all customers who have the Advanced Guest Experience module in their package. There's no separate SaaS fee, hotels pay only for the SMS and WhatsApp messages they send and receive.
Which channels are charged? WhatsApp and SMS messages are charged per use. OTA messages and Guest Portal messages are free of charge.
What does messaging actually cost? Pricing is per message, not per conversation or thread. Costs vary by channel, direction (inbound vs. outbound), and the recipient's country. We'll share the full rate list for reference on 1st August.
How does billing appear on the invoice? Usage is aggregated daily. On the monthly Mews invoice, hotels see a single "Guest Messaging" line item covering that month's SMS and WhatsApp usage. Hotels can also view a per-message log and running cost directly inside Mews PMS.
Are AI-generated replies charged separately? No. AI is part of the SaaS component and carries no additional charge. An AI reply sent via SMS or WhatsApp is charged at the same per-message rate as a manual reply.
What does WhatsApp require to set up? Hotels need their own WhatsApp Business account.
What are WhatsApp template messages, and when do hotels need to use them? Outbound messages via WhatsApp require pre-approved templates. Once a guest replies, the conversation opens up for freer follow-up messages. Templates are created by Mews.
Will I be able to create my own WhatsApp templates? Because of Meta's strict compliance requirements, user-created custom templates won't be possible for general availability on 1st August. We know this matters to some customers, which is why it's a priority on our roadmap for this year.
SMS (text messaging)
What happens to customers already using the SMS Messaging feature? Customers using the SMS Messaging feature will migrate automatically to Guest Messaging with their SMS channel activated, there’s no need to redo the process.
How does the onboarding process for SMS work? The SMS onboarding process will be the same as today: self-service, handled via a Marketplace redirect flow.
OTAs
Which OTA channels are available at launch? We're rolling out Booking.com and Expedia integrations from 1st August. Other OTAs like Airbnb will be added later this year.
How do the Booking.com and Expedia integrations work? OTA channels use their direct integration via the Marketplace.
Does Guest Messaging work for hotels connected via a channel manager (SiteMinder, D-Edge)? Today, a hotel must have Booking.com and Expedia connected directly through Mews Marketplace for reservations. In the future, we plan to support hotels that connect channels via a channel manager for reservations while keeping messaging connected to Mews.
AI Assistant
How will the AI assistant work? When active, AI assistant will generate replies based on the hotel's own knowledge base, policies, amenities, opening hours and so on. It can also read context and identify when a task should be created from a conversation, surfacing that task to staff with the relevant detail.
How does the hotel set up the AI knowledge base? Is it automatic? Manual entry initially: hotels complete an onboarding questionnaire with structured fields plus free text. The AI displays the sources it used to answer, so hotels can spot and correct inaccurate entries.
How does the AI handle questions it doesn't know the answer to? For anything more complex, the AI is designed to hand the conversation over to a human so staff can take over the thread. The intended outcome is faster responses and less time lost switching between tools.