We’re piloting a 24-hour pre-arrival text for guests this Friday to confirm ETA, offer early check-in, and set expectations on pool and dining availability; front desk and concierge will respond jointly. If your teams have tried this, what phrasing and timing kept satisfaction high without feeling like spam?
Sending at 10:30am local, about 22 hours pre-arrival, kept replies high for us, and we lead with: “Got your Friday stay — text us your ETA for a smoother check-in; reply ‘NO’ to stop and we won’t ping again.” The one change that mattered was promising no second nudge unless they respond; it reads as service, not marketing. Are you signing it with a person (@FrontDesk or a name) or the property — our response rate jumped when we signed it “Marcus, Front Desk” instead of the brand.
Building on @m_thom498, we got better uptake using short keywords: ‘Friday stay on file — what’s your ETA? Reply EARLY for early check-in, POOL for today’s hours, NO to opt out.’ Just make sure you detect the guest’s time zone so you don’t ping someone at dawn — coffee first; what’s your opt-out rate?
One thing that moved CSAT for us was sending the 24‑hour note as “Front Desk + Concierge” and replacing keyword prompts with a single clean link to live pool/dining status (https://resort.example/pool-dining), so replies stay focused on ETA and early check‑in. Caveat: use a branded short domain or keep the URL minimal, because long tracking links read as spam.