Variants
What Are Action Variants?
Action variants allow you to split the scheduled action into different actions based on the guest/reservation details (e.g., language, reservation details, or delivery platforms).
Think of action variants as a way to create sub-scheduled actions based on different conditions that will all go out at a set time. You can send different versions of a message to guests at the same time.
How Do I Create Variants?
- Click on your profile picture and go to Automation > Journey
- Click on the Scheduled Action you want to add a variant to, and in the sidebar you will see Action Variants
- Click Add Variant to split the pre-scheduled message
- You can now modify the pre-scheduled message to send to only those guests who meet certain conditions and specify the exact action to happen to these guests - Send message to customer is the default, but can be changed.
- Refer to the Conditions article for more information on how to send to specific guests
- For example, use the condition Returned is true to send a different message to guests who have stayed at your property previously.
- Click Ok to save the variant and you’ll see it under the Action Variants section
Akia Tip: Variants are ordered by priority in the Action Variants section, so guests will get the message/action from the first variant they qualify for. You can edit the order of the variants by clicking the “up” and “down” arrows to the right:
Message Platforms
By default, Akia will send message variants by text. Enable different platforms to have Akia fallback if the message could not be sent. Possible messaging platforms include Email, WhatsApp, and Airbnb.
GIF Guide
In this gif guide, we’re adding a variant if the guest has already submitted the Registration Card on the arrival day. If so, they are given their door code. If they have not submitted, they are sent a message notifying them they need to complete it in order to receive their door code.
Conditions
What Are Conditions?
Conditions are used under Action Variants to better segment which guests you want to send a variation of the scheduled action to.
Akia Tip: Think of conditions as “rules” for a guest/reservation to pass through before a scheduled message/action is run for them. You can have as many conditions as desired for a single action variant.
How Do I Make/Specify a Condition?
- Click on your profile picture and go to Automation > Journey
- Click on the Scheduled Action you want to add a condition to, and in the sidebar, you will see Action Variants
- Click on the message you want to add conditions to
- You can now select from the optional conditions at the top of the sidebar or click + Condition to add special conditions
- ALL: the guest needs to match all of the conditions stated below in order for the action to run. Think of ALL like meaning “and.”
- ANY: the guest needs to match at least one of the conditions for the action to run. Think of ANY like meaning “or.”
- NONE: the guest cannot match any of the conditions for the action to run. Think of NONE as “cannot.”
- Run Time Between: specify what time in the day the action runs
- Day of Week: specify what days of the week the action runs
- Locale: select any applicable guest languages for the action to be performed
- Agreement: select a specific agreement to check if it is signed/unsigned for the action to be performed
- Address
- Arrival Date
- Balance Due (Cent)
- Balance Due Raw
- Booking Date
- Booking Source
- Country Code
- Departure Date
- Deposit (Cent)
- Engaged
- Extern URL
- Gender
- Identity Verified
- Language
- Length of Stay
- Max Occupancy
- Number of Adults
- Number of Bathrooms
- Number of Bedrooms
- Number of Children
- Owner
- Party Size
- Postal Code
- Rate Code
- Reservation Status
- Reservation Type
- Room Number
- Room Type
- Secondary Reservation
- Total Payment (Cent)
- Total Payment Plus Tax
- Total Payment Raw
- VIP
Akia Tip: Note at the top of the additional conditions, you have the option to specify ALL, ANY, or NONE.
Other Conditions: specify when the action runs based on guest/reservation details
- Select the Action to be performed based on the conditions you’ve specified
- Click Ok to save
- On the previous Scheduled Action page, click Start to begin sending the scheduled action
Video Guide
Comparators
Comparator | Description | Example |
equals | Match exactly to a numerical value | Specifically for Room 1025 |
not equals | Match when it is not this numerical value | All room numbers except 200 |
in | Match when it belongs to a set. Can be numerical, numerical ranges, or string | Room numbers that are:
* 25
* 100-199
* Penthouse |
not in | Match when it does not belong to the set. Can be numerical, numerical ranges, or string | Room numbers that are not:
* 25
* 100-199
* Penthouse |
contains | Match string that is contained in this value | All room types that contain "NE." E.g., "NE100," "NE101," "NE102" would all match this rule. |
doesn’t contain | Match when it does not contained the specified value | All room types that don’t contain “Ocean.” E.g., ”Mountain View” and “Sea View” would match this rule, “Ocean View” would not match this rule. |
starts with | Match when the value begins with the specified string | All room types beginning with “Cabin.” E.g., “Cabin 1,” “Cabin 2,” “Cabin A” would all match this rule but “Seashore Cabin” would not. |
greater than | Greater than a numerical value | All room numbers greater than 200 |
less than | Less than a numerical value | All room numbers less than 200 |
greater or equal | Greater than or equal to a numerical value | All room numbers great than or equal to 200 |
less or equal | Less than or equal to a numerical value | All room numbers less than or equal to 200 |
is true | Match when the value is true | If the guest staying is an owner |
is false | Match when the value is not true | If the guest staying is not an owner |
is set | Match if the value is not blank | |
is not set | Match if the value is blank |
Equals and Not Equals are case sensitive, meaning “Ocean View” and “ocean view” are treated differently in the condition checker. In, Not In, Contains, Doesn’t Contain, and Starts with are not case sensitive - “Ocean View” and “ocean view” would be treated the same.
When Should I Use ALL vs ANY for My Conditions?
ALL vs ANY depends on the specific rules you have in your variant or display rule.
When to use ALL
- If you’re using negative conditions:
- Akia would need to check that the room number in question doesn't apply to ALL of the conditions you laid out.
- When only want to send to a specific subset of guests
- The action you specify would only go out if the guest’s booking source is Airbnb, their room number contains “unit,” and their balance due is less or equal to 0. If any of these conditions is not met, Akia will not perform the action you specified.
- You can send an automation to various rooms by using the condition In/Not In while still keeping the other conditions in place
- By listing off units with “Room Number In ____,” you make the conditions apply to multiple units without having to create multiple variants.
When to use ANY
- If you’re using multiple positive conditions
- A guest cannot have multiple room numbers (a room number cannot be both Unit 1 and Unit 4), so we want to check the room number to see if it matches ANY of the conditions.
- If you want to send to guests who could be applicable to 2 different flags
- A guest could either be returning, marked as a VIP, or both, so to accommodate either of these combinations, we switch the condition to ANY.
Either ALL or ANY
- You only have one rule you’re checking
Akia Tip: Use the comparator In/Not In so that you can list off multiple values in one rule, without having to make multiple rules for each room number or booking source (e.g. Room Number IN 101 A, 101 B, 400-500, Ocean View)
When to use NONE
- When there are multiple cases where a guest should not have the action performed
- If any condition matches the guest’s reservation (e.g. their booking source is Airbnb), then Akia will not perform the action.
Use Cases
- 🧑 Send a Specialized Message to Owners: Add a new variant with the condition “Owner” is true and customize your message to them.
- Make sure this variant is at the top of the list, and then create another variant for all guests (no conditions) with your default message.
- 🧭 Directions Based on Rooms: If some rooms have different directions than others, specify “in” Room Number/Type in your condition and write the custom directions in the message field.
- For example, “Room Number” in 100-200 will receive “Take the elevator to the left of the front desk to get to your room,” while you specify in another variant that “Room Number” in 300-400 will receive “Take the elevator to the right of the front desk to get to your room.”
- 🗓 Advertise Restaurant Hours: Encourage guests to go to your restaurant if they stay during its open days.
- Specify the Day of Week to send the message on those days.
- 📝 Agreement Reminder: Send a reminder to guests who haven’t signed their required Agreements.
- Specify the Mini App and select Incomplete so that you send a reminder message to guests who have not signed their Mini App, and create another variant with the condition being the Mini App is Completed, and give the guest their check-in information.
- 🌐 Different Booking Source: Send a specific message based on the guest’s booking source.
- Want to only send a registration card to guests who booked via Airbnb/VRBO? Specify your condition to Booking Source “contains” Airbnb and VRBO and send the message with the registration card to these guests. Add another variant after this one without any Booking Source conditions for Direct booking/Walk-in guests and forgo the registration card for a welcome message.