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Mews online check-in

  • January 15, 2026
  • 9 replies
  • 245 views
Hendrik Renken
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Hey guys,

We’ve now managed to start paid reservations on the day of arrival just by completing the online check-in.
 

I really like the check-in process and its smooth integration with the data. However, with OTA guests it’s such a bottleneck because a verification email is sent, and Booking.com’s email service sometimes takes up to 20 minutes to deliver it.

How can this be handled better? Is it possible to switch to SMS verification?

Has anyone else experienced these issues and found a good solution?

Best regards,
Hendrik

Best answer by nicolai.bueno

Hello ​@Hendrik Renken ,

Thank you for posting in the Community, my name is Nic from the Support team and I will be answering your query.

Please note that the most direct alternative is to use the Mews SMS package. This feature allows you to bypass the Booking.com inbox entirely by sending the online check-in link directly to the guest's mobile phone number. 

When enabled, Mews automatically sends an SMS with a secure, clickable link to the guest 48 hours before arrival (or immediately for last-minute bookings). 

There’s a similar thread here that discusses this topic - 

Booking.com deletes Online Check-In and Mews Messages Links | Community

I hope this clarifies it. If you have any other questions, please let us know!

Kind regards,

Nic

    9 Replies

    Johannes Rott
    Superstar Guru
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    • Johannes Rott
    • Superstar Guru
    • January 15, 2026

    ​@Hendrik Renken does it work with booking.com at all? If we sent emails to the mystic booking.com mail accounts, the link is always blocked excepted the use their browser inbox. That should not work at all at the moment. 

    You might need a partner for communication on whatsapp rather than SMS.

    Johannes Rott // IMLAUER Hotels
    Hendrik Renken
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    ​@Johannes Rott no that works well, when you enable the Links you use in your mailing in booking.com extranet.

     

    So for us its just the delay

      Johannes Rott
      Superstar Guru
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      • Johannes Rott
      • Superstar Guru
      • January 15, 2026

      ​@Johannes Rott no that works well, when you enable the Links you use in your mailing in booking.com extranet.

       

      So for us its just the delay

      for us it looks still like the screen below. even if we proceed with the steps MEWS is advising.

      had the issue with a different PMS and guest journey before.

       

      Johannes Rott // IMLAUER Hotels
      Mark Alexander Joel
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      This is a good idea. Using SMS as a contact point in the guest journey when email is missing or masked, as in this case.

      However, we have managed to make this work with Booking by first changing the settings in Mews so that all communication is sent from the hotel’s own domain, and then “whitelisting” our domain with Booking.

      Another thing I am currently testing is configuring Mews to send the system’s own booking confirmation (with access to the guest journey) for all bookings regardless of channel. When I tested making a booking via Booking using a test account, I noticed that this confirmation is sent to the guest’s real email address, since Booking’s masking logic did not have enough time to kick in 😅 However the email of course won't be stored in Mews unless the guest chooses to register 👍

       

      MarkAJ
      Mark Alexander Joel
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      Forgot to mention. If you think it would be a good idea then upvote the suggested improvement here: Register via SMS 👍

      MarkAJ
      Johannes Rott
      Superstar Guru
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      • Johannes Rott
      • Superstar Guru
      • January 16, 2026

      This is a good idea. Using SMS as a contact point in the guest journey when email is missing or masked, as in this case.

      However, we have managed to make this work with Booking by first changing the settings in Mews so that all communication is sent from the hotel’s own domain, and then “whitelisting” our domain with Booking.

      Another thing I am currently testing is configuring Mews to send the system’s own booking confirmation (with access to the guest journey) for all bookings regardless of channel. When I tested making a booking via Booking using a test account, I noticed that this confirmation is sent to the guest’s real email address, since Booking’s masking logic did not have enough time to kick in 😅 However the email of course won't be stored in Mews unless the guest chooses to register 👍

       

      Is it working on the booking.com app as well. I think this is just possible when you open the message in the browser not on the app. Quite strange but whitelisting is not a final solution at the moment. Confirmed by booking.com as well. We now try to sent it by WhatsApp through one of our partners. 

      Johannes Rott // IMLAUER Hotels
      Mark Alexander Joel
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      Thanks for your input. I am not sure if it works on the b.com app but if we get a small % of the OTA guests to use the online check in thats still more than 0% so we are happy with this solution. Have a nice day 👋

      MarkAJ
      nicolai.bueno
      Mews Employee
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      • nicolai.buenoMews Employee
      • Mews Employee
      • Answer
      • January 20, 2026

      Hello ​@Hendrik Renken ,

      Thank you for posting in the Community, my name is Nic from the Support team and I will be answering your query.

      Please note that the most direct alternative is to use the Mews SMS package. This feature allows you to bypass the Booking.com inbox entirely by sending the online check-in link directly to the guest's mobile phone number. 

      When enabled, Mews automatically sends an SMS with a secure, clickable link to the guest 48 hours before arrival (or immediately for last-minute bookings). 

      There’s a similar thread here that discusses this topic - 

      Booking.com deletes Online Check-In and Mews Messages Links | Community

      I hope this clarifies it. If you have any other questions, please let us know!

      Kind regards,

      Nic

      Mark Alexander Joel
      Forum|alt.badge.img

      Hi ​@nicolai.bueno How interesting! You are saying the texts do include a URL to the guest portal so that guests wo emails or with invalid emailadresses still can register and use it? I tested several times but the texts I get doesn't include any url to register. How strange...I am testing a new Expedia booking for a collegue just now to see what texts he will get. Thanks!

      MarkAJ
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