Texting Guests Their Stay Link

Guest link text sends each guest a text message with their Staykey stay link before check-in. It's built for bookings where the platform's own messages can't carry the link, which in practice means Vrbo: Vrbo's message templates have no way to insert a per-stay link.

It's off by default and set per property.

Before you start

Staykey can only text a guest whose stay has a phone number. Where that number comes from:

Booking source	Guest phone
Vrbo booking email (via email forwarding)	Yes
Vrbo calendar feed	No
Airbnb booking email	No
Airbnb calendar feed	Last 4 digits only, which can't be texted
A number you type into the stay yourself	Yes

So for Vrbo, set up email forwarding first. Airbnb guests keep getting their link the way they do now, through your Airbnb message template. See automating Staykey links in Airbnb messages.

Turn it on

Open Properties and choose the property
In the settings sidebar, under Automations, choose Guest link text
Switch on Text guests their stay link
Under Send before check-in, pick 1 day, 2 days (the default), or 3 days, or type a number of hours from 1 to 336
Optionally, add Your line: one short note that appears in every text, like "See you soon! Park in the left driveway."
Check the Preview, then click Save

Repeat for each property you want texts sent from.

What the guest receives

The wording is fixed. Only your line changes. With the property name "Lakeview Cabin", it reads:

Lakeview Cabin via Staykey: Hi Alli, your stay starts Mon, Sep 14. Your access info:
https://s.staykey.co/HA-TPT4HY

See you soon! Park in the left driveway.

Reply STOP to opt out.

The text opens with your property's name and "via Staykey", so the guest knows who it's from
The greeting uses the guest's first name, or "Hi there" when the booking has no real name
The link is the same stay link shown on the stay page
Without your line, the text is just the greeting, the link, and the STOP line

Your line is plain text, up to 120 characters. Links and web addresses are removed when you save, so put any links on the guest's stay page instead.

When texts are sent

At the lead time you chose before check-in
If that time falls between 9 pm and 9 am in the property's time zone, the text waits until 9 am, unless check-in is within three hours, in which case it goes out on time
If the send time has already passed when the stay arrives in Staykey (a last-minute booking, or a guest phone that showed up late), the text goes out within a few minutes
Turning the automation on covers upcoming stays too: any stay whose send time has already passed but whose check-in hasn't is texted within a few minutes, so check the upcoming stays before you switch it on
Only before check-in. Once check-in has passed, the text is skipped
Once per booking. If the dates change after the text went out, it isn't sent again; the link stays the same
Only to US and Canadian phone numbers

A guest who replies STOP gets no more texts from Staykey. Only the guest can undo that, with their carrier.

Checking whether a text was sent

Open the stay and choose Automations in the sidebar (or look at the Automations card in the stay's details on the calendar). The Guest link text row shows one of:

Scheduled for a date and time
Texted a date and time
Skipped, with the reason
Failed, with the reason
Cancelled, when the stay was cancelled first

When a text wasn't sent

What the stay says	What it means	What to do
Skipped: no phone on file	The stay had no phone number when the text was due	Add the guest's phone under Guest details on the stay page. If check-in is still ahead, Staykey tries again within a few minutes. For Vrbo, check that email forwarding is set up
Skipped: only US and Canadian numbers can be texted	The guest's number is outside the US and Canada	Send the link through the booking platform's thread
Skipped: the guest opted out of texts	The guest replied STOP at some point	Send the link through the booking platform's thread
Skipped: check-in had already passed	The automation was turned on, or the text came due, after check-in	Send the link yourself if the guest still needs it
Skipped: already texted for this booking	The same booking was imported twice and the other copy was already texted	Nothing; the guest has their link
Skipped: the guest link was not ready	The stay had no link yet	Staykey tries again when the link appears, if check-in is still ahead
Failed: the text could not be delivered	The carrier rejected the message after several tries	Send the link through the booking platform's thread

To send the link by hand, copy it with Copy link on the stay page.

Need help? Contact support with the property and the stay.