What Is Guest Messaging?
Akia can quickly and automatically answer common questions from guests, but it allows your team to shine for the not-so-common ones. Akia is available on iOS and Android, which means you and your team don't need to be desk-bound to service and connect with your guests.
How to Switch Communication Platforms
You can click on the arrow to the right of the Platform button at the top to switch the communication platform for the customer. Options include SMS (for US and Canada customers), email, and WhatsApp (if configured).
How to Connect With a Guest
Guests who are not connected to a user will have a red dot next to their name (🔴), indicating an unread message.
Desktop
Click Open Chat at the top or bottom of the chat thread to connect with a guest. This will open the chat so you can send them messages.
Mobile
Click Open or Open Chat to connect with a guest. This will open the chat so you can send them messages.
How to Forward a Conversation
Desktop
Click the arrow icon at the top of the message thread to forward the conversation to a department or specific user. You are able to forward a conversation whether you are connected to the guest or not.
Mobile
Open the chat and click the i button. Then click the three-dot icon next to the guest’s name and select Forward Conversation. Choose a department and click Forward.
How to Send a Scheduled Message
Desktop
- Click on Templates to the left of the Assign to Me button/message box at the bottom of the page.
- Note that you are able to send a message from the Templates section without having to connect with the guest.
- Select the Scheduled Messages section.
- Select the scheduled message you want to be sent to the guest.
- Choosing Edit will automatically connect you to the guest and populate the message in the text box for editing.
- Click Send
Mobile
- Go into a chat and click either the right arrow (>) and then the bookmark icon if you’re connected, or simply the bookmark icon if you aren’t connected.
- Go to the Scheduled Message section
- Select the scheduled message you want to be sent to the guest
- Choosing Edit will automatically connect you to the guest and populate the message in the text box for editing.
- Click Send
How to Send Macros
Learn how to create macros here: Macros
Desktop
- Click on Templates to the left of the Open Chat button/message box at the bottom of the page.
- Note that you are able to send a message from the Templates section without having to connect with the guest.
- Navigate to the Macros tab of the window
- Select the macro you want to be sent to the guest.
- Choosing Edit will automatically connect you to the guest and populate the message in the text box for editing.
- Click Send
Mobile
- Go into a chat and click either the right arrow (>) and then the bookmark icon if you’re connected, or the bookmark icon if you aren’t connected at the bottom of the screen.
- Go to the Macros section
- Select the macro you want to be sent to the guest
- Choosing Edit will automatically connect you to the guest and populate the message in the text box for editing.
- Click Send
How to Send Mini Apps/Message Tokens
After you connect with a guest, you can use the magic wand icon to the right of the text box to input Mini Apps or Message Tokens which will automatically update based on the guest’s information. This allows you to preview the Mini App link or Message Token before you send it to the guest and ensure all of the necessary information is there.
How to Send Attachments
If you want to send an image or a file to a guest or in a team chat, you can upload it from your computer using the paperclip icon to the left of the Send button.
For Mobile, it’s a similar process and you have the option to take a photo or choose a photo/video from your phone gallery.
How to Send GIFs and Emojis
You can send GIFs and emojis on Desktop using the associated icons to the left of the Send button. You can also use your computer’s keyboard shortcut to bring up the emoji keyboard.
How to Schedule Messages to Send Later (Clock Icon)
Sometimes you might want to send a message at a specific time, so you can use the clock icon to the left of the Send button to set a specific date and time in the future.
After scheduling the message, the message will show up in the Scheduled Message widget under the Guest’s sidebar. If you want to cancel a scheduled message, just hover over the message and hit Cancel.
Message Bubbles
Desktop
You can hover over any message bubble to see the exact timestamp and create a task from the message itself.
Akia’s AI detection works on all messages and tries to categorize the message based on the verbiage to best respond; but if the detection is wrong, you can click Report so our engineering team can flag it.
Mobile
Tapping on a message bubble will pull up the exact timestamp the message was sent at. Swiping the message to the center of the screen will allow you to create a task from that specific message (works on Apple and some Android devices).
Use Cases
- 🙅 No Staff on Premises: Connect with your guests instantly via messaging rather than having to visit the property to assist with their questions.
- Turn on notifications in your Mobile App to ensure guests aren’t waiting for a reply.
- ➡️ Forward for the Best Response: Forward the conversation to another department if you can’t answer.
- You can also forward it to a specific user if applicable.
- ⚠️ Agreement Errors: Connect with a guest if they haven’t signed their Agreement or you found errors in the submitted information.
- After you have connected, send a new Agreement to the guest using the wand icon.