Timing
The options for the timing of the Event Message to be
sent seem a little harder to understand at first glance, but in reality they
are also easy to navigate through. When
selecting the timing for the message, first think about whether you want to tie the message to the check-in/check-out dates as
defined by the system as the official start and end dates of the reservation,
or the dates when the Guest is actually marked ‘checked in’ or ‘checked
out’. (The check-in/check-out dates as
defined by the system are configured under System Configuration -> Company
-> Offices -> Edit.) If you want
to tie your message to the official check-in/check-out dates, select ‘Use
Reservation Start/End Date’ from the ‘Timing method’ dropdown menu. If you would like to tie your message to the
dates the Guest actually checks in, select ‘Use Actual Check In/Out Time’ from
the ‘Timing Options’ dropdown box. This
is important to consider depending on what message you are sending your Guests. If it is important for the Guests to actually
be checked in/out to receive it, you would want to be sure to select ‘Use
Actual Check In/Out Time’.
The second thing to consider
is which measure of time you need to use: Hour, Day, or Month. If you want to send guests a message
regarding things to remember to pack, you would not want to send it hours
before check-in time because most guests are packed and on their way. Likewise, you would not want to send it
months before check-in time because a reminder that far out would not work as a
very good reminder. Once you determine
whether the time needs to be measured in hours, days, or months, select the
radio button beside that option.
After the unit of measure is selected, choose
the number from the dropdown menu to associate with it. For example, if you selected Days, and then
chose ‘3’ from the dropdown menu, the system knows you are going to send a
message 3 days before or after the Reservation Event you select. Now you just need to determine whether the
messages needs to be sent before or after the event occurs. This is entered by using the dropdown menu.
For our example, we want to be sure the guest receives it
around the time they are thinking about packing and getting everything ready
for their trip. Since our message is not tied to the Guest actually being
checked into their rental, we will select ‘Use Reservation Start/End
Date’. We will also select ‘1’, ‘Days’, and ‘Before’ so the guests will receive
the reminder message one day before their check-in date.
Event Messages Screen – Message Rules Criteria Screen – Timing Selection