OTA guidebook automation

Haven can send the digital guidebook to guests who booked on Airbnb, Vrbo, or a connected PMS — and can start automations when those stays move through their lifecycle. Nothing turns on by itself. You choose who sends the guide, and you enable each automation deliberately.

What guests actually receive

When OTA auto-send is on, Haven posts a signed, expiring link scoped to that reservation. The guest uses it to open their guide. Haven asks for an email only to unlock the guide. Nothing is shared with Airbnb, Vrbo, or your PMS.

On some connections the "booking thread" send is itself an email your PMS delivers (Guesty does this for non-Airbnb platforms). The setting is named by who sends, not by the medium.

Turn on OTA auto-send

1. Open Edit Listing → Arrival guide → Guidebook access → OTA guests.
2. Turn on Auto-send into their booking chat. This needs a messaging-capable connection (Hospitable, Guesty, Lodgify, Hostfully, or Airbnb via Hospitable Connect).
3. Choose who sends:
   • Your PMS sends it — today's default. No Haven email, no open or click data.
   • Haven emails when we have a real address — one send per stage; otherwise the PMS thread.
   • Haven emails only — guests whose only address is an OTA relay receive nothing.
4. Keep Collect email for marketing on if you want those guests in your CRM. Without it, the thread gets a link and remarketing has nobody to write to.

You can also set delivery listing-by-listing from Communication → Booking messages → Guidebook.

Wording for the email, booking thread, and Haven inbox is edited on that Guidebook flow. A listing can still pick which guest form the message offers.

Who can receive a Haven email

A PMS-supplied address is emailed only when it is a real inbox, not an OTA relay (guest.airbnb.com, airbnb.com, Booking.com, Vrbo, and similar). Staff bookwithhaven.com addresses and Apple Hide My Email stay deliverable. Haven never sends a test message to find out — the decision is made from the address itself.

OwnerRez is connected for listings and reservations, but guest messaging is gated behind a separate OwnerRez partnership. Until that exists, OwnerRez threads are not a delivery channel.

Automations on an OTA booking

Campaign triggers that carry a stay now have a Which bookings? setting: any, direct only, or OTA only. The picker also groups those moments under On an OTA booking, which preselects OTA only.

Haven ships an optional OTA guest add-ons automation, paused, with the Haven default badge. Turn it on only when auto-send and email capture are on — it is remarketing, so it will not send without a consent record.

Guesty notes

• The API key needs the Communication permission. A missing permission returns a rejected send; Haven cannot see that permission in advance.
• Haven can publish {{haven_guidebook_url}} as a custom field for your own Guesty templates. That is a convenience, not delivery. If you also leave Haven auto-send on, the guest can receive the guide twice.
• Guesty automated-message templates live only in the Guesty UI. Haven cannot place the variable for you.

Related Articles

• Guest Portal
• Guest security options
• PMS integrations