Static Guest Portal & Upsell Links

I think this is exactly the right direction of the conversation ​@arnaud - well said!

What we’re seeing now with Airbnb AI auto-replies only reinforces the importance of having a true “single source of truth” guest experience inside the PMS/Guest Portal itself.

If Airbnb is going to increasingly inject AI, messaging, reminders, upsells, verification flows, and other guest-facing interactions, then hosts need an equally unified guest-facing layer on the PMS side, not just fragmented tools and static pages.

To me, the real opportunity is much bigger than:

• static links

• isolated upsells

• or a digital guidebook alone

The opportunity is a true guest app/portal experience where:

• every message lives in one thread

• every action is connected operationally

• and the guest never feels bounced between systems

Especially for direct bookings, this becomes incredibly important.

Imagine a portal where the guest can:

• message the host/team directly

• view all automated PMS communications

• access guidebooks + arrival instructions

• complete ID verification/check-in forms ✅

• sign rental agreements ✅

• House Rules ✅

• manage security deposits/damage waivers

• purchase and manage upsells

• request modifications

• receive AI-powered answers tied to the reservation context

• access door codes/check-in info securely (sorta ✅)

• see receipts, trip details, WiFi, local recommendations, etc.

And operationally:
guest action → automation/task → team fulfillment

Examples:

• Early check-in purchased → housekeeping task created automatically

• Mid-stay clean booked → cleaner assigned

• Firewood bundle purchased → maintenance notified

• Guest asks AI a question → visible to host/team inside PMS thread

That’s where the real scalability and guest experience improvements happen.

I also think this is where Hospitable has a very real opportunity strategically. Many operators do not actually want to stitch together:

• Enso

• guidebook tools

• Typeform

• Waivo

• ChargeAutomation

• external messaging systems

• upsell tools

• ID verification platforms

• etc.

They want one cohesive ecosystem with a polished guest experience.

The Guest Portal could genuinely become one of Hospitable’s most differentiating features if approached as a true guest operating system instead of a collection of disconnected utilities. 

I’d like Hospitable to FINISH projects they’ve started and not leave them at the 80% mark only to be functional and limited. 

Who else is with me? ​@Donny ​@andrew_bca ​@mrotman ​@Abby Grous ​@Tim Parry 

100% agree with you. 
 

I want to drive guests to MY site that I own and fully control. An upsell widget is a great idea. 
 

​@Aryeh Raber - would guest last name + check-in date work + property work? Or maybe property specific upsell widgets to avoid them needing to input their property?

Honestly I think the real answer to this is never having the guest go to the guest portal at all. 
 

think about it - most guests message asking for an early check-in or late check-out. Inbox AI should be smart enough to confirm or deny availability and share the cost based on an SOP or rule setup (if guest a is checking out late then guest b cannot check in early that same day, etc). 
 

taking it further - if a guest confirms they want to purchase the upgrade Hospitable should automatically send the funds request to the guest. I realize this may be platform dependent, but hopefully Airbnb gets it together and starts allowing this via their API. 
 

this is the least amount of friction that is most likely to get the upsell sale finalized. It reflects what I do today by using hostbuddy which is smart enough to know if a guest’s late check out  or early check in request is possible, then if it is hostbuddy offers it — if a guest confirms then I get notified to send a funds request. Taking out that last manual step is the true goal. 
 

The best guest portal is one the guest never has to go to. One less link to click, 5 less clicks to purchase the upsell, and WAY higher likelihood to get the sale. We’re all lazy - make it easy for people to give us their money :)

​@CircleCityRetreats - I subscribe to the make it easy approach for sure. I’d argue it should be capable from a request via messaging AND also available in Guest Portal as a redundant option. 

Couldn’t agree more!

I like this idea, at least it could be a URL that is sort of hidden but perhaps that could be accessed with a link that isn’t specific to just one guest. I also like that idea for guidebooks too. There’s a way to have a guidebook that isn’t necessarily too revealing of the property. I think the guidebook and guest portal can be essentially the same thing, and I sort of don’t want to send guests to another product that isn’t my own website or Hospitable.

Hi everyone! Aryeh is taking a well-deserved break, but I'll make sure to ping him to take a look at all the comments here once he's back. 💜

Hell yeah from the back row ​@Eli Stoughton  Guide 100% should live in GP!

Thank you ​@Petra Podobnik - lots of generally great ideas here that can be big wins for GP. #TeamGP4Life

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful feedback, everyone! 🙏

​@Megan  Completely agree — we’re definitely not removing the unique guest portal links. What we’re exploring is simply an additional way for guests to reach their own portal in cases where they don’t have their link handy (for example, via a QR code posted inside the property or a static link in a digital guidebook).

​@mrotman  ​@Shawn-luxanto  You raise excellent points around visibility and tracking of upsells. We’ve actually just merged a couple of improvements to address that:

•  A new Inbox filter that lets you view only pending upsell requests (you can save it as a segment for one-click access).
• Threads with pending upsells now show a badge in the Inbox so they’re easier to spot.
  • We’ll also look at adding a permanent badge that remains there when an upsell is purchased.

We also hear you on the need for an upsell overview dashboard and better integration with tasks, notifications, and reminders — these are on our roadmap, and we’re exploring how to make it a more central, actionable overview for hosts.

(Quick aside: we’re in the final stages of testing a new check-in/checkout time change team notification, based on ​@mrotman‘s earlier feedback, so we hope to roll that out very soon!)

Thanks again for sharing such thoughtful input — it really helps us shape these features in the right direction! 💪

My biggest issue and reason I don’t even use the Guest Portal is the super long url that a guest sees when I insert the Guest Portal into my messaging. It looks very unprofessional. I wouldn’t mind having the portal process be the way it current is if the url that appears just looked professional and concise. Until it does, I won’t use it. I’d rather miss out on upsell revenue that put something in my messaging that looks like it could be a scam.