Common systems
The table covers the most common setups rather than every one. See Messaging support by PMS for the full list, or ask your onboarding contact, who can confirm which group yours falls into.
This only applies to your OTA conversations, meaning Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO and Expedia. Email, WhatsApp, text messages and your other channels are always connected separately, whichever system you use.
How to tell for yourself
If you are not sure which group you are in, the question to ask is whether your OTA accounts are connected to your property management system today. If you already read and reply to your Airbnb or Booking.com messages inside your PMS, then your PMS carries your messaging, and it will pass those conversations on to Conduit. If you read those messages on the Airbnb or Booking.com website instead, or in a separate inbox, then your PMS is carrying bookings only.If your PMS carries your OTA messaging
There is very little to do in this case. Once your property management system is connected, your Airbnb, Booking.com and VRBO conversations arrive in Conduit on their own. You do not need to connect those channels separately. The one exception is Expedia, which is covered further down this page.If your PMS carries bookings only
Your reservations come through your PMS, and each messaging channel is connected separately so the conversations have somewhere to arrive. Conduit then matches each conversation to the right reservation. There are three channels to consider. Connect only the ones you take bookings through.1
Airbnb
Go to Settings > Airbnb under Channels and sign in to your Airbnb account.If you have more than one Airbnb account, repeat the same steps for each one, signing into a different account each time.
2
Booking.com and VRBO
These two arrive by email, so they need your email connected first.Once your email is set up, go to Settings > Connections > Add connection, choose the channel you want, and select the email address you configured.
3
Expedia
Expedia messaging is available, but it is enabled at partner level rather than by you.There is nothing to do here yourself. Please tell your onboarding contact that Expedia is in scope and they will arrange it.
Combinations to be aware of
Conduit prevents certain combinations, because mixing them would create duplicate guest conversations.- A system that delivers guest messages cannot share a workspace with one that only supplies property and reservation data. If you need both, they must sit in separate workspaces.
- If Airbnb is your primary property management connection, you cannot connect another PMS alongside it.
- You can connect Airbnb directly at the same time as a PMS. If your PMS handles guest messages, those keep flowing through the PMS. If it does not, Conduit receives the Airbnb messages directly and matches them to your PMS reservations.
Frequently asked questions
I have several Airbnb accounts. Does that work?
I have several Airbnb accounts. Does that work?
Yes. Connect them one at a time, signing into each account in turn. There is no limit on the number of accounts you can connect.
Why do Booking.com and VRBO need my email?
Why do Booking.com and VRBO need my email?
Those channels send their guest messages to you by email rather than through a direct connection. Conduit reads them from the address you connect, which is why email comes first for those two.
My PMS is not in the table above.
My PMS is not in the table above.
Please ask. We work with more than 20 PMS providers and the table lists the most common ones rather than all of them. Your onboarding contact can tell you which group yours is in straight away.