Everything HostReply Does for Your Guest Messaging

A feature-by-feature tour of HostReply. The short version: we optimize for message accuracy through real-time data lookups, and for high-signal escalation through SMS. The long version follows below — every feature ships on every plan at $19 per property per month.

Tool-based AI guest replies

The AI actively looks up your data before it responds.

Most AI messaging tools work from a static knowledge blob — you dump your property details into a text box and the AI tries to answer from memory. HostReply runs tool-based lookups on every inbound message. It queries your property data, FAQs, reservation dates, and calendar availability in real time, then writes the reply grounded in what it actually found. That is the difference between "the AI made something up about your wifi" and "the AI read your wifi password from the correct row of your property data and pasted it verbatim".

Human-in-the-loop SMS escalation

When the AI is unsure, it texts you — not an email, not a notification.

SMS has a 98% open rate and gets read within a few minutes. Email sits unread in a tab for a day. When HostReply is not confident enough to answer a guest question, it texts you a short summary. You reply with a quick answer in plain English — "yes, they can check in at 2pm" — and HostReply drafts the polished, on-brand response to the guest automatically. You stay in the loop on the handful of messages that actually need your judgment, without having to babysit another inbox.

Auto-learning FAQs

Patterns in guest questions become FAQs the AI can answer automatically.

HostReply notices when guests repeatedly ask about the same thing — parking, late check-out, the hot tub — and suggests a new FAQ in the app. One click to approve, and future messages on that topic get instant, confident responses. Your knowledge base grows automatically based on what guests actually ask, rather than what you remembered to enter three months ago.

Multi-platform inbox

Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com messages in one place.

Switching between three OTA inboxes to reply to the same guest twice is one of the quiet grinds of multi-platform hosting. HostReply consolidates messages from every connected platform into a single inbox, with platform badges so you always know where a thread lives. Replies send back through the original channel automatically.

Team routing

Route maintenance, pricing, complaints, and escalations to the right person.

If you have a team — co-host, cleaner, handyman, VA — HostReply can route different issue types to different people. Maintenance questions SMS the handyman. Pricing questions come to the owner. Complaints go to the manager. Each team member sees only what is relevant to them, and nothing falls through the cracks when you are on vacation.

Smart escalation alerts

The AI notices when a situation needs a human and flags it immediately.

Refund requests, complaints, booking changes, safety issues, anything involving money or legal exposure — the AI recognizes these categories and escalates rather than guessing. You get an SMS the instant they come in with a one-line summary and a link to the conversation.

Sandbox testing

See exactly what the AI would say before it replies to a real guest.

Every property has a sandbox where you can send test messages to the AI and see the response it would send. Useful for onboarding a new property, debugging a specific FAQ, or showing a skeptical co-host that the AI actually knows the wifi password. Nothing goes out to guests from the sandbox.

Integrations with every major PMS

Hospitable, Hostaway, Guesty, and OwnerRez — all included.

HostReply syncs properties, reservations, and messages bidirectionally with every major short-term rental PMS. Connect via OAuth in under two minutes per platform. Properties stay in sync automatically, reservations update in real time, and guest messages flow both ways. No CSV imports, no manual setup, no separate connector fees. Full integration docs here.

Custom rules and behaviors

Tell the AI how to handle specific situations in your own words.

Want the AI to always mention your pool is heated? To refuse pet requests unless the reservation explicitly includes the pet fee? To hand off anything involving insurance claims? Write the rule in plain English and HostReply follows it. You can add rules per property or across the whole account.

Conversation intelligence

Every reply tagged with intent, sentiment, and outcome for review later.

HostReply tags every guest conversation with useful metadata — the question category, guest sentiment, whether the AI answered confidently, whether you had to intervene. That gives you a clear review queue at the end of the week, and surfaces patterns you might have otherwise missed.

Detailed response analytics

See exactly how much time the AI is saving and where guest questions cluster.

The Analytics page shows volume, response time, AI resolution rate, and escalation rate over time, broken down by property. Most hosts discover within a week that they are getting back 3-5 hours per property per month.

Review response drafting

Draft polished public review responses you can approve in one tap.

When a guest leaves a review, HostReply drafts a response that matches your tone and addresses specific things they mentioned. You approve or tweak it, and it posts to the platform. Response rate on public reviews is a ranking signal on most OTAs.

Ready to Try It?

• See pricing — $19 per property per month, 14-day free trial, no credit card.
• Run a free listing audit first
• Read our honest explainer on how AI guest messaging actually works
• Compare AI guest messaging tools for 2026